Meet Some UtopYA2015 Lovelies (Unofficial) : Kristen Bauer

Please welcome the next guest in my Meet Some UtopYA2015 Lovelies (Unofficial) series. I actually first met Kristen’s adorable daughter. Since I was giving away fairy dust (okay, glitter in a bottle, but it’s all about the believing), cute young ladies seemed to find me. Oh, and Kristen has two equally adorable boys.

So, I was thrilled when Kristen made her way over during the Saturday signing. Her smile and glow make you want to run up and hug her.

Thanks so much for hanging out on the blog today!

KB: Thank you so much for having me and your kind words!

You are the creative mastermind behind Shooting Star Book Reviews. What inspired you to start a book blog?

KB: I wanted to be like the cool kids! Haha...I guess I just had this desire to express my opinion with everyone. No really, I wanted to help authors spread the word about their books. I love it when a friend comes to me looking for book recommendations and I can give them a name of an Indie author.

And we are so appreciative that you do! In your bio on the review site, you mention your obsession with Thorin Oakenshield (Hobbit)--for me, it’s all about Aragorn (Lord of the Rings)—and Ron Weasley. Which is more of a reflection of the type of hero/main character you like to read?

KB: Oh goodness! I think I like a mix of both. I like how strong, gruff, and honorable Throin is (and let’s face it...he’s played by Richard Armitage, *swoon*), but Ron is lovable, hilarious, and fiercely loyal.

Love your answer! In June, you created an author page on Facebook. What made you declare your intent to write? How long have you been writing?

KB: Being surrounded by everyone at UtopYA gave me so much inspiration and motivation. I’ve been working on my main novel for over 2 years now. Fear and hesitation kept causing me to push it back and find excuses not to work on it. I’m still terrified that no one will like it, but I’ve decided to write for ME now. I made friends with Tara Benham through a group of aspiring authors formed from UtopYA attendees, and she pushed me to create my page. It’s official now. I’ve made my commitment public; so I’m hoping it will keep my motivation going.

So excited for you. What can we expect from your first novel?

KB: I’m working on a YA paranormal retelling of Red Riding Hood. There’s a ton of other fairytale and mythical characters in it as well...Tinkerbell, Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, just to name a few. There’s a twist to them but you’ll have to read it to find out. *wink*

Oooh. Sounds interesting. Okay, back to the Thorin and Ron juxtaposition. (Can you tell this fascinates me?) What are you most looking forward to exploring in your male characters?

KB: I hope to write loyal and respectful guys with a good sense of mischief and humor. I want them to treat their girls right. My children are very excited about my story and hope to read it one day. I want to make sure that my male characters set a good example for them.

As a mother of three girls, I totally agree with you. What about your main female character? In the female character movie universe, who inspires you? (See how sneaky I am, I’m digging to find out your female versions of Thorin and Ron.)

KB: I a big Black Widow fan. I also love Olive Pendergast from “Easy A.”

Strong females. Yep, we have so much in common. So, I've been asking all the lovelies... what's your favorite inspirational quote? Why?

KB: I have a few but these are the ones that resonate with me the most:

“I love the person I’ve become, because I fought to become her” because 2015 has been the year of change for me. I took up kickboxing, we moved to Memphis to build our dream house, and I’ve got grand plans to finish my first novel this year. The second quote is “Don’t be afraid of being different, be afraid of being the same as everyone else.” I’ve never felt like I fit in anywhere and for the longest time I made myself miserable trying to be the person I thought I should be. Now, I just don’t care...haha!

Great quotes! What do you think makes UtopYA, renamed Utopia for its fifth year in 2016, so special?

KB: I loved that it focused mainly on YA authors. It was the first convention that I was able to bring my children (who are all avid readers) to and not have to worry about them seeing questionable covers or swag.

I found this great pic of Kristen with Nathan Weller....

✮✮✮✮✮ Quick Answers ✮✮✮✮✮ 

Last Movie you Saw: In the theater? Minions, haha!

Comedy, Romance, Drama, or Horror? I like them all!

Last Book you Read: I just finished Dead Over Heels by Alison Kemper (5 stars, so much fun! I’m working on my review for it) and I’m currently reading Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

First Job: Hostess with the mostest at this restaurant called Youngblood’s which was a lot like Applebee’s.

Gift cards or Cash? Amazon gift cards are my fave because I can use them to feed my book addiction.

Favorite Vacation Spot: Somewhere cool. When I was 16 my parents took me to visit my favorite aunt up in Vermont in the fall. Fall is my favorite season and seeing all the leaves change...it was magical!

More about Kristen

Hi! My name is Kristen and I'm a certifiable dork. I'm obsessed with knitting, zombies, the color pink, Thorin Oakenshield, and Ron Weasley. I'm married to my best friend, Steve, and we have 3 minions to do our bidding. ;-) My favorite books to read are YA paranormal romance but I wouldn't turn down a spicy NA contemporary romance either. I started this blog so I could be like the all cool kids (I'm looking at you, Bawaka's Bookfair!). I can be extremely random. My apologies in advance. Thanks for stopping by!! :)

Connect with her on her Facebook page

Please visit often for more UtopYA2015 Lovelies (Unofficial) interviews, 

and check out the announcement post to see

the schedule and links to past interviews.