Interview with Krista Phillips

About the Author

Krista Phillips writes contemporary romance sprinkled with two of her favorite things, laughter and Jesus. And sometimes chocolate for kicks and giggles. She lives in Middle Tennessee with her husband and their four beautiful daughters, and is an advocate for congenital heart defect and organ donation awareness. Visit her online at www.kristaphillips.com.

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The Interview

Fun Questions

1. What is your favorite dessert?
Brownies. FUDGE brownies to be specific. Made from the box. NO frosting. NO nuts. Just brownies. <happy sigh>

2. What is your favorite beverage?
Dr Pepper. But I’m REALLY trying to quit. (not hard enough, given the bottle beside me… :)

3. What is your favorite movie and/or TV show?
You’ve Got Mail. My husband and I got married in 1999, the movie came out in 1999, and we met online! It is our “theme” movie. OH and my favorite flowers are daises too. And I am a writer (albeit not for kids…) Regardless, I sigh as I watch it while eating brownies and drinking Dr Pepper….

4. Where is your favorite place to go on holiday?
The beach. Usually down at the gulf. Sun, sand, waves, a good book in my hand! Ahhh, perfect!

Author Questions

1. What did you want to be when you grew up? Did becoming an author ever cross your mind?
I changed my mind a lot. I wanted to be a pediatrician, but ew blood. Then I wanted to be a teacher, cause I always found it fun when we swapped papers at school and I got to mark answers wrong on classmates papers. Those red X’s were fun… but then realized that enjoying marking answers wrong was probably not a good attribute for a teacher. I loved to write, but I also loved math. Since math paid more, and bills needed paid, I went into an accounting-type field to help pay the bills, but still never lost my love for writing. I now work part-time in accounting and part-time as a writer. Best of both worlds!

2. What authors do you enjoy?  Do these authors inspire your own writing?
Oh goodness. This list could get VERY long. There are so many. I’ll stick to the contemporary romance genre, so I’d say Becky Wade, Melissa Tagg, Pepper Basham, Katie Ganshert, Courtney Walsh—oh goodness. I’ll stop here but there are SO MANY MORE! And reading a good book definitely helps inspire me!!!

3. How many publishers have you written for and who are these publishers?
Technically, 3. My debut novel was with Abingdon Press, then I dipped my toe into indie publishing under my own publisher name, OWD Publishing, and The Engagement Plot is published through Shiloh Run Press, an imprint of Barbour.

4. When you are not writing, what other "hats" do you wear?
​It’d probably be easier to list the hats I don’t wear. I am wife, mom to 4 kids, a wanna-be-nurse to my youngest who has some special medical needs, treasurer and church board member at my local church, bookkeeper, wanna-be book cover designer, blogger. Of course, just the title of “Mom” adds on cook, housekeeper, taxi driver and a host of other hats. But for the sake of time, I’ll just keep the summary of “mom” for those ​

Book Related Questions

1. What inspired the idea for The Engagement Plot?
At some point I started watching The Bachelor/The Bachelorette. I know, not the most wholesome show. I don’t know why I got hooked. I always teased that it was for research. HA. But most good books start with a question, and my questions were: 1.) What happens to the contestants AFTER the show? And 2.) What must it feel like for the small handful of Christians who have been on the show and confessed that they were and planned to stay until they were married, a virgin? Because the secular show REALLY plays that up and makes it like it is some huge oddity—like only aliens can wait for marriage to sleep with their significant other. So that was the initial inspiration. But it evolved into so much more than that. It’s about those snap judgements we make of people based on media that is very slanted. It’s about how we judge people when we don’t really know them. It’s about the fact that everyone has a backstory, a reason for how they are, and often time that backstory is tragic. It’s about how easy it is to tune God out when we focus on ourselves instead of Him.

2. What do you want readers to take away from The Engagement Plot?
First, I hope they take away a laugh. Life is hard sometimes, and I truly pray that they get a few laughs to help lighten up their day. Second, my hope and prayer for every book I write is that the reader is encouraged to dig deeper into their faith. My characters dealt with things that were specific to their story, so that will probably relate to every reader differently. I do hope they see the value of grace, though. And I do hope they see the value of looking beyond the surface of those they may perceive as their enemy to see what God sees underneath, something of worth and something that is most definitely salvageable.

3. What is your current WIP?  What can you tell us about this project?
​I’m working on Carly’s story from The Engagement Plot! It is still in a fairly early stage, so I don’t want to say a lot yet because it is subject to change, but if you’ve read The Engagement Plot, you know Carly is a fun, passionate woman who is amazing, but also has her own fair share of deep hurts she is trying to cover up. I can’t wait to share her story with you all!

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