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My first writers' conference/retreat was in 2002. I'd written a whole lot of words before then, but I'd never studied writing craft, which meant that I used the components, but couldn't name them. So when the freelance editor who reviewed my scene asked, "Whose point of view is this in?" I cocked my head, confused by the question. She continued, "You know. Whose head are we in? Whose point of view?" I thought this over for about five seconds and replied with what I felt was the perfectly obvious reply. "Well, the same point of view all my stories are written in. Kimberly's point of view." I'm sure she thought, Oh Boy.

I saw myself as the invisible narrator, telling the reader what a particular character was thinking and feeling and doing in each scene. After all, if we were truly in a character's point of view, why would the character be thinking of him or herself in third person? If I'm relating a story about something that happened to me, I don't say, "Kimberly parked her silver convertible under the tree's canopy and then..." I'll say, "I parked my car under the tree and then..."

In real life, only eccentrics, egomaniacs, and a few foreign dictators (who probably fall into one of the first two categories anyway) go around referring to themselves in third person. But in books, while there can be an all-knowing narrator, more often the convention is to write about characters in the third person from the character's point of view. Except, that is, for books that are written in "first person."

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Writing has its emotional ups and downs. Some days, I feel hilarious and brilliant, but sometimes, I have "you call yourself a writer?" moments.

When I began Barely Bewitched, I got to around fifteen thousand words and something started to needle me. As the word count rose, so did my discomfort. Finally I had to stop writing to read through what I'd written, which is around the time my worst fears were realized.

"Oh, no," I exclaimed. "I knew it. I told my critique partners that I'm not funny! And what's going on with this pacing?"

I cleared my throat and addressed the characters in the book. "Why are you all just standing around talking? I need to see some action. Preferably some funny action."

They responded, "We're not lifeless. We're just written that way."

"What the hell?! This is mutiny. You guys are supposed to show me the way. Now what am I going to do?"

I contemplated things for a moment and realized that often in a crisis situation, drastic measures have to be taken.

"Is Barnes and Noble open? They have dark roast coffee." I slid my gaze to the clock. "Yes, I only need to break four speed limits to get there in time. Quick, find socks."

Then the Voice of Reason (VOR) asked, "Will a shot of espresso make you witty?"

I yanked on my shoes and said, "Anything's possible."

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I'm Kimberly Frost, and I'm the author of the Southern Witch series brought to you by the Berkley publishing group. The series features a young woman named Tammy Jo Trask who was minding her own business and working as a pastry chef in a small Texas town, when her long--dormant-and seemingly broken--magical powers emerged.

In recent interviews, I've been asked why I chose to write about witches. I usually talk about having been interested in the history of witchcraft and in its varied potential for plot twists, but my answers are actually something of a smokescreen, since I'm not sure that I chose to write about witches at all. You see, there are some writers who choose their stories and others who feel like their stories choose them. (I'm part of that latter group whose characters are so real that sometimes I know more about their backgrounds than I remember about my own.)

The follow up to the "Why witches?" question is often: "Why did you become a writer?" That one's easy. "I couldn't help myself." I'm part of a community that we'll refer to as "The Afflicted."

Kimberly Frost is our guest blogger during the week of September 8th. If you have any questions for Kimberly Frost, add a comment to any of her posts. Here is some more information about Barely Bewitched:

Welcome to Duvall, Texas, where new witch Tammy Jo Trask has just unleashed an accidental Armageddon...Oops.

Tammy Jo's misfiring magic has attracted the unwanted attention of WAM, the World Association of Magic. Now, a wand-wielding wizard and a menacing fire warlock have come to Duvall to train her for a dangerous mandatory challenge. But is there more to their arrival than they claim?

When a curse leads to a toxic spill of pixie dust, the town comes unglued and the doors between the human and faery worlds begin to open. To rescue the town and to face the impossible magical test, Tammy needs the help of incredibly handsome Bryn Lyons, but WAM has declared him totally off-limits. To avoid deadly consequences, Tammy probably ought to follow the rules this time.

On the other hand, rebellion is an old Texas tradition.

About Kimberly Frost 

Kimberly Frost wasn't born in Texas, but she got there as fast as she could. Currently at home in a small town known as Houston, she is taking dictation from her characters and working on her "Southern Witch" series. She loves to hear from readers.