Welcome to PLW’s Words with a Wordsmith Friday! Today we catch up with  K.M. King, author of the historical novels The Bomber Jacket and The Bronze Key.

Now, let’s meet K.M!

Do you listen to music while you write or edit? If so, what’s on your writing playlist?

My writing playlist is as varied as my writing. It is often based on the mood of the scene I am writing or the level of energy I need to stay focused. I listen to sound tracks from my favorite Korean, Chinese or Japanese dramas, such as First Frost, Reborn, Destined with You, First Love, a Korean ballad singer (Kim Feel for one) or a K-Pop band or musician (like Jin of BTS). I also listen to evocative classical music and the atmospheric music from Skyrim.

Where is your next vacation planned? Where do you WISH your next vacation would be instead?

My husband and I have taken three of our four grandchildren to Scotland or England when they were between the ages of 11-15. Our final grandchild trip will be in about three years, probably to the remote highlands and islands of Scotland. In addition to that, I WISH I could I would be going to South Korean, Japan and China, but the plane ride is so long, I don’t know if I can do it at this point.

How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

I have six unpublished books: a 3-book contemporary fantasy rom-com and the three remaining books in the Jenna’s Journey series. I also have one half-finished book—a generational mother-daughter saga; a book just underway about a grieving woman who interacts with the ghost of a young Jesuit priest at a retreat center; and a comedy in my head about a 70-something woman who uses the money set aside for her kids’ inheritance to fund a trip to South Korea to stalk her favorite K-Pop and Kdrama stars.

What was the inspiration for your most recent book?

Three things combined to inspire the story of The Bomber Jacket: my fascination with World War II history (my father served in the European theater and I was a history major in college), four trips to Scotland over several decades visiting deserted castle ruins and the haunted grounds of ancient abbeys, and a kernel of an idea that just showed up in my head one day: what if a young college student buys a vintage WW2 bomber jacket and starts dreaming of the pilot?

I also wondered how my parents lived through the heart wrenching and terrifying times of World War II. By the time I started writing The Bomber Jacket, they were both gone and I couldn’t ask all the questions I was then pondering. So, I put some characters on a page and had them tell me their story of how they navigated life, love and loss in the midst of a world conflagration.

I’ve also written a series of blogs on my website detailing the 20-year journey of my novel: The Story of a Book: The Bomber Jacket from First Page to Finally, Published!

What’s the best compliment a reader has ever given you?

It might sound strange, but a friend of mine said after reading The Bomber Jacket, “I was so captivated by the story and characters that I forgot that you were the writer.” I took it to mean I exceeded her expectations.

K.M. King is a novelist and journaling instructor.  Her novel, The Bomber Jacket, a World War II ghost story, was published on August 20, 2024. The first in her four-part young adult fantasy series, set in the England in the 1700s and 1300s, Jenna’s Journey: The Bronze Key, will be available in August 26, 2025. She’s also written two journaling workbooks: Pen, Power and Possibilities: A Guided Journaling Experience to Expand the Horizons of Your Life and Time, Tyrant or Treasure: 11 Steps to Embracing Life in All its Messiness, both available on her website.

Her career has spanned many fields, all of which involved writing in some aspect: personal coaching, corporate training, staff development, journalism, public education, social services, and the U.S. Army.  She belongs to two book clubs, dabbles in abstract art, writes poetry, loves all things Scottish, has fully embraced K-pop (BTS Forever!). She also writes a blog, Kdramaforlife.com, reflections about life as seen through Kdrama (Korean television with subtitles).

Meet up with K.M. on Facebook or Instagram!