A Novel Life: THE FIVE W’S Of Cari Kamm

THE FIVE W’S Of Cari Kamm

WHO? Who are you besides a writer?
I have worked in the beauty industry for over a decade, building brands, working behind the scenes, and even selling my own skin care line. I have a master’s in clinical nutrition from New York University. I currently work in corporate social media management with clients in the beauty, fashion, and restaurant industries. Living in New York City with my mutt Schmutz, I love finding inspiration in the most unexpected places, being a novelist, and convincing my boyfriend that ordering takeout and making dinner reservations are equal to cooking.

WHAT? What do you enjoy doing other than writing in your spare time?
Eat! I’m a huge foodie. I blame New York City. I love to talk about food. Look at food. Eat food. I should mention that this refers to restaurants and not cooking. I don’t like to cook. I’m too exhausted to eat afterwards! Also, I’m addicted to Soul Cycle classes. I never thought I would consider working out to be such a blast. Thankfully so... it helps with all the eating I do!

WHEN? When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I’ve always been a storyteller or that person that loved to entertain and make my friends and family laugh. It’s a characteristic I get from my father. I was twenty-eight years old and craving inspiration at a specific point in my life. Here I was in New York City living and loving everything, even a shadow. But, something was missing in my life. So… I researched various hobbies from cooking (high burn risk), painting (too messy), volunteer opportunities, and even new career paths. I ended up taking a creative writing class with Mediabistro and it changed my life. During the class, I had no intention of writing a novel. I was more involved with the class because it challenged me, made me insecure, and sparked my spirit. The workshop assignments got me writing in class and at home. Five years and two books later... I’m still hitting the keys!

WHERE? Where do you write?
I write from home or head out to one of my spots in New York City. Sometimes, I just walk into random restaurants, bookstores, or coffee shops. I find inspiration in the unexpected. Not having a plan is sometimes the perfect plan. I begin first thing in the morning. Before anything can shift my mood or motivation, I make coffee and hit the keys. It might be for thirty minutes or hours. Writing is my morning stretch.
WHY? Why do you write?
I’m truly inspired by combing single letters to create words that are elegantly beautiful, defining, and powerful. To create words that when a reader connects to them, they pause, smile or even become melancholic. They may become inspired or see something familiar even sweeter. In a world so huge that can make us feel so small, writing reminds me how tall I truly am and the heights that I’m capable of reaching.

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For Internal Use Only by Cari Kamm

(taken from GoodReads):

Chloe Kassidy has just been accepted into one of Manhattan’s most exclusive art exhibits, Love Through Light. However, with her singular dedication to her career, she soon realizes that in sacrificing her personal life, she has never been in love. A hopeless romantic who is terrified of heartbreak, Chloe begins to enlist the help of her circle of friends to learn about love through their very different stories and experiences.

In Chloe’s emotional rollercoaster to having the greatest love story ever told, she’ll learn that like her photography she must use the negatives in life to develop and prove that she’s a strong woman who found her way to love through light.

Inspired by the notion that women grow up with ideas of true love and destiny, For Internal Use Only approaches those ideas with a decidedly twenty-first century viewpoint. A humorous love story with an edgy and dramatic twist, For Internal Use Only is a vastly entertaining novel that gives each of us a new fairy tale to look forward too: our own.