Bookpleasures.com welcomesas our guest Kimberly Much is a producer and writer. She started her own independent film and theatre company, Muchmore Productions, LLC in 2013. She has produced and or written numerous short films, commercials, music videos, feature films and Broadway musicals. 

Some of her most notable works include Platypus the Musical, The Middle Distance, Recursion, Video Games: The Movie and Urinetown on the West End. 

Her films and theatrical productions have either won or been nominated in many of the top award shows and film festivals around the world. 

Kimberly recently co-authored with Colette Freedman, The Reluctant Fairy Godmother: and the Absolutely Positively Impossible Good Deed.

Prior to producing and writing, Kimberly has had a rich background as an actress. She trained at American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York and Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. She has been performing since she was five-years-old, either singing, acting, dancing, or doing voice-overs. She has performed on cruise-ships, in films, commercials and International and National Tours. After having adopted her beautiful daughter Madeline she decided to focus more on family friendly projects such as The Reluctant Fairy Godmother! 

Norm: Good day Kimberly and thanks for participating in our interview

What do you consider to be your greatest success (or successes) so far in your various careers?

Kimberly: I have had the honor of working with some of the most amazing actors and creative teams, and being in or producing works that I believe have made a difference in our industry. I am so thankful to have been a part of each and everyone project, but I believe my biggest success is being a mom to my daughter Madeline. My husband James and I were so lucky to have adopted Madeline 9 months ago. She is my world and I’m thankful to call her my daughter every single day.

Norm; What motivated you to become an actress and what was your training?

Kimberly: I started acting at a very young age. I liked the idea that you could become a completely different person in whichever world the character was living in. It allowed me to “experience” different emotions and different types of people through acting. I have studied both musical theatre and acting at American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York and Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London.

Norm: Do you believe that actors need room for their own creativity and if so, why?

Kimberly: “Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way” – Edward de Bono. That being said, yes, I believe that you need both space and collaboration to truly create innovative work. 

Norm: What are the qualities in actors you most admire?

Kimberly: I think there are a lot of admirable qualities seasoned actors have aquired. I personally have always admired someone who is very driven and a hard worker. Many people are blessed to have a natural talent but I think there is nothing more admirable than someone who is willing to work hard and is respectful of one’s peers. I also believe in order to be a good actor you must not only be smart but be someone who is willing to take risks, break some rules and be okay with looking like an idiot at times.

Norm: What would make you turn down a role?

Kimberly: I think it’s vital to turn down a job when you don’t connect with it. When going into acting as a profession it’s extremely important to know who you are and what you are comfortable doing. Personally I would turn down a role if I didn’t connect with the character, if I didn’t feel that the morals of the project aligned with mine, or if the creative team wasn’t supportive.

Norm: What has your other work as an actress, writer and producer  taught you that you have been able to apply to The Reluctant Fairy Godmother?

Kimberly: Acting, producing and writing have taught me how to empathize with others. I find if you write with empathy it allows the readers to resonate with the work more. In writing The Reluctant Fairy Godmother it was crucial to have an empathetic nature to all the characters and the world they live in. So to answer the question I think the biggest thing I have learned from other projects that was incorporated in The Reluctant Fairy Godmother was a sense of empathy.

Norm: How did you divide up the writing of  The Reluctant Fairy Godmother with Colette Freedman, your co-author?

Kimberly: Having worked on past projects together Colette and I have always had a very open line of communication. We started the book by hashing out the plot points, characters and the world they live in as much as possible. We went back and forth a lot until we were both comfortable with each element of the book.

Norm: How did both of you decide to write the book and how long did it take to write the book?

Kimberly: Because Colette and I have truly enjoyed collaborating in the past. We decided to write this book as we both felt there was a need for young people to not only understand adoption, but for those who have been adopted or have had adoption touch their world in some way to be able to connect with a strong character like Frankie. From concept to creation the book took about a year.

Norm: For the writing of the book, did the story come first, or the world it operates in? 

Kimberly: Though we started with some of the characters neither the characters or the world they lived in could be even close to being fully developed without the contribution of one another. So yes, we started by getting to know Frankie but so many different factors came into tying everything together.

Norm: How did you know when to stop revising the writing of the book? 

Kimberly: To be completely honest, I don’t know if a book is ever done. For us we decided to stop revising the book when the small changes that we were altering stopped adding anything significant to the overall story and journey of Frankie. 

Norm: What was the most difficult part about writing this book and what do you hope will be the everlasting thoughts for readers who finish your book? 

Kimberly: I think the most difficult part was ensuring that Frankie was an honest and multi layered character. We wanted to make sure that her persona allowed young readers to not only see themselves in parts of her but also realize how truly special they are. Not everyone has an obvious specific talent that sets them apart from others. But if you really look deep down every single person has something that makes them unique. We wanted our young readers to walk away with a confident personal reflection of themselves.

Norm: What projects are you working on at the present? We would love to hear about them.

Kimberly: I’m currently working on a couple of different projects both in theatre and film all in development or in pre production.

Norm: Where can our readers find out more about you and The Reluctant Fairy Godmother?

Kimberly: You can subscribe to our newsletters and find out more information on OUR WEBSITE as well as follow us on facebook at The Reluctant Fairy Godmother, twitter @FairyReluctant and Instagram @thereluctantfairygodmother2019 and of course you can purchase our book on Amazon.

Norm: As this interview comes to an end, what question do you wish that someone would ask about your book, but nobody has? 

Kimberly: I think the question I hope to be asked about the book is “Why is this book important to share with the world?”

Which of course I have so many answers to. The fact that it’s allowing adoption to be at the forefront of people’s minds, giving a voice to those who struggle to find their own voice and also allowing one to understand that just by being you, you’re already special.

Norm: Thanks once again and good luck with all of your future endeavors