As we count down to the launch of Into the Fire, I wanted to introduce you to my two awesome guest hosts. Australian author K. A. Last is in the middle of releasing her three-part series All the Things. Part 1, Something, and Part 2, Nothing, are out now, and the final instalment, Everything, will be released September 18. You can find out more about her – and her paranormal romance series The Tate Chronicles, paranormal standalone The Lovely Dark, and sweet middle grade adventure Immagica – at her website or Facebook page.
And you can find out more about co-host Selina Fenech here.
What inspired your new series?
I’d be lying if I didn’t say my own experiences with high school. Although, All the Things has a lot of stuff in it that never happened to me, but probably happened to my friends at the time. I wanted to write about how hard and confusing it is to be a teenager, so I based that want on what I remember from my teenage years.
What’s it been like releasing it in three parts, so close together?
To be honest, it feels like it’s taking forever. Because I had all three books ready to go and uploaded all the files at the same time, the wait between releases has felt like three months, not three weeks. I think it has made me a little blasé about it all. I’m going to give the series a big push though when book three is out on September 18.
How different was it writing a contemporary romance after your paranormal series?
I didn’t find it that different. It’s basically the same without the supernatural stuff. I had already written a good chunk of this story a few years ago (as it happens with all my books – I have so many stories started), so coming back to an emotional-based story was a refreshing change from all the action and blood spilling.
Your main character Katie drinks a lot of hot chocolate – is that because you like it too? Is there a lot of you in her, or vice versa?
Katie is very much like me. There is a lot of me in her, and the series. So yes, I guess she likes hot chocolate because I do. I find that all my characters have some traits similar to my own, or like I want to be. Katie is probably the one character I’ve written so far who is mostly based on me and my experiences – with a lot of fiction/fabrication thrown in as well.
You recently escaped the city and moved to the country with your family – how has that impacted on your writing?
I had hoped I would be able to have more time to write since I now work my day job one day a week instead of three, but it seems there is always something that needs doing. I’m also trying to finish my degree. On a usual day I’m at my desk around nine am, but I have two kids and there are six of us in the one house, so I’m constantly interrupted. More than twelve months on I still haven’t managed to find a routine.
You have some exciting events coming up, can you tell us about those.
Yes! I’m an attending author at Romancing the Coast in Surfers Paradise in Queensland on September 22, and also at the West Coast Fiction Festival in Scarborough, Perth, Western Australia, on November 2. I love attending these events and having the opportunity to meet and talk to the readers.
What are you working on now book-wise?
Um … nothing lol. I have quite a few stories started, but writing has taken a back seat because of uni, work, and my design business. I’m at the point where I need to decide on what to focus on next. I have a duology and a five-part series in the works, but I’m thinking I might fall back onto a standalone I’ve been composting for a couple of years. I’m still undecided.
What’s composting?
I once read a blog post about how to outline and write a novel, and there was one term used that has stuck with me ever since. Composting is where an author spends time thinking about their story, turning it over in their mind, listening to their characters speak, and imagining scenes and events. I usually do the most composting when I first get a story idea. I’ll think about it for weeks, sometimes even months, before I get anywhere near the outlining stage. So it’s basically just thinking 🙂
What’s your best advice to someone wanting to write a book?
Put your bum in the chair and write. Stop thinking about it and just do it!
Get the Books
Book links for American readers
Something: All the Things Book 1
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