Author Interview--Kate Martin

Good Friday,

I present my first author interview of 2013! Today we have Kate Martin with us, and as always, the author will do the talking.

About Kate:
Kate Martin is an adjunct professor by day, a dance teacher by night, and a writer every minute in between. Growing up on the side of a Connecticut mountain in the middle of nowhere wasn’t much good for afterschool shenanigans with friends, but it was spectacular for building an over-active imagination. After getting her B.A. in Elementary Education, with a minor in Psychology, she found Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction Program, graduating with her M.A. in June ‘08. Her novel, Eternal Shadows, has been published by Cool Well Press, and is available at both Amazon and Barnes and Noble. You can visit her website at www.kate-martin.com.

-What book and/or experience made you want to be a writer?

I like to think I was always a writer. I’ve come across elementary teachers who remember me as writing pages and pages . . . But there was one book that made me think, “Hey, I could do this. I could write a novel.” That book was Wizard’s First Rule, by Terry Goodkind. I read it the first time as a freshman in college, and in a truly geeky fashion, I set out to write my first novel while my roommate studied and studied and studied. I’m not sure I can say exactly what it was about Wizard’s First Rule that gave me the final push I needed to write, but I am, and will be, eternally grateful for it.

-What genre(s) do you write?

I am a fantasy writer to the core, though I have branched out within that genre plenty. I have a paranormal romance, an urban fantasy, a high epic fantasy, and another which I am learning seems best described as a “paranormal fantasy.”

-Publication history?

I have two short stories published. The first, Poisonous Redemption, can be found in the anthology Rage of the Behemoth, published by Rouge Blades Entertainment. And its prequel, The Heir of Redemption, was recently released in the charity anthology, Hazard Yet Forward. Both are about a young woman working to avenge her family and reclaim her birthright. They were my first experimentation with Sword and Sorcery. Links for each (along with more detailed descriptions and illustrations) can be found on my website under Short Stories.

Last Valentine’s Day (almost a year, I can’t believe it!) my YA novel, Eternal Shadows, was released by Cool Well Press. It’s a vampire story, but a bit different from the others out there. In Eternal Shadows, the main character is turned in the first chapter! I really wanted to play around with what it would be like to become a vampire, rather than just fall in love with one--though that happens too.  Between past lives, and a vampire civil war, my main character, Kassandra, has a lot to handle!

-Upcoming publication(s) or works in progress?

None I can talk about at the moment. ;)

-Spoilers?

Here’s a quick scene from Eternal Shadows, my Young Adult Paranormal! Available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble!

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“Kassandra?” Millie’s soft voice broke through my anxiety. She still stood in the doorway, patient as ever. “Would you like to meet him?”

Cade got up and left the room without a word. I didn’t care why. Glancing up at Rhys one more time, I checked my resolve. Time to meet the human who would serve as my main source of food. I still couldn’t quite wrap my mind around it. Seeing that Rhys appeared ready to grab me if I tried to bolt, I nodded. No time like the present.

Millie’s smile grew and she looked out into the hall. “Come on in. She’s ready.”

Something about the way she said that made me think that my feeder had been warned about me. Great.

I’m not sure why I was surprised by what walked through the door, but I was. Even after meeting Brody, who was normal in every way aside from being impossibly handsome, I must have still expected feeders to be these helpless, perhaps malnourished, looking things. Why, I had no idea. Really, it didn’t make any sense. But my thoughts were my thoughts, and they didn’t always make perfect sense even when I was human. My feeder--god, I was already thinking like that--was no older than me, and far from malnourished. Not fat, but not thin either, he was probably perfectly positioned in the weight range for his height. He was pale, but he had more color than I did at the moment so I couldn’t really judge him on that. Glasses assisted dark eyes that matched his hair, and he was dressed exactly as the guys I went to school with would have been.

It was like someone bringing you a live chicken to eat for dinner, but you take one look at its little face and suddenly you’re ordering pizza and you have a new pet. Crap.
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-For other aspiring writers, any tips?

Write. Write as often as you can, then let someone read it. Find other writers you can trust, and who will support you (and of course, who can trust you to support them back!) Then go online and learn how to write a decent query letter. Nothing happens if you keep your writing to yourself!

-What’s your favorite book/genre to read?

Fantasy. I love fantasy. For me, nothing is better than exploring a world different from our own. Magic, and mystery, and creatures, and danger, and love--it all adds up to a perfect book in my opinion. A few of my favorites at the moment are The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare, The Inheritance Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin, and the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne. (I have a thing for series, if you can’t tell. Ha!)

-What’s your favorite thing you’ve ever written?

My favorite thing I’ve ever written . . . hm . . . Isn’t that like asking who your favorite child is? All my stories are special to me in different ways, but I can say this: I have never had as much fun writing as I did with the last book I finished this past year. It’s a new series, a “paranormal fantasy,” and full of characters who I love, and love to hate. Writing it was like sitting down and reading a great book; an adventure every day. Many times I had no idea what was about to happen--and somehow it all worked out beautifully. (If I may say so myself.) Hopefully I’ll have some good news about this one in the near future . . . ^_^

Want more from Kate?

Visit her website. Follow her on Twitter @katewmartin, and check out her Eternal Shadows Facebook page.