Dear Writer: Episode 34

We began by asking Kaitlyn how she got started writing. Kaitlyn began writing at a young age, and published her first book while she was still in school. Her writing was (and still is) influenced by anime, and she describes her writing as YA urban fantasy.

We then talked about Kaitlyn’s experience with publishing as a young author. Kaitlyn chose to publish her Dark Irregular series under a traditional/hybrid method and paid a publishing company to edit, design and distribute her book. While she now self-publishes, she found this a great introduction to publishing, and she was able to have the final say over final edits and the book cover design.

We then talked about the first of her Cardholder Series, Red Blood. Red Blood is a YA Urban Fantasy novel, told in the first person from the viewpoint of seventeen-year-old Neela Blydes, as she’s forced to participate in a tournament to find the new leader of her domain (similar to a country). The leader’s title is called ‘Cardholder.’

We then discussed her Dark Irregular Trilogy, which centers around an orphan named Kanna as she is recruited to train at the palace of the Crimson Rose. As the book progresses, Kanna is attacked by dark spirits, called ‘Shadows’. She must figure out why the shadows are targeting her, and why she seems to have a connection with a powerful dark being, The Dark Irregular.

We then talked a bit about Kaitlyn’s writing process and how it’s changed since first writing. She previously leaned toward the extreme end of pantsing, but now after learning more about novel writing, she likes to loosely plan out the main events. She still allows herself a lot of flexibility, however. Her world-building style grows from this approach—she has a basic idea, but much of the world building is created in sync with the story. The second Cardholder novel, Two More Lives is scheduled to come out sometime in the spring of next year.

Kaitlyn rounded off the episode by asking us a question: How do we determine if an emotional scene has enough intensity? We discussed the feelings we have when writing emotional scenes, and how exploring our own emotions deeply is important to ensure the feeling is funneled onto the page.

You can find more about Kaitlyn by visiting her webpage, or follow her on Instagram and goodreads. Kaitlyn’s books are available across most major platforms.