{"id":1167,"date":"2014-05-26T09:00:55","date_gmt":"2014-05-26T15:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/travisheermann.com\/blog\/?p=1167"},"modified":"2014-05-16T11:34:53","modified_gmt":"2014-05-16T17:34:53","slug":"author-interview-series-77-kelley-armstrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travisheermann.com\/blog\/2014\/05\/26\/author-interview-series-77-kelley-armstrong\/","title":{"rendered":"Author Interview Series #77 – Kelley Armstrong"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\"\"New York Times Bestselling Author Kelley Armstrong is a born storyteller, one of those kids that invariably dismayed her teachers. “If asked for a story about girls and dolls, mine would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls,” she says. All efforts to make her produce \u201cnormal\u201d stories failed. Even now, today, she is locked away in her writing dungeon, spinning tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves. You know, the fun stuff.<\/p>\n

With four books, three novels and an anthology, being released in 2014, she is cranking out the word count, and still found time to talk to us.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

TH: What is The Story of Kelley? An urban fantasy monster-fest? A mythical, childlike adventure?<\/strong><\/p>\n

KA: I was born in Sudbury, Ontario, moved to London, Ontario as an infant and grew up there with three younger siblings. I attended the University of Western Ontario for a BA in Psychology, then Fanshawe College for computer programming. Sold my first novel “Bitten” in 1999, but continued working as a programmer until I sold the second novel. Live in rural southwestern Ontario with my husband and three kids. Yep, pretty normal!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"
\nTH: <\/strong>What were your first serious creative impulses that led you to a creative career?<\/strong><\/p>\n

KA: Honestly? I don’t know. I’ve been interested in the paranormal since early childhood. I often jokingly blame Scooby Doo, but that was probably my first exposure to werewolves, vampires and things that go bump in the night.<\/p>\n

TH: <\/strong>Do you have any writing stuck away somewhere that will never see the light of day, but nevertheless helped you build your skills? <\/strong><\/p>\n

KA: Lots! Besides countless short stories, I have three completed novels that I\u2019ll never publish and many partials that I\u2019ll never finish. Of course, at the time, I thought they were perfect. Now I know they were crap. They were practice work that helped me improve my craft until I was ready for publication.<\/p>\n

TH: <\/strong>Every writer has things they would like to accomplish, e.g. first sale, next sale, first novel sale, first bestseller, etc. What accomplishment are you striving for right now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

KA: Maintenance. I\u2019ve gotten to a place I\u2019m very happy with. It\u2019s a good balance of success and stress. I\u2019ve learned that (at least for me) success brings stress\u2014increased pressure, expectations etc\u2014and I\u2019ve hit the perfect balance. My mission now is how stay in the sweet spot.<\/p>\n

TH: <\/strong>What about the writing process most appeals to you? What is the most fun?<\/strong><\/p>\n

KA: There isn\u2019t any part that I dislike, but if I had to pick my favourite, it would be writing the first draft. It\u2019s the creative process of seeing an idea unfold into a story that I like best. That\u2019s the most fun and most appealing. Next would be editing, because I really appreciate that chance to polish the story!<\/p>\n

TH: <\/strong>Have your reached the point at which you realized that you had \u201cmade it\u201d as an writer? If so, can you describe the milestone or circumstances where you had that realization? Do you recall how that felt? If not, what is the milestone you\u2019re seeking?<\/strong><\/p>\n

KA: I\u2019m often asked at what point I felt successful. It\u2019s never been a point, but rather a process. I thought when I first sold a book, I\u2019d have that \u201cI made it!\u201d moment. Then I worried something would go wrong and it wouldn\u2019t come out, so I thought I\u2019d get my moment when it hit the shelves. Then I worried it wouldn\u2019t sell and I\u2019d lose my chance at this great career, so I thought it\u2019d come when I reached a bestseller list. Then I\u2026 You get the point. That makes it sound like I\u2019m constantly worrying and dissatisfied with my progress, which isn\u2019t the case at all. I\u2019m extremely happy with my career, more so than most authors I know. I definitely feel like I\u2019ve made it, yet there was no defining moment.<\/p>\n

TH: <\/strong>Some say that artists have to look at themselves as a business, a branded commodity. Do you take that approach?<\/strong><\/p>\n

KA: It\u2019s tough to talk about branding and commodities as a genre writer. When I do, it makes it sound like I\u2019m pumping out product, which couldn\u2019t be further from the truth. I know what would make my books more marketable, yet I don\u2019t make those changes because they interfere with what I want to do creatively. I absolutely love storytelling, and I would never sacrifice that passion for profit. That said, though, when I consider a new endeavour, I do look at how it fits my \u201cbrand\u201d\u2014i.e. what the market and my readers expect from me. I weigh that against my excitement for the project. If there are two projects to choose from and I\u2019m equally excited about both, but one is more suitable as a \u201cKelley Armstrong\u201d project, I\u2019ll take that one. It\u2019s just good business sense, and there needs to be a little of that in my long-term plan if I want to keep feeding my family!<\/p>\n

TH: <\/strong>What are the most effective ways you have found to promote yourself?<\/strong><\/p>\n

KA: I think the most effective thing an author can do promotionally is write the next book. Nothing should interfere with building a backlist, because it will pay off\u2014it certainly has in my case. Otherwise, I believe we should be aware of all the various ways we can promote our books, try as many as we can, and stick with the ones we find both effective and enjoyable. For example, I don’t blog because I can’t help but think of a blog as “500 words I could have used telling a story.” So instead, I write e-serials, which I offer free (and later put up as e-books) Is that effective as promotion? I don\u2019t know, but I love doing it and readers seem to appreciate it, and that\u2019s what matters for me.<\/p>\n

TH: <\/strong>Can you recall a moment when a two or more influences or inspirations came together and smacked you with a cool idea?<\/strong><\/p>\n

KA: My next book\u2014Sea of Shadows<\/strong>\u2014is a perfect example of that. I\u2019d wanted to write a YA horror and epic fantasy crossover for years, but when I\u2019d never had a clear-cut plot. I just knew the genres. When I watched the first season of Game of Thrones, I was struck by that very first scene in episode one, with the massacre in the woods. I wanted to stick to that, but of course the story moved elsewhere quickly. Then I was talking to someone about Japan\u2019s Sea of Trees, and I watched a video of volunteers going into the forest to retrieve the bodies of suicide victims. The two things\u2014that video and the Game of Thrones opening scene\u2014collided and gave me an idea for the inciting incident for Sea of Shadows.<\/strong><\/p>\n

TH: What is the most memorable moment (good, bad, or other) you have had in your life as a writer?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There have been so many. I\u2019ll give one that stuck with me\u2026for good and for bad. The day Bitten<\/strong> was released, my husband and I were out for dinner, and I wanted to stop by this tiny book store. I doubted they\u2019d have it\u2014first day of release for a debut author\u2014but I had to check. They had two copies on the new-fiction shelf, and I was so thrilled. I told the clerk that I\u2019d written them and asked if they\u2019d like them signed. I\u2019m an introvert, so it was tough to work up the nerve to do this, but I managed it. She just gave me this look like \u201cWhy would we want you to sign them?\u201d She said I\u2019d have to speak to the manager. I wrote down my name and number and said I\u2019d happily come back to sign them. I never heard back, and I got the feeling she trashed my number as soon as I walked out the door. It was very . . . humbling. Let\u2019s just say it was many years before I offered to sign a store\u2019s stock again!<\/p>\n

TH: <\/strong>What can readers expect to see from you in the near future? What are you working on?<\/strong><\/p>\n

KA: Lots! Sea of Shadows<\/strong> comes out in April. Then in May it\u2019s Odin\u2019s Ravens<\/strong>, book 2 in my middle-grade Blackwell Pages middle-grade trilogy (co-written with Melissa Marr.) The second in the Cainsville series (Visions<\/strong>) comes out in August. I still have a few Otherworld projects on the go, due out late this year (an anthology, a graphic novella and a prose novella.) I\u2019m currently writing an e-serial novella for my \u201ccompleted\u201d YA series. I\u2019ll start posting chapters from that in May.<\/p>\n\n\n