Today I'd like to welcome, Katie M. John!
Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions.
I'm excited to have you and can't wait to learn more about you.
1. Where do you find inspiration for your books?
2. Is there a routine to your writing?
3. Who are some of your favorite writers? How have they inspired you?
4. What are you working on now?
5. What advice would you give to unpublished writers?
I find inspiration for my books literally everywhere. I've spent almost all of my life studying literature either for myself or with students in a classroom. A lot of my inspiration has come from my love of the classics, the history they are part of and the art movements that ran along side; but just as inspirational have been the real life experiences of working in a London comprehensive school for fifteen years, and my own complex teenagehood. I am inspired to write YA books that communicate a shared understanding of what it is to be different, which celebrate uniqueness, and the under-represented.
2. Is there a routine to your writing?
Now that my littlest is at nursery in the mornings, I am very disciplined about a good three hour morning stint everyday. It's not always been like this. When I was working full time, I literally wrote whenever I could. It's a blessing to have dedicated writing time every day.
3. Who are some of your favorite writers? How have they inspired you?
This is such a hard question. My favourite authors of all time are Wilde, Golding, Huxley, Hardy, Shakespeare, Orwell, Poe, Lovecraft, Stoker, and more contemporary authors, Atwood, Green, Mantel, Ellis, and Palahnuik. These are the writers who have created a love thought and language. But I have a special group of authors who have taught me the love of story-telling, Stephanie Meyer, Becca Fitzpatrick, Lauren Kate, Aprilynne Pike opened my eyes to the fantasy genre and what pleasures are at the heart of it. If it hadn't been for my reading of 'Twilight' six years ago, my life would not be as it is. I will always hold it dear for that reason.
Oh, goodness, you've caught me at the most extraordinary time. It's a period where three pieces are culminating at the same point. I am in the final rewrites and checks of my 12 part episodic serial 'Beautiful Freaks', which releases on December 4th. Each episode is 10,000 words and it is a Gothic, dreadpunk, detective fairy tale series. I have literally today started sending out the ARC copies of 'When Sorrows Come', an upper YA contemporary Romance with a serious edge, and finally, I am 60k words into book 3 of 'The Meadowsweet Chronicles', an upper YA occult / Paranormal Contemporary Witch series.
5. What advice would you give to unpublished writers?
MAKE IT HAPPEN - It's a short and sweet piece of advice but it's the one that's got me to this point. I say this every time I am in doubt.
Coffee or Tea
Coffee with honey in the morning, Tea (Assam or Ceylon) after 11am
Wine or Beer
Oh, goodness, wine! Maybe a cheeky G&T with lime not lemon. Preferably Tanqueray.
Movies or Books
Books
Hemsworth or Pratt
Neither
Summer or Winter
Autumn
Beach or Mountains
Beach
Pizza or Cheeseburger
Cheeseburger
Love at First Sight or Friends to Lovers
Love at First Sight (It worked for me)
Halloween or Christmas
Halloween
Game of Thrones or Outlander
Bio
Katie lives in London UK, with two cheeky
Mud-puddle fairies, and a handsome giant. She is author of the best-selling YA
Contemporary Arthurian series, ‘The Knight Trilogy’ and the Upper YA series,
‘The Meadowsweet Chronicles.’ She writes dark fairy tales, horror and
contemporary YA Romance.
Katie is now a full time author after having
taught English in a London Comprehensive for over fifteen years. She is founder
of Chapter.Con. London, a YA and NA
conference for Readers, Bloggers and Authors. She is also founder of Little
Bird Publishing, an ethical, indie press house. You can find out more about
Katie and her books over at her Amazon author page
You can
find out more about Katie and her books over at her Amazon Author Page
BEAUTIFUL
FREAKS: A 12 PART SERIAL
A dark and twisted saga that winds its way
through the Victorian streets of London like a luxurious and lethal ribbon.
When a series of terrifying and seemingly
paranormal murders occur at a rapid rate, panic and fear grip the city. Still
haunted by the ghost of the Whitechapel Ripper case, Inspector Steptree is
forced to admit the murderer he now pursues maybe even more wicked and brutal.
As the case closes down on the mysterious No.7 club, owned by the enigmatic
Evangeline Valentine, Steptree discovers that evil is far from a fantasy.
It is against this backdrop that Kaspian
Blackthorne turns eighteen and begins his apprenticeship under the scientific
maverick, Doctor Greyson, a pioneer in brain surgery, and human transplantation.
Whilst Kaspian is introduced to the horrors and wonders of man’s scientific
progress, he also begins an epic adventure of self-discovery and infatuation.
Guided into the decadent and luxuriant world of the London West End night scene
by his new friend Hugh Denvers, Kaspian tastes the sweet temptation of a life
less ordinary, but such a privilege comes at a terrible price.
A cast of timeless characters and dark,
grown-up fairy tales interweave to create a rich and haunting tale of fear and
desire.
Based on the original novel, ‘Beautiful
Freaks’ written and published in 2013 by Katie M John, this series is a
development of that world. This is the first season of a planned three seasons.
You can find out more about this season and forthcoming seasons on the official
site. www.katiemjohn.com
#Gothic
#Dreadpunk #Paranormal #Demons #Fae #FairyTales #Phantoms #Vampires #Creations
#Frankenstein #ParanormalRomance #Murder #Detective #Horror #SecretSocieties #CrossOver
#UpperYA
WHEN
SORROWS COME by Katie M John
A
Contemporary Upper YA Romance
OUT
JANUARY 14th 2016
“When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions!” Shakespeare: Hamlet.
Seventeen year old, Ophelia is in love with
the tall, dark and handsome Malachi: Mathematical Genius, Poet, Swimmer, and
Narcissist.
Drawn together by their own
self-destructive impulses, they begin a consuming and twisted tango of desire
and rejection.
As Ophelia learns to cope with her mother’s
bi-polar episodes, she discovers the world can soon become a dark and lonely
place when left to face it on your own.
When Malachi’s mother marries his uncle,
Malachi’s word turns on a spindle, his previously charmed life invaded by a
monster.
With Malachi’s increasing paranoia and
anger starting to take over his life, it is only Ophelia who can offer any kind
of salvation; only Malachi doesn’t know how to love anything other than his future
dream of greatness.
Finding herself caught in an exquisitely
bitter-sweet relationship, Ophelia falls in love with a boy who will only
realise his love for her when it is too late.
UPPER YA. 15+ Contains more adult themes of
sexual relationships, self-harm, drinking, drugs and more adult language.
Available on pre-order from all Amazon
worldwide platforms.
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