Author Interview - Kacey Vanderkarr

Brook Cottage Books is thrilled to have Kacey Vanderkarr, author of Antithesis, visiting the blog today. Thanks for agreeing to be interviewed Kacey.

Author: Kacey Vanderkarr
Publisher: Inkspell Publishing

Genre: YA Sci-Fi Romance
Release Date: July 21st, 2013
Length: Super Novel
ISBN: (Print) 978-1-939590-16-9
ISBN: (ebook) 978-1-939590-15-2

 JB: I love the title of the book! How did you come up with the title Antithesis and was the book originally called something else and did you play about with a number of other titles?

Kacey: Originally, I titled the book Dream Shifters, but the more I wrote, the more I realized that the title didn’t fit. I knew that I needed something that had “opposite” in it. I played around with a few titles, but none of them stuck. Then I got out a thesaurus (which I use all the time when I write) and looked up opposite. There was my title: Antithesis.

 

 

JB: Where did you get the idea for the book from? Is it something that you’ve been thinking about for a while?
 

Kacey: The idea came from two places. The idea for Gavyn came from my husband, when he told me about a one-armed customer he’d had. I thought it would be interesting to explore the challenges of a one-armed character, especially a teenage girl. How would her life be different? How would it affect her relationships? The idea for the story line came from a dream, where I picked up an object and disappeared, only to arrive in another world. Then, Antithesis was born!

 

 

JB: From start to finish, how long did it take you to complete Antithesis?
 

Kacey: About three months. I wrote the story really fast, often writing entire chapters in a day. Gavyn’s story is fun and often frivolous, but that’s okay—we shouldn’t have to be serious all the time.

 

 

JB: Did any of the characters suddenly develop in a different way than you had originally planned or did you stick pretty much with what you had planned for each of them?
 

Kacey: I think they stuck to my original vision—though I do find that characters usually have a mind of their own. Gavyn is a pretty “stripped” character, in that she shows you everything all at once. Liam has a lot more hidden, a long, awful history that takes a while to understand.

 

 

JB: Lots of authors tell me they write every day. Are you that type of writer or do you write when inspiration strikes?
 

Kacey: I would love to write every day, but unfortunately I just don’t have time for that. I used to write on a daily basis, and write quickly. Now I have less time to write, but I think I accomplish a lot more when I do. Every project is a learning experience, and I grow as a writer, so now when I write, I write more effectively, even if I don’t write as often.

 

JB: Your day job is that of a sonographer. Would you eventually like to give this up and write full time or do you like your ‘day job’ too much to give it up?
 

Kacey: My goal is to be a full time writer. While I love being a sonographer, it’s not my passion. Writing is the only job I see myself doing that won’t eventually bore me. Of course, this dream is far off in the future—I have to pay to bills somehow!

 

JB: What’s next for you? Do you have a new book planned?
 

Kacey: I have a new young adult manuscript that’s finished titled Reflection Pond. It’s about a girl who falls through a pond into faerieland. I hope to query agents soon. My current work in progress is a young adult fantasy romance about a girl who loses her entire family and is being recruited by a secret organization. I have a short story “How to Fall” that will appear in Sucker Literary Volume 3 and am working on an anthology with Urban Fey Press that will feature my short fiction. The anthology is titled Out of the Green: Tales from Fairyland.

 

JB: Any advice out there for any budding writers?
 

Kacey: Never stop writing. Write when you don’t want to, write when you do. Don’t be discouraged if people don’t like your work. Listen. Learn. Write. Take advice. Show your work to as many people as possible. Join a writing group. Make internet friends. Write. Read EVERYTHING. Learn to edit other people’s work and then apply it to your own writing. And most importantly, write.
 

Thanks once again for being a guest on the blog. I wish you every success with Antithesis. As part of this book tour, there is a chance to win a copy of Antithesis. There are 15 copies up for grabs!
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

About the author

Kacey Vanderkarr is a young adult author. She dabbles in fantasy, romance, and sci-fi, complete with faeries, alternate realities, and the occasional plasma gun. She’s known to be annoyingly optimistic and listen to music at the highest decibel. When she’s not writing, she coaches winterguard and works as a sonographer. Kacey lives in Michigan, with her husband, son, crazy cats, and two bearded dragons. Visit www.kaceyvanderkarr.com for more information.

Twitter: @kacimari

Blog: www.kaceyvanderkarr.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kacey-Vanderkarr-Young-Adult-Author/128956043852072