WHEN DID YOU FIRST KNOW YOU WANTED TO BE A WRITER AND WHY?
The first time I knew I wanted to be a writer was, I think, as a very small child reading The Chronicles of Narnia. There was something so transportive about those stories. I was the child who used to go into my closet and push on the back wall, trying to get to Narnia, and it amazed me that someone could write something that produced that effect--that longing--within me. I knew I wanted to grow up to do the same for others.
AS A CHILD, WHAT DID YOU ASPIRE TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP?
Aside from a writer? Everything! The stories I read and the movies I watched inspired me to imitate the heroic characters within them. I can remember wanting to be an artist, explorer, archaeologist, astronaut, humanitarian, singer, actor, fighter pilot--you name it! It just had to be fantastic, and it had to be something that changed the world. That was my one caveat: I wanted to change the world.
HOW DID YOU GET THE IDEA FOR YOUR AWARD WINNING TITLE?
The Gateway Chronicles is very personal for me. Growing up, my family attended a summer camp in upper Michigan the same week every year with the same families, and the experiences I had at that camp--and the friendships I formed--integrally shaped my childhood and who I am today. It was a magical place and time in my life, so as an adult, when I sat down to figure out the setting and characters for my first fantasy series, I decided to base it on my experiences at the camp I loved so much from my childhood. From there, I decided to pay homage to the first fantasy series that ever inspired me to want to be a writer--Narnia--and make it Gateway Fantasy, and then pay further homage to the fantasy series of my teen years that re-ignited my love of fantasy literature--Harry Potter--and make it a sort of friendship adventure where the characters have year-long adventures, and where the readers get to grow alongside the characters and walk the metanarrative with them. From all these things, The Gateway Chronicles was born!
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LINE FROM YOUR AWARD WINNING BOOK AND WHY?
Oh wow… How can I choose just one favorite line out of six books? Okay. I don't know if it's my favorite line, but I think it's probably the most compelling line, although it needs a little explanation. The Gateway Chronicles is full of oracles and prophecies, which are often delivered as riddles. In book 2, The Oracle, a very important oracle is delivered to a character, and she spends the remainder of the books (3-6) trying to decipher what exactly this means for her. Here's the line:
"Twice wed, twice dead, twice stained red."
WHICH OF YOUR CHARACTERS FROM YOUR AWARD WINNING TITLE DO YOU BELIEVE ARE MOST LIKE YOU AND WHY?
I am definitely most like the main character, Darcy. I wrote her to be like me--digging deep into my adolescent psyche (it was a dark time). In all seriousness, though, I really do think I had typical teenaged angst, and because I tell the story through a limited perspective (Darcy's), it only made sense to dig through my mind and memories to make her as realistic as possible. As I've told many people--since she's not terribly likable in the first couple books--I start her off very much as I was in early adolescence, but as she grows, I make her into the sort of person I wish I could have been as a teenager.
WHAT MESSAGE DO YOU HOPE READERS WILL GLEAN FROM YOUR AWARD WINNING BOOK?
Because there are six books in the series, there are many themes and messages I hope the readers can take away from the books. Overall, though, I want my readers to walk away knowing that no matter how bad life gets, they should never despair, because there is always hope in this life--especially as long as good people are willing to stand up against evil and oppression. I also hope my readers will glean a strong message of the importance of self-sacrifice and serving others. That sometimes doing the right thing means putting others ahead of yourself.
TELL US SOMETHING RANDOM/INTERESTING/FUNNY ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE AS A WRITER:
I think all writers are just a touch crazy--just a touch. I know I definitely have my oddities! For example, I personify things and name them, as relates to my writing work. My laptop is Scribbus MacDoodle, and he's a HE. And I have an antique typewriter who is female, and her name is Rhonda Royale. I also plaster my office with notes, like Sherlock Holmes on a case, and also like Sherlock Holmes, when I'm writing a book, because of all the details--and the amazing layers of details--I have to keep straight (the world-building), I'm able to enter into a mind-palace of sorts where I have everything neatly organized. I can walk around and touch and see and smell the world in my mind--I can even talk with the characters. A great deal of writing actually consists of me staring blankly at the wall while I am inside the mind-palace, hard at work!
WHICH AUTHOR HAS MOST GREATLY INFLUENCED YOUR WRITING STYLE?
J. K. Rowling has had the greatest impact on my writing style because I studied how she constructed Harry Potter before I sat down to write The Gateway Chronicles. If you want to learn how to do something well, a good place to start is studying the person who wrote a crossover, billion-dollar smash hit in your genre!
WHAT BOOK HAS HAD THE GREATEST IMPACT ON YOUR LIFE?
This is always a struggle to answer, but I think I would have to say The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe for the simple fact that it's the first book to awaken that longing within me for the "other." And if that longing within me hadn't been awoken, I don't think I would have become an author.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR GREATEST LITERARY ACCOMPLISHMENT?
My greatest literary accomplishment--aside from getting published--has been winning the gold award for YA series for The Gateway Chronicles from Literary Classics!
DO YOU HAVE ANY WRITING RITUALS?
I don't have any particular writing rituals, aside from doing my best to shut down my social media browsers to not let myself get distracted. I usually take a quick read through whatever it is I wrote the day before, but I try to avoid revising at that time. It's always important to just move forward when you're writing your first draft. Deep revisions come later.
HOW DID YOU FIND AN AGENT?
I'm hoping 2017 will be the year I land an agent, as I have a new manuscript ready for publication that I'm really excited about. I've been actively pursuing agenting for a few months here. I was published with The Writer's Coffee Shop Publishing House in 2011, though, after they discovered me through a reviewer who had reviewed a copy of my first two (then self-published) books.
WHAT DID YOU DO TO CELEBRATE THE COMPLETION/PUBLISH DATE/OR OTHER OF YOUR AWARD WINNING BOOK?
My husband and I usually keep the celebrating pretty low-key. We have four small boys, so while it's exciting when I have another book published, or I win an award, or something like that, it's difficult to get out, and we don't exactly have money to burn! We have, in the past, just gone out for dinner or dinner and a movie. My husband has bought me flowers to celebrate the awards, though. That's been nice!
CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE PROCESS OF BECOMING PUBLISHED AND ANY TIPS YOU MIGHT OFFER FOR OTHER ASPIRING AUTHORS?
The process of becoming published is going to be different for everyone these days. The first thing aspiring authors need to do is establish a brand and a platform. Many publishers and agents want to see that an author comes with some sort of social media base ready-made. You can do this through writing a monthly newsletter, getting plugged in and promoting your brand on social media, or self-publishing your first/second/third books to get your name out there--or some combination of these. The main things to keep in mind these days are: The market is saturated with authors doing exactly what you're trying to do, and YOU are the only one who is going to sell your book--no one else.
CAN YOU OFFER ANY ADVICE FOR WRITERS ON HOW BEST TO PROMOTE THEIR BOOK?
Self-promotion is a tricky thing, but there are some crucial steps to consider for success:
-Figure out who you are as a writer and for whom you are writing (your audience): This is your brand
-Figure out how to write effectively for this audience by studying the most effective writers in the genre: This is the research for how to become the best storyteller and writer you can be.
-While doing that, be working on setting up your online persona as an author and start drawing in people who might be interested.
-Be prepared to give things away for free.
-Figure out where on social media your audience hangs out, and follow them and their interests religiously. *Do not use these social media platforms for personal usage, but for promotional usage, without spamming people!
-Enter contests
-Build relationships with likeminded people and keep contact lists
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH OUR READERS?
I have an author newsletter that goes out about once monthly, and I'd love to invite readers to subscribe! I blog about writing, share exclusive content, relay my publication news, and more! Here's the link: http://www.kbhoyle.com/subscribe.html
WHAT OTHER BOOKS HAVE YOU PUBLISHED?
The Breeder Cycle series
DO YOU HAVE ANY NEW BOOKS IN THE WORKS?
I have a completed manuscript called The Girl in the Sea that is a retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid. I am really excited about this book, and it's the book for which I am actively seeking agenting. I am also writing Clone, the third and final book in my YA Dystopian trilogy, The Breeder Cycle.
I don't have any news as to when either The Girl in the Sea or Clone will be available. There is too much up in the air right now regarding my publishing future. But people who are interested should subscribe to my newsletter to be the first to know when I DO have news!
LITERARY CLASSICS Book Awards & Reviews International Book Awards • Top Honors Youth Book Awards • Seal of Approval http://www.clcawards.org
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