Hello readers, welcome back to the guest blog. This month's guest I’ll be interviewing Katherine D. Graham the editor and the coach, and debut author of her upcoming fantasy novel. She’ll share her journey as editor and becoming author of her own book. Let’s welcome her. Katherine, it is nice you are here to join us.
Before I ask you questions, can you tell us about yourself?
Katherine: “I am a fantasy author, developmental editor, and Reedsy reviewer from Tennessee in the United States of America. My husband and I have been married for 10 years now, and we have two sons and three cats.”
Nice. What led you into writing?
Katherine: “I have been writing for as long as I can remember. I started out using crayons on construction paper in grade school. Stories have always just flown out of me, whether I'm telling them to friends or family or filling journals with them.”
How old were you when you wrote your first story?
Katherine: “I was probably 5-6 when I wrote that first crayola-scribbled story. X-D. It was about a girl going on a mountain-climbing trip with her friends and encountering a fairy.”
That sounds like an adorable story to read. I like fairies and create stories about them, and the humans meet them. If you ever write that story, I will definitely read it. Now you are an editor, why do you like to coach and help other writers?
Katherine: “Editing is a passion of mine. I started out editing for college professors and beta reading for friends in my college years, then on the side as a freelancer, and now it is my day job.
Seeing the new worlds and tales different authors bring me never gets old--this job is never boring. Authors are passionate and inspiring people, and I am humbled to be a part of their journey. It is helping others that encourages me to pursue my own writing, so the least I can do is pay it forward by coaching others.”
Yes, it is nice to help them to make their story shine. Between being a mom to your boys and working with clients, I can imagine it keeps you busier than ever. What hobbies do you like to do when you aren't writing or working with clients?
Katherine: “When I'm not writing, reading, or editing, I love swimming, grilling out, hanging out with my family, traveling, and playing video games.”
Sounds like fun activities. Now you’ve written stories, which one did you first publish? Katherine: “My first self-published story was one I wrote in high school, and it flopped (due to lack of editing, formatting, and general knowledge of writing); it is no longer on the market. The Vow That Twisted Fate, however, is my debut Epic Fantasy novel as an adult who now knows the industry.”
I understand. We all have to start somewhere. Glad you decided to continue pursuing your dreams. Did you consider traditionally publishing or self-publishing?
Katherine: “Yes, I considered all traditional and various other forms of publishing. Ultimately, despite having helped 6 other authors get their books signed by traditional publishers this year, I decided that The Vow That Twisted Fate is better suited for self-publishing at this time. Maybe one day I'll write a series better suited for traditional publishing, but I'm taking things one book at a time.”
That’s important. To do research on both sides of traditional publishing and self publishing. You aren’t alone. I decided to go self-publishing because I don’t feel heading to the traditional route is for me right now. And yes, one day, when the time is right, we can always give another try to get our stories traditionally published. Now the upcoming fantasy novel sounds like an intriguing tale to read. Can you tell us briefly what it is about?
Katherine: “The Vow That Twisted Fate follows a naive young Human queen, Arlena, as she tries to close a portal that opens in the sky leading to an evil dimension. All evil was banished from Arlena's world 500 years before the book takes place and was sealed into an evil dimension with the sorceress Maedra. When Maedra finds a way to link the two dimensions again, Arlena must call a legendary Dwarven warrior from the past forward in time to help her stop his old nemesis and change their world's fate.”
Oo neat. What inspired you to write the tale?
Katherine: “This story was originally a very vivid dream. I couldn't get it out of my head. When
NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) came around, I decided to write this book for NaNo.”
Nanowrimo is a great way to begin your project. Are you planning to do a series?
Katherine: “The Vow That Twisted Fate is a stand-alone novel, but I do have two series running.
One is a series of New Adult Dark Paranormal Fantasies called the "Splitting Worlds" series.
The other is a New Adult Portal Adventure Fantasy Duology w/a Prequel (that one's called the Starfire Express series).”
We all learn and grow in our writing career and find our avenue to become an author. What is your advice when it comes to self-publishing?
Katherine: “Research A LOT and give yourself more time than you think you'll need. I've been working for a year to build up the pre-release marketing I've done for The Vow That Twisted Fate, and I'm realizing now that I wish I'd given it more time. There's also a lot of scams out there preying on self-published authors, unfortunately. Plug into the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), google a lot, find some reputable writer groups to bounce questions off of, and you'll go far.”
Katherine, I had a pleasant time chat with you. I hope all things go well and hard work is rewarded.
Katherine: “Thank you so much again! It has truly been such an honor.”
If you want to read Katherine’s novel, you can buy it on Amazon to get your copy. You can follow her on social medias Instagram @katherine_d_graham
Facebook: katdgraham Twitter: KatDGraham
Goodreads: Katherine_D_Graham
Bookbub: katherine-d-graham Reedsy Discovery: katherinedgraham visit her on website https://www.katherinedgraham.com/
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