Today we are spending a little extra time getting to know
Lightning Quick Reads author, Katie L. Carroll.
Thanks for hanging out with us today, Katie. Can you tell
our readers a little about you, please?
Katie: I’m a mom first, author second, and
then a million other things after that (including but not limited to reader,
editor, soccer player, blogger, and tea lover). Most of my days are spent in
sweatpants or pajamas, hanging out with my two boys (ages 1 and almost 4) and
sneaking in some work when I can. Some things I’ve done that are more exciting
than that are vacationed in Tahiti twice (once during a tsunami!), run a
marathon in Alaska, and walked the streets of London perusing bookshops. I live
not far from the beach in the same small Connecticut city I grew up in.
If you had to pick only one moment that spurred you to
write professionally, what moment is the most defining or inciting?
Katie: That’s an easy but tough question.
Easy because I know exactly what spurred me into writing professionally; tough
because it’s an emotional story to tell. (How much time do you have?) In short,
my little sister Kylene very unexpectedly passed away at the age of 16. I was
19 and in college studying to be a physical therapist. The loss forced me to
reevaluate what I wanted to do with my life and the answer was write books.
Later I realized I wanted to write books for young people. The dedication page
of my first published book ELIXIR BOUND reads, “To Kylene. In life you were a
sister, friend, and confidant. In death you are a sister, friend, confidant,
and muse.”
Wow, Katie. That is very emotional. Thank you for
sharing such a personal story with us. Does the majority of your work focus
around or within a single theme? If so, what is it?
Katie: Not really. I like to think of
myself as more of a renaissance writer than someone who focuses on one area. I
work on the story that is burning to get out of me, the one I can’t stop
thinking about, no matter what themes or topics or genres it fits into.
What are you currently working
on?
Katie: I’m currently working on a very
dark YA thriller tentatively called BLACK BUTTERFLY. I just finished a first
draft and have a few more scenes to write and some stuff to fix before I send
it out to beta readers for feedback. Thematically it deals with whether or not
people can really change when given a second chance. I won’t say more than that
for now…
What is one of your favorite
authorial moments from your career so far?
Katie: My nephew and sister threw me a
surprise party the day my first book released. It was small and at my parents’
house, but there was a cake and flowers and a framed book cover. It took a very
long time from when I first started writing after my sister died to when I had
a book published, so it was really nice to be recognized by the people I love
for my accomplishment.
That’s so sweet! Share with us a five year and ten
year goal for your writing career.
Katie: I’m constantly working on being a
more efficient writer, so my goal is to write quicker, and always to get better
at writing. I’d like to find an agent to help me place my work and hopefully be
published by a larger house than the ones I’ve already published with. I guess
that’s a five-year goal. So much has changed in publishing since I started
pursuing publication a little over ten years ago, it’s hard to think that far
ahead. I guess I just hope I’m still writing and publishing books (in whatever
formats exist) in ten years.
Do you write what you read? Watch? What are your
favorite television shows and movies?
Katie: I absolutely write what I read.
Aside from writing the type of books I love to read, I think it’s important to
know what’s already out there, not to compare your books necessarily, but to
see what different directions you can go as a writer and also to push yourself
to a new level by being inspired by other works. As for favorite television
shows, right now I’m into Big Brother, Suits, Madam Secretary, and Pretty
Little Liars (though I kind of have a love/hate relationship with that last
one). Favorite movies are lots of Disney ones, The Shawshank Redemption, The
Dark Knight, and Bring It On.
If you had one week away from any and all
responsibility what would you want to spend your time doing?
Katie: I would totally sit on a tropical
beach with a fun, fruity drink reading a book.
Anything else you’d like to
add?
Katie: I can kiss my elbow, which I once
read makes me a princess!
Lol! A princess, huh? It’s
impressive either way. Where can readers find you online?
Katie: You can find me online at my
website http://www.katielcarroll.com/,
twitter https://twitter.com/KatieLCarroll
(@KatieLCarroll), tumblr https://twitter.com/KatieLCarroll,
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6467018.Katie_L_Carroll,
and my Amazon Author Page http://www.amazon.com/Katie-L.-Carroll/e/B0094IXK0Q.
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