I am thrilled to have the opportunity to share with y'all an interview I recently did with self-published sensation, Keary Taylor. Keary has written some of my favorite books in recent years, including the dystopian sci-fi Eden Trilogy.
Here's what Keary had to say when I asked her some searching questions about her work ...
KC: You’ve written in a wide variety of genres – paranormal/fantasy, sci-fi/dystopia, and contemporary fiction. What is your favorite genre to write, and why?
KT: Probably the sci-fi/dystopian. I was really intimidated by it at first, because I'd never attempted anything like it before I started The Eden Trilogy, but it came very naturally and I loved the world building that was like our own, only bigger and more dangerous.
KC: Eden was one of my favorite books, so it was kind of bittersweet to learn it had become a trilogy. I liked the original story as a self-contained piece of fiction, but also loved what you did with the larger story across the three Bane books. What were some of the challenges you faced in revisiting the original Eden and rewriting it as part of a larger story?
KT: It was challenging creating a sense of closure with book one, a lot of people don't like cliffhanger endings, and also creating a story that still had somewhere to go. And since it had been previously published as a standalone, and then the readers demanded more, I had to pull with what was meant to just be one book, and figure out what to keep going with. It was some very complicated plotting and I spent months on it, but in reality it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be.
KC: Most, if not all, of your books have significant romantic elements along with plenty of action and adventure (well, What I Didn’t Say doesn’t have that much adventure, but it does have some action). What is your favorite romantic relationship or romantic scene in any of your books?
KT: Oh man, this is really hard to pick. I think out of all my books, my favorite is from The Bane, book one in The Eden Trilogy. Eve finally realizes what what she feels for one of the guys is love. The scene is tense and action packed and bloody, they have this extremely sweet, tender moment of clarity. And just following that, he nearly dies and Eve does some very drastic things to save him.
KC: You have become very successful as a self-published author. What would you say are the major benefits and pitfalls of being self-published as opposed to published by traditional houses?
KT: This is a question I get asked a lot. While I am still very open to the idea of traditional publication someday, I love being an indie. The benefits are many. I control everything: pricing, release dates, what I write about, how many books I release, etc. The money is fantastic. I've met so many amazing people through self-publishing and formed so many wonderful friendships. The cons: it is a LOT of work. I control everything, but I also do all that work myself. Which I don't mind. I also don't get to do as many public events as traditionally published authors (part of this is due to where I live though). And there is still somewhat that stigma out there that self-published authors just aren't as good. Thankfully that is going away though.
KC: Who are your own favorite authors and what are you reading now?
KT: I will forever be a JK Rowling fan, she is who got me started writing when I was 13. And then, don't hate me, but Stephanie Meyer inspired me to write YA. Some awesome titles I've read lately are Ashes, These Broken Stars, and Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea.
Here's what Keary had to say when I asked her some searching questions about her work ...
KC: You’ve written in a wide variety of genres – paranormal/fantasy, sci-fi/dystopia, and contemporary fiction. What is your favorite genre to write, and why?
KT: Probably the sci-fi/dystopian. I was really intimidated by it at first, because I'd never attempted anything like it before I started The Eden Trilogy, but it came very naturally and I loved the world building that was like our own, only bigger and more dangerous.
KC: Eden was one of my favorite books, so it was kind of bittersweet to learn it had become a trilogy. I liked the original story as a self-contained piece of fiction, but also loved what you did with the larger story across the three Bane books. What were some of the challenges you faced in revisiting the original Eden and rewriting it as part of a larger story?
KT: It was challenging creating a sense of closure with book one, a lot of people don't like cliffhanger endings, and also creating a story that still had somewhere to go. And since it had been previously published as a standalone, and then the readers demanded more, I had to pull with what was meant to just be one book, and figure out what to keep going with. It was some very complicated plotting and I spent months on it, but in reality it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be.
KC: Most, if not all, of your books have significant romantic elements along with plenty of action and adventure (well, What I Didn’t Say doesn’t have that much adventure, but it does have some action). What is your favorite romantic relationship or romantic scene in any of your books?
KT: Oh man, this is really hard to pick. I think out of all my books, my favorite is from The Bane, book one in The Eden Trilogy. Eve finally realizes what what she feels for one of the guys is love. The scene is tense and action packed and bloody, they have this extremely sweet, tender moment of clarity. And just following that, he nearly dies and Eve does some very drastic things to save him.
KC: You have become very successful as a self-published author. What would you say are the major benefits and pitfalls of being self-published as opposed to published by traditional houses?
KT: This is a question I get asked a lot. While I am still very open to the idea of traditional publication someday, I love being an indie. The benefits are many. I control everything: pricing, release dates, what I write about, how many books I release, etc. The money is fantastic. I've met so many amazing people through self-publishing and formed so many wonderful friendships. The cons: it is a LOT of work. I control everything, but I also do all that work myself. Which I don't mind. I also don't get to do as many public events as traditionally published authors (part of this is due to where I live though). And there is still somewhat that stigma out there that self-published authors just aren't as good. Thankfully that is going away though.
KC: Who are your own favorite authors and what are you reading now?
KT: I will forever be a JK Rowling fan, she is who got me started writing when I was 13. And then, don't hate me, but Stephanie Meyer inspired me to write YA. Some awesome titles I've read lately are Ashes, These Broken Stars, and Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea.
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