Hi all! Today, I’ve got a special for you. It’s been a while since we’ve done an author’s spotlight or interview here on the blog, but today, I’ve got Katie Jenkins (K.M. Jenkins) with me for her blog tour on her new release, Tales of Ferrês! It’s on pre-order on Amazon right now, so go head on over and check that out! I’ll be putting up a book spotlight page for the first time. Since I haven’t read the book yet, I can’t really write a review, but I can spotlight the book, so you can see that here. Let’s get started on the interview!
First, tell us a little bit about yourself, Katie.
I am an International Bestselling Speculative Fiction author. My works consist of fantasy and paranormal romance. One day in the future I plan to add horror to my list of genres, but right now these two fit perfectly for me. I am the proud mama of twin boys that are only two-years old. They keep me busy on most days. I work a normal day job part-time and write in my freetime.
Very neat! I also work a normal day job and write in my free time, so I know it gets busy, but doing that on top of parenting? Definitely a challenge! So, tell us… What kind of fantasy do you write, and what got you into it?
I write High Fantasy and Paranormal Romance. Everything I write is either for the YA crowd or the New Adult crowd. I got into writing High Fantasy because I started creating a world that revolves around several kingdoms with different species. I love world building and making things from nothing. So, it just fits me. My paranormal romance kind of chose me after I read several werewolf love stories. Mine are more geared towards the younger crowd so they are clean reads that anyone over the age of 15 can read.
That’s great. I’m a huge fan of world-building myself, so I can understand the pull toward high fantasy because of that! Now, what genres do you read, and do you write the same ones?
I read just about everything. I have been stuck in a rut where I have been craving dark romance books. I also read fantasy and paranormal romance. Those tend to inspire my own stories. The dark romance books are more for my enjoyment.
I’ll admit I like dark romances myself. I’d never write them myself, but I do enjoy them sometimes. So, what are some of the things you like to do to relax?
My top favorite thing to do on a free day is to curl up with a good book. Sometimes I will watch a show on Netflix, but I really have to be in the mood to watch TV. My other favorite thing to do is to sit in a dark room and listen to music. It is like meditating and helps me calm down from a stressful day.
All good options, for sure! Can you tell us about your current work-in-progress?
I will be starting on my next series of short stories here this coming August. I plan to introduce the next kingdom in my Tarzinëa world. This kingdom is Tarza and I will be doing a lot more romance stories this time around. There will be a few characters making a reappearance in this series while I will be introducing several more.
My other work-in-progress is my Vortex Series. I actually release a new chapter each month from book 1 to my newsletter subscribers. The book is about a young cop named Cassie that finds out she has supernatural powers. Not only that she goes from living a normal life to being thrown into a world of supernatural creatures. She has to find her true place within this bizarre world, all while a war is on the verge of breaking out.
They sound really exciting. Speaking of things you’re working on, let’s switch gears a bit to talk about the publishing side of things. If you’ve published (self-published or traditionally published), can you tell us a little about the experience?
I’ve self-published pretty much my entire journey so far. It is a trying process and has its ups and downs. I’m making more of a push now to get my name out there and to keep my content flowing through my Facebook and blog accounts. It can get pretty overwhelming when you do mostly everything yourself. I wouldn’t have it any other way though, because I love being able to control everything that is mine.
I’m the same way, to be honest, though I have worked with a publisher and liked that experience too. So, what were your inspirations for writing?
I love writing. The big inspirations for my writing are books, movies and meeting new people. They tend to create characters in my head that eventually create worlds. Then they drive me nuts until I have to write their story.
My characters are the same way! Of course, they don’t shut up even after I write their story, but that just leads to more books, so I’m not complaining. So tell us… Who got you into writing when you first started?
I started writing when I was a kid. I always loved getting creative writing projects in school. I didn’t get a lot of support from my teachers though. They didn’t understand why I enjoyed writing fantasy stories. That is why I didn’t really give it a go until I was in college. I started writing one day and just couldn’t stop. Then after a few years I finally decided to take the leap and publish my own stuff for everyone to see. I am still learning and look at all the reviews I get to help better my craft.
Seeing the reviews, both good and bad are definitely a really helpful tool. There’s always something you can learn, even from harsher feedback. Speaking of learning and feedback, was there anyone who came alongside you at any point when you were struggling in your writing journey and made a real difference? If so, who and why?
I would have to say the biggest person who helped me the most was my editor Allison Reker. She is an Christian Fantasy author that I PA for also. She is like my best friend of all my author buddies. We partnered up several years ago and have been working together ever since. She helps me keep motivated by being my writing partner. She also is the main reason why my stories turn out as good as they do. I wouldn’t be the writer I am today without her.
That’s great! Now that you’ve been doing this for a bit, what advice would you give to aspiring authors and writers just starting on the writing journey?
I would say do your research and build your author platform months before you release your first book or story. If you want to find readers you have to put in a lot of leg work in order to find them. I am still struggling with my platform but I have gotten several loyal readers so far and want to keep it growing.
So true! The power a well-built platform like that has can’t be understated. On the same theme of writing advice, what is one thing you wish someone had told you before you started writing?
How to efficiently write content for my blog. I would love to say I succeed at this but alas I don’t. I’m still working on it and trying to get better at it. Your blog is one of your key features to have for building your author platform.
That’s excellent advice. I often tell those asking me for advice the same thing! Next, what’s your favorite book, and who’s your favorite literary character? Why?
My favorite book of all time would be Sword Sworn by Mercedes Lackey. The main character is Kerowyn (Kero) and she is a strong female lead that shows the strength of a woman in a man’s world. I loved this character so much I found my own main character in my Tarzinëa series come to life. I loved the name too.
Alright, everyone! It’s been great having Katie with us today. I hope you all enjoyed and will check out her book. If you don’t use Amazon as your main reading platform, you can access the list of available platforms here.
If you want to connect with K.M. Jenkins, you can do so at any of the following places:
Thank you for the awesome interview Ariel it was fun filling it out.
So glad you had fun! I was happy to have you. 🙂
It was an amazing interview. Katie and Allison are two of my favorite foreign fantasy authors because their books taught me important lessons like friendship, bravery etc. and they inspire me to never give up on my dream. I don’t like to brag, but I’m a poet, writer and translator and Katie, Allison, Richard H. Stephens and a few others always supported me by reading my poems and short stories when they have time. They offer me writing and publishing advice that help me improve my writing skills. That’s why I’m grateful to have such friends. Thank you!