Hello, reader! Welcome back to another author interview. Today I am excited to share a Q&A I did with author Kara Linaburg. Kara has written and published two fantasy works and her newest book A Study in Terminal is due for release on June 7th. See details about her books below and then enjoy the questions she answered for today's post!
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BORN INTO A KINGDOM WHERE THOSE OF MAGICAL GIFTS ARE REJECTED, FEARED, AND EVEN KILLED, SERENA HAS SPENT HER LIFE STRIVING TO HIDE HER ABILITY AND KEEP HER YOUNGER BROTHER SAFE.
The bastard son of the hated king and father he hardly knows, Prince Milosh is considered an outcast. He never expects to feel anything but contempt for the peasant girl who unexpectedly shows up in his life. When two very different lives are thrown together under less than desirable circumstances, both hold deep judgement towards the other. Will they learn to see beyond their stations so that they may defeat the coming darkness, or will labels given to them at birth continue to define them?
This books comes after The Broken Prince. For more information, please visit Kara's website linked at the end of this post.
A note from the author:
This one is for the outcasts, for the misfits, and the ones who wonder if they’ll ever find the light. It’s for the wandering soul, the small-town kids who played basketball under the streetlights, and the lost human looking for a home. This one is for those in darkness and the ones brave enough to meet them there. It’s for the writers wondering if they’re good enough, those of us brave enough to dye our hair blue, and the rough and tough gangsters who need all the hugs. It’s for those seeking a happy ending to their story but they don’t know if they’ll make it there.
Q&A:
1. Hi, Kara! Thanks for joining me today. Let's start off with getting to know you a little better. What makes you, YOU?
Oh boy, haha, that's a good question. I'm not me unless I'm rambling about something random, drinking at least one cup of black coffee a day, and I'm certainly not me without my Converse and black clothes (I'm nearly always wearing at least one black thing). I'm the girl who makes friends with just about everyone, goes from listening to Tim McGraw to KORN and has this fascination with watching the sun set behind the mountains I call home. I'm weird and I will admit it. ;)
2. Let's go back in time to when you decided you wanted to be a writer? What was that like?
I never really had a time when I was like, "yes, this is it -- I'm going to be a writer." As corny as it sounds, I've just always been a storyteller at heart and my journey as an author was gradual and just kind of happened. As for when I decided it was more than a hobby, I was probably about sixteen. But even then, I was simply wanting to self-publish for family and friends; I didn't realize strangers would like my stories too, and when I started getting reviews from people I'd never met, I was like, "oh! This is unexpected." Haha. But fast forward about three years later and I'm about ready to celebrate the release of my YA contemporary that is contracted with Monarch publishing. I'm no longer just self-published and I truly never planned this.
3. You have written a couple of young adult fantasy books. For each of them, can you tell us about those initial first seeds of inspiration?
So I had a few questions: can one change from being evil and dark or are some people simply born evil with no other option? I wondered about second chances and what that looks like, and finding light in a dark world. I had all these deep thoughts at 16 and I wanted them answered, so I used the fantasy genre, set my characters on a journey, and just wrote my heart out. They're truly imperfect stories, I've gotten mixed reviews, but these books were for me and my own troubled soul, that -- at the time -- just was trying to find her way.
4. What is the number one thing you would like readers to take away from your already published works?
We are each capable of change. I think the world basically says you are born and what you feel you are is what you are and that cannot be changed. However, that ideal is a dark one when you feel you are disgusting, broken, evil, damaged, etc, etc -- the list goes on. The world says you are what you feel you are, but I don't believe that's the case. I believe that feelings do not define us, that labels should never define us, and we have the power to rise out of our broken thoughts.
5. If you were to travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be?
I'd grab my friend Amber and take her to Hawaii. She's talked with me about it for so long, how much that place means to her, I'd just grab two tickets and take her ASAP.
6. Who is an artist, creator, or author you admire and why?
I admire Lacey Sturm. She's a rock artist and author who has bridged the gap of secular and Christian so well -- drawing in audiences of many backgrounds with her love and judge-free spirit. I'd love to be a creator like her.
7. Your upcoming book A Study in Terminal is set to be released June 7th of this year. So exciting! What would you like to tell readers about it?
Ohhh I get so jazzed having people tell me how soon the release is coming! ASIT is about Sean Brogan, a broken gangster searching for home and the answers his bruised and broken heart seeks. He travels back to the small town of Lake Fort, West Virginia on the anniversary of his mother's death. Basically it's a book about the goodbyes we never get to say and letting go, and I just love the story world so much! It was my first contemporary novel to write, and I had so much fun placing Sean in a town very similar to the one I grew up in. There's themes of forgiveness and second chances as well as mental health rep and some Sherlock Holmes vibes.
8. What has been the key difference between your writing experience with your fantasy books in the past and A Study in Terminal, your latest book?
I couldn't have a dragon swoop over Sean or make him have magical gifts to kill the bad guys. But in all seriousness, the key difference was the super hard topics in ASIT, like suicide and PTSD. I wanted to tackle these themes with grace and love and Sean's story was a hard one to tell. I just didn't know how well received it would be -- especially because for this one I was going the traditional route and my readers knew me as a fantasy author.
9. Is there anything you would like to add?
One, thank you so much for the fun interview! You had some really good questions and I appreciate it! For another, I've had some people ask about the triggers or content in my books, especially because the blurbs can sound a bit dark. However, I truly do want anyone to be able to pick them up regardless of their background. There is violence, hard themes, and I don't shy away from them, but I've strived to maintain a balance for those who may be triggered by topics such as suicide. This was important to me from the very beginning.
(Note: all photos are taken from Kara's website.)
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