INTERVIEW
Welcome! I'm so happy to get this chance to ask some questions! Thank you for coming. How did you start your writing career?
After an extensive search for an agent, I wound up writing for Harlequin. The romantic suspense novels I wrote for them are still available as ebooks at the eHarlequin site. I wasn’t happy writing those kinds of books, because my first love is and has always been Young Adult books. They were my ‘guilty pleasure.’ Now, things have changed. You can be an adult woman and read books for teens. It’s considered cool, and I think that’s awesome.
Do you use a pen name, and how did you come up with it?
I am so glad you asked. I’ve had problems with this recently. I wrote for Harlequin under Kasi Blake (a combination of my cat’s name and my nephew’s middle name), but I signed a contract saying I wouldn’t use it on books not published by them. So when I decided to write YA, I needed a new name, but I loved Kasi Blake. I used the initials K.C., and that went well for me, for a while. Recently, another author decided to start publishing erotic fiction under the same name. I didn’t want teens (or their parents) getting confused, so I asked Harlequin for my name back. Now I am in transition from K.C. Blake to Kasi Blake.
Do you listen to music while you write?
Yes!!! It helps me set the tone and hear my characters speak. For Bait, Hunter, and Warrior (the book I’m working on now), I’ve listened to a lot of Guns n Roses, Motley Crue, and Avril Lavigne. For Crushed and Witch Hunt, I listened to Lady in Red, White Wedding, and some Stray Cats songs. Music is awesome, and I wish I could include a soundtrack with my books.
What are your favorite TV shows?
My all-time favorite is Supernatural, and I’ve been told by readers that they can tell. It’s not that I steal stuff from the show, but the tone and subject matter are the same. I’ve also been told people can tell I like Buffy and Vampire Diaries. If you haven’t tried Supernatural, you are missing out. Sam and Dean are not only hot, they are great actors.
Tell us about your two main characters in Bait.
Bay-Lee is strong, persistent, and she is blinded by her need for revenge and justice. Not just for herself. When her roommate is killed, she is desperate to find the girl’s killer. She’s had a rough life, running from monsters and changing her identity with each new town. The only thing she wants to do is train at her father’s school to become a hunter, and the last thing she wants is to fall in love. Enter Nick Gallos.
Nick is an angry hunter, and he blames Bay-Lee for losing his family. He’s also mad at her father, Statler Van Helsing. So when the new students (Bait) are looking for mentors, Nick steps forward. Although he has no intention of mentoring Bay-Lee, he volunteers to get even with Van Helsing for taking away his cover. (He was a rock star, traveling the world and killing vampires). He refuses to mentor her after Orientation is over, but Bay-Lee demands he fulfill his commitment to her.
Tell us about your next book.
Warrior (the third book in this series) will be released around July of this year. Bay-Lee will finally get her chance to avenge her mother. We’ll have to wait and see how that goes. Then I am going to finish up my vampire series (the Rule series starting with Vampires Rule, which is free right now). So far there are three books out. Werewolves Rule and Shifters Rule are the second and third book. The last ones will be Wizards Rule and Mortals Rule.
Where can readers find you?
My blog: http://kasi-kcblake.blogspot.com
Twitter @kasiblake
ABOUT THE BOOK
After sixteen years on the run, hiding from monsters, Bay-Lee is whisked away by her father to New Zealand where she will attend his school, a secret training camp for hunters.
This happens after she has two visitors in a single night: a dead rock star and a reaper. One of them threatens her, while the other taunts her with a vague warning. "You die on your birthday." Of course, she doesn't take the reaper seriously, not until she hears Statler Van Helsing tell her uncle another hunter was killed on their birthday. A terrible shadow waits in the wings, bringing death with it.
At first, Bay-Lee thinks all she has to do is pass her classes and impress people with her fighting skills. It doesn't take long for her to realize she has something more important to do: survive.
Wraiths, a monster in disguise, and a mentor who does not want to mentor her add to the obstacles she must overcome to stay in school. She doesn't want special treatment because of her last name, and she isn't going to get any. When her roommate dies under strange circumstances, she and her new friends unite to solve the mystery. They will have to work fast if they want to catch the creature responsible before their birthdays roll around. Bay-Lee's date of birth is fast approaching.
During Orientation new students are given the rank of Bait. They must prove their worth and survive training if they want to move up to Hunter. Staying alive isn't easy, not when you have border monsters crossing over from the Spirit Realm to kill you, and her new mentor refuses to do his job. He only volunteered to upset her father, but Bay-Lee is determined to make him mentor her. After all, Nick Gallos is the best young hunter at Van Helsing's school, and he has the most amazing eyes she's ever seen.
Nick is overflowing with bitter resentment and seems to hate Bay-Lee on sight. He constantly tells her that she ruined his life, but he won't tell her how she managed to do it when they've never met before. No matter how hard he tries to push her away, Bay-Lee stands her ground. There is something about Nick, something familiar. Maybe it's the fact they are two of a kind. They have both endured a tough childhood, lost their families, and they both hide the pain behind a lot of attitude. She is drawn to him even when others warn her to stay away. Why does everyone care so much that she likes him? He could teach her so much. In all her sixteen years she's never met another hunter who could cross over to the Spirit Realm as easily as she can.
Van Helsing began her training when she was eight. She visited him every summer, and he taught her how to cross over. It's easy... at least for her. All you have to do is relax, focus on your breathing, and wait for a sign. The sign can be anything from dancing figures on the ceiling to water going up instead of down. Then you wake yourself up on the right side, but be careful of ghouls. In that moment when you are caught between sleeping and waking, they can get you.
Bait is the first in the Order of the Spirit Realm series. The next is Hunter, followed by Warrior, and eventually Legend. It is Paranormal, but also can be defined as Paranormal Romance, Young Adult, teen read, or supernatural.
Buy Links:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CJ182E4
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bait-kc-blake/1115218705?ean=2940044497689
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/252449
MEET THE AUTHOR
K.C. lives in Missouri on a farm with her cats, some ducks, and one dog.She is a self-confessed shop-a-holic and loves to spend time at the mall with friends while not writing or reading.
You can find her blog here: http://kasi-kcblake.blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/K-C-Blakes-Author-Page/246146215412824
Twitter @kasiblake
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