Kelly Walker is a part time novelist, full time wife, and an all the time dreamer. Her first promotion was 8 years ago and it came with the job title of ‘Mom’. Her second promotion came with no raise in pay but a huge jump in responsibility when she became ‘Mom of two’. It’s a rewarding career but the retirement plan sucks. She is a huge advocate of animal rescue and adoption and shares her Virginia home (and couch) with three dogs and two cats.
Q: Welcome to Little Book Star Kelly! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’m a mom first, and a writer second. I never dreamed of being an author, but I did often write stories to make myself happy when I was a kid. But I have always loved to create. I like photography, graphics, scrapbooking, drawing. I do my covers myself because apparently I am a control freak. I love chocolate and I have a wonderful husband who can tell when I’m in an awful mood, and he often walks in the door with chocolate for a shield.
Q: Why did you choose to write a YA Fantasy book instead of other young adult sub-genres such as contemporary, paranormal, dystopian, etc.?
I don’t think I really had a choice. I had to tell this story. Sure, I filled in some details, but mostly Riya wrote her own story and I just had to try and keep up. Once it took shape, I had to find a good genre to put it in. The only genre I intentionally stuck to was YA. I like to read YA books, and also because of the age range, I was pretty sure most would want to classify it as YA, so I tried to keep it appropriate. Once Souls of the Stones is done I will be doing a YA paranormal.
Q: What helps you write and what distracts you the most while you’re writing?
Music helps me write. Usually when I am writing I also have Pandora going with Nickelback/Taylor Swift Radio. As for distractions, my biggest is the internet. Emails pop up, or I check facebook or my Critique Forums. And of course, I can’t just block the internet because then I couldn’t play Pandora.
Q: What is your all time favorite fantasy book?
That’s like asking me to pick a favorite type of chocolate! Hmm, let’s see. Well, I consider fantasy a pretty broad category. I mean, you are asking me to chose between all the Harry Potter books and Twilight books and Outlander and A Song of Ice and Fire. I guess I will go with Harry Potter, because it was my first. I grew up reading what my mom read, which was mystery and crime. Our house was filled with James Patterson and Patricia Cornwell. My husband introduced me to fantasy, and you always remember your first =)
Q: This might be a tough question, but I’m dying to know, are you team Garith or team Torian?
Oh the last question was much harder. Team Torian. But Garith has a special place in my heart, and I love his loyalty. I truly think every girl deserves a friend like him.
Q: Do you have any message to your readers?
I think the most important thing I can say to my readers is thank you. If you read my books, you’ve given me a few hours of your time, and I cannot say thank you enough times. It is positively magical to me that these characters who have been shaping themselves in my head for so long now get to go out and meet others. I am eternally grateful for anyone who takes the time to read my books.
xxx
Hehe I’m team Torian too! and I find the internet very distracting as well. Thanks for your time, and oooh I see you’re going to write a YA Paranormal novel! Can’t wait to read that. (: Check out my review of Cornerstone (Souls of the Stones #1) here
