Today I’m pleased to shine the spotlight on the author of yesterday’s fantasy feature, Beneath the Canyons (Daughter of the Wildlings, Book 1).
Welcome, Kyra. Tell us a little bit about yourself, and when did you start writing stories?
I live in southern Arizona, I’ve been married to my college sweetheart for 31 years, and we have two young adult sons and two cats. Well, three at the moment; we’ve got a kitty houseguest staying with us right now. Our older son just got married, adding a lovely daughter-in-law and her adorable 2-year-old daughter to the family. It’s his cat that’s staying with us, as they’re all kind of crowded into her small apartment right now along with her cat and dog and parrot.
According to my mother, I wrote lots of stories as a child, and I know she saved one, about Daisy the Horse-Farm Horse, that I wrote in 2nd grade. As a teenager, music was my main focus; I played flute in band and majored in music in college. (My husband and I met in marching band!) I eventually got a Master’s in Music History with a focus on vocal music of the Renaissance, but right after that I transitioned from grad school to staying at home with my first child. I’d always loved stories, especially fantasy and romance, so at that time I decided to try writing the kinds of stories I wanted to read, romantic fantasy where the fantasy and romance elements are equally balanced. That was 26 years ago, and I’ve been writing off and on ever since then.
When you are not writing, what do you like to do?
I read, I watch anime, I scrapbook, I play Pokemon, and I feed my cats.
What inspired the stories you’ve written?
Like I said, I’ve always loved fantasy and romance, and I love stories where the two elements are equally balanced, where the fantasy is a vital part of the romance and the romance is important to the fantasy storyline. So that’s the context I put all my other ideas into. Sometimes I think of different kinds of worlds and settings I want to explore, but mostly my stories are inspired by characters who come into my mind. I don’t make them up; they just appear there, and then I have to explore to figure out who they are and what they’re doing and why.
Please tell us a little bit about your books.
They’re other-world romantic fantasy for adults, with the romance and fantasy storylines equally important to the plot. Mostly they take place in worlds that aren’t the traditional medieval Europe-inspired fantasy. Complicated, honorable heroes; heroines who are strong, smart, and entirely feminine; magic, romance, and adventure; and excursions into the dark corners of life and human nature mixed with a dash of offbeat humor – the characters, worlds, and plots vary, but these elements can be found in all my books.
Who is your favorite character and why?
lol, that’s like asking me who my favorite of my kids is J I love all my characters, for different reasons. They’re all individual to me, and getting to know each of them has been a unique journey. I will say that Roric, from The Lost Book of Anggird, was the one who surprised me the most. I was stalled on that book for about ten years, it just wasn’t going anywhere, but the characters weren’t leaving me alone. Finally, I set aside all my preconceived notions about Roric and just let him tell me his story. I was shocked and horrified – he’s been through some terrible things in his life – but once I knew who he was and why he was the way that he was, the rest of the book fell into place.
What is your favorite fantasy book and why?
Some books I’ve loved are the Earthsea Trilogy by Ursula K. LeGuin (original trilogy, not the follow-up books) and the Riddle-Master Trilogy by Patricia McKillip. But right now my very favorites are Flesh and Spirit/Breath and Bone (The Lighthouse Duology) by Carol Berg. Gorgeous prose, original and colorful world and magic, gripping storyline, but mostly I love it because of the main character Valen. I like my heroes complicated and honorable, and Valen fits that description. He’s a deserter, thief, drug addict, con man, and womanizer, with a horrifying past, but also still has a gentle, gracious, pure heart. When I first read those books I was torn between not being able to put them down and not wanting them to end, so when I finished I immediately read them again and they were even better the second time through.
What kind of books do you like to read?
My favorite reading is high fantasy (fantasy set in another world, with a heroic storyline and magic as an essential element of the world and the story) with a strong romantic storyline. The kind of thing I write, actually J I also like romance, especially historical romance, but I dip into lots of other genres as well.
If you could exchange lives with any of your characters for a day which character would you choose and why?
I don’t know that I would really want to do that, because I’m pretty hard on my characters! I make them earn their happy endings * evil grin * But maybe Perarre, from The Lost Book of Anggird. She’s really smart, and the work she does is a little similar to the work I enjoyed doing in grad school, and she has a good life (post-story) with Roric and their children. Of course, it would be lots of fun to be Lainie, from Daughter of the Wildings, too.
When is your next book coming out, and do you have a title for it yet?
My next book is coming out next week. It’s book 5 in the Daughter of the Wildings series, City of Mages.
What advice would you give to others who may be embarking on the journey of indie authorship?
It’s great to want to make money at this, but you have to have other reasons for wanting to do it as well. No matter what marketing and promotions you do, ultimately you have no control over whether people buy your books. Focus on the things you can control – writing stories you love to the best of your ability, and presenting them as well as you can – and be patient, have fun, and enjoy the ride.
I’m always interested in hearing about other authors’ writing process. Tell us about yours… Outliner or Pantser or a mix of both?
I’m an outliner, though my outlines remain flexible. When I start to write, I like to have my characters and what they want, an opening scene that introduces the characters at the moment their lives are about to change, a few scenes after that, some major turning point scenes through the book, and a general idea of what the ending will be. The Daughter of the Wildings books were a little different, because while I knew where I was starting and where I wanted things to end up, I had little or no idea how I was going to get from here to there. Those books just resisted outlining, and I found it a terrifying way to write. I think they turned out pretty good, though.
What books/authors have inspired you the most?
I think the Earthsea Trilogy are the books that mostly inspired me to start making up stories and to eventually start writing them.
Are you currently working on another project? Can you share anything about it with us?
For over a year now I’ve been pretty much consumed with the Daughter of the Wildings series. Book 5 is about to come out, and then there’s just one more book in the series, so it’s time to start thinking about what comes next. I have some novels set in my world of Estelend, the world of Chosen of Azara, that I want to finish and release (one is in first draft, the other is outlined but not written yet). These, like Chosen, are standalones but set in the same world, and they’re also based on some very old unfinished novels of mine. I also have a set of short stories and character sketches that go along with Chosen of Azara to edit and release, and I also printed out my very first novel ever and its sequel, with the intent to read them and see if they can be revised into something worth releasing. I never delete any of my writing projects; I’ll finish them eventually and revise them, or use bits and pieces in other projects.
What’s your favorite quote or scene in your books?
Oh, I’ve got lots that I like. Here’s one of my favorites, from To The Gap, book 4 of Daughter of the Wildings: [Lainie and Silas have been arguing about if she’s going to get involved in a dangerous fight] “Lainie, wait!”
She looked back at him, eyes flashing, face flushed in anger. “What?”
He stared at her, feeling helpless. He didn’t know what to say that he hadn’t already said. That however badly the Mage Council might want him, whatever they might do to him if they ever got their hands on him, if they found out what she was capable of they would do even worse to her? That he was going to keep her safe if he had to tie her to a wagon and set an armed guard around her? The truth was, if that was what he decided to do, she couldn’t stop him – but to do so would be an outrage against her courage and her free will. He owed her better than that.
“Do whatever you want,” he finally said, though it felt like he was ripping his heart out by the roots to say so. “But if you get yourself killed, I’ll hunt you down through all the heavens and all the hells, and when I find you I’ll give you the whupping your Pa would want me to give you for getting yourself killed.”
She grinned at him now, a hard, challenging grin. “Same to you, Vendine.” She heeled Mala in the sides, and the mare went galloping back to the wagons. And this bit from City of Mages, book 5, where Lainie is facing down nine enemy mages by herself: “I’m not the one who picked this fight,” Lainie replied. She drew Silas’s gun into her left hand. It was big and heavy, too big and heavy for her, but it made her feel stronger, like Silas himself was fighting at her side. “Show me what you got.”
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing that, Kyra! Where can people find you and your book?
My website is http://www.kyrahalland.com You can also find me at these places: https://www.facebook.com/KyraHalland https://plus.google.com/+KyraHalland https://twitter.com/KyraHalland https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6950045.Kyra_Halland My books are available at all online ebook retailers, and my novels are also available in paperback at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and CreateSpace. For the complete catalog and availability, please visit http://www.kyrahalland.com/books.html
Is there anything you’d like your readers to know?
I put my heart and my very best efforts into writing stories I love, and I hope my readers will enjoy my stories, characters, and worlds as much as I do. I’m tremendously grateful whenever someone spends a little of their money and time to read one of my books, and I hope I make it worthwhile for them.
Thanks again for stopping by. I enjoyed talking with you. 🙂
Thanks for having me! I enjoyed it as well.
