Today we are joined all the way from Australia by Young Adult author, K.M. Allan.
1. First of all, for anyone that doesn’t know about you please can you provide a short introduction. Where are you from, what do you write, and how long have you been writing? (As well as any other info you feel relevant)
My name is Kate. I’m originally from Sydney, Australia and currently live in Melbourne, the city of a million seasons in one day. I write YA books, and I also write about writing on my blog, sharing as many tips and tricks as I can with other writers. I’ve been blogging for 7 years, writing books for over 20, and have been published for the last 4 years.
2. First things first, what got you into writing? Is it something that’s always been there or something you came to later? Tell us everything!
I was a reader first, always borrowing books from the school library, reading them in class, and then returning them for more at the end of the day. I don’t remember wanting to be anything other than a writer, so I guess it has always been there. After being such a big reader, making the jump to writing the books seemed like the natural thing to do.
3. You’re very involved in the writing community, why is it so important to you? How does it help your process?
I can safely say my books would not be out in the world without the writing community. The support and help of friends I’ve met in the community has been there while writing multiple drafts, dealing with endless edits, and going through the ups and downs of querying, rejections, missed opportunities, and book releases.
It’s so important because the writing community understand exactly what you’re going through during those processes because they’re going through them too. That kind of camaraderie really does keep you going, and it’s also great to be able to help others with beta reading or providing motivation when they need it too.
4. You’re very fortunate to have a wonderfully creative person in your life that’s helped you create stunning covers for your books. What can you tell us about this? Do you collaborate on ideas? How much does this help in terms of marketing etc.
This is my husband, who trained as a digital designer. That has come in very handy for creating awesome book covers. I have all the ideas, but not the skill level to pull it off. Fortunately, he does. He’s also pretty good at adding extras and knowing what colours will make things pop.
Marketing wise, I do have the skill levels to create graphics, so I usually do that myself. Of course, having eye-catching book covers to base that marketing on certainly helps.
5. Your series, Blackbirch, is one of the best paranormal YAs we’ve come across. What can you tell us about this series? What can readers expect?
Thank you, that’s so nice hear. This series is something I worked on for a long time, and I have so many alternative drafts of what the series was a one point. The published version is about a 17-year-old named Josh Taylor. He was born in a small town called Blackbirch but moved away as a kid. The truth as to why is something that’s revealed across the 4 books, as is the real history of the town, which uses a played-up version of it’s strange woods to keep itself afloat. Like most people, Josh dismissed real magick as a lie, but when strange things start to happen to him when he returns to Blackbirch, it’s not something he can ignore.
Readers can expect lots of twists. I do love to throw them in there. I also love a bit of humour to balance out the darker storylines. There are also frenemies, found family, first loves, magick, elemental spells, and a dark force hidden deep in the woods.
6. Josh and his friends are so loveable and believable, and the town of Blackbirch itself is so vivid on the page. How long did it take you to write this series, and what sparked the initial idea?
The initial idea was sparked one day when I was walking home from work. The thought of a girl saving a boy using magick popped into my head and stayed there for years. I wrote down ideas and half drafts for a long time before finally deciding to take it seriously in 2015. From there, it took me five years to get the first book out. By the time the last book was published in 2023, it was 22 years from the initial idea to full publication. I don’t recommend taking that long, and I certainly hope I won’t take that long with my next book.
7. What is it about paranormal fiction you find so intriguing? Would you consider other genres?
Strangely, that is the only story idea I’ve had that involved magick. My other ideas, and next book, will be more in the thriller genre and based on mystery and murders. Blackbirch just came to me as a story about witches and I went with it.
8. You have two very special four legged companions that champion your writing. Tell us all about them! The public need to know!
Anyone who looks at my Instagram feed or my blog header will know about my writing companions, Dash and Luna. They’re ragdoll cats who love to steal my chair and put fur all over my keyboard. Luna is also fond of photo-bombing any bookstagram photo I’m trying to take of my latest read. There’s no writing session without those two as they love to sit in the office with me, whether I want them there or not!
9. How did you first fall in love with writing? And how do you manage to write so fast? What keeps you so motivated!?
Some might say taking 22 years to get a series written and published isn’t fast, but once I did take it seriously, it did happen relatively quickly. I put that down to being consistent. I started writing just an hour a day, and I did that every day until it was a habit. Then, as the story started to take shape, the motivation to work on it more and more just naturally happened.
Now it’s knowing that I can write a whole book that keeps me motivated.
10. Finally, please tell us about your latest release! What is it called? Where can we find it? And what can we expect next from the world of Blackbirch and K.M Allan?
My latest release was the final book in the Blackbirch series, and it’s called The Collector. It wraps up all the storylines from the books before it and reveals long-hinted at secrets. It can be bought in paperback and ebook from all the usual online places (Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, Kobo, Apple Books, etc – all the links are here: https://kmallan.com/blackbirch).
There’s nothing left to expect from the world of Blackbirch now the series is done, but next from me is a non-fiction book of writing checklists that will help other writers write and edit their work, which I’m aiming to release early 2025.
Thanks so much to K.M Allan for joining us today and if you’d like to find out more about her writing please follow the links below:
Blog/website:https://kmallan.com/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/k.m.allan.author
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/k.m.allan_writer/
Chasing Driftwood Books 