Author Interview: K. Ancrum

It’s time for another part of our new favourite series!

Kayla is a really good friend, but more importantly – one of my favourite authors in general & authors of LGBT books specifically. So obviously I jumped at the opportunity to have her take part in this project faster than Charlotte finished saying “interviews”.

Let’s just say, we’re very thankful to Kayla for finding a few free moments to email us her answers to our silly questions. And that also means a huge thanks for sharing some vague but hilarious and lowkey exclusive details about her upcoming books! You guys should be really excited about everything she has in store, just saying. 👀👀

Ready or not, let’s do this, guys!!

Let’s start at the beginning. How did you first get into writing?

It’s actually something I’ve done from a very young age. I started writing chapter books at 12 years old. I wasn’t really writing for anyone other than myself–even though I would share these books with my friends. I just felt like I wanted to make stories that had all the elements I enjoyed in the books I loved in them. I was very obsessed with fairytales at the time and their format (especially due to translation) really teaches you how stories are built very quickly. I can’t say that my 12yr old writing was quality, though lmao.

What are your favorite genres to read and write?

For reading: It’s going to sound weird but I really love Middle Grade. I read it way more than YA. I like adventure novels like The Mysterious Benedict Society and sometimes I’ll read fantasy or science fiction adult books as well, but I spend most of my time reading fan fiction.

As for writing, I love genre bending! I tend to like blending other genres with contemporary: taking a situation that would be hard science or hard thriller and gentling it into something more character focused.

And are there any genres or tropes you wouldn’t write?

Cozy mystery. Not because they’re bad, but more because I’m too dumb to write good mysteries. I only have big heart energy and that’s it. I can’t do 5 thousand twists and turns, okay. I am simple.

How do you get inspiration for your books?

I try to think of stories that we know well, but told from the perspective of people we don’t traditionally hear these stories from. Like how The Wicker King is your classic mental illness spiral story, but told from the perspective of someone on the outside looking in. The Weight of the Stars is your classic “Chosen One” adventure but from the perspective of an outsider looking in on what appears to be the main character of the adventure.

I really enjoy those slanted, held at distance perspectives because I feel like they are… familiar in a way. Because that is how we feel while watching tv and reading books. We are the witness to someone else’s fanciful glorious adventure and we are used to that. Whether or not readers enjoy that “held at a distance” perspective is really up to them. But I feel like it enhances the experience of yearning, in a very unique and special way. That desire for closeness to the MC is mirrored by the MC’s desire for closeness to their Love Interest.

Summarise your most recent/next book in up to 5 words and a meme.

I’m not going to be specific but:

And for the books I get to write with Macmillan:

The girl gang heist:

To be announced Peter Pan book:

Do you have a writing playlist? And if you do, does it focus more on the lyrics or melodies, vibe of the songs?

When I’m on deadline, I write in silence or loop a song over and over to feed my ADHD brain. I feel like the melodies/vibes of a song really helps set the tone of my work. For example, I have a girl gang heist I’m working on right now and I want it to feel very spaghetti western. But instead of having songs about cool girls or, high energy action music, I’ve been looping Ana Brun’s All My Tears. For The Wicker King, I really wanted a cinematic feel to the book so I looped Ralph Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending. For The Weight of the Stars I looped this song called Nebula Reborn by Alex Mason (here too if that link doesn’t work) who is an incredible modern Russian composer.

What’s your writing process? At what point do you let other people read your drafts and who are they?

I let anyone read my work at any time. I genuinely just love stories and bouncing ideas off of people. I feel like the earlier I can get input on a concept, the better my own “birds eye view” of its value becomes. I tend to write my books very methodically. I write skeleton outlines, character outlines, and long hand drafts, sometimes I even do illustrations before I begin writing my books. I only begin when I have a clear understanding of the world I’m building and the journey I want my characters to take. I want nothing to be a surprise. Then, once I have roughly half of the book written, I like to poke people who liked earlier work of mine and let them take a crack at it. I generally don’t care about actual editing until it’s in the hands of my actual editor, but getting early feedback on the character’s personalities and the general pacing is very important and helpful!

Which three authors would you say influenced your writing the most?

Lemony Snicket, Madeleine L’Engle and A. A. Milne.

Lemony Snicket taught me that I could write whatever I wanted in whatever format I wished, as long as the actual content was enjoyable. Madeleine L’Engle taught me unabashed tenderness, and the emotional succulence of having characters show their hearts. A.A. Milne taught me the value of comfortable spaces, and creating the sort of warmth that feels like curling up by a fireplace. He’s also very funny in unexpected places, so I loved and learned about that from him too.

If (when!) your books were to be made into movies, who would you like to direct them?

TAIKA WAITITI. I would trust him with anything.

And for something that is also very important to us & what we put a lot of emphasis on when blogging. What does ownvoices LGBT representation mean to you?

Honestly, from the state of the history of LGBT representation and general acceptance in common culture I’m just trying to support as many of these books being written during this flow before we see another ebb. The more books and media with LGBT relationships in them are physically out in the world, the harder it will be to suppress their existence in the future. I know that’s macabre and not uplifting at all, but I am fully cognizant of the massive gay silent film era, and how lucky we are to have bits of that left. I write for teens of today of course, but I also am constantly thinking in the back of my mind about how–because I’m writing today–maybe 40 years in the future some closeted-for-their-safety bi kid might find a risque, banned book in the dark forgotten corners of a library or family book store and it could be The Wicker King.

Rec us some great LGBT books you’ve read recently! One can never have enough recommendations!

Not to be mainstream, but Red, White & Royal Blue snatched my wig and threw it into the rafters last week.

What’s one piece of advice you would like to give your younger self?

I think I would tell myself to love cringey things with more passion and to be less concerned about what other people thought of me. I wasted the 3 years, that I could have spent enjoying My Chemical Romance, turning my nose up at pop-punk. I genuinely wish I hadn’t. Being yourself is the ultimate cool.

If you could have dinner with one member of the LGBT community, dead or alive, who would it be?

Lord Byron, by a grand margin. Of course, he would certainly be many levels of unbearable for reasons both obvious and historical. But I’m a Gay™ who thrives on drama, and the gossip that would undoubtedly fly out of that man’s mouth would be worth every second spent with him. Also, I nEED to meet Mary Shelley, and the likelihood that she’d be nearby him at any given moment is pretty high.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

K. Ancrum grew up in Chicago, Illinois. She attended Dominican University to study Fashion Merchandising, but was lured into getting an English degree after spending too many nights experimenting with hard literary criticism and hanging out with unsavory types, like poetry students. Currently, she moonlights as a legal assistant and goblin who skulks about writing in the corner of Starbucks.

Add to Goodreads | Buy The Wicker King | Buy The Weight of the Stars