We’re back with another interview today, and this time it’s one of our favourite authors, Kelley York! If you haven’t read any of Kelley’s work before, then you should absolutely do so, particularly her most recent paranormal YA series (which is, of course, also gay).
And don’t forget to follow her on twitter too!
Thank you so, so much for taking the time to talk with us!
Absolutely! I’m happy to do it.
Let’s start at the beginning. How did you first get into writing?
I’ve always written. Lots of short stories throughout school and an interest in creative writing classes… I did a lot of online roleplaying and fan-fiction writing, too, and that eventually led into creating my own characters and worlds and full novels.
You’re yet another author we’ve talked to who admitted to starting out with fanfiction… I honestly love how this is a common thread.
I think some authors are embarrassed to admit it, but when you think about it, it makes sense. Writing in someone else’s world gives us structure and existing rules to work with while getting to implement our own creativity. It’s a good learning opportunity to focus on plot and characterization, in my opinion!
I totally agree! It lets you focus more on the technical aspects, hone those skills, since you already have the basics covered by the original. Plus, there’s the fandom and the possibility of an instant feedback.
Yes, absolutely!
I just wish there wasn’t this weird stigma on fics, this idea that it’s just something that teenage girls do (as if there is anything wrong with teenage girls). What did you write fics for, anyway?
Anime series, mostly. I dabbled in Harry Potter, BBC Sherlock, and several video game fandoms, as well. My very first fandom, waaaay back in the day, was Gargoyles. I was maybe 12 or 13, and I still have friends from that period of my life.
That’s so cool that you managed to keep in touch! Fandom really just brings people together, huh? Okay, so what would you say are your favourite genres to read and write?
I’ve pretty varied in what I’ll read, if it’s recommended to me by friends. I’m a sucker for well-written characters, no matter the genre. But I guess, when I’m browsing on my own, books with darker themes catch my attention. Whether it’s contemporary, fantasy, historical, whatever. If it’s LGBTQ+ and looks kind of creepy and dark, I’m all over it. Feel-good books are nice once in awhile, but they aren’t really my thing.
As for writing… Most of my catalog are contemporary books. But that isn’t for lack of WANTING to expand into other territory. I’ve attempted a few fantasy books and paranormal, and always chickened out because the world-building felt so daunting. My current series that I’m so head over heels for is so out of the norm for me, because it’s paranormal AND historical, and I. Am. Loving. It. I really needed a change of pace.
A Light Amongst Shadows was the first book of yours I ever read and not gonna lie, I actually kind of associate you with historical fiction & paranormal.
I’m totally 100% cool with that! I love this genre so much.
Yeah, you can tell from reading the book! It really shows that you were having fun with it! And are there any genres or tropes you wouldn’t write?
Love triangles. Hands down. I would be hard-pressed to ever write one. Genres… Sci-fi is probably out for me. I have a lot of respect for people who can write well-done, convincing sci-fi because it requires a skill level with world-building I definitely do not possess.
I’m so glad to hear you wouldn’t touch a love triangle!
They can definitely be done well, but I couldn’t handle it. My characters tend to have their One True Loves, and that’s the way I prefer it!
Personally I can only handle love triangles, if they end in a polyam relationship.
Okay, I might be tempted to write THAT. 😉
OH MY!! Please do. This is definitely a highlight of my day, but let’s not dwell on how gay I am.
Haha.
How do you get inspiration for your books?
Inspiration… Most of my stuff starts with a character–or a set of characters. I ask myself questions about them. What makes them unique? Why do they have this unique trait? Who are the people close to them? (To start expanding their relationships–platonic and romantic.) A plot starts to get built around that character(s).
I usually go for character-driven books, so I highly appreciate your approach!
Thank you! I go for those kinds of books, too.
A good plot is great, but aren’t we really all here for the people? And for crying about said people (at least in my case).
Oh yes. I’m totally here for a good cry over fictional characters.
The best kind of catharsis. Do you have a writing playlist? And if you do, does it focus more on the lyrics or melodies, vibe of the songs?
I have playlists for most of (all, maybe?) my books, and those songs are generally associated because of the lyrics. They might inspire ideas for scenes or something. (In fact, I used a line from a song for my “quote” at the beginning of A Calm Before the Storm because it was so fitting.) When I’m actually writing, though, lyrics distract me. For that, I have instrumental playlists and I try to stick to melodies that fit whatever kind of scene I’m writing.
I was thinking you probably have mixes for your books that are made based on lyrics, given how important the characters are to you. Nice to know I was right. :>> Have you ever tried writing to songs in different languages or is that distracting too?
Yep, still distracting. It’s just hearing someone’s voice that drags me out of the moment, I think. I don’t concentrate well, haha!
I have the attention span of like the smallest puppy, so I get you. And what’s the rest of your writing process like? At what point do you let other people read your drafts and who are they?
That’s a question with a really long, in-depth answer… Let’s see if I can not ramble.
Oh please, ramble away.
I find plotting an entire book doesn’t work well for me, because my characters tend to deviate somewhere along the way and render half of my outline useless. So I’ve taken to plotting in quarters. Plot out a quarter, writing it, see where I’m at, plot out the next quarter…etc. It works well for me. I’m spent last night with Rowan plotting out the 3rd quarter of Dark is the Night 3.
Once the first draft is done, I do a read-through on my own to address any glaring issues, fill in any blanks I may have left, research historical things I wasn’t positive about the first time around. I try to double-check for consistency with spellings, character names, and timeline. I tighten up my words, take out things that were too wordy or unnecessary, all that fun stuff. Thankfully, my first drafts are USUALLY pretty clean because I edit as I write already.
At that point, I send it off to my betas. For the Dark is the Night series, I have a few people in particular who are golden at fact-checking. One is a British gent who knows a LOT about the era, and is kind enough to help me with geographical questions and such that I have before even starting to write. Another friend is brilliant with 19th century fashion. I usually have 5-7 betas on these books, and they’re all invaluable.
It’s so cool you not only have beta readers in general, but ones for specific aspects of your books! That’s true dedication to producing quality content.
With historical fiction, I felt like it was so important. Maybe we can’t get EVERYTHING right, but I want readers to at least see the effort put into it.
It pays off! And it’s definitely not something all authors do, so really, I double appreciate that. You mentioned plotting out almost the ending of the third book in Dark is the Night series. Can you summarise it in up to 5 words and a meme.
UH OH. Let’s see… Preston and Benjamin’s Bad Winter Vacation? And for a meme…
Sounds MARVELOUS. Which three authors would you say influenced your writing the most?
Peter S. Beagle; The Last Unicorn is one of my all-time favorite books. Diana Wynne Jones with her Howl’s Moving Castle series. Mackenzi Lee is a more recent favorite, but her writing has awed and inspired me a lot the last year. I don’t think I’ve ever pre-ordered a book and awaited it so impatiently as I have with hers.
I’m so happy to see you mention Howl’s Moving Castle, it’s one of my favourite books!
Howl and Sophie are both two of my literary crushes. I LOVE them.
Miyazaki’s take on them is great, too, but really, you gotta read the book to fully appreciate them, right?
Definitely. The Ghibli movie is gorgeous and I love it, but there are so many great lines in the book and its sequel that just aren’t done justice any other way.
Not to mention the whole background of Howl.
YES! In the sequel [Castle in the Air], one of my favorite lines that has always stuck with me, is when the main character says to Sophie as she’s ranting about Howl, “Strange that you should speak so proudly such a list of vices, most loving of ladies.” Sophie’s retort: “What do you mean, vices? I’m just describing Howl.”
A feminist icon. Not letting the love interest get away with any shit. So speaking of books to movies adaptations, if (when!) your books were to be made into movies, who would you like to direct them?
That’s a question I haven’t had before! And a good one. Atmosphere is so important in the Dark is the Night books, that I’d want someone REALLY good at handling that. Jakob Verbruggen directs The Alienist which, as far as television goes, is probably the most similar in tone and feel (and era) to my books, and he does a BRILLIANT job with it.
I’ve seen the first episode of that and yeah, I can see what you mean about the similarities in the vibe.
It really is. Even if it’s not a paranormal show.
Well, you can’t have everything… And now 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?
There’s been so much debate in the book world about who should write what types of stories. My two cents, for what it’s worth, is that anyone should be able to write about anything… with the caveat that they’re opening themselves up to criticism if they totally botch their attempt, especially if that attempt results in hurting a community.
To me, #OwnVoices is about helping to lift up writers as they write what they know. They aren’t just throwing in a token ~Gay Best Friend~ or whatever. They’re writing about experiences they’ve personally gone through, feelings and emotions they’ve tackled on their own. Even if they aren’t writing an “issue book”, they’re still able to inject a level of authenticity that someone not apart of that group just is not capable of capturing.
And, since LGBTQ+ authors (POC especially) have been shoved under the radar for so long, I think it’s especially important we’re hearing these stories from them…rather than outsiders (I hate that word, but I’m not sure what else to use in this instance) trying to tell our stories for us.
Basically, I feel there’s room for all our stories. But if I’m faced with two LGBTQ books: one written by a cis, heterosexual person or a book that is OwnVoices, I’m going to choose the OV book every time. I spent too much time growing up hating the very little representation I saw because it felt so forced or fake.
Every time Charlotte and I make a rec list for this blog, we try to only use ownvoices books. And it’s really for all the reason you just explained so well. There’s just this feeling of connection we get from ownvoices stories that no cishet author will ever be able to capture.
I love that about your lists! When writing A Shimmer in the Night, I was really nervous about approaching some of the race issues Benjamin was experiencing. As a very white girl, I haven’t experienced anything like that. I did my research, asked for opinions, and just hoped I did the subject justice. I also included some OwnVoices recommendations in the author’s notes to Asian authors, especially the few that write about immigration or being of mixed race.
It’s always risky business to write about things you haven’t experienced first hand, right? And yet, so many authors don’t seem to think that applies to writing LGBT characters…
And even within the LGBTQ community, I think that holds true. I know what it’s like to be a bisexual woman in a relationship with another woman. I do NOT know what it’s like to be asexual, or transgender, or in a poly relationship. I might have some ground for understanding it a little better than someone not in the LGBTQ community at all, but it’s still outside my own lane, so to speak.
Yeah! Still more authentic than a cishet author writing any of that, but it leaves you with that worry of not doing 100%, right?
Yes, exactly.
Focusing on that, rec us some great LGBT books you’ve read recently! Bonus points for ownvoices ones. 😉
I’m a very slow reader, sadly, so I don’t have as many as I’d like. I devoured The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee, which is the second in her Montague Siblings series. I don’t honestly know how Ms. Lee identifies, so I couldn’t say if she’s writing OwnVoices or not. But I can say her characters and worlds are so intricately fleshed out and gorgeously done, that she does representation VERY right.
Currently, I’m reading The Last Sun by K.D. Edwards. Totally not my usual genre, but absolutely LOVING it.
The Last Sun has been on my TBR for some time now and I know Charlotte read it recently and rather enjoyed it!
The world-building alone is really creative and nicely done! And each of the characters really leaps off the page so, naturally, I love that aspect.
Sounds like my kind of book, too. And drifting apart from books, what’s one piece of advice you would like to give your younger self?
Growing up with mental health issues–some diagnosed, some not–I think I would tell myself that it gets better. And to care less about what other people think.
That’s a good advice. And something I think a lot of teens want to believe growing up.
Definitely. Especially when they don’t have a support group to help them through it.
Okay. Last question! If you could have dinner with one member of the LGBT community, dead or alive, who would it be?
There are so many of them. Karl Heinrich Ulrichs is fascinating. Magnus Hirschfeld. Both people who thought of sexuality and gender as something more fluid and something people were born with rather than some “affliction” one developed. Alive… maybe Ellen DeGeneres, because she just seems so sweet and the sort of person I’d love to sit and chat with and ask about her life experiences.
Nice choices of vintage activists!
I love reading about the early activists!
Historical LGBT figures in general are fascinating, let alone ones who were actively trying to make things better for others. And on that positive note, I would like to thank you again for taking the time to chat with me! It truly means a lot. And I hope it was as fun for you as it was for me!
Absolutely. Thank you for the fun and thought-provoking questions!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kelley is a central California girl through and through. She resides in Sacramento with her wife, daughter, a German Shepherd, a handful of cats and rats. In addition to writing, she has her A.S. in Anthropology, and is a graphic designer with a specialty in book cover design. She spends her spare time playing video games and tabletop games like the nerd she is. Her specialty is LGBT+ fiction, usually with a dark twist.
Add on Goodreads | Buy Dirty London | Buy A Light Amongst Shadows
One Comment
Pingback: