The Crossroads Tour: Day 6 Karen Kincy

Thanks for meeting us at The Crossroads! Today we're featuring YA paranormal author, Karen Kincy. We LOVE the cover of her debut novel, Other:

1. What projects are you working on / have published?

My first novel, Other, debuted on July 1st of this year, and the sequel, Bloodborn, should be out in Fall 2011. Finally, the third in the series, Foxfire, comes out in 2012. Super-short teasers for each: shapeshifter girl hunts killer after paranormals like her—werewolf hunter gets bitten and becomes what he hated—fox-spirit guy returns to Japan to unravel mystery. Tada!

2. Best writing advice you've heard?

As soon as you write for publication and not purely for pleasure, it becomes a business. This may seem obvious, but for me I really had to rethink whether my ideas were marketable (did somebody already write this? Is it too weird?), whether I was doing a good job marketing my books (website, bookmarks, signings, etc.), and what my plans for the future of my career were (what next?). Sure, you can still have fun writing, but you have other obligations as well—and they can be really entertaining, too. What author doesn’t like meeting fans at a book signing?

3. What inspires you?

A divine lightning bolt from the heavens! Actually, no. I don’t believe in that kind of inspiration. I do believe in thorough research, having fun tossing around ideas, testing lots of premises, and not being afraid to make messes.

4. Did you write stories as a teen? If yes what has/hasn’t changed?

Yes, I’ve been writing forever, and finished my first novel at eighteen. A big part of me writing novels back then was figuring out how to write as I was going along. I stumbled over flimsy characters, clunky dialogue, and plotless stories on the way to decent novels that people other than myself would enjoy reading.

5. Describe your office/workspace/writer’s cave.

My writer’s cave moves with me, a bubble of space centered around my trusty netbook. I type in bed, on the couch, at a picnic table… this very interview question is being answered on a kitchen counter! When I’m not at my netbook, I’m sitting at my desktop computer, which is a little more mundane, usually with Pooka—my pooka toy that I hand-sewed—glaring at me when I procrastinate yet again.