{Author Interview} Interviewing Kaitlyn Davis, Author of CHASING MIDNIGHT


Friends, this week, I will be updating and re-posting reviews of GATHERING FROST and WITHERING ROSE by Kaitlyn Rose, as well as reviewing her brand-new book CHASING MIDNIGHT later this week on tour!

To celebrate the fact that TODAY is the CHASING MIDNIGHT'S birthday, here is a fantastic interview with author Kaitlyn Davis. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did! ^_^

 

 An Interview With
Kaitlyn Davis

AUTHOR BIO: 


Bestselling author Kaitlyn Davis writes young adult fantasy novels under the name Kaitlyn Davis and contemporary romance novels under the name Kay Marie. To learn more about her contemporary romance novels, visit her Goodreads author page for Kay Marie.

Always blessed with an overactive imagination, Kaitlyn has been writing ever since she picked up her first crayon and is overjoyed to share her work with the world. When she's not daydreaming, typing stories, or getting lost in fictional worlds, Kaitlyn can be found indulging in some puppy videos, watching a little too much television, or spending time with her family. 

To stay up-to-date with all of Kaitlyn's new releases, sign up for her new release newsletter here: TinyLetter.com/KaitlynDavisBooks

You can find Kaitlyn on 








What inspired you to initially create a world where a disaster merged our world with a magical fairy tale land?

As always, my imagination ran away with me! I got this crazy idea for a fairy tale apocalypse where different fairy tale characters took over our world. And the more I thought about it, the more intrigued I became. The world I first imagined morphed into this creation that was half fairy tale and half real, formed by two parallel universes smashing together, leaving a patchwork landscape behind. Gathering Frost tells the story from the most modern-human perspective, and then each sequel delves more and more into the backstory, which I love! There's always another layer to peel away ^_^

How did you decide which fairy tales would lie at the heart of each novel?

I don't really know, lol. It all came together so naturally! There was no moment when I sat down and outlined what fairy tale each story would retell. I had a general idea for all the main characters who I wanted to write about, and their stories flowed together seamlessly. Matching those characters with their fairy tales just sort of happened after that. Guess I got lucky ^_~ Phew!

The concept of magic being stolen and bound with a curse in so intriguing; how did you develop the magic system and its rules when writing?

When I first started outlining Gathering Frost, I actually thought it would be a standalone. I was brainstorming the central conflict, and I knew the story needed a little bit more, then I just thought—what if the magic is cursed? What if Asher, as the prince, will inherit that curse? And I knew I had something. Of course, being a writer obsessed with worldbuilding, I couldn't just leave it at that. I started asking myself, why is it cursed? Who cursed it? When? And the whole idea for the series blossomed. I knew it was too much to shove into one book, so I thought, okay—each book with tell a slightly different perspective, revealing more and more about the world, so as each individual love story unfolds, you as the reader collectively learn more and more about the world of the series.

In the first book, it's more black and white—magic is evil and cursed, humans are the good guys. In the second book, it gets slightly more complicated. Omorose, the lead, has magic and a good heart, despite her curse. But as she learns more about where her magic comes from, her view shifts. Then in Chasing Midnight, the new release, you get to see the faerie perspective—someone born with magic, who witnessed humans stealing it away. And in the final book, Parting Worlds, we go back in time a bit to sort of see how the curse all began.

I love that the first two books, GATHERING FROST and WITHERING ROSE, had more traditional fairy tale roots, but I was also incredibly intrigued by the unique twist your characters took in CHASING MIDNIGHT. I was anticipating a Cinderella retelling, and while it had a few elements, it was also wholly original and introduced so much world history. Was this always your intent, or did the story take on a life of its own?

I definitely wanted this book to be bigger! Gathering Frost and Withering Rose were both very local (set mostly in one or two places), but with the third book, I wanted to show scope. Frederick, as a prince of the UK in a position of power, has a global perspective most of the previous characters lacked. And Nymia, with her faerie immortality, has a history dating back to the very beginnings of the curse. 

Centering the story on the faerie godmother, a side character in the original tale, gave me the freedom to veer off track a little! No one really knows much about her aside from how she helps Cinderella prepare for the ball. She never had a backstory, so I got to build my own. The first third of the story follows the more traditional roots of Cinderella, and then from there, things get fun ^_^

If you were gifted with magic and a curse, what might they entail?

My magic would be the ability to write at superspeed. My curse would be to have so many ideas my fingers can never keep up with my brain. Hey…wait a minute…

Do you have a favorite couple from the series? (I admit that I'm especially partial to Omorose and Cole!)

My babies! It's so tough to choose. Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairy tale romance, so I absolutely adored writing the love story between Omorose and Cole. But the banter I had going on between Frederick and Nymia in Chasing Midnight constantly had me smiling into my keyboard. And Asher and Jade are my OG… I can't decide!

What are your favorite fairy tales?

It's a tie between Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid! Obviously, as any reader understands, I relate to Belle SO much. Lol! Library of my dreams! But I've always had a soft spot for Ariel, and Eric is my most swoon-worthy prince. Since I'm working on the draft of Parting Worlds, the final book in the series which twists The Little Mermaid, I'll have to go with that one! I'm feeling it right now ^_^

Your covers are so gorgeous. Do you have any fun behind-the-scenes stories about their designs and the creation process?

Awe, thanks so much! I adore them too ^_^ I actually designed them as well. Photography is my second passion, so it’s wonderful to be able to produce some of my own covers as an outlet for that creative drive. 

When Gathering Frost first published it had a different cover. One of the reviews asked why the cover model "looked like a bootleg Kardashian" and I couldn't get it out of my head. Lol! Four years later and I still remember ^_^ When it came time to publish Withering Rose, I decided to rebrand the series with one of my favorite cover trends—pretty dresses! And I'm so happy I did because now I think these are my favorite covers out of all my books. You really can't go wrong with a gorgeous gown!

What hints can you whisper about the next book, PARTING WORLDS?

Well, I already gave a few away above—whoops! It's a twist on The Little Mermaid, telling the story of a faerie girl who meets a human boy and defies all the rules to be with him, unaware of the consequences her actions will unleash. Here's a little teaser to hold you over until the cover reveal on September 16th!

"I go back to the beginning, before I woke to a land I didn't recognize, before the night that changed everything, before the lies, before the secrets, before I lit the match that caused the world to burn. I go back to a time when I was just a girl, and he was just a boy, and we were two strangers on the brink of becoming so much more.

I know humans like to start these sorts of stories with once upon a time, but I'm worried that's setting the stage for false hopes.

Because we don't all live, and we aren't all happy.

Not every curse can be broken, after all."

I hope you enjoy the sneak peek! And thanks so much for this fabulous interview!!


  ~*~

O F F I C I A   I N F O:

Title:  CHASING MIDNIGHT
Author: Kaitlyn Davis
Release Date: August 26, 2019
Publisher: Kaitlyn Davis
SUMMARY:

This faerie godmother has an agenda of her own… Don't miss CHASING MIDNIGHT, a fantasy romance from bestselling author Kaitlyn Davis that reimagines the classic fairy tale of Cinderella.

“I could redeem myself if I wanted to. I could help them. But I won’t. I’m the villain of their story, because it’s the only way to be the hero of mine.”


Hundreds of years ago, humans learned the secret to sealing magic beneath their skin and stole it from the world. Faeries reverted back to flowers. Shifters remained trapped in their animal forms. Mermaids turned to foam. And the magical creatures who survived vowed revenge.

Nymia is one of those survivors, a faerie brought back to life by the return of her magic. When she finds a human girl named Ella with her sister’s power trapped beneath her skin, she’ll do anything to get her back, including kill.

There’s only one problem.

This isn’t the world she remembers. Humans here have a power all their own — technology. And when a human prince sees her using magic, he’ll use every invention at his disposal to track her down. The countdown is on, and time is running out. Nymia needs to find Ella, take back her sister’s magic, and escape the determined prince before the clock strikes twelve, or she might not make it out of his city alive…

*This is the third book in Once Upon a Curse, a series of interconnected stand-alone novels all set in the same fantasy universe.






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