Interview with Kait Ballenger

Books-n-Kisses is excited to have debut author Kait Ballenger on the blog today to chat about her new novella Shadow Hunter.  Which can be found in the book After Dark along with a novella from Gena Showalter.

Kait, can you please share with us a little about yourself

I’m a 22 (almost 23! lol) year-old graduate student living in central FL. My hometown is Detroit, Michigan (Taylor, specifically). I’m a wife, paranormal romance author, and professional bellydancer. I’m really close to my family and they mean the world to me. I’m also a lover of all animals—owner of 3 fur babies, 1 dog and 2 cats—and I’m now the enthusiastic owner of a 2008 VW Beetle Convertible in green!

Have you always wanted to be an author?

Not always. When I was a kid I wanted to be loads of different things. Some include: actress, model, musician, linguist, doctor, a Spanish teacher, and probably loads of other things in between. It wasn’t until I graduated high school that I realized I wanted to be an author, but I’ve had an interest in writing a long time.

What is your most interesting writing quirk?

Maybe the fact that I have trouble starting a manuscript if my office isn’t clean. When I sit down to write, everything around me has to be spotless. Usually, that’s at the start of a deadline. By the time I’m finished with the book it’s a huge mess lol.

Can you please tell us about your latest book(s)?

My newest release is After Dark, which is an anthology featuring my novella, a prequel to my Execution Underground series, called Shadow Hunter, alongside a novella by NYT Bestselling author Gena Showalter. My upcoming release is Twilight Hunter, which is the first full length book in the Execution Underground series. The Execution Underground is an international network of supernatural hunters who fight to protect humanity. Twilight Hunter tells the story of Jace McCannon a werewolf hunter who must partner with a female alpha wolf in order to catch a sexual sadist. Shadow Hunter in the After Dark anthology tells the origin of the Rochester division of the Execution Underground, the hunters which the series focuses on, and focuses on vampire hunter Damon Brocks journey into establishing the division.

How did you come with the idea for this story

The idea of the Execution Underground series came from all my favorite components of a paranormal romance series. Male focused, super sexy, strong kickass heroines, and unique paranormal world. Since so many paranormal books are focused on the paranormal creatures, I thought “why not focus a series on humans who hunt the paranormal?” The idea just evolved from there.

Can you share with us your current work(s) in progress?

Book 2

My current work in progress—which on the date you’re reading this at is hopefully now a finished work if I met my deadline lol—is the second full length book in the E.U series, Immortal Hunter, which releases in late January 2014. I’m also working on polishing up a YA urban fantasy/paranormal manuscript written under my maiden name, Kaitlyn Schulz, for submission.

Who is the one author that you would love to meet someday and why?

I would love to meet Gena Showalter in person. We’ve spoken online, but haven’t met face to face and I absolutely adore her, so it would be great to meet her. Also, Kate SeRine, who despite being one of my closest friends, I’ve never met in the flesh. One of these days I’m going to track these ladies down at a conference or something lol.

What is the best piece of advice you would give to someone that wants to get into writing?

Don’t give up. The difference between a published author and an unpublished one is time spent persevering and studying craft. I firmly believe that if you want to be an author and keep working at it long enough, it WILL happen. Also, don’t take into account how long it took other people. For some people, it happens really fast. For most, it takes years of writing before you ever secure an agent, let alone a major publishing deal.

Book 1

Can you share with us something off your bucket list.

Seems pretty simple, but I’d like for my husband and I to have a house full of kids in the future. As much as I want to be a NYT bestseller, and travel to the far ends of the Earth, the one thing I want to do more before I die is be a mom. Preferably, one as great as my own mom.

What is in your To Read Pile that you are dying to start or upcoming release you can’t wait for?

I have Cecy Robson’s A Cursed Embrace sitting on my bedside table and I can’t wait to dig into it. I also can’t wait for Kate SeRine’s Along Came a Spider.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I just want to say thank you to everyone who has read my books so far or plans to read them. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I’d be where I am now, but these sorts of things can’t happen without readers who really love the series. So I give my thanks to all of them.
A little more about Kait: 
Kait Ballenger is a full-time paranormal romance author, wife, bellydancer, graduate student, and soon-to-be-professor. She is the multi-published, award-winning author of the Execution Underground paranormal romance series. With a B.A in English from Stetson University, Kait is currently earning an M.F.A in Writing. Kait believes anything is possible with hard work and dedication. One day, she hopes to be a bestseller and to see her novels on the big screen. Look for the next two books in her page-turning Execution Underground series: Twilight Hunter, book one (August 2013) and Immortal Hunter, book two (January 2014). For more information, please visit www.kaitballenger.com or follow her on Twitter @kait_ballenger.

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Here is a look at Shadow Hunter

After Dark on Amazon | After Dark on Barnes&Noble

Vampire hunter Damon Brock’s newest assignment with the Execution Underground is Rochester, New York, a city crawling with the undead. But he isn’t the only hunter in town gunning for vamp blood. Tiffany Solow is fierce and ruthless when it comes to slaying the monsters that destroyed her family-and she works solo. But being alone is no longer an option when she meets the mysterious hunter who wants more than just her turf. Forced to unite against the local covens, the line between good and evil blurs when they must decide between their lifelong beliefs…and their newfound desires.