Interview & Giveaway with Kira Brady

Books-n-Kisses is pleased to welcome for the first time Kira Brady.   We are chatting about her new Deadglass Trilogy.   Please make Kira feel welcome.  We have a special little treat for you at the very end of the interview!!!! 

Kira, can you please share with us a little about yourself.

I’m a vegetarian tree-hugger from Seattle who enjoys hiking through gloomy forests in persistent drizzle, wearing wool sweaters year round, and marveling over all to brief sun-breaks. I moved to Philadelphia for college, because the day I visited campus, it rained. Unfortunately, this was a cruel joke. It’s always sunny in Philadelphia. After graduation from the University of Pennsylvania, I quickly ran back home, where you can now find me huddled against the oppressive grey skies with a book, a mug of tea, my story-loving toddler, and my handsome hero.

Have you always wanted to be an author?

Only in elementary school. After that I came to the conclusion that an author was someone who enjoyed picking apart great literature like Camus’ The Stranger and Conrad’s Heart of Darkness—this was obviously not the path for me. I was in graduate school for city planning when I finally decided I’d rather write about imaginary cities than stamp development applications.

Are you a plotter or a panster? And you explain the difference?

I started off pansting, which meant I had a vague notion of my beginning, middle, and end, but no clear idea of how to get from A to B to C. It meant that I wrote about twice as many words as ended up in the final book. My process has thankfully evolved to plotting. The third book in the trilogy, Hearts of Chaos, I plotted out scene by scene with my critique partner before I started writing a word of it. It has been much more fun, and less frustrating, to write!

What is your most interesting writing quirk?

Even though I love writing, I have an awful time sitting down to the blank page. I need to use two special programs to keep me focused: Write or Die is a program where I enter my time or word goal for a session, and, if I stop writing, it will 1) flash red, 2) start playing a siren, and finally 3) delete my words. That’s motivation to keep going! I usually write in 1000 word sprints, which I can do in about 40 minutes to an hour. Mac Freedom shuts down the internet on my computer.

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

Hearts of Darkness is the first book in the Deadglass Trilogy. It’s set in a gritty alternate Seattle where two shapeshifter races fight over the cracked Gate to the Land of the Dead. A human woman who doesn’t believe in the supernatural must team up with an outcast mercenary werewolf to find her sister’s killer before the Gates open and all hell breaks loose.

How did you come with the idea for this story?

I took the Pike Place Market Ghost Tour, which told about the founding of Seattle on liquor, whores, and gambling, and the ghosts that haunt our present day city. The historic landmark Butterworth Mortuary was featured on the tour, and it struck my imagination. There’s this spooky quote from Chief Seattle about the dead haunting the living. He also said, “There is no Death, only a change of worlds.” Thus the sinfully haunted Seattle of the Deadglass was born.

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

I’m finishing up the last book in the trilogy, Hearts of Chaos.

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

I’d love to meet the ghost of J.M. Barrie. Peter Pan was my favorite story as a kid. I can sing you every Broadway song and quote you random passages.

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

Write every day. Don’t think about writing. Don’t talk about writing. Don’t blog about writing. Just write. Write the story idea you have all the way through to completion, and then start the next one. The only way to learn how to write is to do it, and do it frequently. Give yourself permission to suck on the first draft. I really love Write or Die for this.

Can you share with us something off your bucket list?

Hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

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

Kristin Cashore’s Bitterblue, Karina Cooper’s Tarnished, and Meljean Brook’s Riveted.

What is one book everyone should read before they die?

One??? Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney

What is your favorite time of year & why?

I’d say summer, but it’s currently 66 degrees and overcast. 😛 August is a beautiful month in Seattle. The rest of the year it rains. That said I really love Halloween. It’s all about the challenge of designing a fabulous waterproof costume.

Who is your celebrity crush?  And what would you do if you ever meet them?

I have a huge crush on this tech blogger and evangelist. He’s a celebrity in certain geek circles. If I ever meet him, I’d probably ask him to have my babies.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Thank you for having me!

Learn more about Kira here: 

Website  | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads 

 Want a chance to read  the Prequel to The Deadglass Trilogy

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*giveaway is sponsored by Books-n-Kisses*

Hearts of Fire