Tag: Tea with Coffee Media

Posted in Creekside Cafe, interview

Creekside Cafe Welcomes Nieya Glen

Posted on by Sherri

Sherri: Nieya Glen is a non-binary author who writes for the love of beauty and hope. They are the neurodivergent mother of two children, who assure them they don’t know enough about their mother to help write this bio. Nieya has a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and a lifetime of experience as an actual human. They are from San Diego, California and currently long to go back there.

Welcome Nieya.

Nieya: Thank you for inviting me.

Sherri: Nieya Glen is the author of Journey Through Eden, a dystopian novel with a strong female protagonist.

Nieya, tell us about Evelyn Morrison, the main character in your novel. How did you create her? Is she in any part you?

Nieya: A large part of myself is in Evelyn. Her awkwardness and insecurities are very much based on my own, and a lot of her attitudes are very similar to mine when I was younger. She formed a lot from my own past. I created her, in part, to honor the me that used to be and the growth that I’ve experienced. She holds a lot of beliefs and perspectives that I grew up with, but no longer hold.

Sherri: Where did the idea for Journey Through Eden come from? Was there one spark or many that ignited the idea?

Nieya: Actually, the idea was born from insomnia. When I have trouble sleeping, I try to create little stories in my mind to help fall asleep. I tend to think in pictures – still images like a single shot from a movie. One night an image came to my mind of a group of people waking up in a forest with no idea how they got there. Most nights I don’t remember the things I think about while I’m trying to sleep by the time I wake up, but this one image stuck. It kept coming back night after night, and I found myself asking questions about it. Are they alone? Where were they before? How would they react to this situation? And the story built from there. It percolated for several weeks before I even sat down to outline.

Sherri: Is Journey Through Eden your first published work?

Nieya: It is. I plan to write more books in this series.

Sherri: How was your experience working with Tea with Coffee Media?

Nieya: Tea with Coffee Media has been wonderful to me. I’ve been struggling with some other life issues and they’ve been very supportive and understanding. They have all been very enthusiastic about my work.

Sherri: What do you wish you’d known before publishing this book?

Nieya: I had tried to write for a long time before I wrote this book. I kept hitting a wall with everything and I finally realized that I was trying to write what I thought would sell. When I let myself write what was in my heart rather than worrying about what other people might like I was able to really immerse myself in the world that I had created. Being boxed in like that really killed my creativity. Some people can write by formula and create really popular franchises, but I think most of us just need to write for ourselves. I could have saved myself a lot of frustration if I had known that sooner.

Sherri: What advice would you give a writer who is just starting out?

Nieya: Experiment with your process. As a teenager, I would come up with these vague ideas that sounded awesome, but when I sat down to write I had no direction and everything just went nowhere. I had to learn how to plan my stories just enough to give them structure, but not so much that it kept me from exploring the world I had created. Every writer has a different process that works for them, and most of us have had at least one person try to tell us how we should write. Absorb the advice, try it out, but if it doesn’t work for you it doesn’t mean you can’t write. You just might need to try a different approach. And also, whatever process you use, be prepared to edit. A lot.

Sherri: What are you working on now?

Nieya: I have been working on a few essays for some outside projects in addition to the sequel to Journey Through Eden.

Sherri: Thank you Nieya for taking the time to talk to me. We enjoyed having you here at my Creekside Café.

If you enjoyed this interview with Nieya Glen then check out their book link and social media links below. Thank you for joining us at Creekside Café. If you are an author who wishes to be interviewed, you can contact me at suspenseshewrites@sherrilhollister.com. 

If the entire civilized world suddenly disappeared, how would you survive?

Evelyn Morrison, a social outcast, is thrown into this same scenario when a quake changes the way things were Before. Evelyn must learn to survive as our earliest ancestors did: with cunning, strength, ingenuity, and – most difficult of all for Evelyn – complete faith in oneself and one’s group.

With the coming of winter, increased tensions and a sense that the wild earth is about to swallow them. In this harsh new world, will Evelyn find the strength to believe in herself? Or will her long-time rival, Taylor, be able to bully her into submission?

She has to learn quickly because mother nature doesn’t provide do-overs.

Categories: Books, eBooks

Tags: apocalypse, friends to lovers, post apocalyptic, prehistoric, primitive, survival

Evolution of Eve Book 1: Journey Through Eden
Evolution of Eve Book 1: Journey Through Eden

https://instagram.com/nieyalily?igshid=ZGUzMzM3NWJiOQ==

https://twitter.com/nieyalily?t=4k_f2u5QSgwI9R0hSclfYg&s=09

author BT Harris with South Creek behind him, in black and white with bright colored lettering.
Posted in Creekside Cafe, interview

Welcome BT Harris to Creekside Cafe

Posted on by Sherri

Welcome BT Harris to my daydream. If I ever get rich, I’d like to have a readers and writers café on the waterfront of my hometown where I can drink coffee or something stronger and talk about books and writing all day long.

What is one of your dreams if you get rich?

BT: One day I hope to start my own nonprofit charity organization called Igor’s Children, which will help mentally ill minors get the treatment they need, including medicine and doctor referrals.

Sherri: That’s a lovely dream and one that is definitely needed.

You recently published your second novel, what was your inspiration? How did you come up with the idea for Beyond Olympus?

BT: The idea came from a very intense and vivid dream. I fell asleep over exhausted, and I was listening to Buddhistic chants and hums. I dreamt I was flying through space and eventually became a star. I woke up and wrote down the contents of the dream and started writing a story the next day.

Sherri: The book trailer made me think of a comic book, is that the direction you want to go? Do you have plans for a comic book or a graphic novel? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEhlJlXU7-4

BT: A graphic novel sounds like an interesting idea, but we will wait to see how well the book is received.

Sherri: Your main character Kristina is an astronomer and Buddhist. What else can you tell us about her? Why is she being entrusted with such cosmic importance?

BT: Kristina is the first human since Buddha himself that had this remarkable potential for growth. Others have tried to learn from Umun (our Sun) but failed to prove themselves completely. These failed students, as we know them, are the ancient gods.

Sherri: I read on your social media that you are also a poet. Which came first, poetry or prose?

BT: I started with both. Most of my early stories are in poetic stanzas. My first book was actually completed thanks to a massive epic poem I wrote to guide me.

Sherri: Do you think poetry helps you write better fiction? I’m always amazed by the way a poet can say so much with so few words.

BT: Oh, certainly. I would not be surprised if there are many smaller forms of writing that writers can practice their skills while trying to finish their first draft.

Sherri: What is it you love about writing fantasy? Do you enjoy creating worlds, unique characters or using magic, or is it something else?

BT: Moreso, the escape into a world where even I have difficulty navigating. A character will speak to me saying that this is over our heads. ‘You mean this is far too much fun for the both of us, let’s bring some enemies in.’

Sherri: It is said that all artists are a bit broken because only the imperfect can create something that will touch your heart. Writing became a way of expressing myself that I wasn’t able to do in real life. Has your writing helped you as well?

BT: No one is completely whole and no one is perfect. Some of us feel on a deeper scale, but who better to quote than Socrates when he said, “The real philosophers are those who love to see the truth.” If I was to broaden his statement to the emotional understanding. If we learn to recognize what we feel inside of us, and how appreciative we are of those who see as much, our hearts can be touched in a remarkable way. Sometimes I am afraid to admit the more I develop a character, they become one of those people I learn to appreciate.

Sherri: When I published my first book, I was terrified and sometimes, I am still afraid, but I make myself do it anyway. Were you afraid to publish your new book? How did you overcome your fears?

BT: I was not afraid to publish. I was afraid of what may come afterwards. There is no overcoming fear, no matter how strong you feel. By accepting the fear, you carry it with less weight.

Sherri: How was it working with Tea with Coffee Media? What was your favorite part of working with TCM? What was your least favorite part? How was it different than when you self-published by in 2015?

BT: TCM was the best experience I had when it came to publishing. My favorite is sharing the responsibility of the book than feeling smothered by all the control through self-publishing.

Sherri: What advice would you give a young author on the verge of publishing their first novel?

BT: Never, never, never, quit. Take a break if you need one. Enjoy life if you think you should grasp it. Just don’t quit.

Sherri: Thank you, BT for sharing your author journey. Best wishes for your writing and the success of Beyond Olympus. If you enjoyed this interview, you can find BT’s book links and social media links below.

Twitter @harrisbtauthor https://twitter.com/harrisbtauthor

Facebook BT Harris- Author https://www.facebook.com/btharrishdl13

A link to Beyond Olympus and its trailer:

Beyond Olympus

Books2Read eBook link: https://books2read.com/BeyondOlympus?fbclid=IwAR2HXCMdCue3qb3sthFMdWrcFiauHZvLku3tj1SzlIwn1YXSggDojjGL7CA

Posted in Creekside Cafe, interview

Welcome Destiny Swallows, to Creekside Cafe

Posted on by Sherri

Welcome Destiny Swallows to Creekside Café. Destiny is the other half of the writing duo of the debut novel, The Lost Maidens.

10 facts:

1: This is my first Romance novel. 

2: I made that helmet behind my head in my photo. 

3: I have autism.

4: My wife calls me Loki spawn, so it would be fitting that I’d end up writing an agent of chaos.  

5: I did 3 tours of duty in the Navy, which allowed me to travel around the world. 

6: If I had another chance, I’d love to return to Germany. I only spent a week in the nation. 

7: I can still hear the dial-up sounds, and you got mail when someone says anything about it.

8: As a panster, working with an outliner was interesting, to say the least. Having to plan out the chapters with Ruby was quite the experience. 

9: I hold a Batchelor of Science in Computer Security and a Master of Business Administration that I earned in the early 2010’s. 

10: I grew up in Portland, Oregon but now live in Colorado. The climate shock between almost a rainforest to the high desert has been interesting.

Bio: Destiny was kidnapped and forced to write this at writer point by Ruby. Having written privately for years, Ruby convinced her friend to share her work with the world. She’s traveled around the world, seeing far-off places that inspire the worlds she writes.

According to your bio you were held at ink point to write this novel. Tell us the truth, we won’t tell a soul. Is Ruby a vicious task master?

Destiny: No, she isn’t. Once she got me to start the project, I was the one with the whips.

Sherri: As a pantser myself, I understand the difficulties you must have faced working with one who plots and outlines. I do try but I’m not consistent. What was the most difficult for you?

Destiny: I tend to have an idea of where I want the book to start and end. From there, I tend to let the characters lead the way, often changing the ending I wrote down. I will build scenes in my mind before I sit down to write, as I feel like outlines are double the work. If you’re writing details already, might as well just write the draft.

Sherri: Oh, I agree. I fast draft, which is like an outline, before going back to hand fruit.

Destiny: Ruby is the type of writer that needs to have an idea what chapter is covering what. To have road signs as she writes and to have the details already worked out.  

Sherri: From Ruby’s interview, I know the two of you met through an online writers’ group. What do you usually write?

Destiny: I tend to write Sci-Fi, Historical Fiction, and Mythology. It’s wide selection of genres, but they are interesting to research how to provide realism to my novels. I love learning about the subjects I am writing.

Sherri: How did the two of you divide the writing?

Destiny: I wrote for Kaitlyn, while she wrote Alva. We shared the descriptions and NPC’s. As we both are Tabletop RPG players, we let the dice dictate how our combat actions, with a few exceptions for the plot.

Sherri: Tell me about the helmet in the photo. What was it for? You said you made it.

Destiny: I made it for my wife. It is the Lich King Helmet from World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. In 2015, she wanted to go to DragonCon, in Atlanta, as Elsa, the Lich Queen. We made her the helmet and sword, Frostmourne, for her to cosplay. We took cardstock, cut a pattern out for them, glued the pieces into a 3d model. From there, we fiber glassed them and used Bondo (for cars) to harden it and provide shape. My daughter airbrushed both for us.

Sherri: My daughter-in-law and grandchildren took me to a comicon. I enjoyed dressing up. I wish I’d known about using Bondo to fabricate my costumes. He’s a mechanic.

You said you hope to return to Germany, what adventures do you hope to do when you return?

Destiny: As a historical writer, I would like to see the rich history of the area. There is only so much you can understand from books, but physically seeing what happened in the old USSR state, to see the buildings that the Holy Roman Empire was ran from, to see the hills where the Celtics and Romans fought would help me translate that into my novels.

I’ve been to Italy, which allowed me to see the Vatican, Rome, Naples, and other towns on the Mediterranean. I’ve been to England and Ireland. I rather enjoyed their history as well.

Sherri: I love history as well and envy your travels.

The Lost Maidens is a historical, sapphic romance. I know you are married and have your own sapphic romance, but you said you’d never written romance, so how did this come about? Why romance? Why historical? How did this story evolve?

Destiny: Ruby was visiting my wife and I, and we started tossing ideas back and forth. The basic idea came rather quicky, one of us suggested Viking, which lead to a lesbian romance of the pair lost from their tribes. Ruby writes romance, so she talked me into adding it into the story.

Alva and Kaitlyn were not originally enemies to lovers. At best, they didn’t know each other but turned out that the healer cared more about making sure Alva would live than being nice. 

Sherri: How did you and your wife meet? And why does she call you Loki?

Destiny: I met her on one of those sites in 2012. We had dinner, and I pretty much never left. It was like magic, as we are both pretty closed off people, that we opened to each other. We’d spend every night after work smoking (bad habit, quit later) and talking on her back porch. We were married in 2015.

I am Loki spawn because if I can cause chaos, I will, just to see what happens. Loki’s role within the Gods was to be an agent of change. I tend to also push my friends to become the best they can be. Because of this, I earned the nickname.

Sherri: Do you use your education in your career?

Destiny: I use my MBA in my career, but my Computer Security degree, I haven’t worked in that field in 7 years. It is a very competitive field.

Sherri: With a degree in computer security, yet you have no social media presence. Has the knowledge kept you from setting up an account?  

Destiny: Mostly. I used to use social media a lot, but a few years ago, I said I don’t need this kind of negativity in my life. I walked away from most of them. I rather enjoy the person I am now that I’m not chasing likes and spending so much time doom scrolling. I also kinda forgot to make a Twitter account to promote my books until you asked.

Sherri: Now that your debut novel is ready to go live, what is next? Do you have other books ready to publish? Will The Lost Maidens be part of a series?

Destiny: I don’t have any more books ready to publish, but Ruby and I are talking about writing starting a WW2 Spy Novel series, taking place in the early days of the war in France. We want to tell the stories of the woman who spied for the allies, like Virginia Hall. She had a wooden leg, and managed to cross the Pyrenees mountains, twice with it. She had named it Cuthbert, and her handlers once told her to cut Cuthbert loose if he’s giving her too much trouble.

There are many women who helped the Allies stop Germany. From France, Italy, Russia, and many other places. I hope in the series that we can include stories about the Night Witches (A WW2 Female only Bi-Plane Bomber squadron) and Lyudmila Mikhailovna Pavlichenko, was a Soviet sniper in the Red Army during World War II, who was credited with 309 deaths, making her the most successful female sniper in recorded history.

Sherri: Ah, you are talking to my heart with WW2 stories, especially female spies. I will be happy to do another interview when you get that series up and going.

Thank you for joining us at my Creekside Café. I wish both you and Ruby great success with your debut novel.

If you enjoyed this interview, check out The Lost Maidens pre-order now, it goes live July 19th.

Book Links: Ebook: https://books.apple.com/book/id6442993294
Print Book Link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-lost-maidens-destiny-swallows/1141660384?ean=9781957893105

Book Blurb:

Alva and her wife Lise are on a mission to lead the sassy Princess Kaitlyn to a new land. They will combine clans through Kaitlyn’s marriage to the son of Alva’s chief. Standoffish at first, the pair quickly draw a disdain for one another, unmatched by any sense Thor and Loki.

However, when a storm rocks their world and capsizes their boat, Alva and Kaitlyn are the sole survivors. They are left with the tasks of exploring not only a new world, but also their newfound desires for one another. When the pair comes across a village hidden in the cold Canadian arctic, they embark upon creating a new life with the native people.

As they become one with the Inuit, how will these shield maidens prepare for their biggest threat yet? Will Alva be able to find Lise in their new village? Or will she seek comfort in the arms of Kaitlyn? Will the shield maidens be enough to protect the village from Frost Giants?

Find out in The Lost Maidens! 

Book Links: Ebook: https://books.apple.com/book/id6442993294
Print Book Link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-lost-maidens-destiny-swallows/1141660384?ean=9781957893105

Posted in Creekside Cafe, interview, News

Creekside Cafe Welcomes Ruby Marley

Posted on by Sherri

Welcome to Creekside Café, Ruby, it’s great to have you here. You said you came up with your penname using your birthstone and first pet. We share a birthstone. I wonder if we also share a birthdate. Mine is July 24th. 

Ruby: Holy cow, what are the odds of that?! I was literally born the next day on July 25th! 

Sherri: Oh that’s just too cool! We’ll have to celebrate together this year!

You mention your favorite trope is Enemies to Lovers, it’s one of my favorites as well. What are some of your other favorites? What trope haven’t you used but would like to? 

Ruby: Oh, goodness. Well, I hate to keep talking about Katee Robert but com on. Tink and Hook in “A Worthy Opponent” from her wicked villains series? What’s not to love.

Sherri: The Lost Maidens is your first published novel, what made you decide to use Tea with Coffee Media for your publishing? 

Ruby: I have the incredible pleasure of being friends with a few of the individuals on the board, and they are fiercely supportive. They don’t give my imposter syndrome the opportunity to set in because they leap at a chance to read what I work on. So when they said “We want The Lost Maidens” how could Destiny and I say no.

Sherri: How was it writing with a co-author? How did it differ from writing your other stories?

Ruby: Destiny is my first official collab partner and it was so much fun, especially since we actually got to be in the same room as one another for part of the writing process. I visited her during NaNoWriMo when we started working on The Lost Maidens. The energy in that room was absolutely electric.

Sherri: What do you hope readers will feel or think after reading your novel?

Ruby: Well, I may be biased cause I helped write the damn thing, but I hope it touches the hearts of all who read it. Cause I certainly cried in a few places. We just really wanted to tell this beautiful love story between two badasses.

Sherri: You got your start writing fan fiction, what benefits and/or disadvantages do you believe this experience gave you? 

Ruby: I don’t think there were really any disadvantages to the experience. The worst thing that could come of it is some people might find the fanfics I posted online and then I’ll have to do the writer’s walk of shame. But I don’t understand why people look down on fanfiction so much because I personally think it’s a wonderful writing exercise. You’re working within the constructs of a world that you didn’t create–even if you do AU fanfiction, that still applies. You have to tell a compelling story in someone else’s sandbox. And not everyone can do that. Plus, fanfic also gives you an opportunity to improve as a storyteller. Nothing will make you work on your grammar like fifty people in the comment sections listed everything you did wrong grammatically. You can use up those self-indulgent bad ideas and learn WHY they might be self-indulgent bad ideas. Anything that improves the craft isn’t bad.

Sherri: I think writing fanfiction is a great way to get your creative mind in gear, and like you said, a great exercise. I am the chairperson for the Pamlico Writers’ Group and people often ask me how to get started. Fanfiction, creative workshops, writing prompts, anything that starts that journey isn’t anything to be ashamed of. I have several accomplished author friends who got their start with fanfic. No shame in your game, sis.

Your short stories blend history and erotica. Why historicals? Why eroticas? 

Ruby: I have often been told that I’m and old soul and was born in the wrong time period. I don’t know, there is just something so romantic about history (biggoted backwards laws and social decorum not-withstanding). And eroticas I think I was drawn to because I did grow up in the household that preaches sex was meant to come after marriage. And of course, no one really talks about women’s enjoyment when discussing such subjects. But when I learned I wasn’t really conventional in that way, I longed for something to prove that there were others with my tastes and desires. I found that in erotica.

Sherri: Does The Lost Maidens have elements of your other stories or is this something completely different? 

Ruby: I mean it does have an enemies-to-lovers trope, but this is the first sapphic love story I’ve ever wanted to write and I love that. Frankly, there needs to be more historic lesbian romance novels.

Sherri: I’m seeing a greater acceptance and even main-stream popularity of sapphic romance. A friend writes a wonderful vampire series and there are a couple other historicals I’m interested in reading. I love historical romances.

How did you and Destiny meet? How did the two of you start writing together?

Ruby: Destiny and I met online during the early stages of the Covid 19 pandemic. We were a part of the same writing community and everyone was desperate to find anything to kill the boredom. I had just finished re-writing another book and was looking for a critique partner. Destiny had also finished a book recently so she volunteered to swap books with me. We worked on each other’s books for a while, but real life stress and drama kinda led to everything falling by the wayside and we didn’t speak for a while.

Then, she reached out to me in September to apologize for not finishing her critiques. I did the same and we each thought we were mad at the other this entire time which is why we were both so quite. We rebonded quickly, finding more things in common and within about a month, Destiny said “We should write a book together”. The rest is history.

Sherri: Will The Lost Maidens be part of a series?

Ruby: That was not the original intent, however per the advice from our editor, there MIGHT be a prequel that looks at Alva’s life before Kaitlyn.

Sherri: You are also working on a solo series, what are your plans for this new series? 

Ruby: So “The Dark Ages” series is a modern Mafia retelling of the myths of King Arthur. So the first book looks at the affair between Lancelot and Gunivere. The second book is a sapphic Enemies-To-Lovers for the Lady of the Lake and Morgan Le Fay. And finally, the last book is a thruple love story between Gawain, a Knight of the round Table, Lady Ragnelle, a mysterious wise woman, and the Green Knight, a man who was one of Arthur’s critics and a bit of a trickster himself.

Sherri: You’re not exactly a novice but I’m sure you must still be excited about the release of your upcoming novel. What are you most excited about and what are you dreading? 

Ruby: Oh, goodness. I’m just excited for it to be out in the world. People have already started to show an interest in the book and have been asking where they can find it and when they can get it. What am I dreading? It’s not really dread, but let’s face it, marketing is hard unless you went to college for it, and I am absolutely clueless about it. So marketing is definitely the hardest part for me.

Sherri: If you enjoyed this interview with Ruby Marley stay tuned for her co-author, Destiny Swallows. Check out The Lost Maiden, which launches July 19th, 2022.

If you are interested in learning more about Ruby’s other stories, you can follow her social media and check out her website. 

The Lost Maidens:

Alva and her wife Lise are on a mission to lead the sassy Princess Kaitlyn to a new land to combine her clan and a new clan by way of marriage to their chief’s son. Standoffish, the two quickly draw a disdain for one another unmatched by Thor and Loki’s. However, when a storm rocks their world and capsizes their boat, Alva and Kaitlyn are tasked with exploring not only a new world, but also their newfound desires for one another.

When the pair comes across a village hidden in the cold Canadian arctic, they embark upon creating a new life with these native people. As they become one with the Inuit, how will these shield maidens prepare for their biggest threat yet?

Will Alva be able to find Lise in their new village? Or will she seek comfort in the arms of Kaitlyn? Will the shield maidens be enough to protect the village from frost giants? Find out in The Lost Maidens!

Website Link: https://www.rubymarley.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RubyMarleyBooks

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@demibrat?lang=en

Book Links: Ebook: https://books.apple.com/book/id6442993294

Print Book Link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-lost-maidens-destiny-swallows/1141660384?ean=9781957893105

Posted in Creekside Cafe, interview

Kaitlyn Kalor Visits Creekside Cafe

Posted on by Sherri

Kaitlyn Kalor is a 9-year Navy Vet, having spent most of the first decade of the century on active duty. She grew up in the Pacific Northwest, giving her a love of the mountains that she enjoys daily viewing as she now lives in Colorado. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Security and a Master of Business Administration that she earned after the Navy. She has the weaknesses of Vampires, having porphyria. Vampiric myths about their sun weakness were based upon this illness. She is also a Transgender author.

https://www.amazon.com/author/kkalor

Welcome Kaitlyn Kalor to Creekside Café. I am so excited to be hosting my first author from Tea with Coffee Media https://twitter.com/TeaWCoffeeMedia. Thank you for stopping by my virtual café.

Kaitlyn: Thank you for letting me come by.

Sherri: You spent nine years in the Navy? I have a son who has been in for almost two years. He has just finished his rescue swimmer certification. What was your job in the Navy? Do you use it now that you are a civilian again? Does your time in the Navy influence any of your writing?

Kaitlyn: I was a computer repair for the first 6 years of my time in the Navy. My last 3 was spent as one of their white hat hackers. As a repair person, I managed to half fill a passport in 2 years traveling all over the world to include catching a flight to a carrier from Japan and flying out from Hong Kong. When I left the military, I worked for a Software company that developed software for the Government but after I left that job, the only aspect I still use is the technical writing I did for the Government.

I have a point in the book where one of the characters visit a native city whose design was directly influenced by the time I spent 3 months in Naples and the cities I visited while doing a network install there.

Sherri: You grew up in the Pacific Northwest, I have not been that far west. I’ve only been as far as Wyoming and New Mexico. My niece is out in Washington, and I hope to visit her and her wife one day. My sister-in-law has been out there a couple of times. Do you set any of your stories in Pacific Northwest? Where are your stories set?

Kaitlyn: I currently have no plans to use the Pac NW in the series due to the cultures I am involving. While I have several books planned for the Americas, the time frame puts most of the north under 2 km of ice. The books start 400,000 years in the past, but with Earth looking a little different. The image below is what Earth looks like at the start.

Book one starts between Africa and Asia, in a location that eventually becomes the Middle East. I have a plan that is very very loosely based upon a few scientific theories that will bring the planet inline with how we know the planet to look like.

Sherri: You hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Security and a Master’s in Business Administration. No offense but they hardly seem like creative pursuits. How did you go from computer security and business to being an author?

Kaitlyn: At the time I picked up my degrees, I was heavily involved with both in my company. I started writing when I was 17, in the days of Dial up internet with a Star Trek Play By e-Mail Roleplay group. I started a book with a friend in 2003, but that was never finished due to life for both of us.

In 2015, my company let me go. My health at the time started to slide so I started to stream on Twitch until my pain was too much to focus. I will say this, writing good research papers did help my technical performance in writing.

Sherri: What does Pride Month mean for you?

Kaitlyn: I have no option for it. It’s taken decades for me to accept who I am and to figure it out that I am transgendered. This apathy is a side effect from growing up in a Super-Christian household who preached separation, so I disassociated a lot of things, from birthdays to all holidays as I just didn’t grow up with them.

Sherri: Do you know where your inspiration came from for your novel Dawn of Humanity or the series Generations of Humanity? Did you first get started with a character or scene?

Kaitlyn: The story idea came to me one day in early 2018 when I fell into that part of YouTube. The video suggested that Atlantis might have been in Western Africa, the Eye of the Sahara, or its other name, Richart Structure. By the time I had finished watching, I had a basic outline in my head, covering at least 25 books. It has undergone several revisions since then, but the primary story arc has remained the same.

Sherri: Are you a plotter or a pantser? How do you write? Is this your first novel? How long have you been writing?

Kaitlyn: This is my first completed novel that was started in 2018, but I’ve been writing since 1997, mostly Fanfiction.  I am a planster right now. Draft 1 was written by the seat of my pants, then I started using the snowflake method to plan out the rest of the series. Draft 1 was a dual timeline novel, with a group from today discovering the past and re-living memories of the Aliens. I ended up scrapping most of my first draft because the second half of the series didn’t work due to power creep, and I couldn’t find an interesting way to keep the current timeline involved with the past. When I went to do draft 2, I ripped out the modern timeline and everything slid into place.

Sherri: How many books will be in this series? What is the overall theme? What do you hope readers will think or feel when they finish your book?

Kaitlyn: The series is currently planned for 22 books plus an apocalyptic trilogy to wrap up everything at the end.

I am hopeful that my books have my readers looking into our history, learning about civilizations that helped create our current world. I have a plan to write worldwide cultures to include African and American Gods. Morimi is the Yoruba Goddess of Fire for example, and she will have a strong role in the series. 

Sherri: Tell me about some of your characters. How would you describe them? What is their theme song?

Kaitlyn: The series uses the concepts of the Yuga’s from Hinduism and Reincarnation. While my ages are shorter than the ones in Hinduism, the concept of the Earth going through Cycles is a key plot point. Right now, I plan on having 6 major ages.

With this in mind, we learn that Enki is a new soul, learning about the world for the first time, while his biological father, Enlil, has been reincarnated several times. Chronos as well. The Anunnaki and Annunaki Titans are Reptilian aliens. Think of the smaller creatures from 1993’s Jurassic Park (Their fake Raptors for example Dilophosaurus) but upright like Humans. They come in all kinds of shapes and sizes.

This is Papsukkal, Gaia’s bodyguard. He is dedicated to protecting her, as he protected her father and grandfather. He very much is like “Another One Bites the Dust” when defending his charges from attack.

Gaia, Khione, and Morimi are Humanaki, they can shift their body sizes from 3 meters plus to human size. They have powers of Earth, Water (Ice), and Fire respectively.

Enki’s Theme song is Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin

F**kin’ Perfect by Pink is Gaia’s theme

Legendary is Chrono’s theme song.

Bad Blood by Taylor Swift is the theme when the two Sky Lords get ready to face off at the end.

Sherri: Kaitlyn, this has been fun. Give us 10 quick, fun facts about you.

Kaitlyn: I am one of the first Navy CTN ratting that was created in 2005. I am a Twitch streamer (when my health allows it), and a Twitch Moderator for a Twitch Partner.

I remember WebTV as my father was one of the few adopters of it. I was the kid who played Oregon Trail in computer labs on the old Apple IIe computers before I was homeschooled. I’ve used NetZero and Juno for dial up internet. My first home computer was a Commodore 64 where I’d end up playing games like F-14 Tomcat. I’d swipe the AOL floppy disc’s from the store entrance whenever I needed floppies.

Being homeschooled, I read a LOT of books. I’d ride my bike 10 miles to the local bookstore and spend the day reading, on most days back when Pagers were all the rage. I’d finish a paperback most days. That’s when I started my writing, via e-mail role play, but I never thought I would be good enough to become an actual author but here we are with my first book coming out 25 years later.

I love Tabletop RPGs, but I tend to be given the role of Game Master. I currently run a game based upon the book with a few from Tea With Coffee Media, for purely selfish reasons. They are helping me flush out the rest of the world.

As I live in Colorado, I grow my own cannabis in hydroponics for my pain management, but I’ve started branching out to grow things like Potatoes and other food in my grow tents.

Sherri: Congratulations on your debut novel. Good luck with your series. I look forward to hearing from you again.

If you all enjoyed this interview, check out Kaitlyn’s book “The Dawn of Humanity” available for pre-order, the links are below, follow her on social media and don’t forget to leave a review. Thanks again for stopping by.

Releases June 21st, 2022!

Book Blurb:

Thousands of years after their planet’s ruin, the Anunnaki and Titans led by Sky Lord An find their way to planet Earth. When this reptilian species lands on Earth, they discover a connection to their powers only described from the days of Olympus.

Sa-Tan Enki led a team of Anunnaki on a mission and set out to create a race of beings that mixed humanity with immortality. However, some of the Titans led by Chronos are unhappy with the creations. What happens when Chronos seeks revenge upon his brother Enlil? To cleanse the new planet of the bastard race, the Titans revolt against the newfound Olympians. Find out what happens in the first book of Generations of Humanity: Dawn of Humanity

My Social Media links are:

http://twitter.com/theciroth

https://www.amazon.com/author/kkalor

https://www.goodreads.com/kkalor

BookBub coming soon

Book Links Available for Pre-order! Releases June 21st!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09W4F2LX2?tag=publishdriv01-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1
https://itunes.apple.com/book/id1616162427
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dawn-of-humanity-k-kalor/1141251614?ean=9781957893006
https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=z0FlEAAAQBAJ
https://www.kobo.com/ww/en/search?query=9781957893006
https://bookmate.com/books/fk6YtDTb
https://www.24symbols.com/book/english/k-kalor/dawn-of-humanity?id=4018970
https://www.gardners.com/Search/KeywordAnonymous/eBook?Keyword=9781957893006&fq=14123

If you are an author looking for a virtual coffee shop to hang out, stop by Creekside Cafe. We’ll treat you so many ways you’re bound to like one of them.