Welcome to Wickedly Bookish's spot on the Hollowed Blog Tour! We have today for all you Wicked Darlings an interview with the author, Kelley York and a giveaway! Wigs and I teamed up for this interview and had a ton of fun. Enjoy!
Wigs and Wicked Interview Kelley York
Wicked: Welcome Kelley! Wigs and
I are excited to talk to you about your new book Hollowed! As you know,
Wigs reviewed Hushed here on Wickedly Bookish a few months ago and we
have been eagerly awaiting your next book ever since! Let's get our readers acquainted
with you shall we?
Hi!
About me: I'm a California author, and was born and raised here. I write a lot
of dark stuff and always have to tell acquaintances and coworkers that, no,
they probably shouldn't let their 12-year-old read my books. I play a lot of
video games, and I'm married to a gorgeous and wonderful wife.
Wicked: With the release of your
M/M YA thriller Hushed, you've really set yourself apart from
conventional YA authors, providing more intense plot lines and thrillingly dark
themes. Can readers expect more of the same from Hollowed?
Thank you!! I hope so. It's scary to put out a
second book and have readers holding it up to the standards of your first.
Because they want it to be as good, or better. Hushed lines up more with
my next Entangled book, Made of Stars, in the sense that they're both
contemporary thrillers with a M/M pairing. Hollowed is paranormal, but
does have an intense plot line with some mystery and thrill.
Wigs: You told me that this story
is very personal to you, how long have these characters been in your head?
Ages!
It all started with the protagonist of the second book, Noel. She's been in my
head for about five years. Briar came a little later. I'm so attached to all
the characters in this series, and it makes me equal parts nervous and excited
to share all their stories.
Wigs: Who was your favorite
character to write in Hollowed?
Hard to say, but probably Briar since she's the
narrator and I really got into her head. She develops a lot in Hollowed,
but she still has a lot of growing left to do. A close second might be Fred. I
grew attached to him so he just might show up again down the line!
Wicked: You've gained loyal fans
by writing exciting and unique stories that take risks and go where most YA
books only dare skirt around. How have you done this with something so
commonly written as the vampire?
A
lot of stories out there—the paranormal romance variety, in particular—focus a
lot around the vampires: being a vampire, dating a vampire, what have you. Hollowed wasn't so much about the
existence of vampires as it is about Briar, her journey, having to abandon her family/job/home,
wanting to avenge her best friend, finding out secrets about her sister and
boyfriend, and so on. This isn't a plot that centers around a romance, or a
"we can't possibly be together for supernatural reasons."
It's
not a vampire book. It's a book that contains vampires. And witches. And sassy
gay French shapeshifters. A little bit of everything. I certainly don't think
that makes it one of a kind, but I do think it makes it stand apart from a lot
of other paranormal YA stories.
Wigs: What would /you/ do if you
got bitten and turned into a vampire?
Probably
have myself committed because I'd be sure I was going nuts. Otherwise...if I
were turning into the Hollowed
variety of vampires...I think I could cope. The immortality thing has always
looked pretty neat to me.
Wicked: The majority of YA
fiction is directed toward straight teenage girls and usually stars an
archetypical M/F relationship. I'm just going to come right out and say Wigs
and I are big fans of your diversity in this area.
Wigs: How do you go about
determining what kind of romantic pairing you'd like to write about in each of
your stories? Does it come naturally or do you think about what the story calls
for?
I
really, really hate in media—books, television, movies—how it's automatically
assumed every character is straight until proven otherwise. I prefer to take
the stance of "all my characters are open-minded until proven
otherwise." This means, if I feel the chemistry happen between two
characters who happen to be of the same sex, I run with it. I let the
characters gravitate toward whoever they want.
Hollowed
contains a primary M/F romance with Briar and Noah, but there is a developing
M/M couple in the background, if you're paying attention.
I've
seen comments online about how authors are trying to jump on the "gay
bandwagon" because including a gay character in their story is somehow cool and edgy. That's not how it is for me. I'm a lesbian, so I feel
comfortable and at-home writing gay couples—whether they're guys or girls.
Sorry...that
was longwinded!
Wicked: The cover of Hollowed is
absolutely gorgeous!
Wigs: You designed your book cover.
Who's the model playing Briar?
Thank
you!! I couldn't honestly tell you who the model is. Like most self-pub
authors, I purchased a stock image to edit and turn into my cover. I do think
she's gorgeous, though. I'm a sucker for redheads.
Wicked: I noticed the cover of Hollowed
mentions it is "A Half-Light Novel."
Wigs: Are there going to be more
Half Light novels in the near future?
Absolutely!
I can't say how many books, because it's hard to tell until I'm writing. The
path it follows is a little weird. Book one follows Briar's story, but book two
will deviate from her completely to begin someone else's story.
Down
the line, their stories will merge into one. I'm still hesitant about doing it
this way because inevitably, people will read book two with the expectation of
more mention of the characters from book one.
However,
I wanted things to happen in chronological order. Briar won't be doing anything
exciting until the events of the next book kick a few things into motion. I'm
hoping to release the next book around October or November, but that's really
subject to change.
Thank you so much Kelley from
both of us for stopping by to chat and including Wickedly Bookish on your tour!
We would love to have you back for your next novel release!
Thanks
so much for having me, and for the awesome questions!
Hollowed
Kelley York
A Half-Light Novel
Genre: Dark Fantasy
All 18-year-old Briar Greyson wanted was to figure out this whole
living-away-from-your-parents thing. Apartment, steady job, cool
roommate? Check. Noah, her adorable (albeit elusive) boyfriend?
Check. Everything in the life of Briar was pretty good.
Then she and her roommate are attacked on their way home one night. Briar wasn't supposed to survive.
Instead, according to the two guys who saved her, she's turning into the things that attacked her: a vampire. Totally crazy and Not Okay. Now Noah's secrets are coming to light, and he wants Briar dead. Then there are the vampires who attacked Briar to lure out her sister.
Her sister...who died years ago.
(Didn't she?)
The city's body count is rising, and Briar wants to help put a stop to it. But first, she has to figure out who the real enemy is: the vampires, the boy she loves, or the sister she thought she'd lost.
Then she and her roommate are attacked on their way home one night. Briar wasn't supposed to survive.
Instead, according to the two guys who saved her, she's turning into the things that attacked her: a vampire. Totally crazy and Not Okay. Now Noah's secrets are coming to light, and he wants Briar dead. Then there are the vampires who attacked Briar to lure out her sister.
Her sister...who died years ago.
(Didn't she?)
The city's body count is rising, and Briar wants to help put a stop to it. But first, she has to figure out who the real enemy is: the vampires, the boy she loves, or the sister she thought she'd lost.
About the Author
Giveaway Details
This Giveaway is run completely by Kelley and I was graciously provided the rafflecopter code to share with you all. I believe it is international. There are loads of blogs you can follow for entries, including mine at the bottom! If you are already a follower of my blog then that is an easy entry for you! If you are not yet a follower of Wickedly Bookish, of course you don't have to follow, but it would be much appreciated and get you an extra entry in this awesome giveaway! Now go ahead and fill out the rafflecopter! You know you want to.
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