I recently had the pleasure of sitting down for a Q&A session with the super talented Irish-American author Kelsey Kingsley. Kelsey’s new book To Fall for Winter is slated to be released on March 19th. Mark your calendars everyone!
Before we get started, a little background about the fabulous Kelsey Kingsley. She lives in New York (Which makes us state neighbors) with her family and a cat named Ethel. She believes there is nothing better than a good doughnut and a cup of tea, and that there is a song for everything.
Mika: What’s the best Irish dish you cook?
Kelsey: I really, really love making cottage/shepherd’s pie. It takes so long to make, so I don’t normally have the time, but when I do… Yeah, baby. Also, potatoes. All the potatoes.
Mika: Sounds AMAZING! I love potatoes.
What is something most readers would be surprised to learn about you?
Kelsey: I’m legally blind with a condition called Achromatopsia. With this includes horrible light sensitivity (Achromatopsia is also referred to as “day blindness”—I am literally blinded in sunlight) and total colorblindness. So, in my books, I rarely describe color and when I do, it’s only my assumption of how that color would be described.
Mika: What is your favorite season and why?
Kelsey: Fall, hands down (with winter following at a close second), I despise the summer with an undying passion—one, because of the discomfort the sun brings me; two, because the heat makes me physically ill; three, because I hate feet—and when fall rolls around, it’s just relief. Plus, Halloween is in the fall and that is holiday to trump all holidays, in my book.
Mika: LOL. OMG I love your answer. Fall is also my favorite season. But I admit I’m a big fan of summer. What 5 items you can’t live without?
Kelsey: Pens, notebooks, lip balm, men’s deodorant, hoodies.
Mika: I know you’re close to releasing your next book. What can you say has changed the most in your process or style from book 1 to your next release?
Kelsey: OH BOY. Prepare for a long-winded answer. So, before I released Holly Freakin Hughes, I had spent years living in fear of what others would think of my book, because I believed it was horrible (we’re all our own worst enemy, right?).
Mika: Trust me, I know the feeling. We are very hard on ourselves.
Kelsey: Part of that was due to the fact that I had no idea what I was doing, writing a full-length novel. I had only ever written shorter stories, so writing something as long as Holly Freakin Hughes ended up being was more of an experiment than anything, and I thought it sucked. I did publish that book, though, and the response was surprising. I figured, hey, I guess I can do this, after all, and I taught myself to not hate on my own work as much. To have faith in myself and my stories. Also, I developed a more trusted way of outlining my books, a system that actually works for me, and it helps the writing process so much more.
Mika: We may have to exchange outline notes. I always think I have the whole story figured out and then the smarter part of my brain whispers, nope. Outline Mika. Outline.
Mika: Do you ever incorporate real life people or stories into your books?
Kelsey: I do take some inspiration from real people on occasion, but usually, my characters are their own people.
Mika: What’s the most memorable reader reaction you’ve received?
Kelsey: One of my good friends read One Night to Fall 8 recently and told me that it helped her marriage. She told me that Patrick Kinney, in all of his imperfect perfection, helped her to appreciate that, while her husband may be flawed, he’s still perfect for her. That was, hands-down, the best reaction I’ve ever had.
Mika: Let’s talk book and your Irish heritage, do you incorporate the culture in your books?
Kelsey: In my Kinney Brothers series, absolutely. Not just my own traditions, but I also took some from a few of my friends I had growing up, whose parents came from Ireland.
Mika: What can you tell us about To Fall for Winter?
Kelsey: Well, To Fall for Winter is about Patrick Kinney’s younger brother, Ryan, one part of a twin duo (Sean comes next!). The book is VERY different from the sweet, second-chance story you get with One Night to Fall, though. To Fall for Winter is actually my most nerve-wracking book thus far, because I don’t feel that Ryan Kinney and Snow are your “typical” hero and heroine. They’re very unconventional, I think, in the way they meet, the way they connect, their interests and interactions… They’re very me, in a lot of ways, and I think that’s why I’m so nervous about them. For people to judge them is also in part a judgment of me.
Mika: I can relate. Sounds amazing though. What are your plans after To Fall for Winter?
Kelsey: Well, in May, I will be releasing the third (BUT NOT FINAL) Kinney Brothers book, which will center around the third brother, Sean Kinney. I have a “secret book project” that I’m currently working on that I hope to release mid-summer, plans for another Kinney book to be released in the fall, and I will be continuing my story In My League (from the Rounding Third Anthology) in my newsletter.
Mika: You have a very busy and exciting year. If your books were made into movies, what celebrities would you want to star in them?
Kelsey: I would love for Zooey Deschanel to play Holly Hughes, Sam Heughan to play Patrick Kinney, and Luke Mitchell to play Sean Kinney (who not many people have met yet, but…psst…he’s my favorite).
Mika: Thanks Kelsey for chatting with me. Come back and visit us soon. Readers, check out the cover for To Fall for Winter.
Isn’t it fab! I’m in love with it.
For latest updates, be sure to follow Kelsey on the links below.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/
love & kisses,
Mika Jolie
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