Fighting Prose Interview with K. T. Egan

Welcome to my in-depth writers series Fighting Prose. Where I talk to authors in the industry on what their process is like and what it takes for them to keep on creating, through all the odds. This week I’m interviewing K. T. Egan an up and coming indie author!

How long have you been writing?

Does the scribblings of a six-year-old count? If so, about seventeen years.

Of the books you’ve written, which is your favorite?

I've just finished one but it is the first in a four book series entitled Anderson Creek. Out of the four books (including the three drafts that I'm revolving around) I think my favorite is going to end up being the last in the series, A Patriot's Way.

What's your favorite genre to read? Write?

I don't really have a favorite genre to read. I'm currently on a mystery/murder-mystery/fantasy kick. I write contemporary romance, with a pension for small town and new adult fiction.

How do you get in the mood to write?

I'm always in the mood to write. I don't actually stop jotting down ideas and plotting scenes, even if I only have a few hours a week to commit to actually writing right now.

How do your characters come together?

They come and go in waves. My characters for the Anderson Creek series came together like a whirlwind: Maverick, the young lawyer who almost destroyed his happily-ever-after. Roxanne, the aspiring author who takes a detour to Las Vegas until Maverick nearly dies. Cheyenne, Roxanne's busy-body, disgruntled best friend who has relationship issues and is unaware of what to do with kids. Wesley and Connor, brothers raised by a widower father and two very different people: a photographer and a goofball, and a serious, somber young soldier with a pure sense of purpose. And Silas, the sixth Anderson Creek kid, who is a wonderful supporting character but just very bland. The other books that will stem out of Penn Ridge, Pennsylvania, are still forming in the back of my head but there are some really exciting things around the corner for this little slice of the world.

How do you get your ideas?

It usually just comes to me. For instance, my Anderson Creek series, I came up with the main plot for All You Hold On To (Book 1) with a question: What would happen if you gave your current partner power-of-attorney over you and then you broke up? From there, the entire series started to take place. And now I have little tidbits of three full length novels, a novella, and a couple of spin offs based on the small town, Penn Ridge, Pennsylvania, I created for the series.

What do you admire the most about the writing world?

Oh there's so many people. I've always been inspired by so many strong, female authors that I don't think I could chose.

If you're not busy writing, what are you busy doing?

I'm a full-time copy editor at an international developmental finance consulting firm, a part-time manager at an ice cream shop, a blogger, an avid knitter, an obsessed cat mom, a partner, and an amateur chef.

Have you always been creative?

I have been writing since I was six years old; from little stories I'd come up with for my toys (a lot of them had to do with court cases - I was a fair judge at six) to where I"m at now. I always knit, a lot, it's almost compulsive. And I like to cook and bake.

Have you ever had writers block? If so, how did you get out of it?

For writers block, I pick up a pen and sit down with a yellow legal pad to sketch out ideas. It works fantastically.

For a writer starting out what advice would you give them?

Keep writing - a second draft, a third draft, even a tenth draft. They're not all going to be winners, but by the time your gut is telling you its down you'd have put in a wealth of work.

What is your dream writing location?

The Colorado mountains, in the snow, in a small cabin with a huge fireplace and limited access to people. I'd get so much done.

In reference to your books, what question do you get asked the most?

Which character do you like the most? (It's Wesley - he's my favorite!)

If you could bring one of your characters to life who would it be? Why?

Caleb Anderson, Cheyenne's grandfather. I modeled him after my Grandpa, who passed away a couple of years ago. I think it would be amazing to sit down and talk to Caleb, just to see how deep the comparison between the two would run.

What do you think makes a good story?

Realistic characters who are driven by a sense of purpose and a desire for something more. They don't have to always have happy endings they just have to be sincere.