I was lucky to get an interview with K.E.Andrews, the author of The Assassin of Grins and Secrets, and one of this year’s #SPFBO8 semifinalists.

Please, tell us a bit about yourself…
My name is Katie, and I live in Powder Springs, Georgia. I’ve been writing since I was in middle school. Fantasy has always been my favorite genre to read, and it inspired me to try writing my own books. When I’m not writing, I like to spend time gardening. I have way too many craft projects that I haven’t finished and too many books unread.

What was the first thought that popped into your mind when you found out you had made it to the semifinals?
The first thought I had was, “Is this for real?” I’d been anxiously waiting for the ax from Booknest. I had gotten a good review, so that gave me some hope that it might be good, and if my book didn’t progress, I at least had that review. I was in shock for most of the day and it didn’t feel real until I got the semifinalist sticker (and it still doesn’t feel real).

Why did you decide to take part in the SPFBO?
This is my first time participating in SPFBO. I had seen the competition last year on Mark Lawrence’s page and really wanted to enter this year.

Why should we buy your SPFBO8 book?
If you like dark fantasy books that are character-driven, with characters that are morally gray and make questionable decisions, then this is the book for you. Set in a Moroccan-inspired world, this story follows Serein who awaits death until a prince from the neighboring kingdom offers her freedom in exchange for being his guard. The only problem is that he’s the son of the king who started a war with her homeland and killed her family. Serein’s revenge runs deep, and she must decide between her freedom or her vengeance.

What got you into writing? And how long have you been doing it?
My Aunt used to tell me and my brother stories she made up when we were children, so I’ve been surrounded by storytelling my whole life. In middle school, I got really into writing fanfiction and thought I could write a fantasy series. It took several years for me to realize it wasn’t going anywhere, so I trashed that and started writing The Assassin of Grins and Secrets in high school. That story took me about ten years to publish.

Why did you choose to write fantasy? And why pick this particular fantasy subgenre?
Fantasy has been a huge part of my life, from reading Tolkien’s works as a child to my mom reading The Chronicles of Narnia when we took road trips. It just always inspired me more than any other genre (even though I’m a huge Star Wars nerd). Grimdark and dark fantasy were subgenres I didn’t get into until my teenage years. Prince of Thorns was the first grimdark novel I ever read and really inspired me to bring in darker themes to my own writing. I seem to like dark fantasy because it brings in a more gritty realism. I also liked having the darker moments complimenting lighter moments, having the bitter and the sweet all mixed together in a story.

Which other author has had the biggest influence on your writing?
If I say Mark Lawrence, that might sound like I’m trying to suck up but Prince of Thorns really had an impact on me. Tolkien’s lore and world helped me to create a lot of the mythology and religion in my own story. It’s a toss-up between the two of them.

What’s the best thing about being a writer?
Besides the lack of sleep and crippling imposter syndrome? Jk. I really love getting to create complex characters and releasing them into a world. I enjoy pushing the boundaries of my own imagination to see what I can come up with and create. It may not always be original, but it’s still fun. And the fact that other people enjoy the sometimes weird things I create is an added bonus.

What’s the hardest thing about being a writer?
Probably having confidence in my writing and the stories I publish. It’s easy to look at another author and see their success, and then feel that my work will never be successful or that it’s not good. Success in this industry is often defined by numbers of sales and money brought in, and it can be disheartening when you don’t get that kind of success. Overcoming that is hard at times.

Do you have any tip or an author app, tool, or resource that you can really recommend we try?
There are so many great resources. For a writing tip, I always ask why and how with a character’s actions: why something is important/how does it affect things. I like to look at the fine details and ripple effects because sometimes things are overlooked in stories, and it can make stories feel a bit rushed. It also helps me decide if adding something to the story or character is necessary or relevant. Not everything has to be relevant, but I think it’s important to see how a small action can affect a character’s storyline and the plot. For writing itself, I really like Vellum for formatting and creating my books. That and Canva Pro have been my biggest tools that have saved me a lot of time and money when it comes to formatting, cover layout and design, and interior art.

And now it's time to yank out your Palantir! Let’s talk about the future. What new projects are you working on?
Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll run out of writing projects, just time. Currently, I’m writing some short stories, a Celtic-inspired fantasy novel I’m hoping to publish next year and revising the second book in my trilogy.

Do you expect new technologies to come along soon that will have a huge impact on self-publishing? For instance, when will we see a decent novel written by an AI author?
Hm, I don’t really know. AI is one the rise and the art that comes out of it is interesting and has caused a lot of debate. If KDP revamps their cover designing section to make it easier to use and similar to Canva, that would certainly change things.

Do you have any dreams you’d like to share?
I really would just love fan art for my book. I already have a few fanfiction pieces that exist in the world but having some art that someone else has made for my book (that I didn’t have to pay) would be really wonderful.

Anything else you would like to say before we close?
I’m excited to have participated in SPFBO this year. It’s been a great competition so far and I’m cheering on all the amazing authors still in the running, and I now have 299 new books to check out.

I wish you the best of luck with getting some fan art, with sales, and in the competition, Katie.

Thank you for doing the interview!