Rookie Wednesday: Kelly Gay, author of The Better Part of Darkness

This week's interview is with author Kelly Gay who's first published novel, The Better Part of Darkness, is due out November 24th!

What's one random tidbit about yourself?

I adore strawberry milk.

What were you doing the moment you found out that The Better Part of Darkness had sold?

I was out of town for my sister's graduation from nursing school. It was Friday the 13th, in the afternoon, and we were just hanging out downstairs when the call came to my cell phone. It wasn't completely out of the blue; I knew there was interest from Pocket, but not what the offer was or how many books they wanted. I ran upstairs, sat on the floor of my nephew's bedroom and got the news. And then I got to share the news with my mom and sister in person!

What's the best book that you've read over the past six months?

No fair! Just one? It would have to be a tie between Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews and City of Souls by Vicki Pettersson.

Was the process of writing and publishing your first novel what you expected it to be?

Pretty much. By the time I started writing The Better Part of Darkness, I was fairly comfortable with my writing process as I'd written a few un-published novels before this one. I'm not a plotter or a pantser (writing-by-the-seat-of-your-pants) per se. I'm a combination, whatever works for that particular story. As for the publishing process: I had a good handle on what to expect from the business end of things, thanks to published friends and all the online info and great industry blogs out there. Of course, there were a lot of learning curves (and more still to come, I'm sure), but I'm lucky to have an awesome editor who makes the things I didn't expect rather easy to deal with.

Give us one embarrassing author moment:

Besides acting like an inarticulate fool everytime I've been in the presence of Sherrilyn Kenyon? ;-) This year's Pocket dinner at RWA (a dinner given by my publisher for all the Pocket authors in attendance) might qualify. I chose that moment to have an anxiety attack, which I rarely ever have, and spent most of the evening nervous and red-faced. Jennifer Estep, if you're out there - that weird, nervous girl sitting next to you on the trolley is usually quite normal, I promise! :D

What would you most like potential readers to know about you and/or your book?

That it's about choices and sacrifice. I wanted to explore what lengths a person would go to, what they'd sacrifice for those they loved. I think most people are certain in their answer, but when faced with it head on...well, it might be an entirely different story. And when it's an entirely different world, things can get even more complicated. I hope readers will find the story unique and fresh, with things they haven't seen before, but with all the human emotions and motivations they recognize and relate to.

List 3-5 characters from The Better Part of Darkness and do word associations.

Charlie - committed. Hank - grinning. Rex - insane. Carreg - predatory. Emma - independent.

What's your favorite thing about The Better Part of Darkness?

IThe mother aspect. I'm a huge urban fantasy fan, and I'm a mom, too. I always wondered how these tough-as-nails heroines would act if they had a child. Can you imagine how fierce and maniacal they'd be protecting their cubs? I love the 'what if' scenario, too -- what if our myths of heaven and hell were grounded in truth, and what if these 'beings' came out of the closet and inhabited our world. Fast forward about a decade, and you have Charlie's city of Atlanta. And, of course, there is Rex. He wasn't planned. He just showed up uninvited and wormed his way into my heart.

What projects do you have in the pipeline?

I turned in the sequel to The Better Part of Darkness in August, which I'm really excited about! I'm working on a synopsis for the third book, and I have a new, very different YA novel making the rounds soon. I've never been frightened writing a novel before, but this one totally creeped me out, and I love it!

Any final comments?

It's been a long road, and I can't wait to share Charlie's story with you all! Thanks for having me on your blog, Jacqueline!

THANKS FOR THE AWESOME INTERVIEW KELLY!

Visit Kelly's site for more info about her and her work.