New interview with paranormal author Katie Groom

Novelist Katie Groom is back and we’re chatting about her new paranormal adventure, Rising Moon.

During her virtual book tour, Katie will be giving away a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn participant. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:
Katie Groom is a lifelong reader & writer and a proud dogmom to Delta, her sassy shih tzu.

Katie wrote her first book at age 5: a short story about a rabbit who wanted to learn to dance. She also created the illustrations. Since this initial attempt, her writing has improved, but her art skills have not.

Native to western Pennsylvania, she moved to Alabama to escape the snow, after only once visiting the Magic City (Birmingham). After nearly a decade and writing an entire saga based in the Magic City, she’s heading back to central Pennsylvania.

In her spare time, Katie enjoys teaching herself to play new musical instruments; drinking tea; and watching baking competition shows and critiquing the contestants, forgetting that she couldn’t actually boil water properly.

Welcome back to Reviews and Interviews, Katie! Please tell us about your newest release.
Rising Moon is the finale of the Cardinal Moon Saga. It puts a pin in Hugh’s story. And while many people are looking for that happy ending, hopefully my readers have come to find that I’m not afraid to make my characters suffer a little bit. That “pin” is going to prick a little bit and, perhaps, draw some blood before the end of the story.

What inspired you to write this book?
Well, I needed to finish the series! Hahaha! Just kidding, just kidding! So there were a couple things. I definitely wanted to give a satisfying end to Hugh’s story, but that was going to actually make me have to grieve the ending of a project — the finale of a character — that I had been with for five years. It was like I was ending a relationship, truly, because I do sometimes get overly attached to fictional characters. (Honestly, who hasn’t fallen in love with a fictional character?!)

But the other thing is that I really wanted to speak to the injustices of the American justice system. There are people that are in prison for non-violent crimes with long, unnecessary sentences, and there are inequities in how sentences are handed out. There are people who have committed egregious crimes that get away with it because they are powerful or have money or are connected to the right people. It’s not right.

There’s also a point in the story when our main characters realize that if they succeed in their mission, they don’t have a way to support all of the innocent people that they may free. For example, they can help them get jobs, perhaps, but housing — how are they going to have enough housing? The powers that be have bought buildings that sit vacant but they won’t allow them to be used for homes. Rich people have three, four, five mansions that barely get used. What about those living on the streets that could use four walls, a warm bed, and some food? Even our heroes have more than they need and, perhaps, weren’t doing all that they could or should for those that need just a little help.

And sharing this part of the Cardinal Moon Saga was, in a way, a statement to or about these sorts of things that I had seen and really taken notice of in the past several years.

Excerpt from Rising Moon:
There was no one in the house but Zoie. Hugh had left to handle some Council business, and, while Cade had a key, they didn’t use it unless it was an emergency. She was using the time to catch up on some reading—for pleasure.

Since effectively coming back from the dead, Zoie had been reclassified as a missing person, but there was still some work to be done for her to get her life back. The legal red tape to bring a person back to life was more complicated than any of them had thought it would be. Sure, Hugh had connections that could forge documents, but bringing someone back to life who was never actually dead—nearly impossible in the eyes of the government.

Between researching that and taking action on it, Zoie was also studying magic and practicing and getting better at her skills. It was slow going because, to Zoie’s understanding, because she had let her powers lay dormant for so long, she had to work much harder to get to the level that she would have been at otherwise. No amount of natural skill could make up for practice. But, sometimes, Zoie felt as if she was practicing herself to the point that it was having the opposite effect. It was beginning to feel like a job. A job she didn’t want to do some days.

So between all of that and trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life, plus balancing a life with Hugh and Silas, Zoie wasn’t left with much time for fun things. So, she was taking this rare time when Hugh was out and Silas was actually with him— and she couldn’t wait to hear how that went for them—to read. She had decided to go back to a simpler time in her life and read a childhood favorite: Anne of Green Gables.

Since Hugh had been technically working two jobs—his role as professor in the English Department and Council Member of the Supernatural World—Zoie had also settled into the role of housewife, and it was another thing that felt like a job that she hated. She had just settled down for another break from her tasks while the laundry was rolling around in the dryer.

Placing the bookmark on the table, Zoie curled up on the couch with her book and a throw blanket. She took a sip of her tea and then turned the page, engrossed in the book to the point that she didn’t even hear the buzzer go off, signaling the end of the cycle.

What did take her out of the book was a loud argument from behind her. It almost made her question her own sanity because she hadn’t noticed anyone entering the house.

What’s the next writing project?
After completing Rising Moon, I have taken a break from writing because other commitments have gotten in the way. However, my plan is to return to writing in the new year because I have about a dozen ideas that I’m looking to get on the page. I want to focus more on short stories and novellas and novelettes. Things that are quick reads for a flight or a day at the beach or lake — or a rainy day.

What is your biggest challenge when writing a new book? (or the biggest challenge with this book)
Getting started with the actual writing. I have no problem creating characters and world building. I actually love these processes. I have notebooks full of characters that are developed down to their favorite ice cream and how they can’t stand when their sock gets twisted just a tiny bit in their shoe, but actually getting fingers to keys to page and to start writing — you’d think that I don’t like it! But I do! I love it. But just starting is difficult. For Rising Moon, in particular, it was the realization that Hugh’s story would be over if I wrote these words down. That was very hard for me to process — it was almost as if I was grieving. For other projects, such as one that I’m currently calling Type O Negative, it’s the fear that maybe my idea isn’t a good one.

If your novels require research – please talk about the process. Do you do the research first and then write, while you’re writing, after the novel is complete and you need to fill in the gaps?
Because my novels and stories are of the paranormal or fantasy sense, you would think that they didn’t require much research because I’m making a lot of it up as I go along. I mean, it’s not “real” — and I put that in quotes because a hill I’m willing to die on is that if someone can imagine it, it’s can be done — but being not-real doesn’t mean there aren’t rules to it.

For example, in the Cardinal Moon Saga, I researched how to make sure that magic wasn’t completely infallible. How to make sure there were stakes with the magic. I want my readers to worry about the characters. Something that is said often throughout the books is that even though someone is immortal, that doesn’t mean that they can’t die.

Presently, the story I mentioned above (Type O Negative) is about a hematologist. I’m interested in if blood diseases or even blood types could possibly have different scents, so I’m researching that and other rare blood diseases. I promise, when this story is out there, it will make sense!

I’m also have an idea for a story that takes place near Gettysburg, PA, so I plan to do some historical research to make sure that I’m sensitive to what happened there, but also to see how I can fit my ideas in.

I do a lot of my research as I’m writing. I’ll be slamming away at the keyboard (I’m a very loud typer), and I’ll realize that I need to research something, so I’ll either make a note or stop everything (depending on mood). Usually, I make a note because if I stop everything, I may go from “what happens when your body is donated to science” to “how many chromosomes are in a radish” and not know how I got there.

What’s your writing space like? Do you have a particular spot to write where the muse is more active? Please tell us about it.
So, this is a very interesting question in this moment because I actually don’t have one. I’m in the process of moving, so my office in my current place is filled with boxes and I’m not 100% sure what my office is going to be like when I move into my new place.

I do enjoy being able to wiggle and shift and move while I’m writing, so sometimes I do write from the couch or bed or even on the floor. Sometimes I lay on my belly and type, but then Delta (my dog) likes to get in my biz and that makes it difficult to type.

What authors do you enjoy reading within or outside of your genre?
I have to take this opportunity to plug C.W. Rose and her debut “Oceansong”, which I had followed since long before it was to be released. I was also able to read an ARC, and it is just an outstanding take on Romeo+Juliet meets The Little Mermaid, with a mature topic of overfishing and pollution of our oceans. It’s definitely a recommended read, if you are a fan of mermaids or magic. There is also strong Asian culture and representation in this book, and I love seeing that.

In the same vein of reimagined fairy tales, The Rumaysa duology by Radiya Hafiza is cute and well written. It’s perfect for middle grade and the main character wears a hijab — love seeing this, especially for young girls who may not see themselves on the page as often as they should.

Other books that I’ve read recently and enjoyed are “A Glasgow Kiss” by Sophia Gravia — absolutely hilarious. I knew when I saw the candy bikini on the cover that I was in for a treat and I read this book in a matter of hours — and “The Lost Apothecary” and “The London Seance Society” by Sarah Penner.

I also recently enjoyed “Straw Into Gold” by Carol Beth Anderson (try the audiobook — outstanding!), “Even If We’re Broken” by A.M. Weald (for some great mental health advocacy), “The Cabin at the End of the World” by Paul Tremblay (for a book that I actually threw across the room), and “Cities of Smoke and Starlight” by Alli Earnest (if you loved Rogue One but wanted a different ending for the main characters).

Anything additional you want to share with the readers today?
For those that like to wait to read an entire series for when the book comes out, now is the time! Rising Moon, the finale of the Cardinal Moon Saga is available Sept 3, 2024, anywhere books are sold. You can also get. Fixed Moon and Gibbous Moon — and the covers all match and the books are the same height — for those of us that enjoy that sort of thing — haha! And, if you want linked to the short stories that supplement the saga, visit my website at katiegroomwrites.com.

Links:
Website | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon

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