Interview with YA author K. A. Gandy

YA author K. A. Gandy joins me today to chat about her new dystopian romance, Marked.

During her virtual book tour, K.A. will be giving away a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. 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:
K. A. Gandy was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, and is married with two kids. She has worked as a restaurant hostess, library book shelver, ranch hand, tour guide, Realtor, tech whiz, landlord, and small business consultant, all in addition to pursuing her passion of writing. She likes to write late in the evenings and thinks drinking hot tea and baking great cookies fuels hopes and dreams. If you would like to find more of her works, you can sign up for her newsletter at https://www.subscribepage.com/kagandy.

Welcome, K. A. Please tell us about your current release.
Marked is a a dystopian romance, where our main character Demy is on the run from the men who killed her parents when she was thirteen. The world’s populations have crumbled to the point of near-collapse, and the government has stepped in and created genetic matching programs to help raise the population back up and increase birth rates. Which sounds great . . . until they made it mandatory, leaving women no choices in who they’d marry, or when they’d start having kids.

What inspired you to write this book?
It was an idea that took hold of me, and wouldn’t let go. Often times it’s a character that comes to me first, or maybe a dystopian world. In this case, the main character Demy sucked me in. She’s desperate, she’s afraid, and she’s willing to do anything to stay alive. Those are high stakes!

Excerpt from Marked:
“Do you think one of the guys got here early? I already picked two of my three.” She does an excited little shoulder shimmy at the thought, but I want to run back to my room. I’m not ready to meet my guys, and I really hope we’ll get a little more time.

I still haven’t even opened the app. Though, if people are going to start showing up . . . I need to get on that. I trail behind Cammie and Leilani to the top of the grand staircase, and we only make it halfway down before a chipper, feminine voice calls out.

“Whassup, my ladies?!”

My head snaps up from the woven stair runner, and I see another blonde girl waiting in the middle of the foyer.

Cammie and Leilani both call out excited greetings, and I belatedly add a, “Hello,” to the mix.

We make it down into the foyer, and she’s bouncing on the balls of her feet like a boxer. Though, as a boxer I can’t imagine she’d do much. She’s maybe a hundred fifteen pounds soaking wet, short and delicate-looking in a slouchy green t-shirt, ripped jeans, and scuffed-up tennis shoes.

“My name’s Nell, and I’m joining you three for this round of matches! Have you guys met your dudes yet?”

“Uh, no? We just did all the medical exams this morning. The schedule in our e-planners says we have a week of training classes before the introductions,” Cammie answers, mirroring Nell’s peppy tone.

A week before any guys show up? Oh, thank God.

“Okay, so the fun is just beginning, nice!”

“Uhm, have you done this before or something?” Leilani asks.

“Oh, yeah. Couple years ago, now. But, uh, things didn’t work out.” She shrugs one shoulder blithely, but doesn’t offer any other explanation. “So, this is round two for me. Sucks I couldn’t have gotten here after the boring classes, though.” Nell rolls her eyes dramatically.

“So, what was it like?” I blurt the question, suddenly needing to know everything, while simultaneously afraid to hear what she has to say.

“Which part? The matching? The honeymoons? The breakup?”

“The matching—let’s start with that,” Leilani cuts in, anxiety ratcheting her voice up to a higher register than usual, and for a moment, I feel a sense of camaraderie. We’re all going through this roller coaster of unease and unknown.

What exciting project are you working on next?
This will be a four-book series, so I’ll be working on book two later this year. I’m currently working on my next fantasy book, The Hatchling, about a dragon hatchling and her bonded mage, Calida.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Oh, gosh. I think I’ve always been one, but was in denial. That’s probably not something I should admit, but it’s true! I’ve always journaled, and used freewriting to help me process difficult things. Writing a book was a nebulous wouldn’t it be cool if I could do that one day? But simultaneously not something I thought I really could do.

Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your workday like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I am a full-time mom, and part time author right now. My youngest goes to school in August, though, so I’ll have closer to full-time hours to dedicate to writing. Writing is usually in the evenings, when my husband is home to take over parenting duty, or late when the kids are in bed. I do the business tasks in snatches throughout the day, or buckle down for marathon days when my mom has the kids for a day. Basically, no two days are the same, but it works.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
Hmm. . . I would love if I could write the book, and then never have to look at it again. I get so engrossed in the story when I’m writing it that going back always feels strange, because I’m no longer in the story bubble. However, it’s very necessary for editing to put out a great, finished book, so it’s something I’ve gotten more used to with practice.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A large animal veterinarian, so I could help horses.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I appreciate you! You choosing my book to spend your time and hard earned money on means the world to me, and I hope you enjoy the world and the characters as much as I do. They’re real people to me, and I do my best to make sure that shows.

Links:
Facebook Group | Amazon

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