We caught up with the brilliant and insightful K.T. Jay a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

K.T., appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Currently, I’m working on wrapping up my first novel. It’s the beginning of a duology.

This project is meaningful to me because it was born from a place of suffering, turmoil, and grief. At a young age, I experienced three people close to me pass away in the same year. And in 2022, I experienced three more deaths of people in my life. After being in the pit of grief, I staggered out with a conviction to create something that would help people who were going through similar chapters of grief in their life. Namely, young adults.

Grieving as a young person is a rollercoaster. Much of my experience revolved around asking God “why”, asking Him to bring my friends and family back, and living in the tension of still trying to be a nine-year-old kid. Grief at a young age can often be lonely, so I turned to books.

Thankfully, my parents instilled a love of books in me. They would read to me every night before I went to sleep. I loved going on different adventures with the characters and experiencing new facets of the world through books. I gravitated towards them in hardship because I could learn from the characters, how they handled situations, and how they grew and became new, better versions of themselves.

My goal with the book I’m working on is to help people not feel alone in their grief. To know that it’s okay to sit in it, and feel it. And to help people realize we aren’t meant to go through it alone. There is hope at the end of all the darkness.

I hope this book is as meaningful to others as it has been for me.

K.T., love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a YA Fantasy author, mom, and a Southern California native. My perfect afternoon is spent curled up in a cozy wingback chair by the fire with a good book and a cup of tea. I love the sound of the rain pattering against the window as I lose myself in a fantasy world.

When I’m not writing, I enjoy spending time with my husband and my sweet baby boy, going on walks, drinking tea, reading (of course), watching movies, and traveling. I’m always looking for new experiences to ignite my creativity!

I’ve always had writing in my life one way or another. A little over a year ago, I decided to devote more time to my author career and work on getting my first book published and building my author platform. Since then, I’ve been able to launch my website and author Instagram with the help from some of my amazingly talented friends. I’m in the final stages of editing for my book which is exciting! I had a baby in June, and have been focusing on being a mom which pushed back my timeline a bit. So keep an eye out for my debut fantasy book coming out soon! You can sign up for my newsletter to stay updated. I’d love to connect with you there!

Growing up, I read a lot of fantasy books. I dove into worlds, met people, and learned lessons in every book I read. I resonated with the pain that many of the characters went through but, in reflecting back often times these stories did not offer healthy and hopeful ways of dealing with the hardships. Fantasy deals with lots of darkness, which is very real. In my books, my goal is to empower young adults in their dark times, help them know they aren’t alone, ensure they know they are loved, and show them what working through dark times looks like.

That’s what I’m proud of in my work. I really try to show the hard realities of life while also showing examples of how to work through it well. On the flip side, I explore how not working through the hard things in life can have unintended consequences.

In my book you will have a great time in a magical world, experience hardship alongside my characters, and get a dose of hope and friendship.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

There have been so many resources that have helped me out since I’ve been on this journey! One that I wish I found earlier is the writing society I’m part of called The Red Herring Society (RHS) which is run out of The Writer’s Sanctuary. With my membership in the RHS, I have access to a community of other authors as well as monthly trainings on topics such as writing craft, running your author business, and understanding industry trends. Having access to the Facebook group of authors has been invaluable! I’ve been able to ask questions of people farther along than me in their careers. Being a writer is a solitary job, so having a community of people who are on the same road has been encouraging.

Some other resources that I’ve found essential have been the Helping Writers Become Authors website, Joanna Penn’s “The Creative Penn” podcast, and Stephen King’s book “On Writing” to name a few.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Since I started my journey as an author, I’ve learned a lot about the sustainability of an author career. Or rather, how to make it sustainable. The biggest way society can support authors and creatives is to purchase their work directly from them. For example, a lot of my author friends sell their books through their websites. Buying directly from them is a game changer. The majority of your money goes to the creative as opposed to a third party seller. If you’d like to support your favorite authors and creatives while making sure they’re around for a while, I highly encourage people to buy directly from them. Unfortunately, the publishing world isn’t the same as it was when the big authors like Stephen King, Nora Roberts, and Dan Brown broke into it. It’s difficult to make a living that way. Supporting your favorite creatives and authors by going through them is a huge way society can help create a thriving creative ecosystem.
Your support makes all the difference!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ktjayauthor.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ktjayauthor/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61554680073128

Image Credits

Cheryl Cummings, Sage Wave Media