Author Spotlight: KL Shandwick
March 3, 2022 • News
CJC: How did you get started as an author and what made you want to pursue that field?
KL: I never intended to be a writer. I was set a challenge by a friend after citing a story ‘that bad, I could have written it. I was then challenged to try to write a chapter as if I were writing a book to show me how difficult it was. I ended up with the Everything Trilogy *over 300k in words, nine weeks later.
CJC: What do you find to be the most rewarding and challenging part of being an author and what hurdles have you overcome while striving towards your goals?
KL: Most rewarding is when someone messages me to tell me their story or if I touched on something they had been dealing with or dealt with in the past. The most challenging part is marketing, finding new readers and being seen. It takes money to keep going, and most indie authors earn less than 10k a year.
CJC: Which novel has been your favorite to write and why?
KL: My favorite book to write is always the next book because it challenges me to grow as a writer. I couldn’t pick one as a favorite to write for content, but if you twisted my arm it would be Enough Isn’t Everything, probably my rawest book but the one that started it all.
CJC: For first time readers of your work, which book would you recommend?
KL: Ready for Flynn series as it gives a good flavor of how my stories develop, how they tap into the emotions of readers and how relationships are influenced by the people and situations surrounding the couple at the center of the story.
CJC: If one of your books were made into a movie, which would you select and who would you like to star in it?
KL: Probably Ready For Flynn series and Shawn Mendes as Flynn and Katie Ann Knight as the lead roles.
CJC: For those looking to become an author, what advice would you give them?
KL: Research, be present on social media, network, have your work scrutinized by others prior to release and get a good editor. I did none of these things, and had no footprint on social media at all prior to starting.
CJC: If you could co-write a book with any author, who would it be and why?
KL: TL Swan. Her world building is exceptional in her stories. We both have a similar sense of humor and emotional aspects in our relationships when developing our characters, and she is a hell of a storyteller.
CJC: Favorite motto?
KL:”Live your life as if you’re going to be famous.” My father said this to me as a child to keep me on the straight and narrow in regards to honesty, morals, and self-regulating my behavior. lol
CJC: What do you do to overcome writer’s block?
KL: Write anything even if it’s not great. Try every day. Read, watch movies and listen to music.
CJC: In one word, how would you describe your writing style?
KL: Emotional.
CJC: Which do you find harder to do… writing the blurb for your story or selecting the cover?
KL: The cover. This is because I always try to reflect the story in my covers but I am also aware of the need to fit the market for the genre. That’s harder than you think
CJC: Which author inspires you the most and why?
KL: TL Swan. Her dedication, talent and self-belief and both inspirational and motivational.
CJC: What is your writing process like?
KL: Messy, I write everywhere and anywhere. And I jump from project to project depending on which characters are ‘talking’ the most. I start works in progress until one catches fire and then I write the rest of that book. It works for me. Right now I have three series on the go. LuvLuck, Chasing Love as Kelly Shandwick, and This new series PulseTunes Rock Gods series.
CJC: What new projects are you currently working on and what are your goals for the remainder of the year?
KL: Like I said I am committed to the three previous series, Until Levi is in its infancy and just starting to develop, Chasing Love has another duet, Lorna and Josh coming before the end of the year, and Lucky Man the last in the LuvLuck series is almost written. I’m also publishing Another Life and Missing Beats in Spanish in the last part of this year.
CJC: Any final thoughts you would like to share with the CJC Photography readers?
KL: Just to thank you for your awesome images, and for readers to watch out for Until Levi and Until Korry, which both feature more of your models Eddie and Jered, and to say if you haven’t read anything by me, try one and let me know what you think.
CJC: Until Jude featuring Gus is now available here!
Stay up to date with all of KL’s latest releases here.
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