Hello, my little demons!
I trust everyone has had a lovely summer. Here in Northern Canada is was a particularly wet one, with lots of thunderstorms, which I just love, but the garden is full of slugs. Not something we’re used to. Summer holidays though means the hubby and I are out camping almost every weekend and so we typically take a little break from everything…but like a bad entity that just won’t seem to stay away, I am back!
And today we have a fellow author from NineStar Press, K. Parr with us. Wave hello!
K. Parr: “Hi Everybody!” <Waves, tentatively>
JP Jackson: “I’m so pleased we finally got a chance to sit down and chat. Even though we’re part of the same publishing house, we really don’t know each other too well. First off, let me apologize for the long wait to up here on the blog – you know how it goes.”
K. Parr: “No worries! It’s all good. The summer season is always so jam-packed. So, I what do we do first?”
JP Jackson: “Well, there’s the Rapid-Fire questions – hopefully with no extra otherworldly creatures poking their heads into our conversation, and then we talk about the book! Sound good?”
K. Parr: “Otherworldly? Umm…”
JP Jackson: “They’re usually well behaved. Not to worry! Okay, here we go. If you could share a cocktail of your choice with anyone – who would it be?”
K. Parr: “My mom or either of my grandmas when they were my age. How cool would it be to get a slice of their daily lives as well as the worlds in which they lived?”
JP Jackson: “Well, my mom grew up in the sixties – so…I can only imagine! But you know I think that’s a brilliant idea. How much better of a people we would be if you actually understood where we came from? I think if we understood that our parents had their own generational issues to deal with, I think we’d think of them differently, and relate to them better. You know?”
K. Parr: “Exactly!”
JP Jackson: “See, usually people tell me the names of famous people. Well done. I like that answer. Okay, next – Sweat pants or designer jeans?”
K. Parr: “Neither! Pajama pants all the way!”
JP Jackson: “OMG I love you already. YAAAASSS. Although confession time – my pajama bottoms (at least the ones I wear around the house – otherwise there aren’t really pajamas – are LuLu Lemon Yoga pants. So comfy.”
K. Parr: “Comfy is good. We need to spend more time comfy.”
JP Jackson: “Okay, well next time you come, we’ll have a pajama party. Alright – in line with pajama pants – what’s it gonna be – sleeping in or getting up early?”
K. Parr: “Getting up early! I’m a morning person or sure, and definitely not a night owl!”
JP Jackson: “Oh damn, and see, here I thought we were getting along so well. I’m a night owl. Tried and true. Okay – we’ll have to meet in the middle – the earliest I’m human is 11:00am – can you work with that?”
K. Parr: <giggles> “I’m usually up by 5:00am, but for you? Sure. 11:00am we can go for tea.”
JP Jackson: “Whew! Wait, tea? Okay, coffee for me, tea for you.” <Schedules next visit in the calendar for **at earliest** 11:00am> “What’s your go-to food to munch on while writing?”
K. Parr:<smiles devilishly> “I can absolutely decimate a bag of chips, so I don’t buy chips for myself anymore,” <laughs> “but I like sweet things too – I love to bake!”
JP Jackson: <cocks an eyebrow and leans forward> “Really now. Well, it just so happens this particular demon has one hell of a sweet tooth. See what I did there? That’s it then! Pajama Party at 11:00am with Cake!”
<Giggles>
JP Jackson: “Are you punctual?”
K. Parr: “God, yes.”
JP Jackson: “I’m constantly late. Try like hell to be early, it never works out. Drive my husband insane. Tell me, what word would you add to the dictionary if you could?”
K. Parr: “My brain just supplied me with the word, ‘fantabulous’, so I guess there’s that!”
JP Jackson: “I like it. Webster – did you hear this? Are you writing it down? They’re really a hard group of people to get to listen. I make words up all the time and send them suggestions. I have yet to see one in their bloody book.”
K. Parr: “Asshats.”
JP Jackson: “Right? Okay, what time of the day do you find yourself doing most of your writing? Although I think I already know the answer.”
K. Parr: “Yup! You guessed it. The morning, mostly. Sometimes in the evening.”
JP Jackson: “With silence? Or music?”
K. Parr: “Music, music, music! Movie soundtracks are my writing jam!”
JP Jackson: “Oh! Yes, I’ve found a few myself I love – the soundtrack to The Lost Boys film – loved that one – and the soundtrack from the TV Show Supernatural – I have that one on repeat while I’m writing.”
K. Parr: “Gah! Yes! Dark. I love Supernatural.”
JP Jackson: “Sam & Dean forever! Believe it or not that haunting music helps me calm down. Okay, never mind what word we want to introduce into the common vernacular – what’s your favorite go-to word?”
K. Parr: “Blarg!”
JP Jackson: <Laughs and falls out of chair> “OMG I love that. It’s just rather, final. How does anyone even have a comeback or response to that?”
K. Parr: “See? Great word.”
JP Jackson: “Agreed! Ever been to Canada?
K. Parr: “Yep! I visited Montreal and Quebec when I was in 7th and 8th grade. Haven’t been back since, but I want to go again!”
JP Jackson: “Oh, confession time. The furthest east I’ve been in Canada is Toronto, but I know Quebec is stunningly beautiful. Alright, let’s talk about the book!”
K. Parr: “Woohoo!”
JP Jackson: “Tell me all about The Sun and Moon beneath the Stars.”
K. Parr: “Well, it’s an LGBT YA Fantasy (Lesbian) story around 83,000 words and it’s my debut book!
JP Jackson: “NO! Really? Congratulations! There’s nothing like the feels you get when you release your first child out into the universe. Fantastic is it part of a series?”
K. Parr: “Currently it’s standalone, but I may or may not write a sequel.”
JP Jackson: “Oh, do it. I love it when you fall in love with characters and just want to keep reading more about them. But then it’s hard because –I don’t know if you’re like me or not—but there are so many other things you want to write about. It’s a quandary.”
K. Parr: “That. Exactly. I know I could expand on it…but there are other things.”
JP Jackson: “So, how did all this start?”
K. Parr: “I originally came up with the idea when I was 12 and have been working on the story ever since. So it took me 15 years to complete it to satisfaction (many thanks to my Writing Popular Fiction MFA program at Seton Hill University).”
JP Jackson: “15 years! Wow, that is dedication. You get extra bonus points for sticking with it and seeing it to completion. That’s fantastic. What was the spark? The inspiration?”
K. Parr: “I was playing with my friend in the woods behind her house, and I imagined she was a princess and I was the servant and we were fleeing the palace together. That was the plot bunny that started it all!”
JP Jackson: “Wondrous how books are born. Isn’t it? So, if this happened while with a childhood friend, are any of your characters based off of anyone in real life?”
K. Parr: “No, not really. I took pieces from real life, but not any one person.”
JP Jackson: “Probably smart.” <Winks> “Then when we do kill someone in our story, friends aren’t wondering who we’re actually plotting against in real life.”
<Laughter>
JP Jackson: “Tell me something you were surprised to learn about while doing research for your book?
K. Parr: “I learned how to skin a rabbit and set up traps to catch animals, plus how to identify food you can forage in the wild.”
JP Jackson: “Damn. That’s some skills. I’m putting you on the Zombie Apocalypse Must Have Around Me list. One last question – if you could spend an afternoon doing anything you wanted with one of the characters from your story, who would it be, and why that character?”
K. Parr: “I would love to hang out with Damian and Bryce and learn how to use a bow/throw a knife. Shisiri would also be cool, just to witness the daily life of a wonderful reptilian creature like her.”
JP Jackson: “See, you’re Zombie Apocalypse material! And reptilian humanoids! Well, if that doesn’t make everyone run to go read The Sun and Moon beneath the Stars, I don’t know what would! Where can we find it?”
K. Parr: “All over the place!”
Book Links:
NineStar | Amazon | Barnes and Nobles | Kobo
JP Jackson: “And how can your fans find you?”
K. Parr: “I love hearing from my readers! They can always reach out via Twitter or my website!”
JP Jackson: “Thank you so much for stopping by! It was a pleasure to get to know you a little better. You’ll have to come back soon.”
K. Parr: “I’d love that!”
Meet the Author:
Parr earned her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University in 2017. She currently works as a youth services librarian in Rhode Island, where she writes romances celebrating love in all shapes and forms.
The Socials:
J.P. Jackson 