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What can you tell us about your new release, After December?

It’s the final version of the first book I ever wrote. I grew up with these characters. Tony’s suicide is a combination of three deaths that happened when I was in college, only one of which was intentional. I worked with whether to let it be an overdose or make it a suicide and finally chose the latter because there’s a specific kind of grief for the people left behind. So it’s told from Brian’s perspective as he’s working through the earliest days of his grief. The book takes place in just six days, the first six days after Tony died, and the intensity of the experience is surreal. There’s a lot of drinking, a lot of fighting, and some regret and guilt. But there’s also redemption and hope as there must necessarily be when you’re only 22 and you have your whole life ahead of you, as Brian does.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

I have wanted to be a writer since I can remember. I’d trace it back to seventh grade English class in California, and my teacher, Mrs. Sutherland who I honored by using her last name for After December’s “Kacie” character. I loved all the V.C. Andrews books that were popular in the late 80s. Reading like it was my job and missing my Virginia friends turned into writing my first novel in four spiral notebooks. More recently, my best bud Jodie Cain Smith was publishing her first novel when we met and she pushed and pulled me through the five years it’s taken to bring After December to print.

What's on your top 5 list for the best books you've ever read?

The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons, Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, Three Two One by JA Huss, The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, The Hottest State by Ethan Hawke

All five of those books left me breathless in different ways. They may not be “the best” I’ve ever read, I earned an MA reading classics like Huckleberry Finn and learning from geniuses like Walker Percy and Clive Edgerton. But those five left me breathless and that’s what I want my books to do.

Say you're the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?

I am the host of a literary talk show. We have a radio show on makethepointradio.com every Saturday at 9 a.m. called Write On SC and we talk about the craft and we talk about South Carolina authors. I’d love to have an author whose books have been made into films, like Cassandra Clare. I’d want to know what that process felt like. I’d also like to have an author who had a book banned, like Nic Stone, and learn what that experience was like. Maybe have someone who’s sold a million copies, like Margaret Atwood, and learn what that was like.

What's your favorite thing about writing?

I like hearing the voices in my head. When my characters are telling me their stories, when they’re standing over my shoulder making sure I get it right, I love the high of creating that new thing, getting it down, and trying to get it as accurate as possible. My favorites came out of NaNoWriMo where I was forced to write 2000 words a day on a single project and just got to revel in those characters’ voices and the experiences they were having.

What is a typical day like for you?

I walk every morning at 8 a.m. with my publisher and friend, Alexa. Then I work from 9 until 4 on a variety of projects. If I’m teaching, I have class at scheduled times, otherwise I’m creating new content. Sometimes videos, sometimes blogs, sometimes new work for the upcoming Before Pittsburgh, a follow up to After December. I work six days a week, including Saturday, and writer at least 2000 words a day, though not always on the same project.

What scene in After December was your favorite to write?

I love Friday night with Kacie and Brian at her sister’s house. Kacie is angry with Tony and we get that take on the week’s experience that we haven’t seen yet. The sadness has soaked them all to this point and Friday night, Kacie lets her anger out and it’s refreshing and honest and a little heartbreaking. But it’s also where we see the strength of their bond, Kacie and Brian’s, and start to understand a little bit better how they love each other.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

True to my cheesy teenage roots, my motto comes from a Hillary Duff flick (A Cinderella Story):

Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.

It’s painted on the wall in my office and reminds me to give it a shot, whatever it is, because failure isn’t fatal.

Kasie Whitener is the author of the new book After December.

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What can you tell us about your new release, Homecoming?

It picks up where my debut novel, Project Tau, leaves off. While Project Tau focused purely on human rights and the ethics of cloning, Homecoming tackles these issues while also bringing others - mental illness, emotional abuse and eating disorders - into play. Like all my work, it's also not typical sci-fi; I don't use AI or robots (explained in-universe) and there are no epic space battles or alien diplomacy/wars. It's about normal people trying to live normal lives. In the book universe, people are just beginning to create clones (called Projects) who are legally viewed as livestock and usually treated accordingly. Homecoming follows former college freshman Kalin Taylor/Kata who - in the previous book - was illegally imprisoned and gaslighted into believing himself to be a Project and his friend Project Tau after they escape from the scientists' brutal treatment at GenTech. As Project Tau deals with Kalin's desperate attempts to win back his freedom, Homecoming deals with his struggles to keep it and to deal with the trauma of everything he was subjected to in the lab, along with Tau's experiencing the outside world for the first time.

That said, there's enough background information in Homecoming for it to be read as a standalone novel.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

Honestly? Nothing and no one. I've been writing since I was old enough to hold a pen. When I was a kid, you could get these huge blocks of post-it notes with a hole in one corner to put a pen in; I used to grab a chunk and use them to write my own "books" as a young child. I sold my first story to a magazine when I was twelve (kind of; they were running a contest to write the next episode of a serial, and I won) and completed the first novel of a sci-fi trilogy when I was 17-18. That one's still sitting on my PC, along with the other two books. I might dust them off one day, but they need a lot of work doing to them.

Anyway, the simple answer is that I've always been writing, and I always am 😉 Little scenes, alternate scenes between characters, AU versions of my own stuff, fanfic, articles - I work as a proofreader and writer for a bilingual travel magazine in Tokyo - and, of course, novels.

What's on your top 5 list for the best books you've ever read?

Ooh, that's hard. Let's see...
1. The Apple and Percival books by Anthony Armstrong.
2. Bosom Friends by Angela Brazil.
3. Christine by Stephen King.
4. The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan. Actually, anything he writes about the Greek gods and demigods is great.
5. The Dorothy Dainty series by Amy Brooks. I know they're for kids, but they're a decent length and there's something so sweet and innocent about them. It's like detox for my brain.

Say you're the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?

If I can pick anyone, it would be Sir Pterry Pratchett. I've always loved his work, particularly Discworld, and I would love to know what other books he'd had planned before he passed away.

What's your favorite thing about writing?

Everything! I love seeing my characters change and evolve (often in surprising ways) and I love being surprised by where the story goes. I don't plot out my books - I have a vague idea of how they're going to end, but this can change several times during the process - and developing worlds. I have files of maps and local flora and fauna of every planet in my books. Sometimes I spend more time world-building than I do actually writing.

What is a typical day like for you?

I'm a night owl, so I tend to get up quite late by other people's standards (9:30-ish). I spend about 30 minutes on my phone, checking emails and gaming, then head downstairs. I have one of those reclining couches, which is wonderful as it lets me sit and write on my laptop for hours without putting any strain on my legs and back. So I stretch out in front of my smart TV, load up a series of something on Hulu or Netfllix or Youtube, and write all day!

What scene in Homecoming was your favorite to write?

Most of them. I had a lot of fun working on this book. If I had to pick just one, it would be any of the scenes between Kata and Alan. It's the first time in the series where we really start to see the kind of kid Kata used to be before he was kidnapped and dehumanized. His own father isn't exactly the best parent, he's always had a difficult relationship with his parents, and so once Alan manages to get past Kata's barriers, he's basically the father figure that Kata's always wanted and becomes the first - and so far only - adult that Kata learns to trust. Pretty good going for a character who wasn't even slated to appear in the first place!

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

There's one I learned from my old physics teacher: "You don't need to know the answer. You just need to be able to think about it." I didn't learn a great deal from that school for various reasons, but that lesson has stuck with me all my life.

Jude Austin is the author of the new book Homecoming.

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What can you tell us about your new release, Nina's Whisper?

Nina's Whisper is a domestic suspense and psychological thriller set in the fictional urban oasis of Sumneytown, Texas. It's about Nina, a young successful woman who falls in love with Page, an edgy, seductive, free-spirit. The relationship takes Nina on an emotional journey of self-discovery and awareness, in which she learns that she is not as self-assured, confident and assertive as she once was or thought she was. Ultimately, Nina is changed forever.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

I've been a writer as long as I could write. Writing has been the preferred way for me to express my feelings. I think writing is powerful and that there is room for everyone's story and experience to be told. I try to write stories and experiences that make people uncomfortable and challenge people to think outside themselves.

What's on your top 5 list for the best books you've ever read?

The Alchemist, Mumbo Jumbo, Zami, The Autobiography of Malcolm X and B-Boy Blues

Say you're the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?

Carmen Machado. I'd want to ask her what her writing process was for her newest book In The Dream House. I'd also want to know how difficult it was to write about topics such as domestic abuse and how she got thru the fear of writing about such topics.

What's your favorite thing about writing?

The finished product. The first time I hold the book in my hands and I am able to see and feel the result of all of my energy and time - it's a beautiful thing. Accomplishing something you are passionate about feels good every time.

What is a typical day like for you?

During COVID-19, I spend 24-7 with my toddler son. I find fun homeschooling activities for him, we go for walks and I teach him new things. It's beautiful. If we weren't in such unprecedented times, I'd be going to my full-time job as a professor most days - teaching, writing and researching and going to my co-working office on other days.

What scene in Nina's Whisper was your favorite to write?

The scene that is my favorite would involve me giving away too much of the book!

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

My quote is "don't let your reality limit your imagination" - Sheena C. Howard

Sheena Howard is the author of the new book Nina's Whisper.

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