The Literary Vixen presents…
Joining us today is K.D. Miller! Her book, Dark Burning: A Veracity of the Gods Novel released on November 23rd 2021.
When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
I’ve always enjoyed writing (English was always my favorite subject in school for as long as I can remember), but never ever thought I could ever write my own stories. About three years ago, a story popped in my head and just would not leave (like I was literally hearing dialogue in my head while I was trying to sleep every night), so I figured maybe if I wrote it down, that would be that and I could get a break from the constant nagging of these characters in my head. But then, I made the mistake of telling a couple of friends I was sort-of-kind-of writing a book—or something that might pass as an excuse for one—and they demanded to see it. They convinced me that it wasn’t complete garbage and that maybe other people would want to read it too and then it just snowballed from there.
What about the genre you currently write in, interests you most?
One of my (way too many) WIPs that has its hooks in me right now is an adult fantasy – think a bit like Harry Potter but for the grown-ups who like…ahem…grown up things. Fantasy has always been one of my favorite genres, no matter what type or what age. I think just the ability to completely escape the real world for a while and be fully immersed in something completely new and unknown and magical really draws me to fantasy over and over again. Writing wise, fantasy is so fun and interesting because there are no rules. Anything can happen, anything goes. There is so much freedom in it and you can really let your imagination run wild.
Haunted house or corn maze?
Haunted house!
Do you ever come up with anything so wild that you scare yourself, that leaves you wondering where that came from?
Oh yeah! In one of my series, the MC has an insane number of powers. Coming up with the variety of ways she could destroy people with said powers and actually writing the scenes down had me questioning the amount of horror movies and true crime shows I watch lol My best friend even commented on a particularly gruesome scene: “How in the hell did your brain come up with this? No, really, I’m concerned…JK (sort of…)”
Do you have a favorite character that you have written? If so who? And what makes them so special.
Ahhh this is so hard! I love them all in so many different ways, but one of my favorites is actually a side character from my first trilogy named Bryce. He is definitely not one of the good guys when we first meet him, but something about him just stuck with me and I ended up finding a place for him as the story went on and writing him became so fun. He is such a complicated character and I love exploring his history and seeing how things are never black and white. Things are messy and people are never just good or bad. Plus, I’m a sucker for a good redemption arc.
Do you ever research real events, legends, or myths to get ideas?
Definitely! I’m always looking into legends and myths for inspiration. I like to put my own spin on things, but I definitely go there for ideas and starting points, especially when I get stuck on the same old creatures you’ve read about a million times (looking at you, fae and vampires…though I do still love them dearly of course).
Do you look to your own phobias to find subject matter? Are your stories the products of nightmares, childhood experiences, fantasies?
There is always a lot of myself in everything I write (which I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not? lol), but I definitely transfer a lot of my own fears, experiences, etc. into my characters and they are jumping off points of story ideas for sure. Sometimes it’s a big thing, like a fundamental fear of not being good enough (did I mention that I have INSANELY BAD imposter syndrome? Send help…) that becomes a core element to a story and character, and sometimes it’s smaller things, like my fear of snakes or Mr. Clean (Yes, it’s real. Yes, it’s dumb. Yes, it made it into one of my books).
Do you have any fun Halloween experiences you can share with us?
For my baby shower we actually did a Halloween costume party (my daughter was born in November, so we had the shower just before Halloween). I went as Juno and my husband was Bleeker from the movie Juno. We have a picture where we recreated the movie cover and, not to toot my own horn, but it’s pretty awesome!
What advice would you give to other authors?
I have no idea what I’m doing and am by no means anything close to an expert, but my biggest advice is just to write. There are so many extra things that go along with having a story to tell these days, but remember that telling the story is the most important part! You can’t do any of the other stuff until you do that, so focus on that first and foremost. Get that word vomit first draft down and then go back and start fine tuning and tweaking to make it something spectacular. After that, start thinking about all the other stuff.
Also: grow thick skin, don’t take things personally, try to be proud of your accomplishments, no matter how small they may seem, and lastly, hydrate.
What is the one thing you want people to know about you and your books?
I act goofy and tough most of the time, but every time anyone reaches out to tell me they read and enjoyed one of my books my little black heart grows three sizes. It’s just like the Grinch over here, y’all. Seriously, it makes me so happy to hear from readers. So, if you ever read one of my books and are thinking about reaching out DO IT! Please! I love chatting with readers about books…or dogs…or tacos. Just about anything actually. So, come say hi!
Thank you K.D. Miller for chatting with me! I will include her information down below. Check out her book, Dark Burning today!
~Synopsis~
You know the story of Hades and Persephone…or do you?
Happily ever after had not been in the cards for Hades and his bride. Persephone, resentful of being trapped in the Underworld, betrayed Hades to his greatest enemy…and wound up murdered in the process. But an ancient prophecy foretold her return, and only then could Hades hope to finally win the war for the Underworld. He’s been patiently waiting for thousands of years, biding his time until her return, dying for the chance to defeat his foes at last…and get a little revenge on his former wife while he’s at it…
Now, he’s finally found her reincarnate in the stunning and deadly Skylar Pembroke. Highly trained, exceptionally stubborn, and oblivious to her past life, Skylar does not take well to being kidnapped by a God…no matter how brutally handsome he may be or how often she’s dreamt of him in the past. Determined to fight fate, Skylar will make life anything but easy for the God of the Underworld.
Now Hades must push aside thousands of years’ worth of anger, forget past wrongs, convince the femme fatale to marry him once more…and stop himself from falling for her all over again in the process…
What could possibly go wrong?
K.D. Miller is a paralegal from South Carolina who finally decided to put all the stories in her head down on paper. She is a self-proclaimed nerd, loves the beach, and truly believes most problems can be made better with tacos. She currently lives in North Carolina with her husband, daughter, and two crazy rescue dogs.
The Literary Vixen 