Introduce yourself; who are you and what types of books do you write?
My name is Kaye Lynne Booth and I am a multi-genre author. I write a lot of dark fiction and paranormal in the form of short fiction. I have a western women’s historical fiction series, Women in the West, and also a time travel adventure series. I also have a poetry collection out, and a science fantasy series waiting in the wings.
What are your books about?
Although they are all different genres, many of my stories feature a strong female protagonist. They are tough and they are smart, but each in different ways, as would be expected because they are very different characters. The protagonist in my time travel series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, is a fast paced, adrenaline junkie, rock star.
Whereas, the protagonists in my Women in the West series, which takes place in the late 1800s, are an ex-con abused by her step-father (Delilah); a young girl taken captive by the Ute Indians (Sarah); and a Mormon woman who lost her family in an Indian raid and was taken captive (Marta). Each of these books also features a historical female character in supporting roles.
What was the inspiration behind writing your first book?
Delilah began as an excerpt for an assignment in graduate school to get me to write outside of my comfort genre zones. I found I liked the character so much that I just kept writing and learning as I went. I revised it, I don’t know how many times before sending it out and landing a small independent publisher.
When the five-year contract was up, and I had sold very few books, I decided not to renew. Instead, I created my own publishing house, and republished it as the first book in the series. I felt I could do better for my book than the publisher had, and I have sold more copies than they did.
What did you learn while writing your second book?
The Rock Star & The Outlaw was my second book. It was quite different from anything I had written before, as it was inspired by the music of The Pretty Reckless, and each chapter heading is a different song title. I wanted to quote the songs at the beginning of each chapter, but learned that I would need to get the artists’ permissions to do so legally due to copyright infringement. Song titles, on the other hand, cannot be copyrighted, so I was able to use the song titles as chapter titles and included a playlist with links to each song used.
What is the most rewarding part of being an author?
Writing is a part of me, and I often feel driven when a story or poem pops into my head. A woman I work with says that I light up when I talk about my writing. I do get excited, but I guess it truly shows.
What elements do you think make for a good story?
Characters that are both interesting and relatable. Quirky characters are great, but they have to be believable. My writing is always character driven and my dialog carries the story wherever it needs to go.
What is the hardest part of being an author for you?
Never having enough time. Not being able to get the words down fast enough.
What is your current writing project?
Currently, I am writing the third book in the Women in the West series, Marta. I wrote almost 50,000 words in November, doing a DIY version of NaNoWriMo, and I achieved the word count goal on the 3rd of December. I’m guessing I’ll add another 10,000 or more words when it is finally finished. The historical female character which Marta meets is Pauline Cushman, ex-Union spy.
But, I am also finalizing the second book in the time travel series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions. It will be released in March, before Marta is in August. The whole time travel theme lends itself to some interesting situations, and where book one got a little crazy in its plot, book two hits it out of the ball park. I also broke a lot of the time travel tropes with these stories, but somehow, I managed to make it work.
What is the best writing advice you’ve ever received?
“Ass in chair. Write the damned book.”
Where can readers discover more about you and your books?
I have a blog, “Writing to be Read”, where you can also find my WordCrafter Press site, and all of my books: https://writingtoberead.com/
You can also find me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kayelynnebooth.screenwriter
Or on X: @DIY_Author