Kari Holloway

I'm so excited to introduce to you all today Kari Holloway

Tell me a little more about yourself:

My name is Kari Holloway, and I am from Leesburg, Ga. I'm a multi-genre author with works in romance (Laughing P series), paranormal (Devil's Playground), Fantasy (Beneath the Masks), speculative (Gunpowder and Wool featured in A Haunting of Words), creative nonfiction (Catch Up in A Contract of Words), Non-fiction (A New Writer's Guide to Microsoft Word), and more. In my free time, I enjoy playing games such as Hearthstone, Pokemon Go, and Monster Hunter World. Laughing P (http://mybook.to/LaughingP) Devil's Playground (http://mybook.to/DPSeries) Beneath the Masks (mybook.to/BeneaththeMasks) A Haunting of Words (Books2read.com/AHOW) A Contract of Words (Books2read.com/COW) New Writer's Guide (mybook.to/SubPub)

When you write, do you listen to music or do you prefer silence?

If I'm writing, I don't mind the t.v. being on, but I don't listen to music. If I'm formatting for other authors, I don't mind music. Fozzy, Rag N' Bone Man, and country music in general are my usual playlist for that.

If you could live in any literary world, what would it be and why?

Kim Harrison's Hollows series (also known as the Rachel Morgan series). One of the best in terms of balance between fantasy, paranormal, and equality.

What five things do you do to prepare yourself to start writing?

Wrangle my kids in bed. With two kids under 6, writing while they are awake is like being in a traffic jam. The moment I think I can write even a paragraph, they bring it to a halt. Love them to pieces, but all writing takes place after 8pm unless I have my AlphaNeo with me.

What brought you to the world of writing?

I can't remember a time that i haven't wrote something. In July of 2015, I saw an advertisement on FB for a writing contest. I knew I wouldn't submit, but I sat down and wrote around 5k words. I thought I was done, but the story demanded to be told. That story turned out to be Cracked But Never Broken. I had written the first five chapters, and the rest is history. 

What book has most influenced your writing?

All books influence my writing. I don't think it's possible to read a book and it not have some sort of impact.

Are you a morning writer, afternoon writer, or an evening writer? Does the time of day you write impact your writing?

I can write anytime of day, but with kids, evening is "go time."

What is your writing process?

I pants it. I have a general idea of what I want (maybe) and I start at chapter 1 and work linear down the line of "what ifs." After a couple of rounds with a draft, I send it to the next stage which could be betas or it could go directly to the editor.

What do you find most challenging about writing?

Not letting marketing take over. It's a dual edge sword. Need marketing to make money to fund next book, but need to write next book to keep fans happy. Too much one way or the other, and the progression gets halted.

What do you love most about writing?

I can become anyone. For those few pages, I can live whatever life I want. 

Do you have any tips for other aspiring authors?

Write the draft first then ask if this scene or this sentence or this name works. If you aren't writing, then nothing is getting done.

What are you currently working on now?
I am working on my October's release. It is a continuation of the celestial maiden's tale from Japan.

Kyle is a comic book store owner. Carissa is a high school music teacher who plays the violin. Everything is going according to plan until Grandpa gives Kyle a nearly impossible task. Return the maiden's robe to the woman he stole it from over 50 years ago... to a woman that is dead. My next two releases in the Devil's Playground series are with the editor. Mark of Cain and the Howling King are books 3 and 4 and both will be released this year. In Mark of Cain, Alex finds herself across the veil in the land of magic with her former mentor. What starts out as a simple hunt and exterminate mission become much more complicated when the signs of a cain appear. In the Howling King, Alex, Mira, and Ronin go to Bozeman Montana for a routine paper-pushing job at the request of the council. With her thoughts occupied by things that happened in Mark of Cain, Alex jeopardizes her team and must reap the price.

Can you share an excerpt with us from one of your novels/projects? From current WIP:

 Kyle couldn’t believe he let Evan talk him into this. If walking around the mall wasn’t annoying enough with the copy and paste stores and heat-lamped warmed Chinese food, he carried the maiden’s scarf in hand, raising it near the women he passed without looking like a stalker or worse… crazy.

“That one?” Evan nudged him and pointed to a lady in heels too tall to be reasonably comfortable emerging from one of the big chain stores with bags in hand.

He sighed. “I can’t believe we’re doing this.” He snatched the scarf off the fountain’s edge and hurried after the lady, weaving around the grey-haired women in jogging gear who lapped the interior of the mall for exercise and squeezed past a gaggle of kids skipping school.

He adjusted the scarf so he could see, passing within an elbow’s push from her. The scarf ruffled, and his heart skipped a beat. Her? As quick as it had fluttered, it stopped—no longer trapped in the momentum of his stride. He shook his head and veered off toward the next fountain, trying to make it seem natural despite the few places a grown man would be caught on this side of the mall.

“Maybe the next one? There’s only about two million women left in the state that we haven’t checked.” Evan opened the pretzel bag and tore off a piece before shoving it in mustard.

“That was your great idea?” Kyle’s brow knitted, and his gaze narrowed. Heat began to rise up his neck. “We’ve spent all day doing this instead of me working at the store for this?” He couldn’t believe it.

Evan’s pitch had seemed reasonable at the time but hearing the end game left Kyle flabbergasted.

“Oh, don’t give me that. You would have found any excuse not to clean the office. Besides, we don’t even know if that scarf actually works. It hasn’t so much as hoovered, glowed, or pulsed … has it?” Evan cocked his head to the side and shoved another piece of pretzel into his mouth.

Kyle shook his head. He nudged Evan and pointed to the bag. Taking the bag, he tore off a piece of pretzel. “I’ve taken this by every fabric shop in town. They can’t even find anything close to it. And I do mean every fabric shop.” He ate the pretzel piece and reached for another.

Evan shrugged. “I got nothing. You could always forget it. Toss it up to the ramblings of an old man.”

Kyle didn’t want to say it, but he’d been thinking the same since Gramps brought it up.

About the Author:

Kari Holloway is an American writer who grew up in Leesburg, Georgia. She dabbles in southern romances filled with iconic components of sexy cowboys and firefighters, explored the unexplained in her paranormal series, found her way to the battlefields of the Civil War, and to love's first kiss under the weeping willow through various anthologies. 

Unsure of what her future holds, Kari enjoys writing what captures her attention in the evenings. During the day, she chases her kids around, laughing at their sassy ways and the depths of their curiosity.

Her motto in life: Show the world the best version of you, for our actions of today make tomorrow.

For more information about Kari Holloway and her work, check out her website at www.kariholloway.com. You can also find her on Tumblr (https://www.tumblr.com/blog/kariholloway), Facebook (www.facebook.com/authorkariholloway), or Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC0XaglfAaDzdgWghgyxaCA).