Author Interview: Kaitlyn Davis

I’m very happy to introduce you all to Kaitlyn Davis, the author of the Midnight Ice series which ‘Freeze’ is part of (I’m reviewing that today, too). So read on to discover her responses to my questions and find out more about this talented author!

 

Where did you get the inspiration for your new series, Midnight Ice?

Midnight Ice was actually inspired by all of the incredible responses I’ve received from fans of my first series, Midnight Fire! So many people reached out asking for more from this world and more with these characters, so I started to brainstorm a way to give that to them as a sort of thank you for all the wonderful support!

Initially, I’d planned to only write a quick novella revisiting the characters of Midnight Fire. However, as soon as the character of Pandora popped into my brain, I knew a novella would never suffice! So I turned Pandora’s story into a crazy spin-off series, full of adventure, romance, and of course, impossible odds! I did also write that novella, which is now called Burn, to tie to the two series together.

While Midnight Fire is a different spin on vampire lore, I decided to expand the universe of these books a little bit more with Midnight Ice, which includes vampire lore but is also hugely inspired by greek mythology, a topic I’ve always loved and always wanted to write about!

What is your writing process?

I’ll usually think about an idea for a really long time before I actually dive into the writing stage, basically brainstorming tons of different ideas and keeping notes about any characters or plot twists or world building thoughts that come to me. I have one high fantasy series I’ve been brainstorming for about three years, and I still don’t feel quite ready to begin outlining!

But once that is done and I know the story is ready to move onto the next stage, I become a total planner! I put together a very detailed outline describing each chapter (plot points, character growth, things to foreshadow, etc) and I usually also put together character profiles, or draw maps of the worlds, or various things like that.

Finally, when it comes time to sit down and write, I’m super linear! Some authors I know start from the end, or jump around from chapter to chapter as new ideas come, but I need to start from the beginning and work my way through to the end. Once that draft is completed, I go back and do a few rounds of edits before sending the manuscript to beta readers and editors to review!

 

Do you write using pen and paper or on a computer?

Computer all the way! Sometimes, I brainstorm with a pen and paper so I can step away from technology for a little bit, but when it comes time to seriously get to work, I need my keyboard!

 

Who is your favourite character out of your stories and why?

Oh, this is so tough! I love all my characters! Kira, the protagonist of Midnight Fire, will always hold a special place in my heart because hers is the first story I told and I know a ton of fans who fell in love with her as well. But really, I love all of my protagonists and love interests and side characters, and I think any author would say the same. If I didn’t, I would never be able to spend so many hours bringing their adventures to life!

 

If you were a character in Midnight Ice, which would you like to be?

Midnight Ice is a pretty intimidating world, haha, I’m not sure I’d want to be any of them! I’m perfectly fine sitting at my desk writing all day rather than fighting for my life like most of my characters are. BUT, if I had to choose, I’d probably say Naya, who is a new character introduced in the second book, Freeze. Her powers are badass, her attitude is amazing, and while she’s an integral part of the story, she’s not fighting for her life like Pandora’s is—at least, not yet J

 

How and why did you choose the names for your main characters?

Ooh, I wish I could expand on this question, but for this series I can’t! Pandora’s name plays a HUGE role in the plot, and that’s the only hint I can really give you!

As far as the other three main characters, there’s a little bit of everything behind the reasoning. Sam, the mysterious admirer, is based on a real mythological being and his name also becomes important. Jax, the ex-boyfriend, is a brooding yet cocky musician and I just thought the name fit his personality perfectly. And finally, Naya, who’s real name is Nayelé, is a werejaguar. I did some research and discovered a Mapuche (a group of indigenous people in South America) baby boy name meaning Jaguar, which was Nahuel, and I tweaked it a bit to create a female version.

Sometimes I connect with a name for no reason, and just go with my gut. And sometimes, I take a lot of time researching name meanings and mythological creatures to come up with a unique name. It just depends on the story and the character!

Thank you so much for answering my questions, Kaitlyn – I can’t wait for Fracture to be available!

I loved reading both Frost and Freeze – you can read my reviews for them by clicking on their titles to follow the links 🙂