Because of my enjoyment of reading and interacting with authors, I regularly come across up-and-coming writers, and it just so happens that C.A. Klug is one of those special people. Recently, she agreed to a quick interview in honor of her recently-released book, The Sterling Cone, Book #1 of The Sought Six series. Seeing how this book is now available for purchase, I am honored to share our conversation with my readers today.
RH: Please tell us about your journey to become an author. What kind of training have you had to prepare you for being an author?
CAK: My journey, eh? How much time do you have? I’ve wanted to be an author since I was five years old when I had the great “epiphany” that books don’t just appear out of thin air; someone has to write them. I thought to myself, “I want to do that,” and I’ve never looked back. I’m now twenty-eight, and I don’t think there’s been a day where I haven’t written something. I suppose that is my biggest training tool: time. I think, when you find your passion as young as I did, that passion has no choice but to grow with you. My writing samples from each stage of my life are an evolutionary timeline all their own. Thankfully (hopefully), I’ve gotten better with age.
Please tell us about the inspiration for your current book series, The Sought Six.
I came up with the idea for The Sought Six series when I was ten years old and sitting in math class. I was daydreaming instead of focusing on long division (oops) when I happened to glance around the room at five of my classmates. All of a sudden, I was struck with ideas about those personality types (together with my own) creating a group of six characters who would travel to a lush, forested other world, learn to use swords, meet strange creatures, and fight someone truly evil. As you can imagine, all I wanted to do was scribble down all these ideas that were bubbling up in my head, but I couldn’t because my teacher was wandering around the room and watching us, and she would have seen if I wasn’t doing my work. So, I just had to sit there and keep thinking – for an hour, too, because we had a double-period of math that day.
What was your writing schedule for this book? How long did it take to write?
There wasn’t much of a schedule, if I’m being perfectly honest. I plotted this book (and the three others that will follow it) very sporadically since I was ten. Since I’m now twenty-eight, that’s a whopping eighteen years during which TONS of ideas and storylines were formed. That said, only a fraction of those ideas are going to end up in the books, but I had to work through them all to get Book #1, The Sterling Cone, onto the page.
Which character do you most identify with this book? Why?
I suppose I’d have to say Jenna because I put a lot of my own traits into her (coincidentally, Jenna’s twin sister Hallie has a lot of my twin sister’s traits). I’d be lying if I said there weren’t bits of me in all of them, though.
Please tell us about your journey to get this book published.
In a nutshell, it was long, but necessary. I did about fourteen years of research. I learned a lot and I failed a lot. Any time I got a rejection from an agent/publisher, it was something along the lines of, “we liked it and we encourage you to keep trying with it, but it’s not for us.” I took that as a good sign – I must have something marketable, but I’m just having a hard time finding that needle in the haystack. I thought about self-publishing, but the process didn’t feel one hundred percent right. Eventually, through Twitter, I discovered Notebook Publishing, who pride themselves on being an in-between of self and traditional publishing. The world of publishing has changed so much in the last ten to fifteen years – right before my own eyes. The use and popularity of social media has skyrocketed, and the online shopping market is hotter than ever before. There’s more than one way to skin a cat (I hate that phrase), and once my eyes were opened to various publishing options, doors of opportunity also opened.
Any other upcoming works you can mention?
Well, at the forefront of my attention is Book #2 of The Sought Six series, the title of which I cannot yet mention. I’m working to make the stakes even bigger though, so if you end up liking The Sterling Cone, keep an eye out!
I’m also writing another middle-grade book, this time a dark fantasy. Think of it as a cross between elements of Neil Gaiman and elements of Lewis Carroll. This one isn’t finished yet, but I’m making tracks!
What is your advice to aspiring authors?
Write every day. Every. Day. Even if that means staring at a blank page/screen most of the time or throwing out half of what you come up with, that’s okay. It’s all part of the process. Make the time to do it. One of my pet peeves is when people say, “I’d love to write; I just wish I had the time.” Take it from me – if you really want to do it, you’ll do it. You’ll find the time. And most importantly, never give up. That sounds so cliché, but look at me: I’ve been planning and writing The Sought Six series for the better part of eighteen years. There’s no time limit (or at least, there shouldn’t be).
Do you have aspirations to write in other genres and styles? Elaborate if you’d like.
Oh, absolutely! Writing for the middle-grade age range (ages 8-13) is definitely my comfort zone, but I’ll be the first one to say we should never limit art. I’m also working on two picture book series (one about a little duck named Jimmy, and one about four kids who solve mysteries at their school), a new-adult novel that at the moment is taking the form of a cross between National Treasure and Stranger Things, and even a sitcom pilot (ideally for Netflix). I also find poetry really relaxing, and I’m working on an anthology of poems that are all written in twenty minutes or less.
When not writing, what do you like to do?
I like to read, particularly classic literature, but I’m open to most genres. I like watching TV (my all-time favourite is The Golden Girls, but good luck stumping me on Friends trivia) and movies (especially older films like the MGM musicals). I also love horseback riding and anything to do with horses, and I like to play most sports. I grew up in choirs and school plays, and I did a few short films in my late-teens/early-twenties, so singing and acting are both very fun creative outlets for me as well.
I simply adore the fact that C.A. has persevered for so many years to carry her dreams to fruition. Not everyone possesses that kind of mental fortitude and stamina, but she is living proof that anything is possible if one is willing to invest the time and resources to bring it about. I rejoice with her on her new release, and I am immensely excited for more of her works to be published, read, and adored by countless readers all over the world. There is no doubt that this woman is meant to be an author, and I truly hope that everyone visits her links below and considers following her and/or purchasing her book.
FOLLOW C.A.
