Author Interview: Kyoko M
Hi, Kyoko, tell us a bit about yourself and what inspired you to write?
I am a USA Today bestselling author and a fangirl. I have written The Black Parade urban fantasy series and the Of Cinder and Bone science-fiction series. The Black Parade has been reviewed by Publishers Weekly and New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews. Of Cinder and Bone placed in the Top 30 Books in Hugh Howey's 2021 Self Published Science Fiction Contest. I have been a guest and panelist at such conventions as JordanCon, Geek Girl Con, DragonCon, Blacktasticon, Momocon, and Multiverse Con. I am also a contributor to Marvel Comics' Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda (2021) anthology. I am Georgia born and raised and I have a Bachelor of Arts in English Lit degree from the University of Georgia. My writing inspirations come from many places, but originally from a love of reading. My parents read to me as a child and so I grew up loving stories and wanting to share them with others.
2.What appeals to you most about the sci-fi and fantasy genres?
Fantasy and science fiction is a lot of fun if, like me, you’re a nerd and you enjoy melding real science with fictional science. One of the things that was most fun about my newest novel, Of Claws and Inferno (Of Cinder and Bone #5), was reading about reptiles, birds of prey, and dinosaurs, and using the real biology, physiology, and animal science facts about them to create the dragons in my series. Excluding their flight capabilities, pretty much everything about the dragons in my Of Cinder and Bone series has some basis in the real science of either avian or reptilian species. I enjoy the creativity involved with science fiction, where there is a baseline of science and you take off from there trying to create something new.
3. Tell us a little bit about your latest project and the challenges you’ve faced putting it all together?
Of Claws and Inferno is my latest project. It will be published on April 22nd, 2022. It is Book Five in the Of Cinder and Bone series, which in order is Of Cinder and Bone, Of Blood and Ashes, Of Dawn and Embers, Of Fury and Fangs, and Of Claws and Inferno. Of Claws and Inferno is possibly one of the most intense books in the series, as indicated by the title. Dr. Rhett “Jack” Jackson and Dr. Kamala Anjali currently work for the Knight Division: a government agency devoted to the safe capture, study, and relocation of loose dragons. They’re abruptly told that their superiors have decided to change the way the Knight Division is run by holding a tournament called The Wild Hunt. They will have to capture five of the deadliest dragons in the US before the opposing team or they lose their jobs. Jack and Kamala are also chasing after Kazuma Okegawa, the yakuza lieutenant who has been trying to kill them. Okegawa is planning a hostile takeover of the worldwide illegal dragon trade and if he succeeds, everyone will be in grave danger. The biggest challenge in this book had to do with writing a satisfying conclusion. There are a lot of story threads that will end in this book and I wanted to make sure each one felt right and made sense while being good storytelling.
4. What type of characters do you like to write the most and how much of yourself do you put into them?
Most of my characters are going to be sarcastic as hell, first and foremost, and they get that from me. It’s just how I am. I joke that I am like if you mixed Liz Lemon from 30 Rock and Chandler Bing from Friends. What’s funny is that Jack and Kamala from the Of Cinder and Bone series are both a great deal smarter than me—Jack has a PhD, Kamala is a former medical doctor—and so the challenge has always been to make them sound intelligent and educated, but still relatable and grounded. Of all my characters, Jordan Amador from my Black Parade urban fantasy/paranormal romance series is definitely the most like my actual personality, but she has more trauma in her background and she’s prickly as a result. I put a good deal of myself in most of my protagonists and antagonists, but I always make sure they have their own authentic voices, not just parroting my sensibilities.
5. For any wannabe writers out there, what’s the most useful thing you’ve learned?
No one cares that you wrote a book except for you. That sounds exceptionally harsh, but it’s unfortunately going to be true for most writers. You need to go into this job knowing that more than likely, you’re going to have to claw and scratch for every single reader and you have to believe in your work because no one is going to do it for you. You’re going to feel unheard, tired, and unappreciated most of the time, but if you really care about your book, you’ll push through those feelings and try your best to get your book into the hands of the right people who will enjoy it. From a more technical standpoint, do not ever delete your writing. Even if you think it’s bad, save it in another document. Sometimes, you end up revisiting it or repurposing it for something else and you’ll regret deleting it. Save everything, back everything up.
6. What writing tricks do you utilise to hit your deadlines and keep your stories on track? Before I used up my free options, I used Pacemaker Press to keep track of my writing. It allows you to update and it breaks down your writing progress into easy to understand charts. I will be using the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) site for my next WIP to track my writing process.
7.Are you a plotter or a pantser (make it up as you go)? I am a little weird? I fluctuate. For The Black Parade series, it was about 70% plotter, 30% panster. For the Of Cinder and Bone series, it’s been about 40% plotter, 60% pantser. I have a general idea of where I’m going, but the details often don’t happen until I sit down to write.
8. What plans do you have for the future? A new series or perhaps a dip into other genres? I am currently penning a science fiction space travel trilogy for Falstaff Books. The short pitch is Titan A.E. meets Ender’s Game. I have yet to decide if I will write more Of Cinder and Bone books, but I’ll let everyone know once I have it figured out.
9. With the world the way it is at the moment what sort of tales do you prefer?
Ones with heroes where good triumphs over evil or ones that take a darker approach? I need levity and happy endings as a rule. My life is not great. I’m an anxiety and depression survivor, so it’s important that I indulge in fiction with happy or at least bittersweet endings or else I’m too reminded of how abruptly cruel real life is. Ray Bradbury once said, “You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.” I live by those words, so I stick to good triumphing over evil in the fiction I consume.
10. What’s better, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings or Star Wars?
Out of those three, I’d take Star Wars, but I am a terrible person because I honestly am not loyal to any of those choices. I only like the first four Harry Potter books, and that was as a kid/teenager, never read Lord of the Rings, and I only like the original trilogy and season one of The Mandalorian, to be honest. I have low geek cred in this area.
Follow Kyoko -
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/She-Who-Writes-Monsters-161227150647087
Twitter: @misskyokom
Website: http://www.shewhowritesmonsters.com
My new release is slated for April 22nd, 2022. Of Claws and Inferno: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09R61W79X or https://books2read.com/u/38yAx7
