Author Spotlight: Kim Chance talks Seeker + Enter to Win a Signed Copy!

I'm thrilled to be featured in the SEEKER BLOG TOUR, organized by The Fantastic Flying Book Club! Kim Chance is one of my favorite people on the planet, and SEEKER is the ultimate follow-up to her debut, KEEPER. Check out the synopsis below, and be sure to enter via the rafflecopter link at the end of this interview for a chance to win a signed copy of SEEKER!

Lainey’s normal, bookworm life no longer exists. With her family murdered by the Master, she joins forces with a group of Supernatural rebels. But as she struggles to cope with her new role as Keeper and the uncontrollable power it gives her, Lainey realizes that magic does indeed leave a mark—but it’s not always physical.

Ty isn’t one of the good guys. He’s done terrible things, and he won’t stop until he gets what he wants. Even if it hurts. Even if it means betraying the girl he loves . . . again.

For Maggie, all her comic book dreams have come true, and her new life as a Shifter is just beginning. But with war closing in, is it truly a dream or a death sentence? In the ultimate battle for power, Lainey, Ty, and Maggie must face-off against the Master, and work together to discover the greatest weapon of all. Seek and you will find.

And now, here's my chat with Kim!

Hi, Kim! Welcome and congrats on Seeker Can you tell us a little about the story and what inspired it?

Hi! Thank you so much! Seeker is actually the sequel to my debut novel, Keeper. :) Here’s a brief little synopsis of both books:

KEEPER: When Lainey Styles, an SAT whiz and bookworm, discovers she’s a Keeper—a witch with the exclusive ability to wield a powerful spell book that has been stolen by a malevolent wizard—she is forced to leave her life of college prep and studying behind to prepare for the biggest test of all: stealing back the book.

SEEKER: With her family murdered by the Master, Lainey Styles must join forces with a group of Supernatural rebels and learn how harness her uncontrollable magic. In the ultimate battle for power, Lainey and her friends must face-off against the Master, and work together to discover the greatest weapon of all. Seek…and you will find.

As for the inspirations, I was pretty heavily inspired by the paranormal shows I watched growing up, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Charmed. I’ve always really loved witches, magic, and all things paranormal, so I knew pretty early on that I wanted to write a book(s) featuring those things!

What was your experience writing 3 POVs and what’s your best tip for writers looking to do the same?

Writing three different POVs was quite challenging. It wasn’t something I originally planned for the book, but as I got into the story, I realized that there were things that needed to happen without my main character around. I also realized that while Keeper is Lainey’s story, Seeker really expands Ty and Maggie’s arcs. I wanted readers to get to experience that through their own lenses, instead of just through Lainey’s lens. At first I really struggled to find their voices, so I had to spend a lot of time getting to know the characters all over again. After I did that, I was able to really pull out the three distinct voices. By the end of things, I really enjoyed writing multiple POVs.

For writers who are considering dual or multiple POVs for their books, I would recommend watching this video: Using Dual/Multi POV in your Novel. It’s a collab I did with fellow YA author, Tobie Easton, and in it, we give lots of tips and tricks! The key is making each voice distinctly different from the other voices. The way you do that is by getting to know your characters on a pretty deep level. Once you know them inside out—how they feel, what they think and why, their motivations, etc.—then it’s pretty easy to hear what they sound like.

While Keeper was set in Georgia, Seeker takes place mostly in Michigan. How did this new setting influence your writing and the tone of the story?

To be honest, I think the settings say more about me as a writer than they do about the story! I was born and raised in Alabama and have a ton of family in Georgia, so when I sat down to write Keeper, I had a lot of personal experience of a southern, small town. I’m a very visual person and in order for me to describe something well, I have to had seen it with my own eyes.

When it came to writing Seeker, I needed a completely different setting. I knew I needed a somewhat rural landscape, but I also needed a certain cityscape as well. I had just moved to Michigan myself, and after driving around and getting settled in our new place, I realized that the area I lived in was exactly what I needed for my story. It was easy to describe certain places in the book because I was using actual places from my own town. I even had a friend come to visit and when I took her downtown, she recognized a lot of the names and buildings from having read an early version of Seeker.

Descriptions can be tricky, but for me, the key to making them authentic is drawing from my own experiences.

Did music inspire you while writing Seeker? If so, what might we find on the novel’s soundtrack?

Most definitely! Music is so instrumental to my process as a writer. I have to have music while I write, especially if I’m trying to convey a particular emotion or feeling. I have a Seeker playlist that I curated while I was drafting the book. You can find it here: Seeker Playlist. It’s all instrumental because I find lyrics distracting while writing, but each song on the playlist goes with perfectly with the book.

I also have a few other songs (with words) that I used to help me get in the mood to write. If Seeker were to ever have its own soundtrack, these songs would definitely be on it:

Do or Die by Thirty Seconds to Mars
Palace by Sam Smith
Silence by Marshmello ft. Khalid
Station (2014) by Lapsley
Duet by Penny and Sparrow ft. Stephanie Briggs
In My Blood by Will Champlin and Kirsten Collins
Bruises by Lewis Capaldi

And finally, what’s your go-to piece of advice for writers looking to be traditionally published?

Going the traditionally published route isn’t for the faint of heart! So, my best advice for someone who wants to go that route is to trust the process and to never give up. I know that sounds pretty cliché, but I know traditionally published authors who have written 10+ books before finally getting an agent or getting a book deal. It’s a very competitive market and nothing is guaranteed. It’s also a market that changes constantly. The best thing you can do is write a book that you love. When that one is finished, write another one that you love. Just keep writing.

And never give up. It may take a while, but you’ll get there! Good luck!

So many thanks to Kim for taking the time to tell us more about SEEKER, as well as sharing her generous tips on how to tackle multi-POV, and the story behind the setting. Be to sure to add this fun, heart-stopping YA paranormal to your Goodreads list, or (better yet!) pre-order your copy (WRITE) NOW from retail sites like Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A SIGNED COPY OF SEEKER!

For a comprehensive list of all the Seeker blog tour dates, check out The Fantastic Flying Book Club. And for more, follow Kim on Twitter, and Instagram, and visit her author website at kimchance.com.