To celebrate 13 weeks of winter, Hàlön Chronicles will be conducting one interview a week for 13 weeks. We’ve also partnered with additional artists and authors for a few surprises throughout the winter. Join us on the hashtag #13Winterviews, or check out our blog hop for a sneak peek at who’s on the roster in the coming weeks.
Hosted by: K. J. Harrowick
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m a stay at home mom from Mississippi who still doesn’t know what I want to be when I grow up.
I hold both a BBA and a BA in Spanish from the International Business Program at Mississippi State University (Hail State!). I have worked in athletic ticket sales, business continuity, and compliance. I also taught high school Spanish, coached varsity soccer, led a children’s ministry, and co-led a ministry for single mothers.
Right now I’m on the leadership committee for a local chapter of an international organization for mothers of small children, and I volunteer as a teaching assistant for youth mixed martial arts for self-defense classes.
I’m also an avid sports fan. The kind who talks to the television like they can hear me. Or who gets raised eyebrows from the referee. I would say it’s a problem and I’m working on it, but the truth is I’m not sorry. I love every minute.
2. I hear you take Mixed Martial Arts.
Absolutely. I’ve been taking classes for years and still do. I also help teach kids and teens. In fact, at the end of this month my class for senior girls begins. My mentor and I teach a class every year specifically for teenage girls before they move out of their parents’ house. We have an all female class so they’ll be more comfortable with some of the moves and topics we cover. Trust is important in martial arts training of any kind.
I’m a big advocate for martial arts as a whole. It teaches discipline, it teaches you about what your body is capable of, and most importantly, it teaches you the value of not fighting. In a fight, everyone comes away with scars. Not all of them are physical. The only fight you win is the one that never starts. But, as my mentor says, once it starts, be sure you know how to finish it.
And just in case you’re wondering, there is nothing in this world half as cathartic as pounding all of your frustrations into a Bob™ training bag. Bob isn’t much of a conversationalist, but he can take a haymaker like a champ.
Also, I just broke the first rule of Fight Club. I do hope my mentor will forgive me.
3. What types of books do you write, and why?
I write adult science fiction. Science fiction because asking what if has always been a marvelous pastime of mine. And I write for adults because I’m a firm believer that just because you have crossed some intangible line out of childhood doesn’t mean that you are finished growing, learning, finding yourself, or needing a temporary escape from the pressures of the world. On the contrary, I know a lot more adults that are trying to figure out who they are than youth.
4. What were your early influences, and how does this manifest in your work today?
When talking about book influences, I started as a child with stories like The Giver and A Wrinkle in Time like a lot of people. But, growing up in a Christian household, I also credit the Bible. The story of a man whose father is not of this world, who is ostracized and ridiculed, but still manages to cultivate a following and save humanity? That’s the ultimate alien tale to me. It should be noted that I don’t say that to belittle or minimize Christianity as a whole. In fact, I’m a Christian, so it is the very basis of my belief system.
I also credit my father. My dad read to me a lot when I was younger and when he realized I had memorized most of the books we already had, he would make me read to him. And then when we ran out of stories for me to read, in between regular jaunts to the library or the local bookstore, he would make up short stories for me. They were just quick tales to get me to stop begging for a story before bed, but they stuck with me; stories about an entire solar system that exists along the filament of a light bulb, so that every time we flicked the switch, we controlled the length of their day. That one was to convince me we had to turn off the light at bed time, I’m sure, but it sparked in me a wonder that has never really left. Someone told me once that there is a novel out there with that premise, I don’t doubt that, and perhaps my father read it. I honestly don’t know.
5. Are there aspects of the craft that excite you more than others?
It’s hard to say. The possibilities on a blank page are all at once daunting and thrilling. The story is yet to be told so you don’t have to bend it or break it to make it great. On the other hand, there is nothing quite like the feeling after an edit session when you sit back and realize how much better the story has become. I think the second one might be winning right now. Check back with me after my next round of manuscript beat down and I might not be as enthusiastic.
6. What books or websites are your go-to places while editing?
Everything on K.M. Weiland’s website and her free ebook 5 Secrets of Story Structure are my keys at the moment. I also have been binge watching videos from Ellen Brock on her website and YouTube channel. Writing With Color is also a great blog that I like to check in with while editing my character descriptions, regardless of race. And if you’ve never checked out the Writing Excuses podcast, you’re missing out. Each one is only fifteen minutes long so they’re fantastic to listen to while doing the dishes or folding laundry.
7. Tell us about your writing space.
My most productive writing time falls between 10 PM and 2 AM, after the kids have gone to bed, lunches for school have been made, laundry has been swapped again–because it never ends–and I can sit down without interruptions. I try to get more editing of what’s already on the page during the day, because I have to go line by line anyway with all the interruptions of life. My snacks usually include something with caffeine so I can make it more than ten minutes before falling asleep at the keyboard. And, as for music, I love to listen to background music, but I do better with scores or instrumentals so I’m not distracted by wanting to sing along. Right now 2Cellos is my jam.
8. Tell us about your current WIP or your latest book release.
My WIP is undergoing a massive overhaul right now thanks to the million and one things I’ve learned about crafting in the last year. I can’t wait to look at it when it is done and know that I’ve brought it that far–well, me and my fantastic critique partners without whom I’d be lost.
The story is about a girl from Earth who is abducted by an intergalactic human trafficking ring and sold on a planet where humans are used as slave-fighters or gladiators in the local bloodsport. My sweet little Southern Belle has to figure how to survive when her world goes from sippin’ sweet tea to spillin’ the blood of her opponents–and just maybe losing her heart in the process.
Curious to know more about K. S. Watts? Be sure to visit her website, follow her on Twitter, or hang out with her on Instagram.
