KAYELLE ALLEN( Cont.) INTERVIEW
MFRW:
KA:
Tell us about yourself, your family, where you live. My husband and I met while both of us were on active duty in the US Navy. We’ d been born three days apart and had joined the Navy the same day. We married less than six months later. We both had a fondness for the South, so we moved from California back to Tennessee. I took a part time job that later became full time management, and we transferred to Atlanta. Hubby and I both retired, but I soon got bored being home. I now write full time, have my own author support company( The Author’ s Secret), and I created Marketing for Romance Writers.
MFRW: What makes a good book?
KA: To me, a good book means a solid plot, realistic characters, and an engaging story. I’ m plotting a suspense set in my current science fiction universe and time, so I’ m studying how suspense authors structure their stories and how they plot and pace story events. Reading, for an author, is more than entertainment. It’ s work.
MFRW:
KA:
KAYELLE ALLEN( Cont.) INTERVIEW
Tell us about your latest book. What motivated the story? Where did the idea come from? Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas reveals the beginnings of my science fiction universe and its various heroes, heroines, and villains. I began writing the concept when I was a teenager, but did not publish until I was in my fifties.
Pietas is king of the Sempervians, a race of immortals. Every character in every book I had written feared him. He came across as a psycho. So why did they all follow him? Why were they so completely, absolutely in his thrall? What was the hold he had over them? I could not continue to write him without finding out. Now that I have, I must admit, I’ m in his thrall as well. Pietas is not like any of my other characters. You’ ll fear him in all my other books, but in this book, you’ ll understand. If you’ re brave enough, you might even admit to love.
MFRW: Do you feel humor is important in fiction and why?
KA: Even the most fearful scenes need a break. Tension in every moment makes tension fade. Humans must experience an ebb and flow. It’ s in our blood, influenced by everything from the tide to the seasons of the earth. Inject humor in stressful scenes to add to the enjoyment, not detract. In Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas, I wrote a scene for Pietas where he needs to perform a personal ritual of strength. It’ s one he uses before going into battle against humans. However, he’ s been severely injured, can’ t manage it on his own, and the only person available is Six, who’ s human. The interaction of the two reveals how deeply uncomfortable both of them are in the situation, and how tense the scene becomes, but you still end up laughing.
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