Hello and welcome to my blog, Author Interviews. My name is Fiona Mcvie.
Let’s get you introduced to everyone, shall we? Tell us your name. What is your age?
Kari: Hi Fiona, thanks for having me. My name is Kari Holloway. I am 31.
Fiona: Where are you from?
Kari: I’m from a little town called Leesburg, Ga and the surrounding area.
Fiona: A little about yourself (ie, your education, family life, etc.).
Kari: My free time is spent with my kids or playing games with family and friends. I love Fluxx; it’s a card game where the rules are always changing, and if anyone wants to try it, go with the Wizard of Oz set.
When I’m not spending time with family, I run a small writing group with some of the best admins/people I know, format books for other authors, and work on my own writings.
Fiona: Tell us your latest news.
Kari: In October I released Strings Attached—a sweet clean romance set in Charleston SC between a comic shop owner and a music teacher. I am preparing for the 1st collection of the Devil’s Playground series—it will feature the first four books in the series. And I also recently launched a pen name.
Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?
Kari: I’ve never stopped, and I know many writers say that, but I remember trying to mimic Louis L’amour when I was like 8.
Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Kari: It was after I published three novels.
Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?
Kari: Boredom.
Fiona: How did you come up with the title?
Kari: The titles come to me. Sometimes it’s what a character says or a scene in the book triggers it. Strings Attached is the only exception to that, and I had to ask friends and family what they thought before settling on a title.
Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style? Is there anything about your style or genre that you find particularly challenging?
Kari: I think my style evolves with each book. I’m not sure there’s 1 thing that I can look at and go “this is my style.” Before Strings Attached, I wrote novels in 1st person and short stories in 3rd and only ever one POV. Strings Attached changed that, it was in 3rd with two POVs.
Fiona: How much of the book is realistic and are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Kari: Consciously, I’d say nothing outside of Cracked But Never Broken and Gunpowder & Wool are based on my life, but subconsciously, we’re a sum of our experiences and sometimes we don’t realize where the initial thought began.
Fiona: To craft your works, do you have to travel? Before or during the process?
Kari: So far, no. But I would love to travel and flesh out some experiences in some areas before writing one of the other ideas in my journal.
Fiona: Who designed the covers?
Steven Novak of Novak Illustrations did my Laughing P series.
German Creative on Fiverr does my Devil’s Playground series, Strings Attached, and the newest cover for Writer’s Guide to Microsoft Word.
Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Kari: The message always evolves, revealing things that I hadn’t realized when I wrote it. Hope, though, is the message I champion. And that our path may lead us to better things if we stop trying to force ourselves into a box of expectations.
Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest? Who is your favorite writer, and what is it about their work that really strikes you?
Kari: Cait Ashwood and her Shaman series. Those covers were amazing, but then to read her epics. Makes me envious and proud to be able to call her a friend.
Fiona: Outside of family members, name one entity that supported your commitment to become a published author.
Kari: Ames. Doty. Paone. Menefee. O’Neil. I could name hundreds of friends that I met through various FB groups that championed me becoming an author. Some of them knew before my family did, and others I discovered along the way.
Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?
Kari: That’s my goal. It’s hard, tedious, draining, inventive, thought provoking process that isn’t stagnant.
Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
Kari: No. I have a love hate relationship with Strings Attached. I struggled with it, forcing myself to not walk away when it got difficult, but growth only happens when we have tostrive to complete something.
Fiona: Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book?
Kari: I did, but I’m not sure I could ever quantify it into words.
Fiona: If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?
Kari: Wow. That’s a hard one. I don’t watch enough T.V. or movies to know of all the possibilities, but Kyle Williams would be played by Travis Deslaurier and Carissa DeVul would be played by Anna Kendrick, maybe?
Fiona: Any advice for other writers?
Kari: Write the draft completely before you begin to worry about if this paragraph flows or getting feedback. By the time you finish the draft, you have a good idea of where the story is going, things from the first chapter through to the last will need to be adjusted to match the path that you’ve laid.
Fiona: Anything specific you want to tell your readers?
Kari: I enjoy fan mail and backpack figures from Anime shows.
Fiona: What book are you reading now?
Kari: I’m not even sure. I haven’t seen my kindle in weeks.
Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?
Kari: Nope.
Fiona: What makes you laugh/cry?
Kari: Depends on my mood. I sometimes find myself crying at stupid commercials, but Land Before Time where Little Foot’s mother dies always gets me to cry. And laughing, well it doesn’t take much on that either, it just depends on what’s happening.
Fiona: Is there one person, past or present, you would love to meet? Why?
Kari: I always wanted to ask Shakespeare if he approves of how schools handle his plays, but I also want to asks other authors if they really picked the colors for symbolism or they picked them just to pick them.
Fiona: Do you have any hobbies?
Kari: I’ve let my hobbies slid a lot in the last few years. I do collect Sailor Moon things.
Fiona: What TV shows/films do you enjoy watching?
Kari: Well on my DVR there’s SWAT, SEAL, MacGyver, Graham Norton Show, and Doctor Who—though to be fair, the on the nose rhetoric of the newest season has made the show go from a priority to watch to when there is nothing to do.
Fiona: Favorite foods, colors, music?
Kari: I am trying new foods all the time, but I love ribeyes, medium rare. Favoritecolors are a multitude—Black, Blue, Green, Grey, and Purple. And music, I prefer country and don’t have a favourite artist.
Fiona: Imagine a future where you no longer write. What would you do?
Kari: I’d probably be working retail, possibly doing frame shop—handling pictures and frames, or maybe go into streaming games.
Fiona: You only have 24 hours to live how would you spend that time?
Kari: With family sitting around like any other day.
Fiona: What do you want written on your head stone?
Kari: For every time there is a season, and a life is lived in between the years.
Fiona: Do you have a blog or website readers can visit for updates, events and special offers?
Kari: Yeah. If anyone wants to check out my works, learn more about the different genres I write in, order signed copies—which I do have some specials going on, and stalk me on social media, join my newsletters, and such, they can check out my website. www.kariholloway.com
Amazon Authors Page UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kari-Holloway/e/B019IYHUWE/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1
USA https://www.amazon.com/Kari-Holloway/e/B019IYHUWE/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1541947890&sr=1-2-ent
Strings Attached— https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07GQ1SYN7?tag=lunanara870ed-21 (available everywhere)
Cracked But Never Broken— https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cracked-Never-Broken-Laughing-Book-ebook/dp/B01M2DKTMS/?tag=lunanara870ed-21 (available in KU)
authorsinterviews 
I share your back-and-forth feelings for my own works, too. The perfectionist in me yearns to go back and make changes, but the rest of me (my lazy bits) accepts things as a reflection of where I was then. That’s a bit more introspective than I wanted to be. Let me turn this back to you – congratulations on your success. If only everyone could turn boredom into something so positive. Best of luck to you.