Interview with Author K.B Barrett

Tell me a bit about yourself….

K.B. Barrett lives in western Michigan with her wonderful husband and

three kids. Her love of books started early, thanks to her grandmother,

an avid reader who encouraged her to love all books. Eventually, she

had too many ideas and decided to start writing her own books. What

started out as a small hobby led to her first book, Everything I Need,

being published in March. She likes writing romantic books that are full

of suspense and complicated, but they always come with a happily ever

after.

Originally from Oregon, she and her husband have had the pleasure of

living all over the United States. While she enjoys traveling to new

destinations, it is the feeling that you get from living in a new place that

she loves the best. For her, there is nothing quite like having a life full of

adventure. She feels blessed that she has had the opportunity to go

wherever the wind decides to take her, whether that is traveling and

exploring new places, following her kids around, or simply sitting out on

the deck enjoying coffee in one of her colorful mugs.

What genre/s do you write in?

I write what I love reading, which is mostly romantic suspense and

contemporary romance.

How long have you been writing?

Well, I’ve been writing for over 5 years, but only in the last year did I

finally, work up the courage to publish my first book this last March.

Do you have any published books or articles? Tell me a bit about

these and what publishing route you took.

So my first book was Everything I Need. It was the first book in a

mafia suspense series that I’m working on. Book two in that series,

the ‘I Found You Series Novels’ is coming on July 10 th . The third in the

series is set for this fall. I also have a smaller Novella that I joined

with a group of authors for that is coming out later this month!

Did you use an editor? If so who?

Yes, I do.

I work with Eliszabeth at That Bookish Brunette Editing Literary

Services. She is awesome and I couldn’t do this without her. I love

her style. She doesn’t just fix my mistakes, she teaches me how to

not make them again.

Did you use a book formatter and cover designer?

I do use a cover designer, I’m just not that good with graphics.

Eleanor at Shower of Schmidt has been great at bringing my ideas to

light life.

For formatting though, I decided to try and save a few dollars and

after hours of research have finally figured out a path that lets me do

it myself.

Did you self-publish or get traditionally published? How did this go

for you?

As for publishing, I went with self-publishing or Indie published. It

wasn’t because I didn’t get any offers. I actually got a few. But at the

moment I want to be able to have control over little things like my

cover, and my publishing schedule. I also really like the fact that

every day I am learning something new!

I’m not ruling out the traditional way in the future though.

How do you market your work and promote your brand? (Include

links)

So I use a PR company to help me reach a wider audience. HEA PR

and More have been great at coaching me along. But mostly I’m on

social media platforms for now.

I think the most important thing for me has just been about keeping

consistency. I’m still working on it, but I love the learning

process. I’m also hoping in the future to look into

Marketing companies.

https://heapr.blogspot.com/

All my links can be found at: www.authorkbbarrett.com/links

What social media and writing platforms would you recommend?

For social media, I recommend whatever is the most current. I

remember a time that Facebook was the ‘in’ thing. Now it’s

completely different. Trying to stay UpToDate up to date is part of

the challenge nowadays of being an indie author.

Do you use an agent?

No, I currently don’t. However, it is something that I am considering

for the future.

Do you use paid advertising? If so what?

I don’t. It’s on my list though!

Do you have a blog or website?

I do! www.authorkbbarrett.com

What inspires you most to write?

My grandmother was a huge inspiration to me. She taught me to

love books in general, but more importantly, she taught me to not

worry about the other's opinions and to just be me. It took

me a few years to understand that, but I would like to think that she

would have been proud of me.

What do you do to help with writer's block?

I get asked this a lot, and really, I don’t get it!

I know! I’m scared that someday it will kick in, but for now, I have so

many projects that if I become stumped on something, I just move

on.

How do you plan your writing and start?

So, I’m an oddball, I don’t plot. I know everyone does, and once I’m

in the book to a certain place, like over halfway, I will briefly plot out

how I see the ending.

But for me, I just start writing! It’s great because even I don’t know

where the story will take me!

Is writing your full-time job? If not what else do you do?

I’m not at the point of it being a full-time job yet.

However, I’m blessed with a husband that has allowed me to be a

housewife. So, I don’t have to really worry about it at the moment.

I do have a vision of letting him retire early sometime in the future,

but who knows!

The rest of my time is taken up with our three kids, which whom we

home-school, and travels for my husband’s job. It makes for quite

a busy life, but really I love it!

What are you working on at the moment?

So I have two series that I’m working on right at the moment.

One is a series based out of West Virginia that is debuting this fall.

We used to live there, so this project holds a bit of a special place

for me.

The other is an arc off of the I Found You Series, and will be coming

in 2023. It’s a dark Mafia series, the East Coast Crime Syndicate. I’m

looking forward to it.

What is your target audience?

Anyone who loves to read!

I started this whole journey not worrying about whether what I was

writing was the ‘in’ thing. I have and will always continue to write

what I love to read.

How long does it take you to write a book?

So, I can write a 70,000-word manuscript in a week. I’ve done it a

couple of times before, the most recent was just this last month!

However, it takes a lot out of me! I have a huge hangover afterward,

and I pretty much ignore everything else around me.

So, unless the characters are really speaking to me, I try to aim for a

month timeline.

When did you first discover you enjoyed writing?

I’ve always enjoyed doodling around in notebooks. But I didn’t really

start writing stories till after my grandma passed away.

It started as a way for me to honor something that she held dear

and has slowly turned into something that I love and couldn’t picture

doing anything else!

What is your writing schedule look like?

Well, I’m a mom first. So, my schedule is always based around them.

It’s one of the things I love about this job though!

However, I always aim for at least 3,000 words a day, and I do a

really good job of getting them in. I just never know when or where

that might be!

What does your family think about you writing?

My husband is my rock in this! He was the one that helped to push

me to publish. I would have never worked up the courage to go

through with with it without him.

What do you do when you are not writing?

My husband and I love traveling!

New adventures, new places, the outdoors, we love it. More often

than not, in the summer we are either hiking or camping. It has

become a way of life for us, and it’s been great to see our kids come

along on the adventure too! Besides being in the outdoors is the best

place to write!

Where do you get information and ideas for your writing?

Everything around me! But mostly my husband! I do write romance

after all.

What do you think makes a good story?

For me it’s the twists and turns, the complications that arrive during

the characters’ journeys. I still love my Happily Ever Afters though. So

that’s the one thing a story always has to have!