After a twenty-plus-year career in the applied arts industry,
including owning her own fashion and jewellery labels, Kathy decided to turn
her creative skills to writing fiction.
Her first novel, Peak Hill, was a finalist in
the Romance Writers of New Zealand Pacific Hearts Full Manuscript
contest in 2016.
Kathy now squeezes full-time study for an advanced diploma in
applied writing in around writing novels and short stories, teaching sewing and
pattern making and being a wife and mother.
K A Servian on the web:
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the Obvious.
What are a few things we would find on your desk?
Piles of mess! Lots of ideas jotted down on pieces of paper and a photo of my son, Sam, as a baby
What motivates you to write?
I have ideas for stories constantly swimming around in my head and if I didn't write them down, I'd never sleep.
Share something about yourself no one else knows?
I'm never satisfied with anything I make or write.
What was your favorite scene to write?
I like to write scenes where there's loads of tension and the villian is being particularly horrible to the heroine (not sure what they says about me?), so any of the scenes where Carl (the villian) is showing his true colours were the most fun to write.
Tell us about your book…
'Throwing Light' is the story of Grace, a woman in her mid-thirties who has lost her way in life. Her ex-boyfriend, Tom turns up on her doorstep a week after the death of her mother and tries to rekindle their relationship, throwing her into a spin.
Then, just to add to her problems, a mysterious birth certificate she found while clearing out her mother's attic reveals that she is adopted..
With Tom's help, she goes in search of her birth parents. She finds her father, Ben quite easily, but her mother, Jane is more difficult to trace. Eventually, Grace discovers that Jane had a chequered past before she disappeared without a trace from an isolated small town in 1990.
Grace goes in search of Jane but finds that the residents of the small town have been keeping secrets for twenty-five years and one of them will do anything to ensure that those secrets are not revealed.
The book is written in two time periods with Grace's story running alongside Jane's.
Amazon Kindle
Amazon Paperback
Shame on Who? (Short Prequel to Throwing Light)
In 1979, fifteen-year-old Jane Smith announced to her parents that she was expecting a baby. Thirty-five years later, the repercussions of the decision made by her father on that day come home to roost in the romantic thriller 'Throwing Light.' 'Shame on who?' is a short prequel to the book and provides insight into the dramatic events that changed Jane's life.
Interesting stories by Kathy!
ReplyDeleteThank you. I hope you enjoyed them.
DeleteHi Kathy,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the free book and this interview. I loved reading it. And Throwing Light sounds intriguing.
You're welcome. I hope you enjoy Throwing Light. I find the concept of identity and what it means to a person fascinating. What is more important nature or nurture- or both?
DeleteI have lots of stuff on my desk too.
ReplyDeleteHi Mary, I like to think that mess indicates a creative mind. 😀
DeleteCool cover work!
ReplyDeleteThank you, William. I do my own covers because I'm a compete control freak. I find that if I create my covers early in the writing process, it helps me to define the feel if the book in my head. Glad you like them.
DeleteI'm a piler as well! The books sound great :)
ReplyDeleteLet's just say that people with a tidy desk have too much free time. 😀 Thank you and I hope you enjoy Throwing Light.
DeleteI love the blurb! Genre mashes are a delight to me and I love the way this one is a mystery & romance. Reminds me of Tess Gerritsen's early works. Wishing KA much success!
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DeleteThank you, Lexa.
DeleteGreat interview. That one answer--never satisfied--isn't that so true. I know many writers who believe this.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to K.A. Her books sound great.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kelly. There's been loads of positive feedback which is a relief after spending months sitting alone tapping away on a keyboard and hoping that what I'm writing isn't complete rubbish.
DeleteGreat interview. And I can certainly relate with never satisfied. I'm not sure any book is ever 100% of where we want it to be.
ReplyDeleteSounds like your books are loaded with tension. Kudos.
Hi, Nas;)
Thank you, Sandra. Never being satisfied isn't necessarily a bad thing - unless it becomes an obsession, of course ;).
DeleteI absolutely love the covers for Throwing Light and Missing the Obvious. What a great interview! I love learning about authors who are new to me. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete~Jess
Thank you, Jess. I'm very flattered as I do my own covers. It's good to know they have impact.
DeleteSuch beautiful covers and wonderful sounding stories!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Elizabeth.
ReplyDeleteAww, it's a shame she is never satisfied! I think being proud of something you've been able to do is important. But I guess it's the perfectionist way!
ReplyDeleteHi Olivia-Savannah. It may come from A career spent pattern making and sewing where there is no margin for error. Those seams have to match perfectly! Perfectionism has it benefits as it encourages us to strive for improvement, but you're right, it would be nice to be satisfied just once.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment.
This writer seems like one to watch. I have to read her book!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Maria, I hope you enjoy them.
DeleteCongrats to K.A.! Good luck with the new book.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteI entered the give away... this book sounds extremely interesting... I like the idea of the two time periods, one my favorite books ever was written in that format. Congratulations on your booki xox
ReplyDeleteHi Launna, good luck in the giveaway. I really enjoy writing and reading books in two time periods. My third one, which I'm writing now, is also in two time periods. Challenging to write, but fun to read.
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