K.T. Carlisle
What made you decide to become a writer?
I don’t know that it was a conscious decision; more like something I was born to do. When I was very young, my mother had me tested because she believed I was some sort of savant since I learned the alphabet before I turned one. Turns out, there’s nothing special about me. I just really like words! In fact, I taught myself how to read by the time I was two. When I was in kindergarten, I was placed into a special reading program so I could read chapter books. On my fifth birthday, I received a novel-writing kit from my aunt. Needless to say, writing and reading have always been a part of who I am. It may sound strange to some, but without writing, I don’t know who I am.
How many books have you written and/or published and which is your favourite?
I’ve written six books total, published four, am editing one, and querying the other. My favorite book that I’ve written so far has been I Know What I Saw. I poured so much of myself into that book and am completely obsessed with everything from the quirky cast of characters to the setting in the Adirondacks to the spooky Sasquatch lore. From plotting it all out to inserting my final edits, the entire book took me just 20 days to complete, and even though I’ve written other books since then, it remains the best thing I have ever written.
Tell me more about your favourite book – the plot, characters, setting, POV, tense…
I Know What I Saw is a young adult paranormal thriller starring Eliza Loft—a teenage-outcast-turned-amateur-sleuth whose life gets turned upside-down after witnessing what she believes was a deadly Sasquatch attack of a fellow student, Renée Pope. Shunned for her outspoken Bigfoot beliefs by her peers, Eliza has adapted to her life as a social pariah in the years following the fateful attack. And who could blame her? After all, the monster in the woods isn’t the only one who shares some blame for what happened to Renée that night. But Eliza’s secret may not be as private as she thinks after she receives an anonymous note in her locker claiming to know the truth of what happened. When another student turns up dead, Eliza must speak up about what she saw, or she could very well be the next girl to meet a grizzly end in the woods of Whitehall, NY.
What is your favourite genre to write in? Tell me why.
I love writing murder mysteries and thrillers because that is the genre I read and know the most. In addition to devoting most of my youth to reading and writing, I was also very obsessed with true crime shows and stories about serial killers. There’s something strangely addicting about exploring the minds of seriously sick individuals and trying to understand the reasons why they choose to do the things they do. Besides that, I love creating and solving difficult puzzles, and anything that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. So, murder mysteries and thrillers are a natural fit for my macabre proclivities!
Did you need to do research for your book? If so, how much did you do, how did you do it?
I always do a ton of research on my books before getting started, regardless of whether I know the subject well or not. For instance, with I Know What I Saw, I read about endless Bigfoot encounters both at the local level from people in Whitehall, NY as well as at the national level. I also researched quite a bit about the area’s local history, the layout of the town, the area’s hunting seasons and regulations, and regional vernacular despite living in the area and knowing it very well. For the What Happened to Mia Davis? series, I interviewed several police officers to gain a better understanding of the processing procedures for inmates in the U.S. as well as methods they might use when investigating a case. I try to devote as much time as I can to fully understanding a subject before I begin writing about it, which is the same approach I take to my copywriting efforts for my day job.
Would you travel to the area where your book is set? Do you already know the area? Have you written about that area because it’s a place you know? Have you used the original name of the area or manipulated place names?
I write almost exclusively about places where I’ve lived (or at least places that are nearby). For I Know What I Saw in particular, I lived in a small town on the border of Vermont and New York for about four years before writing the book, so I knew the area and the local folklore about Sasquatch very well. The What Happened to Mia Davis? series takes place in North Carolina, where I lived for two years. In my forthcoming novel, My Father’s Daughter, the characters bounce between Vermont and New Jersey (where I spent most of my childhood). With Intuition (the book I am currently querying), the story takes place in Colorado. Though I’ve never been to Colorado, I lived in the neighboring state of Utah for two years and understand the landscape very well. As someone who’s moved thirty times in thirty years, setting is very important to me, and I love getting to share the pieces of myself with readers that are scattered all over the U.S.
Do you write under a pseudonym or your own name?
I write under a pseudonym to pay homage to my father. When I was a kid, he always called me Kitty Carlisle (for reasons that will always remain a mystery). He was always my strongest supporter when it came to my writing. After he passed away unexpectedly shortly after my twenty-sixth birthday, I stopped writing for five years. I figured if he wasn’t around to read my work, what was the point? But after a while, I began to realize that by not writing, I was dishonoring his memory. So, after I wrote my first book, Reasonable, and I decided to self-publish it, I chose the pen name K.T. Carlisle as a way to thank him for everything he did to make me the writer I am today.
Does your family help you when writing your book – how much do they support you?
My fiancé is my greatest supporter and one of my strongest resources when writing. I can always count on him to not only suffer through every iteration of my books as they are written, but to provide thoughtful, honest feedback about what’s working and what isn’t. He helps me with everything from plotting out the story to identifying holes (and providing recommendations for how to fix them) to self-editing as I write the first draft. An immensely gifted writer himself, I am truly blessed to have him by my side and am grateful for all of the time and attention he gives to me to help shape me into a better storyteller.
How many hours a day or week would you say you spend writing? Is it a potential career for you, is it something you do outside your day job?
I spend anywhere from 3 – 5 hours a day on creative writing; however, copywriting is also my career and has been for the past 10 years. It’s a dream of mine to devote all 9 – 12 hours a day that I currently spend writing to my creative pursuits. For now, I’m very happy with my copywriting career. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have the flexibility to devote such a huge amount of my time to writing the stories that are bursting to come out of me.
Available at Amazon - “I Know What I Saw” by K.T. Carlisle
