AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – YA Author Kayvion Lewis

by Brett Nelson – 4/22/22

Dear Readers. Thank you for swinging by my website to catch up on this month’s AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT.

For those of us in the southern states, it would seem as though winter has released her grasp and we’re headed into the torturous and unyielding heat and humidity of summer. I wish I was one of those people who eagerly anticipates the spring and summer months, but I’m not. I love cold weather and thick sweaters, not shorts and flip flops.

To me, spring and summer represent an increase in seasonal allergies, being drenched with sweat the minute you walk out the door, and…the worst of all…LAWN MOWING SEASON. *Two thumbs down* Honestly, there’s nothing about spring and summer that I enjoy, and I already look forward to the return of nippy fall air and the holidays.

Last month, I had the opportunity to go into a local high school and visit with students at an English and Composition Literacy event. Since public speaking isn’t within the realm of my comfort zone, I almost didn’t accept the invitation, but I decided that conquering my discomforts was a better choice, so I accepted, and I’m so glad I did.

Numerous students stopped by my table to visit with me about my writing career and the steps it takes to become a published author. While I’m hardly an expert on authoring (I’m still learning with every book I publish!), I was happy to share the tidbits of my knowledge with the younger generation.

As an Indie author, I was able to discuss the wide range of tasks that one must accomplish to become a published author, from: writing the book, editing the book, finding professional editors, finding professional cover designers, finding professional book and ebook formatters, and finally marketing.

With four novels under my belt, I can now say with absolute assurance that no one ever told me that writing the book would be the easiest part of being an author. While the creative aspect of writing has it’s own unique challenges and hurdles, the most challenging part, by a wide margin, at least for me, is figuring out how to market my books so that a broader audience can find out that I and my books exist.

There have been many times through the years that I wished I had an author mentor to guide me along the way, to tell me what the next steps in the process are, and how to troubleshoot when things don’t happen the way I want them to happen. For the most part, though, I’ve managed–one way or another–to figure it out on my own. I can also thank the many numerous online author conferences I’ve been blessed to attend, where I gathered no small amount of publishing help in a myriad of areas, some I didn’t even know I needed.

For those of you who like to read, do me a favor. Between your favorite best-seller author reads, pick up an occasional book by an unknown Indie author. And when you do, keep in mind that Indie authors do everything themselves, unlike traditionally published authors who have the luxury of publishing companies to do all the grunt work for them.

Most of us Indie’s try our hardest to churn out the best work that we (and our finances) can afford, so when you read an Indie author, also keep this in mind, especially when reviewing an Indie’s work: The majority of Indie authors don’t have access to the fancy editors that your favorite New York Times Best-Selling author has. We don’t have access to their in-house cover designers and formatters.

By all means, give an honest review when you review us, but I also ask that you be gentle, because a lot of us still struggle to find the perfect book editors who can help shape our work into something better and more enjoyable for our readers, and the cover designers who can create just the right cover that will reach out and grab our audience and entice them to read it.

In interviewing authors on this blog, one conversation I’ve had with many of them over and over is that, like me, they’re often still trying to find just the right book editors, just the right cover designers, just the right book formatters, that can help their work shine just as brightly as the latest best-seller at Barnes & Noble. Trust me, before the professional editors get their hands on your favorite author’s books, their manuscript would probably make you cringe and say, “what the heck happened here?”

Since we Indie’s don’t have fancy suits in a high rise on 5th Avenue in New York City to do our bidding, we have to keep trying until we find “the one editor”, “the one designer,” and “the one formatter.” It almost always takes several books to find the right people to become our writing team, because we don’t know until we’ve spent thousands of dollars that the editor we hired didn’t know as much as they led us to believe they did.

Since we’re on the topic of Indie authors, that leads me to April’s AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT.

YA author (Young Adult) Kayvion Lewis lives in Louisiana and is an orange belt in Kung Fu. To date, she has written one book entitled The Half Class.

Brett: Kayvion, thank you for taking the time to visit with us today. Talk to us a little about your childhood–were you an avid reader as a child? If so, who were your favorite childhood authors?

Kayvion: Avid reader…ah, I wouldn’t take it that far. I loved consuming stories in all forms since I was a kid, and would oscillate between only reading books for months to only watching movies, to only watching TV shows, and so on. Thinking back on my book phases, my favorite author would probably be Kiera Cass. I started reading The Selection Series when I was thirteen, and she was the first author of whom I wanted to read everything she’d written.

Brett: As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Kayvion: Not an author, I’ll tell you that. I had my heart set on the vague idea of being an adventurer. After I watched Temple of Doom for the first time, I figured there had to be some job out there that would pay me to travel the world, picking fights with sinister secret societies and finessing my way out of life-threatening situations. (Still looking for that dream job, but in the meantime, I’ve taken to writing fictional adventures instead.)

Brett: At what age did you decide writing novels was something you wanted try? Was a novel your first attempt at writing, or did you start smaller and work your way up to full-length novels?

Kayvion: I was 19 when I got slapped in the face with the idea of being a writer, and immediately jumped headfirst into writing a full-length novel. I finished that first book a month and a half later and I was hooked on storytelling.

Brett: Your debut novel is entitled “The Half Class.” Putting a novel out into the world, especially for the first time, can be very scary, because even though it’s fiction, there’s still pieces of you in the story. How did it feel to realize your first attempt at writing was out there for anyone in the world to pick up and read and *cringe* judge and even criticize?

Kayvion: Luckily, I had a bit of a build up to my novel being fully out there. First it was just mine, then my CPs then it had to go through my editors and early reviewers and all that, so it was more like wading into the pond of exposure rather than diving into the deep end. As for criticism, at the end of the day I create my stories for me, so all other opinions are secondary to mine. I don’t stress too much about other people not liking it. It does give me a bead of joy to know that my book might have brought entertainment and joy to a reader, however.

Brett: Whether a book is “good” or “not” is obviously subjective—but let’s be honest, readers can sometimes be brutal in their expression of disdain toward our hard work, and all authors, even famous ones, get bad reviews. When the inevitable happens and you get a bad review, how will you handle it?

Kayvion: How will I handle it? I think you mean how did I. Nothing’s for everyone. I never expect anyone who picks up my book to like it. For the most part, I avoid goodreads and other review sites completely. Reviews are for readers, not writers anyway. Whether they’re good or bad, I typically don’t want to see them.

Brett: When it comes to novel writing, are you a “plotter” or a “pantser?” In other words, do you plot your novels before writing them, or do you jump in and figure it out as you go along?

Kayvion: Something more like a plantser? I usually write my first couple of chapters without anything, then draw up a super thin outline and use that to guide the rest of the way. The “outline” usually changes about halfway through drafting, when I start veering in new directions.

Brett: As I mentioned above, “The Half Class” is your debut novel. For readers who haven’t read the book, give us a synopsis of the key elements of your story.

Kayvion: Hmmmm, well, to break it down to a few fragments: Girl lives in apartheid fantasy nation. Girl has meet-cute with prince of said nation. Rebellion uses girl as spy. Girl might be falling in love with prince. Drama ensues.

Brett: What was your inspiration for writing “The Half Class?”

Kayvion: A long held love of fantasy romances, and a desire to see more girls like me—biracial girls—in those stories.

Brett: Writing a novel can be a difficult endeavor, especially when writing your first one. Was this novel difficult to write, either emotionally or technically, etc? Why?

Kayvion: Emotionally? Eh, there were a few scenes that made me uncomfortable to write and required digging deep into my own insecurities, but those scenes weren’t necessarily difficult to write. I’d say challenging instead.

On a technical level, oh baby, this book was a ride. I had to rewrite the entire thing from scratch before it became the version that my publisher signed. So far, it’s the only book I’ve had to completely overhaul like that.

Brett: How long did it take you to write “The Half Class?”

Kayvion: The first version took a month and a week to write, then weeks more to revise. The complete rewrite took another month and even more weeks to revise. All and all, from start to finished, it took about four months to get the book from the first word to query-ready.

Brett: In this novel, which character(s) would you not get along with in real life? Which one would be a friend you wish you had in real life?

Kayvion: Wanna know a secret? I don’t really like anyone in The Half-Class. Most of the characters are so…not people I’d want to be friends with. The only character I think I’d vibe with in real life is Albo (a side character) but he’s so prickly, I don’t think he’d want to hang out with me.

Brett: When you began writing your book, did you know the title before you began writing, or did the title emerge later in the writing process?

Kayvion: My first version had a filler title, which was so lame I won’t even repeat it here, but when I began my re-write, I knew the title would be The Half-Class.

Brett: Now that you’ve published your first novel, do you have ideas for a second one? If so, will it be a sequel or a stand-alone novel?

Kayvion: In the world of The Half-Class, I signed with my publisher for a trilogy, so there will be two sequel books. I also signed with my superstar agent last year, and we’re getting ready to go on submission with a YA thriller, completely unrelated to The Half-Class and its world.

Brett: As a new author, what is something that surprised you about the writing/publishing process?

Kayvion: About the publishing world, just how behind everyone constantly is. Maybe it’s because I started in the publishing world well into the pandemic, but everyone I’ve interacted with is always behind schedule, lol.

Brett: What was the most enjoyable aspect of writing your novel? What did you least enjoy?

Kayvion: The whole experience of writing the very first draft of this book was one of the most charming months of my life. I was home from school for the summer, and wasn’t working at the time, so my whole life was staying up late and writing until dawn, watching the sunrise, then sleeping in just to get up and write some more. Rewriting the book just so happened to coincide with my starting a new job and school, so it was a much more time-strained, less free-flowing experience than the first time.

Brett: Given that you’ve accomplished the exciting feat of publishing your first novel, what advice would you give to young authors aspiring to write their first novel?

Kayvion: It’s kind of a meme now, but JUST DO IT. Don’t overthink things, don’t get caught up planning out tiny details about your characters and world. Just get words on the page and add more every day. No excuses. Most people will never start writing that book. Even fewer will finish. Rarer still is the person who finds the discipline to edit and then start all over with a new book. If you want to be in this industry you’ve got to be tenacious. Just do it, and just keep going, no matter what.

Brett: What do you hope your readers will take away from reading The Half Class?

Kayvion: I’d love to get readers asking questions about morality. Where is the grey area? And should some things be black and white? I want to leave readers thinking critically, about my characters, the world they have to live in, and what that might mean for the real world too.

Brett: Give your readers a description of your working space. Is there anything you must have to flow in the creative process? When you take a minute to look out the nearest window, what do you see?

Kayvion: Space, singular? I kinda work all over the place. Libraries, museums, boat launches, abandoned baseball fields, my friends’ backyards, my bathroom floor. I don’t take a lot with me when I work. All I need is my laptop and the notebook I scribble all my outlines and notes in. (Unless I’m working on agent/editor revisions, in which case I’ll have a very scribbled over, worse for wear edit letter with me too.) Besides that, there isn’t anything I need to have with me to work.

Brett: Who is your current favorite author(s)?

Kayvion: Philip K. Dick. One day, I want to write sci-fi with the punch that he did.

Brett: What book(s) are you reading right now? How many books are in your ‘to be read” pile?

Kayvion: Currently reading Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury, Flight of the Raven by Morgan L. Busse, The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, The Astral Traveler’s Daughter by K.C. Archer, and The Push by Ashley Audrain. My TBR pile is about ten books tall right now…

Brett: If you could co-write a book with another author, living or dead, who would that be?

Kayvion: I don’t think I’d want to co-author with anyone. Like, ever, lol.

Brett: Your first novel is targeted toward YA (Young Adults). Is this a genre you’ll stick with in the future? What are the chances you’ll genre jump at some point and write something in a different genre? If so, what genre would you like to dabble in?

Kayvion: Ideally, I’d love to write in Middle Grade, YA, and adult, in almost every genre under the sun. At the moment though, everything I’ve signed for is YA, so it’s looking like I’ll be doing that for a while.

Brett: If I were to drive to your home in Louisiana to have dinner with the Lewis family, what would be on the menu?

Kayvion: Take-out pizza and sarcasm.

Brett: If you could spend an entire weekend doing nothing but bingeing your favorite television shows, what would you watch?

Kayvion: Once Upon a Time, Lost, Hunter X Hunter, Supernatural, and House of Cards.

Brett: What’s your favorite hobby/activity when you’re not writing?

Kayvion: Reading manga and taking long drives to nowhere.

Brett: For those of us not as cool as you, what is manga?

Kayvion: Haha, I think manga gets pegged as more nerdy than cool. Manga is Japanese comics–what they usually base anime on, like Dragon Ball. Everyone knows Dragon Ball, right?

Brett: What’s your favorite format when you have time to sit down with a book (ebook, physical book, audiobook?)

Kayvion: I usually prefer physical books, but lately I’ve been listening to more audiobooks. At night, I stick to ebooks though, so I guess I flip-flop on that one.

Brett: What’s your idea of a perfect Saturday night on the town?

Kayvion: I don’t really do nights “on the town.” I love nights in with my besties though. We watch crappy movies, order way too much doordash, and do really bad art projects.

Brett: Have you ever read a novel and left thinking, “I could have written that better?”

Kayvion: Yes. Whether or not I was right, I’ll never know.

Brett: I know authors don’t like talking about their work before it’s completed, but give us ONE word to best describe the novel you’re working on now.

Kayvion: AMBITIOUS

Brett: Kayvion, thank you so much for being a guest on my “Author Spotlight” blog. I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have. Is there anything you’d like to say to your readers before we finish the interview?

Kayvion: Oh, nothing much maybe just READ THE HALF-CLASS.

If you would like to contact Kayvion, click this link to check out her website: https://www.kayvionlewis.com/

If you would like to order her book, click this link: https://www.amazon.com/Half-Class-Class-Chronicles-Book-ebook/dp/B08L5T9WS8

Finally, if you would like to check out Brett’s Books, click this link: https://www.amazon.com/Brett-Nelson/e/B08D2C1YSC