Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
K.C Tansley lives with her warrior lapdog, Emerson, and three quirky golden retrievers on a hill somewhere in Connecticut. She tends to believe in the unbelievables—spells, ghosts, time travel—and writes about them.
Never one to say no to a road trip, she’s climbed the Great Wall twice, hopped on the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg, and danced the night away in the dunes of Cape Hatteras. She loves the ocean and hates the sun, which makes for interesting beach days. The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts is the first book in her YA time-travel murder mystery series.
As Kourtney Heintz, she also writes award winning cross-genre fiction for adults.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts was a concept my best friend, Anthony, and I dreamed up when we were in 7th grade. The 11-year-old me loved the idea of ghosts, curses, spells, castles, time travel, and a murder mystery. I was a huge fan of soap operas like Dark Shadows and Santa Barbara and that’s where the romantic thread came in.
Back then, I only thought about the story I wanted to tell and this was it. Anthony and I never got beyond the character sketches and general concept because the original idea had way too many characters. He still has a notebook somewhere filled with dozens of character sketches.
Decades later, when I was working on Wall Street and mourning the end of the Harry Potter series,
I thought if I could write my own novel, the characters would always be with me. That was when the 28-year-old me remembered the story the 11-year-old me was dying to tell. I emailed Anthony and he gave me the go ahead to work on it. And then the work truly began.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I can assure you all my writing habits seem perfectly normal to me.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I was a big fan of ghost stories and Gothic stories as a kid. I remember reading about banshees and
thinking there was nothing cooler. One of my all time favorite reads is Wuthering Heights with its
Gothic love story. Agatha Christie mysteries were a must-read for the 11-year-old me too. I loved the intricate plotting and how it all came together so perfectly in the end.
As an adult, I read The Woman in Black, and it probably contributed to some of the creepier moments in the story. The Harry Potter series played a big role in my writing this book because I was distraught over Hermione and Harry leaving my life. I didn’t read the final Potter book until a few years after the series ended.
What are you working on now?
This summer I’m working on the second draft of the sequel to The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts. It will be out in the fall of 2017.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I think the blog tour and all the ARCs that my publisher gave away were really helpful.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
If it doesn’t work, try something else. You can always improve on any aspect of your work whether it’s your writing craft or your marketing techniques.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be the best version of you rather than a second rate version of someone else.
What are you reading now?
The Retribution of Mara Dyer.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ve got a short story to finalize this summer for a competition. The sequel to TGWIG. And an idea for a standalone novel that is begging to get written.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Le Petit Prince, and Vampire Academy
Author Websites and Profiles
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