KC Sprayberry

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am happily married to a man I met while in the Air Force. We will soon celebrate 19 years of marriage. Our teen, the youngest of 8, keeps us on our toes with his band activities. Writing is something I’ve done since I was very young. At first, it was in a diary and then I poured all my energies into English compositions, earning praise from my Advanced Composition teacher in high school for an extremely visual project. While in the Air Force, I placed second in the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge’s annual contest and from then on, was hooked. However, the reality of a military career and raising children forced me to put off attempting publication until my husband and I moved to Georgia. It was after the birth of our now teen that I began taking courses through The Institute of Children’s Literature, Long Ridge Writer’s Group, and Writers Digest in an effort to make my life’s dream come true.

We live in Northwest Georgia, in a small town, where I write Romance, Westerns, Young Adult, and Middle Grade stories, both short and book length. More than a dozen of my short stories have appeared in magazines such as Listen Magazine, Brio, and The Pink Chameleon website. I also have two short stories in anthologies, Passionate Hearts Anthology and Mystery Times Ten. My westerns have garnered interest by avid readers and appear on The Western Online and Frontier Tales.

My work appears under the pen names of KC Sprayberry and Kathi Sprayberry. Softly Say Goodbye, a young adult novel, was my NaNoWriMo winning project for 2010. This story was inspired by a quote from a song and hearing of an auto wreck involving teens and drinking.

I have one novel out presently, Softly Say Goodbye through Solstice Publishing. Freaky Fiction Writing will be releasing Canoples Investigations Tackles Space Pirates at the end of July, and there’s a third novel, Pony Dreams through Fire and Ice, coming in January. I also have stories included in these anthologies: Passionate Hearts (2010), Mystery Times Ten 2011, Mystery Times Nine 2012, The Best of Frontier Tales Volume 1, and the Best of Frontier Tales Volume 2.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Softly Say Goodbye is the only book currently released. It was inspired by several things. First, I saw a Facebook status that read “Take a breath and softly say goodbye.” Oh, immediately, story bounces into my head, but it wasn’t forming well. Then I read a story about teens who were drinking and involved in a wreck. From that point, it was all about the characters yammering away until I got it right.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Unusual writing habits? Not that I believe, but my husband claims I go all out once the story bug hits. He might be right. I do tend to focus entirely on what I’m working on at the moment, but I can also split my attention, doing a new book at the same time I’m revising another.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Penny Estelle has a wonderful way of grabbing a reader from the first page. I’ve read two of her books so far, and I’m looking forward to more as soon as I can get them. Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. I picked up The Eye of the World in 1991 and never looked back. It was hard when he died, wondering if the series would be just left hanging, but Brandon Sanderson did a wonderful job finishing the job Jordan started. Third is Stephen King. I’ve loved his work since I read Carrie way back when. He can scare the daylights out of a person with seemingly normal situations.

What are you working on now?
Currently, I’m working on the second story in the Canoples Investigations series. No hints yet, but it’ll be as fast paced as the first book.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use Twitter daily, my FB fan page after that. My website. Oh, my website (eye roll) I really have to update that soon.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never give up. Don’t quit because you get a rejection. Don’t let anyone tell you to give up this craziness. Look over your work again, search for small or mid-sized publishers who what things like you write. Keep on submitting. It really doesn’t happen overnight, but it does happen. You just have to believe in yourself.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t quit. Use rejection letters as wallpaper. Read books – not just in the genre where you write, but everything you can lay your hands on.

What are you reading now?
Skunk Ape Semester by Mike Robinson. It’s a story involving the search for unusual and usually mythical creatures.

What’s next for you as a writer?
There is a pile of work on my desk. A couple of young adult stories about coming of age problems. One time travel trilogy and of course, the Canoples Investigations series.

What is your favorite book of all time?
Does it have to be a single book? Honestly, the Wheel of Time series. I’ve read that many times, and plan to get back into it once again, as soon as my schedule slows down.

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