Welcome K.E.!
Are you a plotter? Panster? Or somewhere in-between?
I'm most definitely a pantser. When I first started writing I was as extreme a pantser as you could imagine. Which is bizarre, because I'm otherwise a very organised person. I would start with a simple idea and just run with it. It might be scene I visualized in my head, or an idea for a character, male or female. For Wolf's Keep it was the idea that there was a medieval knight (or chevalier as I ended up going with 10th C France) who was keeping this woman in his keep. He's supposed to be the bad guy, but it turns out he's really the good guy. Then, as I started writing, he became a werewolf and she became a 21st century archaeologist stuck in the past.
Now that I'm a few books into my first series, I do have a bit of series bible because I have so much world building, so many characters and plot threads I have to keep track of. But in typical pantser style, I have a traitor in my series that even I didn't know the identity of until I was about halfway through book four (to be released in September).
There are times when I do wish I was more of a plotter. Some books have taken me on a lot of wild goose chases. Some I've needed to do a lot of work in the editing phase, removing or rewriting complete chapters, or adding new ones. I've also had revelations happen in Chapter 32, that mean Chapter 2, 5 and 17 have to be rewritten because said revelation has changed something.
It also makes it hard to do a series synopsis for my publisher. I'll often know who my main characters will be for each book at the beginning of the series, but as I'm discovering their characters as I go, I don't have much else to give them like as plot, tropes etc. Or, the plot changes by the time I get to that book. Book 5 of The Wolves of Langeais, which I'm writing the first draft of now, is a perfect example. It was meant to be MF romance. Now it's MFM (a menage). Thankfully, my publisher was okay with the change.
I have attempted to plot, but it's always ended up an unmitigated disaster. So now I stick to what I know works for me, and allow more time for editing.
What has been the story you’ve most enjoyed working on?
It's really hard to choose a favourite story. They all have things I like about them—favourite characters, plotlines, particular scenes—but I think the one I had the most fun writing was Wolf's Redemption- The Wolves of Langeais Book 3. I'd been looking forward to writing Ulrik's story. He was the naughty boy of my wolf pack and he had a past I was eager to get into, but it was the heroine, Bek, that made writing that book so much fun. She's a little bit crass, she says what she thinks, and she's not really afraid of anything. She's tattooed and pierced, with her own morally-grey back story. She calls Ulrik on his BS often. I guess I got to live vicariously through her and say things I, personally, would never be brave enough to say. And she led him on a bit of a chase, too, literally. She steals his clothes while he's swimming in the pond, then takes off on foot, hiding his clothes and boots in several different places in the forest. I still get a laugh out of that scene.
Do you have advice for aspiring writers?
There's lots of advice out there for aspiring writers—a lot of it really good—but not every piece of advice works for every writer.
What I have found to be of a huge benefit to me, is joining a writer's group. I joined the RWA Aspirer's group and it was the best thing I have ever done. Writing can be such an isolating process. Not everyone understands the drive to write, and even if they are supportive, they don't understand the industry, grammar, writer's block or our desire to share the good and the bad writing days with people who understand.
I learnt so much about the industry, about writing, and about writing tools from other writers in the Aspirer's group. I'd never heard of Bookfunnel or Mailerlite. I'd never used Canva or Bookbrush, before I joined. Even more important, I found my beta readers in the Aspirers group. There are numerous posts in writer's Facebook groups looking for beta readers. Horror stories of writers hiring someone from Fiverr only to have their work run through Chatgpt, or pay and get very little in return. I have two AMAZING beta readers with who I have a reciprocal arrangement—they read mine, I read theirs—and they are worth their weight in gold. They pull me up when my writing becomes repetitive. They find plot holes I've missed, and they're also there to support me and cheer me on. I don't know what I would do without them.
What I wish I'd known, or done right from the beginning, was develop my brand. I don't come from a marketing background. Graphic design is NOT my forte. When I first started posting on social media, I really had no idea what I was doing. I was told you need to have a presence on social media. I've recently seen that used to great effect by a writer who now has an agent and a book deal. For me, I started randomly posting...stuff. Even when my first book, Wolf's Keep, was published, my promotional posts were a dog's breakfast. There was no rhyme or reason to them. The images were random. There was no colour scheme. It took me a long time, and following a lot of clever writers with marketing backgrounds, or who were very good at marketing, to really get my head around what my brand was, what it should look like, and how it could work for me. I'm still learning, but I hope it looks a lot more polished now than it did back then.
I also wished I'd thought to get everything in place—website, newsletter, Bookfunnel, domain, email, branding—before I got a contract. These things can be time consuming, and stressful. Don't get me started on the difficulties I had authenticating Mailerlite (it involved a lot of swearing and an IT guy from Fiverr to sort it out). Once you have a contract—or in the case of Indie authors, your book on preorder—you have time constraints and responsibilities.
Publishing your first book is exhilarating...and overwhelming. There's so much to do, even for Trad authors. There's going through rounds of edits- with my publisher it's usually two rounds- then working with them on the cover. I don't have a huge amount of say in my covers, but I have to provide mood boards, and all sorts of main character information for the cover designer and the publisher to go through. There's so many places you have to update about your new release, there's marketing, cover reveals, ARCs- yes, as a Trad author I am responsible for all of my own ARCs. There's giveaways, promotions, newsletters to go out. You really don't need to add to that by trying to set everything up. Especially not for your first book release.
Yes, I was given this piece of advice numerous times, but I figured there was no point having a website if I didn't have a book to put on it. Right? Most things, website included, can be set up ready to go but not be made live until you are ready. In hindsight, had I done all of that before I got a contract, I think it would have taken some of the pressure off.
What can we expect from you in the future?
The Descendants-The Wolves of Langeais- are from an ancient pack, born out of myth and legend, and while they have come a long way over the centuries, two things haven’t changed. They are still the only true werewolves with a bite that can turn humans. And their enemies, with their roots in the pack’s medieval past, are as determined as ever to wipe them from the earth.
The Langeais Wolves will go anywhere and do anything to protect their pack, but with their true mates out there somewhere in the world, they’ll need to put more than their lives on the line for their pack to survive.
Book 1, The Wolf and His Witch, releases on July 22nd. It's a second chance Christmas romance (for Christmas in July) following head of pack security, Gabriel Montagne and his fated mate, San Franciscan witch Annabelle Jackson.
Three years ago, in Paris, Gabriel left Annabelle standing alone on the Champs Elysees. On Christmas Eve. His pack had needed him. Gabriel hadn't told Annabelle he was a werewolf, or that she was his fated mate. She hadn't told him she was a witch, or her real name.
When the fates of the San Francisco Bay coven and the Langeais wolves collide, Annabelle and Gabriel are thrown together again. Trusting Gabriel isn’t on Annabelle’s agenda, but with the coven divided, and Annabelle’s suitability to rule it questioned, she’s forced to work with him. There’s more than broken trust and power struggles at stake. The fate of witchcraft and the Langeais wolves hangs in the balance. And this time, Gabriel is not walking away.
Tell us about your latest release.
My latest release is Wolf's Redemption- The Wolves of Langeais Book 3
It follows the story of Ulrik Voclain- resident bad boy of the Langeais wolf pack. He drinks too much, he flirts too much, he's alienated most of his pack, but he's got his demons. In book 1, he sacrificed himself to save his alpha and his alpha's mate, and ends up in the underground dungeon of the Comte de Anjou, bound in silver. He's prepared to die there, until along comes Rebekah Clarke. A 21st century down-on-her-luck barmaid, Rebekah's trying to get her life back on track. She has no time for bad boys. Been there, done that, has the parole papers to prove it. She's most definitely not going to fall in love, or lust, with the one chained to a wall. Even if he is every one of her darkest fantasies come to life. But if she wants to escape and find her way home, she's going to have to trust him.
This is a redemption arc story times two. Both Bek and Ulrik are looking for their redemption. It's a fish out of water, forced proximity, fated mates story with a dash of he would die for her.
He’s no saint. She’s no angel. Together, they might find redemption.
Rebekah’s penchant for bad boys has gotten her nothing but trouble—a brush with the law, a tyrant landlady, a job in the worst pub in London and a sleezy boss who’s best mates with her hardass parole officer. She’s desperately trying to start over and make a better life for herself.
Not returning the little gold amulet wasn’t her best idea. Translating the weird inscription on the back… She may live to regret that stupidity. Now she’s in more trouble than ever, stuck in the past, in the dungeon of a 10th century keep, with a guy who’s every one of her darkest fantasies.
Ulrik Voclain, 10th century chevalier and werewolf, has made his fair share of bad decisions. They’ve cost him his family, his friends and the respect of his pack. Sacrificing himself for his alpha and getting thrown into the Count of Anjou’s dungeon wasn’t his greatest idea, but it’s one he doesn’t regret. He’s not averse to escaping, though, when a chance presents itself. Especially when that opportunity is a woman with curves in all the right places.
Ulrik needs the strangely attired beauty’s help to break free of the dungeon. Rebekah’s only chance of survival is with the raspy voiced man chained to the wall. He understands the danger they’re in. She’s not prepared to trust another outlaw.
On the run, his enemies closing in, Ulrik is determined to change her mind. Rebekah is hell bent on resisting him. When the chemistry between them explodes, there’ll be no turning back.
K.E. Turner
Visit K.E.'s website: keturnerbooks.com
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