{Author Interview} Katherine Bogle

Hey y’all! Back in June Katherine Bogle contacted me to ask if I wanted to read and review her book, HAVEN, on my blog. This was the first time anyone requested I review a book and I was stoked! Not only because of the opportunity, but because Katherine’s book sounded really cool! Here’s a little blurb in case you’re not familiar with Katherine’s book, HAVEN, which is just book one in the Chronicles of Warshard series.

Princess Haven was never meant to be Queen.

Her immortality has saved her time and time again, but when the last of her royal family dies at her feet, she is next in line to rule a nation on the brink of war. With no formal training on how to be Queen, Haven must rise to the occasion with the help of her best friends, and personal guard, or risk losing everyone she has ever loved.

With war to the West, and no escape to the East, the evil tyrant Kadia sets her sights on the six kingdoms. Haven’s neighbors are quick to fall under the swords of Kadia’s shadow soldiers, leaving a sea of bodies and a clear path to Haven’s only home.

As Kadia’s obsession with Haven mounts, little time remains, and Haven must make a choice; join together with her fellow Royals, and test her immortality in a final stand against the evil Queen, or flee across the sea to a foreign republic in hopes of salvation. Both choices have a cost. Both plans could go awry. Haven must decide quickly, or she might be the only one left.

Katherine Bogle

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Hello Katherine! Tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Katherine Bogle, but most people call me Kat. I’ve been writing since I was little, starting out in fan fiction before I began designing my own superhero, fantasy and science fiction stories. I absolutely adore speculative fiction, whether it be a novel, tv show or movie! My debut YA fantasy novel HAVEN came in second in the World’s Best Story contest in late 2015. That victory led to its publication earlier this year, and I’m happy to say it has been one of the best things to ever happen to me!

Congratulations! That’s an awesome accomplishment! So, what sparked the idea behind ‘Haven’?

I have what I like to call “epic-story dreams” – and yes, HAVEN was one of them! The dream initially revolved around a young woman who survived a LOT of physical harm, battling against an evil tyrant and her shadow soldiers for freedom. There was a little more to it, but I don’t want to give anything away!

I get those dreams all the time! They’re great story inspiration! And this young woman from your dream, Haven, has the ability to heal herself from any wound. If you could have any ability, what would it be?

This is a tough question! If I could have ANY ability, it would probably be power over the elements or telekinesis (so I could fly around and stuff)!

Getting two powers in one, huh? Isn’t that cheating? Haha! I’ll let it slide, because in your novel, Queen Kadia is the villain. It’s quite uncommon to see a female villain. Did you actively decide to make your villain a female or did it just happen that way?

I decided early on that I wanted HAVEN to be about how a woman can be ANYTHING, and that includes a villain. It was a conscious decision to make my main antagonist a woman, but in general I just really love badass ladies (emphasis on the bad hehe)!

Haha! I think we can all appreciate woman being both bad and good! Great role diversity, which I imagine was quite difficult to write. What part of the writing process do you find to be the most arduous? On the flip side, what’s your favorite part of writing novels?

Editing has been my worst enemy for a long time. Though I’ve grown a lot in my writing and editing, getting through revisions is still probably my least favourite part of the process. The planning/outlining stage is DEFINITELY my favourite! I adore picking out all the characters, their names, roles, etc. I love crafting a world and giving it a fabulous story!

I think the same could be said for many writers, myself included. Haha! Now, your novel, HAVEN, is self-published. Can you tell us a little about your experience with self-publishing and why you chose this route?

Self-publishing HAVEN kind of fell into my lap! After coming in second in the World’s Best Story contest, I was given this amazing opportunity to publish, design, market and promote HAVEN with a team backing me. Since I have some experience in business/marketing I decided to take a chance and place my bet on myself! Self-publishing definitely isn’t easy though. It is a lot of work and a lot of money for little results right out of the gate. It’s also a lot of trial and error, but the experience has been educational and pretty fun (most of the time)!

Self-publishing sounds like quite a daunting, time-consuming task, but worth it! You know what else is time-consuming? Waiting. :p When can we expect to see the sequel to HAVEN?

The sequel to HAVEN will hopefully be released in Winter/Spring 2017. It all depends on how well HAVEN does and when I can afford to get the sequel through editing, formatting, cover design, etc! I’m hoping sooner rather than later!

Well that’s not too far off, I suppose. :p But I have to know now, will we get an explanation behind why Haven can heal herself or are we leaving that to the magical fantasy Gods?

There will be a bit of an explanation in a HAVEN novella down the road, as well as a short story showing when she first realized she was immortal. I’ll leave it at that for now!

Ugh! So much teasing! Haha! Well, I suppose I can understand an author’s need for secrecy, but perhaps you can spill a different secret, such as any suggestions you have for aspiring authors?

Write! Write as often and as much as you can. Get others to read your work. Be confident in your writing and yourself! Always try to improve your craft, talk to other writers and try to get involved in the writing community early on!

That’s some awesome advice! Thank you so much for joining us today! Before we go is there anything else you’d like to add?

Thank you very much for having me, Melanie! It has been a pleasure. If anyone is looking for more resources on writing, I keep a blog and Youtube Channel all about the writing/publishing world!

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Add Katherine Bogle’s new book, HAVEN, to your Goodreads list or buy a copy for yourself from Friesenpress or from Amazon and get reading! And while you’re waiting for your book to arrive in the mail or download to your ereader, check out Katherine’s blog, Youtube channel, and other novels, or connect with her on Goodreads.

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And make sure to check back here on Sunday @ 9am EST for my review of HAVEN!