In Search of Justice: Book One of the Seeker Files
1- Any fun outdoor activities planned for this summer?
I am currently in my second year of karate, with an end goal of achieving black belt. Every month this summer, I will be doing “Karate in the Park” as well as several workshops including board breaking. I am currently a blue belt in American Kenpo and will be testing for my Advanced Blue in July.
2- What five words represent your most notable characteristic or values? #In5Words
Loyalty, unique, laughter, strength, courage
3- What ignited your passion for writing?
I have been writing for as long as I can literally remember. Books and stories have always been a part of my life. My favorite day of the week was when we got to go to the library and my family would always max out our library cards, lol. It’s just such a natural part of me that I can’t imagine my life without writing.
4- Would you share a picture with us of your book with one (or more) of your cats?
My cats are very active, so getting them to sit still long enough to take a picture was hard, but I managed. Meet Samson, the newest member of our family. In April, we had to say goodbye to our 17 year old Siamese tom, Sassy. It was hard, but we had to do what was best for him. However, we’ve always had a Siamese cat and the lack was quite evident. So after waiting a few months, we found Samson and it was love at first sight. Although we have both male and female cats, our toms tend to grow large, so we thought that he needed a big name to grow into.
5- What are some of your short and long term writing goals?
Short term writing goal is to finish the next book in my series finished “In Search of High Society”. The Seeker Files is planned to be a six-book series, so this will be the halfway point. The first book “In Search of Justice” is about Aletta and Lirim’s partnership forming. Book two, “In Search of Healing” is Aletta’s story. And this book will be Lirim’s story. I’m really looking forward to writing it and getting to know him better. Long term goal is definitely to finish The Seeker Files as well as write a second series called The Starfire Dragon Chronicles. Yes, the series that Aletta reads in the Seeker Files is a real series kicking around in the back of my mind at the moment. After that? We’ll see where the wind takes me 😊
6- What is your favorite book (by someone else), and what do you love most about that book?
Oh, this is a hard one. I have so many favorites, including books by Brian Jacques, Pride and Prejudice, anything by Eric Carle, Mary Calhoun, or Marguerite Henry. However, if I had to absolutely pick one, it would have to be “Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien. He created such a vivid in-depth world with such alive characters. Someday, if I work very, very hard, I might someday come close to his talent. I love all of his writing. His characters are so dynamic and alive. Now, I am a bit of a snob, as I rarely like the movie versions of books, but LOTR did an amazing job of capturing it, unlike the Hobbit. My only disappointment is that Tom Bombadil never made it into the movies, but I’m sure that’s because of run time. Also, Sam is the true hero of the series.
7- Who is currently your biggest fan? What does that person love most (or "ship") about your debut novel?
I haven’t been very widely read, although that is not the reason that I published my book. Due to an incident during my teens where I almost fell victim to a vanity publisher, I didn’t show my writing to anyone for years. Last year, I grew tired of hiding my writing from the world and dared myself to write a mystery in the month of October and publish it in time for Halloween. I was so burnt out by the end, but I did it. However, my mom is definitely my biggest fan and she enjoys seeing how the characters develop throughout the storyline.
8- What emotions do you hope your book will evoke for the reader, and is there a particular scene you hope will resonate with readers?
I really hope that the readers will connect with the characters as they make their journeys. I want my characters to not just evoke one emotion, but to make readers feel like that are real people that they could run into on the street. In ISOJ, the scene where Lirim and Aletta have lunch and try to work things out is the scene I hope that people relate to. It shows how two completely different individuals can figure out how to work together despite their differences and how people can recognize their own strengths and weaknesses. In ISOH, it’s where Aletta has to tell Lirim about her friend Lena. We all have issues that we tend to push down and run from. When we have to face them, it can be scary and even devastating. However, it can also be healing at the same time, which is why Aletta’s story is called “In Search of Healing”
9- What most helped you to improve your writing craft?
Now this is funny to admit as an author, but the fact is I absolutely HATE grammar. Grammar and I do not get along well at all, this goes all the way back to my middle school days. However, if I want my books to read well, it’s a necessary hurdle for my writing growth. So my many thanks go to my editor, Jennifer Benson, who helped me edit my two novels and had patience with my endless questions on the subject. My writing has definitely improved thanks to her help and I hope to continue improving as I go forward.
10- Where is the most interesting or unusual place to which you've traveled?
I was privileged to be able to visit Nepal last year with my company. I got to spend three days in a remote village doing community service and then spend another few days playing tourist. One of the cool things was that it is the year 2074 there, so I can say that I’ve been to the future. Also, they were having elections for the first time ever. The royal family was massacred in 2001 and then a corrupt government took over. It has taken time, but they finally got to do elections last year and it was an incredible thing to see. Nepal has a high illiteracy rate, over 80%, so they had pictures of all the candidates. The candidates could only campaign for one week and both men and women were allowed to vote. It was amazing.
11- What is the most memorable trait or visual oddity of one of your characters?
That honor would definitely have to belong to Cass, a pixie who works for HSI. She’s maybe five foot, but all energy and you never know what color her hair will be, it’s been every from fuchsia pink to mermaid aqua with teal highlights. I never know what color she’ll appear with next 😊
12- In what ways are the main characters in your book diverse? #WeNeedDiverseBooks
I don’t know if my main characters would be considered diverse or not, but Lirim is Supernatural while Aletta is Human. Although this is something that I’ll be expounding on in my third novel, the Fae were forced into hiding for centuries and only reemerged a few hundred years ago. In this world, they would almost definitely be considered a minority.
13- Which character has your favorite Personality Contradiction?
Definitely Cara, the secretary for Captain Jones. She is a very sweet person but cross her and she will bury you in paperwork. She is both the office mother and the enforcer of Captain Jones’s orders.
14- Does your book hold a mirror up to society, and in what way?
I don’t try to spotlight issues in society, what I want is for my books to be entertainment, a welcome respite from day to day stress. But if there is one thing that I would like people to take from my book, is that people are people and everyone has their own journey to make. You never know what other people are going through, sometimes a passing smile from you can mean the world to someone else. So be kind, it’ll make the world a brighter place.
15- What other books are similar to yours?
I think that it bears some resemblance to The Chronicles of Elantra, although it’s hard to define fantasy at times. It’s all so different 😊
16- Can you think of any small change in the world you could make to benefit hundreds of other authors or readers potentially?
Literacy programs. So many people hate reading because of required reading. They just haven’t been able to find the books that will make them fall in love. My middle brother has dyslexia (which is truly amazing, their brains work in 3D) and did not read until he was eight years old. My mother did not push him and let him work at his own pace, working from the book “The Gift of Dyslexia”. One day she came home and found him reading the encyclopedia about airplanes. Also, many people are Auditory and reading isn’t fun for them, but what about audiobooks? It’s about finding what draws people in and showing them the joy of reading, not just how to read, but why to fall in love with reading.
17- As a reader, what most motivates you to buy a new book to read?
This is a somewhat difficult question for me. I actually don’t buy a lot of books. Now, that doesn’t mean that I don’t read, because I read voraciously. However, libraries have been a major part of my life since I was born. I was even a Children’s librarian for a year and a half. So I usually check out books from my library first. Then, if a book really speaks to me, I will go ahead and buy it. I tend to have a wide taste, so I never know what genre or book will speak to me.
18- How will you measure your publishing performance?
I would really like to see reviews. I want to know what people love about my books, what they hated. Where they think I could’ve left something out or what they want to know more about. Although I would like to make enough to live on from writing, the money has never been an important part of writing for me. It’s about sharing my characters stories with the world in the hopes that someone will enjoy it as much as I do.
19- What was your favorite part of the #AtoZchallenge 2018?
The #AtoZchallenge was chaotic. I really did not know what I was getting myself into. But what I really loved to see was what all of the bloggers were doing. It’s such a simple subject, but it got interpreted so many different ways, each one unique and beautiful. I look forward to participating again.
20- What was the deciding factor in your publication route?
I have been writing for as long as I can remember. However, after a run-in with a vanity company when I was 15 left me scarred about sharing my writing for the longest time, although I never actually stopped writing. Despite people telling me that they enjoyed my writing, school or work related, never my fiction, I would never share my writing. So last year, I started writing fanfiction and didn’t tell any of my friends or family. I thought that it would be a way to test out my writing and no one would ever know if I flopped terribly. Imagine my surprise at the amazing feedback I was getting. Getting tired of hiding my writing away, I challenged myself to write a mystery in October and publish it in time for Halloween. I couldn’t believe it when I sat down to write and a six-book series popped into my head. I took it and ran with it. I decided to self-publish because a) I was on a deadline b)I didn’t have a lot of money upfront to publish with 3) The idea of finding an agent/publisher was super daunting and I might not have had the courage to go through with it. Amazon was amazing and easy to work with, so I don’t regret this choice at all
(In case you’re curious, my fanfiction is on http://fanfiction.net and under Madkat89)
21- What's the best book marketing strategy you've come across?
I’m still working on this. This is not a strong suit of mine but I’m working on getting better. For me, the important part was getting the books written. Now I need to take off my author hat and put on my publicist one 😊
22- What is one question or discussion topic which you would like the readers of this interview to answer or remark on in the comments?
What emotions do readers want to experience when they read my book? What draws them into a book and makes them keep reading?
23- Anything else you would care to share about your book and yourself?
In Search of Justice Blurb
In a world where supernaturals and humans live side-by-side in peace, that peace can be suddenly shattered. That’s when HSI (Human-Supernatural Investigation) comes into play.
Agent Aletta Sheridan has been with the department for only a little over a month when she’s handed a new case. A murderer is on the loose in Isenton and it’s her job to track the killer down.
Fiercely independent, Aletta is forced by her superiors to partner with another agent. With only a handful of clues to follow, will they be able to stop the killer before anyone else dies?
In Search of Healing Blurb
Having survived her first few months at HSI, Agent Aletta is settling into her partnership with Lirim. She is coming to terms with her newfound gift and the threat to her welfare is finally over. Or is it?
Aletta had left everything behind to start over at HSI. But her past is not content to remain where it belongs, in the past. Drawn reluctantly back into her past, she and Lirim race against time at they try to figure out who is behind the attacks on the Canticum Opera Company.
Struggling to fully harness her gift and running from her past, can Aletta and Lirim figure out who is targeting the Canticum Company before time runs out?
Bio
Kat Seaholm lives on a small acreage in Colorado along with her family and way too many cats. The cats also happen to be her hardest critics and push her to improve her writing along with adding more mice and cats to her story. Besides writing, Kat’s other hobbies include traveling, karate, and several needlearts.
Links
Blog: https://katseaholm.wordpress.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KatSeaholmAuthor
Twitter: @KatSeaholm
In Search of Justice: Book One of the Seeker Files
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