#WCW Chat with Author Kitty Berry | Author Santana Blair

It’s the first Wednesday of the month, so you know that means it’s time for a special #WCW – Author Edition.

Once a month, I will be sitting down with fellow authors and talking books, words, and other things.

And for this month, I’m shining the spotlight on Kitty Berry.

Let’s get into the chat, shall we?

Thanks for taking the time to chat today, Kitty!

Let’s talk all about your writing style first…

What comes first, the plot or characters?

KB: This can change with me from book to book, series to series. I write like a soap opera with carry-over characters, so it is usually the characters that lead the way. However, there are times when a storyline is in my head and I’m able to line a character up with that.

Where is your favorite place to write?

KB: I like to write at my dining room table when I want to feel connected with my family. When I need to have silence, then I write at my desk in my office in my finished basement.

How much ‘world building’ takes place before you start writing?

KB: As I stated before, I write like a soap opera with carry-over character, environments, and storylines. Some of my stories, do not have a whole lot of world building. I might mention the environment but it’s not that big of a deal for the story. With my current project (Falls Village Collection), it’s been huge. The collection focuses on the town so there was a ton of world building. I have various authors from RomantiConn also writing in the collection, so we needed to coordinate our characters and the town shops…it took a few excel spreadsheets and a map.

How do you come up with the titles to your books?

KB: This changes with me as well. My first series, The Stone Series all start with the letter S (Sliding, Stoned, Siblings, Second Chances, Screen Play, Stealing Home, Surrender, Starting Over, Silence, and Survivor…the Holiday edition is called A Stone Family Christmas *insert shrugging emoji*).

My doctor trilogy was originally titled as follows: Anatomy of Love, Dissection of Love, and Sutures of Love. I named them with “medical” terms. Once scooped up by an online publishing house, they required that they be renamed as Anatomy of Love Book 1, Book 2, and Book 3. I also kind of like the AOL shortened version.

Vines of Ivy (VOI) was named that because it’s about friends attending an Ivy League university.

The Compatible Companion Trilogy was named after I fell in love with the song You Are the Reason by Calum Scott. The first book is You Are My Reason. Not really sure how I landed on My Forever Maybe or After You for the second and third book. The trilogy is the CC trilogy because it’s named after the dating company opened in VOI.

My new project (Falls Village Collection) is named after the town I created called…Falls Village. So far, I have named my books in the collection: The Rest of Forever, From Then Until Forever, Promise Me Forever, Forever To Go…see where I’m going with that? The other authors in the collection are not using Forever as their title motivation.

How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?

KB: I have 18 books published and I am currently working on a collection with some of my RomantiConn authors now. That collection (Falls Village Collection) is beginning to release on 04/21/2020. I have completed 2 books in that collection, and I am currently writing my 3rd. By the end of the summer of 2020, I should have 21 published books.

Who is your favorite character that you have written? If so, who? And what makes them special.

KB: I think the favorite character of mine is Dr. Wilson Anderson (male) from The Anatomy of Love Trilogy and Brooklyn Taylor Adams (female) from Sliding (The Stone Series Book 1). I’m going with Brook because she was my first female lead and she has a lot of me in her. Will is my male pick because, even though he is nothing like him, I went with a neurosurgeon as a nod to my son.

Which of your books was most enjoyable to write?

KB: I’m going with You Are My Reason because I enjoy the comedy angle of it.

If you had to recommend one of your books to a new reader, which would you recommend?

KB: I would tell them to begin with You Are My Reason and read the CC trilogy then head into the Falls Village Collection.

Where can readers find out more about you and your books?

KB: Readers can join my reader group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/197426327440415/) or come meet me face to face at an author signing. My next is RomantiConn which I host in CT (https://romanticonn2020.eventbrite.com). If they live in CT, I try to go out to eat every few months with a few of my CT readers. Readers can also keep up to date with me on any of my above social media sites.

THREE FUN FACTS ABOUT KITTY

What was your dream job when you were younger?

KB: I always wanted to be an educator and a mom. I’m both. I’d love to do interior design, but only if the clients share my minimalistic modern style.

What’s your favorite food?

KB: Pasta and pizza.

Share something your readers wouldn’t know about you?

KB: I danced in the Citrus Bowl when I was in college.

TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT KITTY & HER BOOKS, CHECK OUT HER SOCIAL MEDIA

Website: http://www.kittyberryauthor.com
Facebook Profile Page: https://www.facebook.com/kitty.berry.334
Facebook Street Team: https://www.facebook.com/groups/197426327440415/
Falls Village Collection Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FallsVillageCollection/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kittyberrybooks
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Kitty-Berry/e/B00DT2HUZ4/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7166372.Kitty_Berry
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/kittyberryauthor
RomantiConn Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/351611412074474/

The Scoop on

THE REST OF FOREVER

Can you share something about your current book that isn’t in the blurb?

KB: The Rest of Forever (Falls Village Collection Book 1) came out in April 2020.

Something that isn’t in the blurb…Callan Black will develop a new friendship with the owner of the saltwater taffy and fudge shop.

Are there any secrets from the book you can share with readers?

KB: A secret, huh? Hmm…Carl DeMato is the ex-husband of one of Falls Village’s residents.

What is the future of the characters? Will there be a sequel?

KB: I write like a soap opera, there will always be a sequel. As of today, there are eight authors in the Falls Village Collection each writing their own book. I plan to continue to write 5-7 books in this collection before I start my spin-off that’s already banging around in my head.

If you had to describe the main character in THREE words, what would those three words be?

KB: Callan Black is the main character of The Rest of Forever. The three words that best describe him are: high-strung, quirky, and smoking hot!

If your book was going to be made into a movie, who are the celebrities that would star in it?

KB: I might go with Alex Pettyfer for Callan Black and Maika Monroe could work as my Jordan Collins.

AUTHOR CRUSHING

Who is your favorite author and why?/ Who is the author you most admire in your genre?/ What famous author do you wish would be your mentor?

KB: I combined the above three questions because the answer is the same. Shayla Black is my favorite author of romance and the one I most admire. I love the way she creates her worlds and uses her characters from one series to the next. I met Shayla in 2018 at Authors in the City and if I could ever get her to mentor me, I’d fangirl so hard that I would probably miss most of her words of wisdom!

What are you reading now?

KB: I’m currently reading (listening to, actually) Meghan Quinn’s The Secret Crush

Favorite book you’ve read as an adult?

KB: I don’t know that I really have a favorite, but The Pilot’s Wife by Anita Shreve made me into the avid reader that I am today.