Kelly loves ancient history, fantasy, and mythology. She dreams of one day attaining magical powers, discovering the secret to immortality, ridding her home of pet hair, and being crowned Mardi-Gras queen. She likes pre-Raphaelite art, moonlight on snow, and MMORPGs. She lives in North Carolina with her family, one Great Dane, and two incredibly hairy cats.
Kelly’s alter ego, Kelly Gay, is a 2010 double RITA finalist and a recipient of North Carolina’s Art Council fellowship grant in literature. She writes the Charlie Madigan series for Pocket Books.
Reading with Tequila: Ari, the lead character in Darkness Becomes Her, has self-defense and firearm training well before she comes into her "ability." Was this just because her foster parents were training her to be a bail enforcement officer or did you have additional motivation for making her so able to defend herself?
Kelly: Ari's training is a direct result of her time with her foster parents. But I also think if Ari had never met them, she would've found a way to learn self defense. It's just part of her nature and how her past has shaped her. She's been toughened by life and now that she's older, she isn't going to take anymore crap. But, certainly in developing her the goal was to create a character able to defend herself, and more importantly to create a heroine able to defend herself mentally. To be strong enough on the inside to handle all the craziness that comes.
RWT: In the world Darkness Becomes Her is set, the United States sold New Orleans to a private group after it was ravaged by two hurricanes. Did you ever worry that some might find the idea of that, even completely fictionalized, as upsetting after past New Orlean's tragedies?
Kelly: Yes, of course that concern was there. And I knew comparisons would be drawn, understandably so. I have deep sympathy and respect for everything the victims of past hurricanes have been through and are still going through. And I have a deep love for New Orleans and it's people.
I think authors who write about real-life tragedies or mirror them in fiction often do so with respect. Filmmakers, authors, and artists portray wars, disasters, terror in order to show the human condition - hope, will, courage, love, hate. Showing how people can rise above and survive can be an acknowledgement, a testament, and a tribute whether a book is set in an actual real-life disaster or whether it mirrors an event in the past.
My futuristic city of New 2 is born out of the devastation caused by fictional twin hurricanes supernaturally fueled by the goddess Athena, and the actual story takes place over a decade after this event occurs. The plot of my book doesn't revolve around this event, but what it does do is show how one amazing city continues to rise from destruction. It does, of course mirror the past and it mirrors the future as well. I must acknowledge this, not ignore it. Hurricanes are a fact of life in the south. I live in the south. I have been through countless hurricanes, and I've been hip-deep in flood water. And as a creative person, one who draws on human experience and the world around me, I can't ignore their impact and must be truthful about the past, the future, and the natural environment.
My motivation for writing DBH came from my desire to write about a city I have absolutely adored for the last twenty + years. I want to introduce New Orleans to teens and readers who haven't discovered or read about the city before, to inspire the same kind of passion I have for the place. In the end, I have to trust that my words convey my deep love and admiration for the city and its people, and I have to trust that my readers will see the setting for what it is -- a nod to the beauty, spirit, and resilience of New Orleans.
RWT: You also write the Charlie Madigan series under the name Kelly Gay. Did you find any surprising differences between writing for adults and writing for teens?
Kelly: Yes and no. The supernatural aspects, the action, and the tough heroines are very familar aspects in both books. For me, the big differences came in terms of character growth and internal story arcs. My adult character is a 31 yr old single mom, so the things that are important to her and the things she learns and goes through are different than what a 17 yr old would learn. So their internal journeys are much, much different.
RWT: I hear you've already completed the sequel to Darkness Becomes Her. Any chance you could give us a hint of what's to come for Ari and her friends?
Kelly: Yes! Readers will find that there is a lot more face time with Sebastian and with Athena in this book. The story takes off right where Darkness Becomes Her left off with Ari wanting to save Violet and her father. Will that happen? I cannot say, but there are definitely some shocking moments in this book! ;-)
About the Book
Her search for answers uncovers just one message from her long dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer than they should. But it’s impossible to protect herself when she doesn’t know what she’s running from or why she is being pursued.
She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New 2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New 2 is very...different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of her.
Ari won’t stop until she knows why. But some truths are too haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed.
Kelly Keaton's website
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Reading with Tequila's review of Darkness Becomes Her
Kelly on Facebook
Kelly on Twitter
Reading with Tequila's review of Darkness Becomes Her
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