Today I’m thrilled to welcome Katie Hayoz, author of Untethered, a B.R.A.G. Medallion winner. Untethered is a wonderfuly written tale about a girl who’s unpopular in school, has family troubles and, much to her horror, keeps having out of body experiences as well. I absolutely loved this book and will be reviewing it soon on this blog. For now, let’s browse through Katie’s stunning book covers and get to know a little about her, shall we?
Sixteen-year-old Sylvie isn’t comfortable in her own skin. In fact, there are times she can’t even manage to stay inside it. Junior year is off to a less than stellar start for Sylvie: Her parents are splitting up, her little brother is sitting at her lunch table, and she’s the target of the school bully. Plus, she accidentally astral projects, slipping out of her body again and again at all the worst times. Sylvie is cast as the class freak and a medical misfit. She wishes she were somewhere else. Someone else. But it’s only when her best friend catches the attention of the boy Sylvie’s loved in secret since the fifth grade that Sylvie makes up her mind to do something drastic…
WHAT IF LOVE TURNED YOU INTO A MONSTER?
Forget petticoats and demure female behavior. Melusine Doré prefers armored corsets and knives and slays evil creatures for a living. The grim and gruesome don’t frighten her; she’ll take on a cyclops or a dragon and not even break a sweat. But when her rival, the charismatic Levi Cannon, comes to town, all her buried fears begin to surface. Melusine realizes she is in danger of something much more horrifying than facing blood-thirsty beasts – she’s in danger of falling in love. Because love alone has the power to reveal a secret terrible enough to completely shatter her world.
Set in the muddy streets of 1850s steampunk Chicago, Immersed by Katie Hayoz is a dark yet romantic fantastical romp. It is a stand-alone novella, the first in a series of adventures that follow Melusine on her quest to rid the world of monsters…and her struggle to come to terms with every monstrous facet of herself.
WHAT IF EVERYTHING YOU KNEW ABOUT YOURSELF WAS A LIE?
Melusine Doré is as practiced at guarding a secret as she is at wielding a weapon. Yet her past refuses to stay buried. Her worst fears are realized when Melusine and her companion, Levi, get called to hunt a beast in her birthplace of Malheur. The second she sets foot on her native soil, nothing proceeds as she planned: a beautiful tinker sets her sights on Levi, a gentle monster kills for sport, and an admission of love becomes a betrayal. Melusine comes face to face with the lies of her family’s past—and a truth that could destroy her.
Adventure number two in the Clockwork Siren series, Submerged takes us from the muddy trenches of steampunk Chicago to the sticky swamps of Louisiana to the slippery side of love.
Hello Katie and welcome to my blog!
Hello Fros. It’s great to be here.
What has inspired you to write The Clockwork Siren Series?
I am lucky to be a part of the Blazing Indie Collective—a group of indie authors who got together to inspire and challenge each other. We decided to have a challenge with the goal being for each of us to write a romantic novella with a mermaid in it. Immersed, the first adventure in the series, was my contribution. It’s the story of Melusine, a female monster hunter who is afraid of nothing except falling in love. It is what I call a dark yet silly fantastical romantic romp set in steampunk Chicago. Lots of innuendo. Lots of weapons. And, I hope, lots of fun.
Sounds intriguing, I must say! Do you see yourself in any of your characters, or do any of them have traits you wish you had?
I can’t say I am like the characters in my books, but my values and doubts are the driving force of many threads in their personalities. The character in my YA novel, Untethered, is full of insecurities and self-hatred—that came from my own feelings as a teen. But I like to see determined, smart women in books. I don’t like romance that portrays men using force on a woman as something sexy. However, I do think women want and need love, and that we often have a difficult time coming to terms with different aspects of ourselves. Like just about everything I write, Immersed is centered around self-identity. Not sure what that says about me…
I share your views, and also enjoy writing and reading about strong women. What are you working on at the moment? Tell us a little about your current project(s).
I’m currently getting the third adventure in the Clockwork Siren Series ready for publication (February 16). Melusine and Levi discover someone is trapping and torturing monsters, and they will find themselves in a traveling variety and freak show to investigate.
Being an author involves a lot of sitting around. What do you do for exercise?
This is a constant struggle for me. Since writing more seriously, I’ve gained almost 30 pounds! My father-in-law rigged a desk to a stationary bike for me, but I realized I had a hard time concentrating on my writing while spinning away. So I bought a Fit-bit and am starting off by just being conscious of how little I move. My goal is to at least get up to my 10,000 steps a day.
Oh I feel you, Katie! I now use an egg timer to make myself take short breaks every now and then to stand and move around. Describe your workstation. Are there any favorite objects you have there for inspiration?
My workstation, like my writing process, is an absolute mess. There are papers everywhere, cards I meant to send but didn’t, spare change, reference books, pencils that need sharpening and my computer. This is how I write, too. Everything is just piled onto the page and it takes me a while to sift through and find order. I don’t have anything for inspiration per se, but I do have one of those lamps that imitate sunlight. My desk is in the darkest part of the apartment in the hallway, so the light helps me feel I am not writing in a cave.
Do you listen to music while you write and if so, what kind?
I have to write to dead silence. Or maybe white noise, like a fan or the hum of the refrigerator. Music makes me lose my concentration.
Finally I’ve found you, LOL! I thought I was the only one who needs total silence. If you could have one superpower what would it be?
I am the absolute laziest person in the universe. If I had a superpower it would be telekinesis, so I could clean the house, set the table and get the TV remote without lifting a finger. But then I guess I would be the size of an elephant. So next power would be teleportation so I could snap my fingers and be somewhere…oh, man. Same problem…
LOL! If you could choose another profession, what would that be?
Flamenco dancer. I took lessons for a while, but I would have needed to start at age 3, not 30, if I wanted to make a career of it. I love the control and power and intensity in this kind of dance. If done right, it’s impossible to watch and not be blown away. Plus, it’s not often you can wear a ruffled, polka-dotted skirt over the age of 8 and not look ridiculous.
What are the things in your life that you’re most grateful for?
Besides popcorn? No, just kidding. My husband had a ruptured brain aneurysm in 2012 and survived. I’ve always been grateful for family, but that cemented it for me. I’m so, so lucky to have two happy children and a husband who made it through something so difficult. And I’ll even add the cats, Oreo and Noodles, to that. They’ve brought us joy in some seriously tough times.
Sounds like you’re truly blessed, Katie! Thank you so much for being here with us today – and for the chuckles; you’re one funny girl!
Thanks a lot for inviting me, Fros. I appreciate it!
Katie grew up in Racine, Wisconsin where she acquired an irreversible nasal twang and an addiction for books with a slightly dark edge. She now lives in Geneva, Switzerland with her husband, two daughters, and two cats. She has been an avid reader of speculative fiction for years. While she has a penchant for the paranormal, she devours a range of books — along with popcorn and black licorice. She consumes all three in large quantities. Luckily, the books don’t stay on her hips.
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A humorous chat with award-winning author @katiehayoz #ASMSG #IARTG Share on X
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