Kayelle has graciously agreed to answer a few questions, so here goes:
Tell me three words that describe yourself starting with A, B, and C
A: Always — I’m a writer and my brain has no shutoff valve. I am always “on.” B: Beyond – I am far beyond the walls of whatever box someone might try to put me in. I am unique. C: Creative — My ability to always be “on” and far “beyond” the norm makes me the creative person that I am. I’ve been this way for as long as I can remember.
Which genre or genres do you write or prefer to write? And why?
I’m essentially a science fiction writer. I grew up reading this genre and always had a love for it. It comes naturally to me. When I observe the world around me, I often wonder what something would be like in my own universe. For example, one year when watching the Superbowl, I considered how I could add an event of this type into my story world. The game of Ruckball entered a book not long after, and ended up in two more volumes, just as a casual mention. The characters attended a game and discussed it, and one watched a game during a critical scene. You never know how something everyday will become unique in a story.
What gets your creative juices flowing?
It’s harder to stop them than to start them. I don’t run out of ideas. In fact, I keep a running “ideas” document where I jot things down. That way I don’t forget them and if I need a detail, oftentimes I can find something in that list.
Who would you love most to meet ‘in person’ and why?
Right now, that would be Nik Nitsvetov. He’s a cosplayer and model who portrayed my character, Pietas, in a photo shoot in Russia. I’ve licensed his images from Depositphotos since 2015, but this year I had a chance to connect with him in person. He agreed to portray the character and share the event live on Instagram. To see it yourself follow Nik on Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/nitsvetov/
Do you have a favorite snack that you like to munch on while writing?
You know what, I’m on Weight Watchers, so that has changed over the last 10 months or so. I’m down about 40 pounds. My snacks are more healthy now than at any time in my life. I’m likely to have fresh fruit or something like sugar-free gum. I drink caffeine-free Diet Coke or have decaf coffee. I avoid caffeine but will still munch on a sugar free chocolate now and then. My favorite is Hershey’s Sugar Free Special Dark but I will also have a Light & Fit Greek Yogurt — vanilla is my first choice, then strawberry.
Do you have a hobby?
I like movies. I also read and one of my favorite things to do is play with Photoshop and create fanart. I follow the #Thranduil and #ThranduilThursday hashtags and try to have a picture to share each week.
Do you read your reviews on your books? Do they influence your story at all?
I read them. I have learned from them. Sometimes, what I learn is to just move on. As for affecting the story… No. A bad review doesn’t necessarily mean the story had problems, just that the person who read it wasn’t the right audience.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
My characters pop into my head fully grown. They flare into being as if they are real people in another dimension who suddenly revealed themselves to me. It’s bizarre. I’ve learned to just go with it. That said, my main character in my overall series/story/universe arc, Pietas, constantly surprises me.
Do you have another profession besides writing?
I am retired. However, it’s almost a full time job for me to host authors on my book blog, Romance Lives Forever. https://rlfblog.com Check out the #RLFblog hashtag on Twitter. The blog has been around since 2012 and has a guest author nearly every day. If you want something to read, you can find a book there.
If you could go back in time, where would you go?
Ancient Greece. I’m fascinated by Alexander the Great. But I would not want to stay there forever.
What’s the one thing you would do if you could be your character for a day?
You mean if I was Tornahdo? Oh wow. I’d go explore the space station where he’s assigned. It’s a crossroads in space. I’d want to see every inch of it.
What was the inspiration for “Lights Out”?
I fell in love with the character Six from the Bringer of Chaos series. He’s such a treat to write. I hated to part with him when I finished the first two books, so I decided to tell his story in one more book (Bringer of Chaos: Watch Your Six). But before book one, when he became known as Six — he was Tornahdo. He’s a covert operative, so his name changes. His call sign is Tornahdo because he fights like a tornado. His fellow fighters added the “ah” sound because he is Hispanic-Terran and that is how he would pronounce the word “tornado.” He is different in every life and that makes him fascinating. Lights Out is a prequel to the Bringer of Chaos books.
Will there be more books in your series, or can you tell us about any previous books?
I have one more planned and two are already released; the Origin of Pietas, and Forged in Fire. The main character in those is Pietas, and he is found in most of my other books, including At the Mercy of Her Pleasure, For Women Only, and the three Chosen books, Wulf, Alitus, and Jawk. He’s in upcoming books as well.
What is your favorite part of this book and why?
The premise of the story is that in order to fight immortals who are incredibly hard to perma-kill, humans have begun using immortal blood to resurrect dead human soldiers. They call these troops “Ghost Corps.” Lights Out begins with Tornahdo waking after his second death. As he is waking, he hears two orderlies yakking away and he reacts to them with irony, a somewhat twisted view of life, and always, humor.
What are you currently working on?
I’m finishing the third book in the series, Bringer of Chaos: Watch Your Six. It’s about Six’s relationship with Pietas, told from Six’s point of view instead of what we have seen so far in the other books. In those, Pietas holds center stage. Pietas is vital in Watch Your Six too, but in a different way. I’m also plotting another set of books in which Pietas is the main character. I’ll have to come back some day and tell you about those.
Lights Out by Kayelle Allen
He can save mankind. After he does this one important thing. Die.
Join the Ghost Corps, they said. You’ll live forever, they said. You’ll save mankind, they said. They didn’t say that to do it, first he had to die.
When Tornahdo signs on the dotted line, he puts his life into the steady hands of the mighty Ghost Corps. Three grisly deaths and three agonizing resurrections later, he’s assigned duty on the space station Enderium Six.
He’s facing his most dangerous mission yet, the very reason the corps exists.
Tornahdo and his team must take out the man responsible for every war between humans and Ultras since the origin of the Ultra bloodline: the immortal king, Pietas.
If he succeeds, the war is over.
If he doesn’t, the Ultras will rule mankind for another thousand years.
Pietas regenerates from every wound. He’s so fast, no human has ever laid a hand on him. As a precaution, they’re sending in Tornahdo’s squad only after evacuating the station and trapping the king in a chamber emptied of air. The immortal will have to fight in a vacuum.
So will Tornahdo and his crew.
Do they expect the corps to win? Fat chance. Tornahdo and his team are already dead men and this mission is codenamed “Lights Out.” No, there’s more to this than Tornahdo can see.
To discover the truth, he must face an unbeatable, unkillable enemy, and this time–somehow–find a way to keep himself alive…
Excerpt from Lights Out
The air reeked of antiseptic and starch stiffened the pillowcase. If only the mind-numbing jabbering would stop.
Tornahdo pried open his eyes. The flattened blood bag above him, stenciled equipment and gray walls screamed military hospital.
He’d died. Again.
Spanish curses slipped out. His abuela would’ve taken a switch to him. He made the sign of the cross and kissed his fingertips.
After yanking the tube out of his arm, he pressed a thumb over the entry point. Thankfully, this time, he wasn’t writhing on the floor in agony. Well, not yet.
A faceless android in a Ghost Corps uniform loomed over a bank of equipment displaying Tornahdo’s name and vitals. First impression was right. Military hospital.
The weapons-grade yapping continued.
“Did you hear?” a youthful voice bragged. “He killed six of ’em last night.”
“Yeah, but they don’t stay dead. They never do.”
“If Ultras didn’t come back to life, their plasma wouldn’t bring our own people back.”
The transfusion of enemy blood healed the hole in Tornahdo’s arm in seconds. He thumbed off the red smear and rolled over on the gurney.
An open door led to a sink and toilet built to let gravity do its work. Which meant this was a planet. You hadn’t lived until you were in space, floating in zero gravity while your body’s final twitches sent your corpse spinning.
Notices on the wall confirmed this was San Xavier in the Colonies of Man. Same place he’d bought it the first time.
This was getting old.
~*~
The Expanding Universe (Vol 4), edited by Craig Martelle, features Lights Out (Save Mankind) from the Bringer of Chaos series. Book releases Sept 17, 2018
https://kayelleallen.com/lights-out-save-mankind/
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Thank you, Kayelle, for visiting the Chateau today. It was a pleasure getting to know you better.