Interview with K.L. Hallam @Leapbks @love8rockets

Title: The Unmoving Sky

Author: K.L. Hallam

Genre: Young Adult, Thriller

Publisher: Leap Books, Shine

Release Date: May 16, 2016 

Blurb: 

There is nothing darker than the woods, until you meet your worst fear.

Jackson Bower has a lot on his mind lately. His younger brother hasn’t been the same since his mother’s death. His father’s drinking is out of control. Then there’s Jackson’s girlfriend and the grief that ties them together even as it threatens to drive them apart.

He distances himself, hoping for a little perspective at the family lodge. But when their father gets drunk and dangerous, he and his brother escape into the woods. 

Night creeps in, and the rains come fast. Artie slips down a ravine. He’s wounded and the brothers seek shelter in a cave, only to find someone else already taking refuge there. 

A desperate man with plans to destroy their town. 

Jackson must get him and his wounded brother out of the cave and over the mountain to warn everyone in time. Without getting them both killed first.

Book Links:

Goodreads ~ Smashwords

Book Trailer:

Meet the Author:

K.L. Hallam, an air force brat as a young child, who moved around to more schools than she can list, gathering the stories that would connect to her heart. She writes MG, YA, and short fiction, or anything she hasn’t tried, a member of SCBWI, a singer and songwriter, illustrator and mother of two teenagers. She lives in New York City and spends her mornings writing in a Jazz club.

Follow K.L. Hallam on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and her website.

Enjoy this interview with K.L. Hallam! 

Thanks for stopping by Girls Heart Books!   

Thanks for having me!

Let’s start off with you telling us a little bit about yourself and your latest project. 

I’m the mother of two teens, an illustrator, and sometimes a jazz vocalist—a storyteller through and through - living in New York City.

My current project with Leap Books, The Unmoving Sky, is about two teen-aged brothers, Jackson and Artie Bower, looking to escape their father’s abuse, only to fall into a trap where they discover a recluse with destructive plans. All while Jackson’s wrestles with the grief he shares with his girlfriend, as it threatens to drive them apart.

When did you know you wanted to be an author? 

I probably should have known after my father gave me a diary in the first grade and I brought it to school and read aloud to the class. He told me diaries were private. Obviously, I didn’t share this sentiment. I must have figured, what’s the point in writing if I can’t share it with others? Then there was my first “banned” story at eleven years old, writing about an awful experience from my childhood in graphic (exaggerated) detail. It created such a stir on the school bus, the driver had to take it away. I never saw my first handwritten story again.

What are three things you must have to write? 

 1. Quiet, most of the time. As a Jazz singer, music really takes my attention. However, that changed while writing my historical thriller, and now I use the music of the 1930s to transport me, but not too loud.

2. Fast Internet, because I research a lot, and I don’t like to be slowed while drafting.

3. Ideas. But if none have surfaced I keep writing until they do.

What’s your writing space look like? 

My husband owns a jazz club in NYC, and I manage the day hours, the quiet hours, the hours no one comes in. I’m not totally isolated and not entirely distracted, and we have the best espresso in town. Here’s a photo. They call me the lady behind the curtain now.

Why do you write thrillers? What do you love about it?

I enjoy psychological thrillers the most. The mind games and trying to figure out what’s happening, I just love the thrill and suspense. When I was a kid I wanted to be a scream queen in the movies. Everyone used to tell me I had the loudest scream.

What role does music play in your writing? Do you have one album or playlist that works best for you?

Music is a huge part of my life. Having a jazz club, and writing there for the last three years, and being a vocalist, music is all around me. I make sure to read everything I write out loud, because it has to have rhythm and flow. It’s so much easier to catch mistakes by reading out loud.

What can we expect next from you?  

 Well, I do have a couple stories brewing. A middle-grade, Sci-Fi Fantasy is on submission, and I’m revising a YA swing era, thriller. I have a collection of Twilight Zone inspired short stories I’d like to find home for. And who knows, maybe a prequel or sequel to The Unmoving Sky.