#BIR2011 Interview with Kate Kaynak Author of Accused

Today as part of Best I've Read 2011, I have the extreme fortune to interview Kate Kaynak.  Kate is the author of Accused, book four of the Ganzfield Series from Spencer Hill Press and one of my personal Top Seven of '11 books.  The Ganzfield Series is an amazing series that is kinda like X-men.  It focuses on teens and a few adults who have abilities that are beyond that of most "normal" people.  There are Sparks or pyrokinetics who can put out, start and control fire.  There are Charms who can get others to do what they want them to.  The are healers who can manipulate the human body's energy to heal others.  There are RV's or Remote Viewers who can see things/people even from far away.  There are a few Minders who can read the thoughts of others.  And there is only one Telekinetic.  Ganzfield is the school where they learn how to control their powers.

Now, without further ado, here is my interview with the magnificent Kate Kaynak:

The Minder series is one of those hidden gems of the book world, when will we be seeing more of them in local bookstores and National chains? More people need to read the wonderful series that is Ganzfield!

Thanks, Megan! Spencer Hill Press signed with new distributors this year, both here and in the UK. They're working on getting our books into more retail stores. That's one reason we're doing the new cover with the release of the third edition of MINDER in 2012.

Trevor is, of course, my favorite character. How did he come to be? What led you to create him as we see him in the books- a sweet, sensitive and loyal young man with wicked cool "super powers."

I'd recently read TWILIGHT and the SOOKIE STACKHOUSE books, and both had telepathic characters who could only fall in love with someone whose thoughts they COULDN'T read. I could understand that, but then I started wondering about it. What if that wasn't an option? What kind of person COULD a telepath fall in love with? And what kind of guy would be okay in a relationship with someone who knew his every thought?

And a lot of Trevor's traits are based on those of my real-life husband; he isn't telekinetic, though (but that WOULD be wicked cool).

How did you come up with the world of Ganzfield and how do you work in the series? Do the plot lines come to you as you go or is the basic story line of the series static, has it been there from the beginning?

I'm a plotter, not a pantster, so I had about twenty pages of notes before I started writing each book. I also had a long-term plan for the entire series, and it's all coming to a head in #6, SOULMATE, the book I'm writing now (or, more accurately, will get back to writing as soon as I finish editing Jennifer Armentrout's DEITY, which is all kinds of awesome). That will be the end of Maddie and Trevor's story arc. I usually stick with the plot I've outlined, although two-thirds of the way through ADVERSARY, one of the characters did something (I'll try to keep this spoiler-free) that upset the others so much that they told me, "Uh, we can't work with him anymore. He has to go." (Yes, my imaginary friends talk to me). That character originally had a big role in the climactic scene, so I had to rewrite how it would all unfold. That comes out in the story; Maddie's original plan was how the book was supposed to go, but, if you've read ADVERSARY, you know how--and why--that changed.

As a woman who wears many hats- mother, wife, business woman- how do you find time for yourself and your writing? Where and when do you do your best writing?

I wrote my first books when my kids were napping (they're 6, 6, and 5 now; we didn't much have a family as have a litter). Since I'm now editing several series for Spencer Hill, my own writing pace has slowed down. Basically, I find that cutting out television frees up a lot of my time. Now I only watch stuff when folding laundry or cooking or something. I jot down ideas on post-its throughout the day, and then write about 1000 words each night, after the kids have gone to bed.

How do your supporting characters originate? Are they based on people you know? Like Drew, for instance, who is one of my husband's favorite characters in the series.

I LOVE Drew, too; he's based on a friend of mine. Dr. Williamson is based on a man I shared a taxi with in New York City; the original head of Ganzfield was going to be a McGonagal-esque woman, but, after talking with this man for fifteen minutes, I KNEW he was the guy in charge of Ganzfield (in fact, I'm not 100% sure he doesn't run a secret facility like Ganzfield somewhere). Maddie's mom is like my own, and Hannah is a lot like one of my college roommates. And Ganzfield itself is set in a place where my family has lived for more than 200 years--the main building, Blake House, the lake, and the church are all real.

And lastly, I have to ask, Seth's book- Solitary- will it be covering his back story or his future or both? Inquiring minds have to know. :)

In the notes I have for it now, SOLITARY would follow Seth's experience after he and Maddie go their separate ways in book 6, but his backstory (which is intense) would come out in the course of his thoughts.

Thanks so much to Kate Kaynak for agreeing to answer my questions!  I hope that you'll all run right out to your local bookstore or even to Amazon to purchase the Ganzfield books.  (The Kindle versions are all less than 7 dollars right now.)  This series is wonderful and you won't regret it.  Also, because Kate is all kinds of amazing, we have a giveaway!  This is for US entries only!  Just fill out the Rafflecopter below.  IF THE RAFFLECOPTER LOOKS WRONG, CLICK THE TITLE OF THIS POST AND IT SHOULD SHOW THE FORM CORRECTLY!  Thanks so much!

Find out more about Ganzfield on the Ganzfield website.  You can also find the series on Goodreads.

Remember that today the BIR Blog is featuring: Haven by Kristi Cook!