Kayla Frederick…or Maybe Kayla Krantz

Once upon a time in Michigan, there lived an author named Kayla Krantz. Kayla was an international bestselling author who wrote dark fantasy, psychological horror and supernatural thrillers influenced by King and Poe. Kayla now goes by Kayla Frederick in the great state of Texas and writes primarily horror and thrillers influenced by Grady Hendrix and Jordan Peele. Let’s talk about it!

Q: Who has been your biggest supporter(s) throughout your writing career?

A: My fiancé is my biggest supporter. We met at a time when I had actually given up on writing, and he got me to pick up the pen again.

Q: What does it mean to you to be an author?

A: I’ve always wanted to be an author. For as long as I could remember, I’ve had dreams of creating worlds and stories for people to enjoy.

Q: What is your writing process like? Do you listen to certain music, snack, make loads of phone notes when inspiration randomly strikes, etc.”

A: My writing process changes with each book that I write. One thing that stays the same is that I always write my first draft in a notebook and then type it all into the computer to being sorting through. I’ve never been much of an outliner, though lately I have been more hands on about creating character profiles before writing. More often than not, my characters take the wheel and tell me their story.

Q: Is there a genre or subgenre that you want to explore that you haven’t yet? Conversely, are there any that you’ll never write?

A: Science fiction! It’s a genre I’ve always adored, but I’ve never had many ideas of how to write it. I hope to one day write a piece that’s Black Mirror-esque. On the flip side, a genre I’ll probably never write in is erotica. My brain’s not wired to write that way!

Q: What has been the hardest part of your career as an author so far?

A: I’d say the hardest part of being an author has been finding my target audience. Since a lot of my books cross genres, i can be tough to find readers willing to give them a chance.

Q: What do you consider to be your greatest strength and weakness as an author?

A: As an author, I think I do a good job of highlighting the mental health struggle and painting characters with a realistic internal struggle. Something that I struggle with, however, is dialogue and giving a unique voice to each character.

Q: Who is on your radar as someone you’d love to work with?

A: I’ve met so many fantastic indie authors, especially over the past year in the Books of Horror Facebook group, that I would be honored to work with.

Q: At some point in our lives, we’ve all hears the negative comments: “You’re not good enough.” “You’ll never make it.” ‘This is the worst thing I’ve ever seen.” “You don’t belong.” How do you move forward when faced with negativity?

A: At the end of the day, I write books because I have stories to tell. I’ve come to a point where I realize that not everyone is going to like my work. As a voracious reader myself, I don’t like every book I pick up and that’s okay.

Q: What advice would you give to women who are wanting to write, especially if it’s something other might perceive as “outside of the norm”?

A: Do it! If you’ve got a story in you, let it out. No one can tell your story the way you can.

Kayla’s newest release, After the Devil, dropped March 15th. It follows Alex, a mom and failed author struggling to keep everything together in the wake of a failed marriage, so she quits writing to find another job. Jamie, a recovering addict, is her biggest and only fan; unable to accept her decision, he kidnaps Alex and hides her for months at his home in the woods. Will Alex make it back to her daughter or will she be lost in the woods forever?

Follow Kayla on Facebook and Instagram, and check out her latest novel, After the Devil! If you’re looking for something that’s a unique read, Kayla recommends Stuck by Ben Young, calling it “a fantastic debut novel.”