BLOG TOUR: The Girl Who Saved Ghosts by K.C. Tansley

Welcome to the Official Blog Tour for K.C. Tansley's The Girl Who Saved Ghosts, the second book in The Unbelievables series! This tour will consist of various exciting posts from participating blogs. On our tour stop today, we had the pleasure to interview this amazing author. We even have a tour-wide giveaway to share! Check it out and order your copy today! Plus, follow the tour, HERE!

Genre:

Young Adult

Paranormal/Fantasy Mystery

Series:

The Unbelievables, #2

Publish Date:

October 17, 2017

Publisher:

Beckett Publishing Group

Cover Design by:

Creative Paramita

Synopsis:

She tried to ignore them. Now she might risk everything to save them.

After a summer spent in a haunted castle—a summer in which she traveled through time to solve a murder mystery—Kat is looking forward to a totally normal senior year at McTernan Academy. Then the ghost of a little girl appears and begs Kat for help, and more unquiet apparitions follow. All of them are terrified by the Dark One, and it soon becomes clear that that this evil force wants Kat dead.

Searching for help, Kat leaves school for the ancestral home she’s only just discovered. Her friend Evan, whose family is joined to her own by an arcane history, accompanies her. With the assistance of her eccentric great aunts and a loyal family ghost, Kat soon learns that she and Evan can only fix the present by traveling into the past.

As Kat and Evan make their way through nineteenth-century Vienna, the Dark One stalks them, and Kat must decide what she’s willing to sacrifice to save a ghost.

       

*Interview with K.C. Tansley*

1. Of course, I must start off with the most basic of questions. When and/or How did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I always loved writing. I filled books with poetry and short stories as a child, but I was incredibly practical and studied finance in college. In 2006, I was working on Wall Street and mourning the end of the Harry Potter series when I realized I could keep characters with me forever if I wrote my own books. My best friend and I had this idea for a time travel murder mystery when we were eleven, so I asked him if I could work on it. He gave me the go ahead and I haven’t stopped writing since.

I had a herniated disc that completely disabled me several times in my 20s. I was unable to sit for more than 5 minutes which meant I couldn’t work or travel or even go out to dinner. My life basically stopped. And I was in disabling pain the entire time. There are very few things that are worth living through 8 months of relentless nerve pain. The one thing I held on to was the idea of getting my books published. I had artificial disc replacement surgery in 2008 and by 2010, I was ready to commit to being a writer full time.

2. What was the inspiration behind this book/book series?

The series was a concept my best friend, Anthony, and I dreamed up when we were in 7th grade. The 11-year-old me loved the idea of ghosts, curses, spells, castles, time travel, and a murder mystery. I was a huge fan of soap operas like Dark Shadows and Santa Barbara and that’s where the romantic thread came in.

Back then, I only thought about the story I wanted to tell and this was it. Anthony and I never got beyond the character sketches and general concept because the original idea had way too many characters. He still has a notebook somewhere filled with dozens of character sketches.

3. What and how much research did you have to do for the book/series, if any?

I do research as needed. When I’m writing the first draft, I make comments in track changes like figure out how secret passages work, what are the streets of 1831 Vienna like, would a castle in 1886 Connecticut have electricity or indoor plumbing? Then I go online and to the library to do research. I like to verify historical things. Etymology online is a favorite site of mine to check language. I can’t have my characters using a word in 1831 that wasn’t used in that context until 1906.

4. Are any (or all) your characters based on any person(s) in your life?

My real life filters into my stories in unique ways, and real people inspire my characters, but no one character is based on any single person. For example, during college I had a friend who is Vietnamese and Irish and that was a jumping off point for Evan being English and Chinese. The character might share a trait with another one of my friends like being super calm and in control most of the time, but I pretty much borrow bits and pieces from my own life and swirl it up with my imagination.

5. What writing process works for you?

I’m a planner. I used to be an auditor, so I like a schedule and an outline.

When I have a book idea, I like to play with it in my head and storystorm. It’s like daydreaming except I’m creating the story world, the characters, the plot, and the stakes. It’s like a Choose Your Own Adventure Book is happening inside my brain. I play for 2-3 months.

Then I write a 2-3 page synopsis of the major points of the story—the beginning, the middle, and the end. It takes me a couple weeks to finalize that. My drafting schedule is 2000 words a day, 5 days a week for 6-8 weeks, aiming for 70,000 words.  As I write, things can shift, and I don’t end up exactly where I thought I would. That’s okay. The synopsis is a roadmap to the end of my story, but it’s not the only roadmap. When I’m done with the first draft, I step away from it and work on something else for 2-3 months. Then I come back with fresh eyes and revise it for 8 weeks.

6. Which do you prefer: physical book or ebook? Why?

I love the portability of an ebook, but I prefer a physical book. I like to hold it. The screen tends to dry out my eyes and is harder for me to read. I can read faster with a paperback. Also, I tend to fall deeper into a physical book than an ebook.

7. If you weren't a writer, what would you be doing, career-wise?

I love problem-solving and the challenge of doing something new, so I might go back to school and become an engineer. I like to tinker and understand how and why things work.

8. What are you working on next? That's if you can talk about it... 

I’m working on the outline for Book 3 of The Unbelievables. I will start drafting it this winter.

In Book 3, Kat and Evan learn more about their abilities and time-travel in search of the Mallory bracelet. They face new obstacles with the unbelievables and their bond is tested.

9. What is your all-time favorite ghost story? Why?

Probably Wuthering Heights because it stayed with me for decades. I read the book, saw the movie, read the comic. I couldn’t get enough of Cathy, Heathcliff, and the moors. I love the gothic elements and it was everything I enjoy in a book. It just resonated so much with me.

If you want a real horror ghost—The Woman in Black. Still scares me to this day.

10. What would your advise be to aspiring writers/future authors?

It’s a constant learning process. When you think you understand something and you’ve nailed it, be prepared to find out you haven’t. But that’s okay. Revision gives you so many do overs until your work is truly ready for readers. And everything you write and edit, it all brings you closer to the end goal—telling a compelling story that readers will enjoy!

Sequel to:

(cover links to Goodreads)

       

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**About the Author**

K.C Tansley lives with her warrior lapdog, Emerson, and three quirky golden retrievers on a hill somewhere in Connecticut. She tends to believe in the unbelievables--spells, ghosts, time travel--and writes about them. 

Never one to say no to a road trip, she's climbed the Great Wall twice, hopped on the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg, and danced the night away in the dunes of Cape Hatteras. She loves the ocean and hates the sun, which makes for interesting beach days. 

The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts is her debut YA time-travel murder mystery novel. As Kourtney Heintz, she also writes award winning cross-genre fiction for adults. 

If you'd like to receive exclusive bonus content on my books, subscribe to my author updates: http://kourtneyheintz.com/contact/

Stay connected with K.C. Tansley

   

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***The Giveaway***

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