During a chance encounter during one of my daughter's
school field trips, I met a person with whom I had a scintillating conversation
about books. This person later tipped me off about debut author Kelley Harvey and her New Adult science
fiction romance BREATHE. How cool is that? Signing up to be a chaperone can pay
off in unexpected ways!
On the heels of my (non-spoiler) tag
post for BREATHE, I invited the author aboard for an interview so we could
learn more about her Devastation
series. This series features an alien-hybrid hero, a heroine with a secret, and
their burgeoning romance amid both tragic and unusual circumstances.
Here's the blurb:
The summer after graduation, Lexa
falls for Gabe, but can she trust her new love with the secret of a lifetime?
Secrets rule Lexa's life. After her
move to Texas for college, she develops feelings for her life-long friend. But Gabe’s
gone emotionally bi-polar, ice cold one minute, volcanic the next, and Lexa’s
not even sure he is her friend any
more. As she struggles to regain control over her shaken world, Lexa wakes one
morning with wings. Panic sets in and she keeps her discovery to herself.
Everyone has secrets, but revealing hers could land her on a lab table, and
that’s not where she wants to spend freshman year.
When Gabe learns he’s an
alien-hybrid, it changes everything. Now, he's rethinking his entire existence.
After he lays a mind-melting kiss on her, Lexa wants to ditch their platonic
status, but Gabe’s certain a move like that will ruin their relationship.
However, resisting her is almost impossible. Can he figure out how to keep his
secret and his best friend?
They think it can't get worse.
They're wrong.
***
And
now for my interview with Kelley Harvey!
The
Galaxy Express: BREATHE is the first installment of your Devastation series. What does "devastation" symbolize or
refer to?
Kelley Harvey: First, please let me thank you for
featuring BREATHE, Heather, and for doing this interview. I truly appreciate
you and your blog. Okay, on to the question. Devastation refers to a point in
the story (which comes in BREAK, episode 2) where one of the characters is so
distraught over what’s happened, s/he is completely devastated, the loss so
great, it blankets him/her in utter darkness.
TGE:
What inspired you to write this series?
KH: Of all things, a drawing my daughter Alex drew of
a girl angel fitted out in full battle gear, shin guards, breast plate, sword,
shield, the whole nine. However, my characters aren’t angels in the least.
TGE:
BREATHE has superhuman/superhero elements, especially given how some of the
characters come of age and discover their unique natures. Are you a fan of
superhero stories? If so, what are some of your favorites?
KH: ABSOLUTELY! I love almost ALL the super heroes… my
most favorite ever is THOR… but in all honesty, that happened after Chris
Hemsworth was cast in that role. Can you say HOLY HOTNESS??? But I have loved
super heroes since I was about five and we got our very first VCR. For some,
you might remember, back when they first came out the movies were super
expensive. For the longest time my family owned only two movies. One was Patton,
the other SUPERMAN. Now, which do you think a young girl would like best? I
will always imagine Christopher Reeve as Superman, no matter how many hotties
play him through time.
TGE:
What appealed to you about mixing science fiction and New Adult characters?
KH: To be honest, this story was first written as a
young adult book. My daughter, at the time she drew that picture, was only
fifteen. But as more of my early readers gave me feedback, I heard more and
more often that they’d love it if the characters were older. Plus, as a self
published author, I hope to reach a wider audience with New Adult characters
than Young Adult. Truthfully, I love that I could up the heat level with older
characters. It was so fun moving them up in age and getting to add some spicier
elements to the story.
TGE:
What kinds of heroes and heroines do you enjoy writing about?
KH: I know some people love the beta male, but I’m an
alpha male kinda girl, and writer. I married an alpha and find them super sexy.
I also love to put them in their place sometimes. As for my heroines, I write
them however they evolve in my head. Actually, I guess that happens with the
guys as well. Believe it or not, I’ve often started books with one kind of
character and as the story builds the character tells me who they are and how
they want to behave and react to the other characters and the situations they
encounter.
TGE:
Are you a coffee or tea person?
KH: Coffee… copious amounts of it. YUMMMMMMM.
TGE:
What's the last film or television show you watched that featured aliens?
KH: I watched Prometheus
again the other night. Not my favorite, but I was editing and it was on. I
watched, because I love aliens and if there’s an alien movie, t.v. show, or
even quasi-documentary with aliens, I’m likely to be found watching it.
TGE:
Given that BREATHE ends on a major cliffhanger, tell us about how the Devastation series will be published.
KH: The plan is to release Episode 2, BREAK, either at
the very end of January, or super early in February. Then BLEED, Episode 3,
will likely release about six to eight weeks later. After that, remaining
episodes will release as I finish writing them and make sure they are
reader-ready.
My hope is to release one at least every eight to
twelve weeks until the series is complete. I envision at least six episodes,
but possibly eight or more. It all depends on the characters and the worlds
they encounter (that’s not a spoiler; I hope you guys would figure out the
entire series won’t be Earthbound). I will warn you; these are episodes, much
like a television series, so, more than one might end on a cliffhanger. The
great thing is, I don’t intend to make my wonderful readers wait an entire year
to find out what happens next.
TGE:
What was the most challenging aspect of writing the Devastation series? The most rewarding?
The most challenging thing? Dreaming up fresh ideas as
so many amazing science fiction books and movies have been written and made.
It’s hard to create characters and aliens completely different from anything
else, but I can try to ensure they don’t feel over-used or cliché. I really
hope I’ve accomplished this with Lexa, Gabe, and Nathaniel.
The most rewarding? That’s easy. Reader response. When
someone reads and loves Lexa, Gabe, and Nathaniel, and then talk to me about
them like they’re real people (because to me they are), it makes me smile like
a drunken chimpanzee. Above even that are my daughter Alex’s feelings for this
story. I originally wrote it for her. She loves The Devastation Series. Believe
me, this was no easy feat. My Alex is very much like me, she’s quite
opinionated and has a hard time not telling it like it is, as I wrote BREATHE,
she’d read over my shoulder and comment on anything she felt wasn’t genuine or
didn’t seem quite right. But now that it’s done, she truly loves it and is
dying for me to get the paperback copies so she can display it on her
bookshelf. This makes me smile like a demented llama and clap like a circus
seal. ;)
TGE:
Where can readers find you?
Find
my website/blog: www.kelleyharvey.com
Like
me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KelleyHarveyWrites
Friend
me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KelleyHarveyAuthor
Follow
me on Twitter: @KHarveyWrites
Find
my Amazon
Author Page
Find
my Author
page on Goodreads
BREATHE,
Episode 1 of The Devastation Series, on Goodreads
***
Ms. Harvey, thanks so much for your time, and for your
art.
Joyfully yours,
Heather