KID
The story of Kid follows a seventeen-year-old girl named Madison Perez. She’s the only child, and her parents are divorced. She doesn’t know her father since her mother moved her away to Phoenix from California when she was a baby.
Her mother, Susan, remarried to a man named, Terry. He wasn’t thrilled about children, and with Madison’s mother eager to please her new husband, Madison spent most of her time alone. Madison enjoyed things other kids her age didn’t. She is obsessed with movies and crime thriller novels. It helped her escape the world of her stepfather.
Korry Smith is an up and coming independent author. Her first published book, Kid, will be released on June 15, 2018. We were lucky enough to get an interview with her to discuss her journey.
Interview
So tell me
How are you feeling about the release of your first novel? Nervous or Excited?
I’m nervous and excited. I want it to do well, but also know not to get my hopes up. That’s a hard place to be. The literary world is much more expansive than the Twilight fandom, but there, I was working with an established story and characters. It wasn’t the easiest to get your fic noticed, but I imagine it gave me a slight advantaged. This publishing an original fic is uncharted waters, and it’s petrifying, but I’m optimistic.
Fanfic
You have been writing Twilight fanfic for years now, why do you think it was or is still so popular?
What attracted me to Twilight was Edward. Bella was ok. She was the vessel that got me to Edward, but mostly it’s all about him. I loved the way he was written by Stephenie Meyer and loved how the author’s in the fandom took him to a whole new level. I loved the jerkwards, possesivewards, the geekwards, and domwards, and the other Edwards in between. The primary focus of Twilight Fanfic is the romance. How two people meet, fall in love, and have that crazy, undeniable obsession about each other. That’s why Twilight Fanfic was always so popular with me. It started as a way to get more of SM’s characters after Breaking Dawn and blossomed into an incredible, heart-beating, life of its own.
What made you start writing Twilight fanfic?
The talented author’s in this fandom. Their stories sparked my fire and gave me the inspiration to write my own stories. Before that moment, I’d been a dormant author for nearly ten years.
Why this story and not any of the other you have already written?
I’d debated for a long time to publish any of my fanfic stories. I completed Chop and Change in 2013 and pulled it five years later to print, but had been thinking of doing so when readers asked if I was going to make it an OF. Yes, it’s my most popular fic, with SoCal coming in second, but that’s not the only reason for doing so. Chocolate Brown and Leather Whips is a beast with 330,000 words, and I was seriously contemplating turning that story into an OF to publish because those characters were so far removed from SM’s Edward and Bella, and I think outside of the fandom, it would do well. However, I’m praying to GOD and picking all the four-leaf clovers I can find that Kid gets popular. I want it to be a movie. I want to see Chopward (or as he’ll now be called as Alex) on the big screen. It’s so unrealistic, but that’s why I chose Chop and Change and Kid as my debut novel.
How hard or easy was it to switch from a Twilight fanfic to your own?
It’s hard in the sense that it’s me on display and my name is out there. I hid from family and friends with a pseudo name Krazyk85 and told no one that I wrote erotica fanfic, but this has my identity all over it. I can’t hide behind an Edward and Bella banner; it’s me. That’s the hardest. As for the writing? I wrote the characters without adhering to SM’s Bella and Edward since my Twilight Fanfic conception.
Characters and Sequels
How did you pick the names of the characters?
The only name that has any special meaning to me is the main character. Madison was the name of the first patient I took care of when I started nursing. I was in home health, and she was a 21-year-old autistic girl with severe, chronic, and painful stomach issues. She touched my heart in a lot of ways, but sadly, she passed away in September of 2013. I liked her name a lot and decided to use it. Also, I loved the nickname ‘Mad’ – because let’s be real, Kid is mad and crazy.
Alex, to me, fits the character. It’s a name I had in my mind for a while, and I don’t think there was another one in mind. I wanted to keep the heroine and hero’s name simple. Most authors choose names that are unique and standout names for their leads, but I wanted these characters to feel real, and blend in with the world.
The other side characters: Sawyer, Len, Nyx, and Devlin chose for the out-of-the-box names, and I had fun with them.
Is this a stand-alone story or will there be a book 2 or book 3?
Kid is a stand-alone, and I have no plans for a sequel. In the fanfic, I set it up as a trio: Chop & Change, Chopping & Changing and Chopped & Changed. However, during the sequel, I lost my way in the story and couldn’t find my way back. That unfortunate turn of events has left a lot of readers invested in something that has no closure, and I feel like crap for leaving it unfinished, but I can’t seem to find that muse. I still hold out hope that one day I’ll come back to Chopping and Changing, but that incompletion is why I changed Kid’s ending to be a stand-alone novel. This rewrite will hopefully give new and old readers a conclusion to Madison and Alex love story.
Author’s Favorites and Not So Favorites
What is your favorite scene in the book?
My favorite scene will be the added one that wasn’t in Chop and Change. It’s the night of a party at Sawyer’s, and Madison’s first kiss with Alex. I love the scenes leading up to that moment. When I was first writing the fanfic C&C, I wanted it to happen that way, but back then, I was updating daily with 2300-3000 words, and that’s a hard quota to keep. So, I kept it simple, and that’s how we got the kiss between Bella and Edward. It’s the same in a way, but the motivation and actions before it brings an extra layer to their relationship. I hope the old readers of the fanfic will like Alex and Madison’s path to their first kiss.
What is the hardest part to write?
Sex scenes, for sure. It’s difficult to get in that space, but to write a scene that’s explicit and hot and not laughable that’s when it becomes frustrating and time-consuming. There’s only so many words you can use to describe female and male anatomy before it sounds ridiculous. I refuse to use muffin-box or fun-stick, and I used nub very, very seldom. That’s the biggest challenge for me, but no one forced me to write these scenes. I could’ve omitted them in Kid, and the story wouldn’t suffer. It so happens that like the erotic aspect, so I don’t complain about writing it or how hard it is—if you catch my drift. *Nudge, nudge, wink, wink*
If your book was to become a movie, who would be your dream cast?
Lord, now I must Google my answers. I had Kid picked out from the second I decided to publish it, and I tailored her features around Selena Gomez. Alex was difficult. A friend of mine, Dee, found this guy on Instagram by the name Devon, and he’s pretty damn close to my description, but sadly, he’s not an actor, and so my list is this: Maximillian Belfort, Liam Hemsworth, Nico Tortorella, and Alex Roe.
Ha-ha, I guess Alex wasn’t as difficult as I thought, eh.
Publishing
Take me through the process of publishing as an independent writer?
It’s the same as traditional publishing, except the costs is 100% on the author. It’s all out of pocket for editing, an illustration of the book cover, and promotion. If you have friends, like I was lucky enough to have, those costs can be minimized if they’re able and willing to give their services at a cheaper rate or for free. One of the pros of independent publishing is the author has more say in the product and control, but that con is that they’re taking all the risks of its failure.
Amazon makes it easy to publish with them and offers many tools to aid in the success, but it all comes down to getting the word out to readers and making the novel visible. That’s been my challenge the most, but I created a blog where the first four chapters are LIVE for viewing, and help potential readers in knowing what they’re buying and if it’s for them. I hoped to suck them in just enough to want to invest their time and money into me.
Depending on how Kid does with readers will decide my next novels route.
What made you choose that route and not one through a book agency?
When I sent Kid’s manuscript out to the romance and erotica publishers, they were uncomfortable with Madison’s age. Most of their heroines and heroes need to above 18—and even a few that I didn’t even bother with wanted their consenting sexual characters to be 21, and or me to change her age to fit their criteria would ruin the beginning conflict. Then there was the usage of guns, violence, and drugs that seemed too much of a risk for them. Romance and erotica have certain storylines that sell, and as I got more of their concerns and explanation back, I felt independently publishing Kid would be in my best interest and gave me more freedom. I ditched the splitting the story into parts and went with my gut. Kid may not be for everyone, but it’s different and takes the readers on a crazy, non-stop ride. As it gets closer to release date, I have no regrets.
Pre-Order
If you want to get a quick glimpse into Kid, head on over to Korry’s author site to read the first 4 chapters. After reading through, make sure to head over to Amazon to pre-order your copy!
Korry’s Sites:
Original Article found at Fandom Consultants
