Kaylie Smith is the author of the YA fantasy A Ruinous Fate and its upcoming sequel, A Reckless Oath. We recently had a chance to ask her some questions about her books, writing process, and publication journey!
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your novel, A Ruinous Fate?
Hi! I’m Kaylie, I’m a fantasy author from Louisiana (ironically I am currently sporting a Bourbon Street sweatshirt ????) and A Ruinous Fate is the first book in my debut YA Fantasy series. It’s about a witch named Calla whose fate is tied to magical artifacts called Witch’s Dice and in order to change her destiny she must journey into an enchanted, demonic forest with her ex-boyfriend and his hot older brother.
Like many of us, it seems that your writing got pushed to the side when you became an adult. How did you rekindle your passion for the craft?
Becoming an adult was, if I could only pick a single word, difficult. Leaving that creative bubble of being a child when everything seems possible to realizing that life is not easy—especially not alone— took a heavy toll on my ability to write and create freely while I finished college and started working a 9 to 5. I think one day I looked around, though, and realized I so desperately needed more purpose as well as an escape. I started reading more, and that’s where it’s always started for me. The more I read the more I found my way back to that spark and the kid that wanted nothing more than to tell her own stories and achieve a dream I had started to talk myself out of. I started writing again and quickly realized why this has always been the end goal, even though it is a job, and it’s hard, and there are times I get exhausted—there’s not a single other thing I’d rather be doing. I think reading was such an important piece to getting me back to that place, which is why I’m always grateful for those other authors who pushed through themselves and gave me the books that inspired me to keep going as well. It always comes full circle.
In your author bio, it says your characters “showed you their own purposes”. Can you elaborate on this for any authors that first work on their characters, and then their plot? (I do the same!)
I’m such a big character-driven story sort of reader and so naturally I’m that sort of writer as well! I create these characters and do super in depth characters sheets and in asking questions such as ‘What do they want?’ & ‘What do they need?’ I end up finding the stories they need to tell themselves and begin pulling at the threads of their plots that way. To me the characters really need to work first, if I am following an outline and the characters are resisting a plot point, I’m not afraid to change course and let them lead. I want everything they do to feel authentic to them. I think one of the most important questions a writer can ask about their book is ‘Why is this character the one that should be telling this story?’
Can you tell us about your road to publication? What kinds of challenges did you run into along the way, and how did you overcome them?
I have written a lot of stories and books through the years and when I finally finished a manuscript I really wanted to actually publish…covid happened. I polished up A Ruinous Fate in those first few months of shut down and I knew I was going to query it, but the querying landscape was rough and very slow. And it’s only gotten worse. I was very fortunate that I actually hit a stroke of luck with a Twitter pitch contest and found my agent that way! I’m very lucky with the events that happened after that, I was on sub for about six weeks when I got the offer from Disney and it was actually a revision at first — they wanted to work on the first two chapters to really make sure they were gripping for the acquisitions team — but the revision paid off and now here we are! Publishing can really be a game of chance, but I always want to remind other writers just getting into it: not a single person’s journey looks the same. I was lucky to get an agent how I did and I put in a lot of work to sell my first series but even that was great timing just as much as the hard work. The time you spend trying to get an agent or selling a book does not at all equate to the amount of success you can achieve. Always keep writing <3
Do you have any advice for querying authors trying to find a home for their book?
The querying landscape is so hard to understand for those who aren’t currently in it, even from when I queried three years ago things have drastically changed. But my biggest pieces of advice are always pretty much the same: make sure your word count is within the range for your specific genre, research the agents you’re querying thoroughly and don’t just automatically accept the first offer you get (it is absolutely true what they say: no agent is better than a bad one/one that isn’t the right fit for you), and send your queries out in batches! Also, keep an eye on your mental health and remember: I have never met a single author who hasn’t gotten a rejection. It happens all the time to all of us!
Finally, can you tell us about the sequel to A Ruinous Fate?
ARF2 is a rollercoaster of chaos! Calla and the crew are all reeling from the events of book 1 and we really get to explore their pasts, and their futures, more. Also there’s definitely more blood and kissing. Not necessarily in that order lol.
Can you provide a links to any websites or social channels you’d like readers to follow?
My Instagram and TikTok are both @kaylsmoon if you want to follow for bookish news and cute outfits <3
The cover for the sequel to A Ruinous Fate has officially been revealed on Kaylie’s Instagram! Go check it out!
