Kailin Gow is the author of over 100 books, with the majority of them for young adults. Her most popular series are: The Frost Series, PULSE Series, Desire Series, Wicked Woods, Steampunk Scarlett Novels, and more. A full-time author, she is also a producer, having worked in radio, television, and film. She grew up in Southern California, lived in Texas and England, and had traveled extensively around the world.
Author Interview
Where do you get your ideas or inspiration for your characters?
I’m constantly inspired by everything around me. People I meet or have met before, my own experiences, people in the news, events, historical figures, classic literature, mythology, local stories, locations like a ghost town or a building (some of my friends think I have a sixth sense, too lol) where I can get a sense of the past by being at a location, travel, art, paintings, photos, case studies, just about anything.
For Saving You Saving Me, the characters were inspired by people I knew, my own experience as a peer counselor and as a facilitator during college, my experience as an intern for the Public Defender’s at juvenile court, my experience as a volunteer at battered women’s shelters and as a social coordinator for the OC Mental Health Association. Collins McGregor was a compilation of famous and/or influential people I know or have heard of in my business and professional circles. His relationship with Samantha was based loosely on one of my friend’s relationships. The way Samantha looks, how serious she is, and how she is a natural beauty is based on an actual actress friend of mine who is considered one of the world’s prettiest people, according to People’s Magazine and Maxim.
Do you have a routine that you use to get into the right frame of mind to write?
I listen to music, and sometimes I literally hole myself in a hotel room and write until the book is finished. There are also times when I’m writing with my laptop on my lap in the car on a road trip. Those are the times I’m writing fast, and being in a moving car helps drive my adrenaline.
What has been the most challenging part with your first contemporary novel?
I’ve written chick lit before for my Fashion Fables series, but writing something like Saving You Saving Me has been challenging because of the real life issues presented. It’s not like fantasy where I can develop a completely new world. Saving You Saving Me is based on some real experiences from people I know, and takes place where I went to college. Writing about personal experiences in a fiction can be too close to home, especially with the psychological aspects of the novel, so having to go into that can be emotional. When I write, I get into my characters’ mindset by taking the approach actors take when getting into character. This can be emotional, especially when you need to get into the heart of the character and dig deep down.
What books have most influenced your life?
The Bible, Lord of the Rings, Diary of Anne Frank, Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire, anything by Stephen King, anything by C.S. Lewis, anything by Jane Austen, anything by Shakespeare. I’m really into reading plays as well like Stoppard.
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
Attend plays, film festivals, direct films, travel, try new foods, learn new things, meet people, play with my daughter, and shop.
Thank you Kailin Gow for stopping by JJ iReads and answering our questions. Can’t wait to read your next books!