Please give a warm welcome to author Kristen Banet
Tell us a bit about yourself
Well, a bit? I’ve lived a really strange life that’s taken me all over and I’m not even 30 yet! Some work history, then. I was a Hospital Corpsman in the United States Navy. I worked in a tattoo parlor for stint before that. Through it all, I was a freelance artist. Still an artist in my free time, but no longer taking on work.
And on the personal front… I am married and we have a roommate. Two best guys I’ve ever met. We have two pets, a boy border collie and a girl cat. They are probably the most ridiculous characters in my life. My cat has now found herself in not one but two series as Riley’s cat Star and as Sombra from the Redemption Saga. She’s a nut.
Have you always wanted to become an author?
Yes and no? I always said I wanted to be a storyteller. The form need not be a thing. It never mattered. From comics to books, I just wanted to tell stories. It was actually that drive that led me to starting my artwork. In the end, though, comics take a long time and I was suffering a really problematic depression where I couldn’t pick up a pencil to draw. I decided I would just write the stories and it’s worked out from there. It wasn’t the first time I had tried to just write them, but it was the first time it stuck.
What was your inspiration for your current book/series?
I’ve got a few right now! I’ll go with my epic fantasy. Age of the Andinnais all of my favorite tropes and pieces of an old epic fantasy I’ve been wanting to work on for years and had already started. Epic fantasy with romance is my favorite genre and I wanted to finally bring my own vision of epic fantasy to life.
It’s much like Sawyer, overcoming dark parts of yourself and seeing the brightness. Fighting back against those who would see you fail. Those story beats have always really resonated with me, much like polyamorous romance, where love is love and no one can tell these characters otherwise.
I also can’t resist a badass female lead.
What are you working on now?
I’m switching back and forth between Witch of the Wild West and Age of Andinna. Both on the third book right now! I’m a bit ahead of the readers, since Witch of the Wild West is just about to launch, and The Mercenary’s Bounty (AotA Book 2) comes out in April.
Do you have any quirks while writing?
I don’t think so? I listen to a lot of music and it’s not even stuff related to the book. It’s whatever I’m in the mood for. I’ll pace around my office too, thinking about scenes I want to write to get into the mood. That might be a little weird. My husband gives me strange looks when he walks in and I’m just walking in a circle with music blaring.
What are your hopes for the future?
That I can keep going on adventures with my characters and people honor me with their time and join in.
Do you have any advice for new authors about the publishing world?
Rule one to me is always finish the book. Before you get ahead of yourself, finish the book. Prove to yourself that you can actually do the thing. That, to me, comes before anything else. The social media, the pages, the groups, the takeovers. All of that mess we authors find ourselves bogged down in and distracted by. Finish your book. Then you’ve got something to work with. You’ve prove you can with no distractions. Then add to your plate.
Because the most important thing you’ll do as an author is write, at least in my experience.
Do you have anything to say to your fans?
Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for coming on journeys with me. There’s dozens, even hundreds of authors out there and yet, you decided to spare a moment for me. For just that alone, I’m grateful.
Buy links
The Redemption Saga:
A Life of Shadows
Heart of Shame
A Nature of Conflict
An Echo of Darkness
A Night of Redemption
Age of the Andinna
Witch of the Wild West
The Kingston Pride Boxset
The Wolves of Wild Junction
Author links
Twitter
Amazon
Facebook
Instagram
The Banet Pride
Helle Gade 