It’s my distinct pleasure to welcome author Kitty Keswick to Galleysmith to talk about her new novel Freaksville.

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Writing Freaksville Without Freaking Out…

I don’t write in a linear fashion, and I don’t always have an outline or plot everything out. I start with the characters first. They come alive to me. I see them as if I were watching a TV show. I wrote Freaksville’s key scenes out of order and then went through and, like taking a needle and thread, stitched them together. I had note cards, sticky notes, napkins—you name it—riddled with ideas. I’d be in the shower and dialogue would pop into my head. I had to rush out and scribble it down so I wouldn’t lose it. I once wrote out a scene with soap on my tub surround, so it would stay with me long enough to write it down for real. Once Kasey voice was solid, the story flowed.

The story was told in first person, and it seemed like a confession of Kasey’s inner world. The blog idea came a smidge later, but it worked so well, and the comments at the end of each chapter gave hints and clues into the story, making it more three dimensional. Kasey and Gillie were so real to me, I could see them, hear them, feel them. They had such a strong bond of friendship, and that friendship was the backbone for the story. I’m lucky to have some long-lasting friendships, and a few of them inspired Kasey and Gillie’s relationship. They are more than friends; they are sisters and support each other through good times and some pretty hairy situations. Every girl needs a BFF.

Characters: Creating Friendships That Leap Off the Pages…

Kasey, my heroine, and her BFF Gillie have a language of their own. It comes from being friends so long. They’ve lived next door to each other since birth (their moms were best friends too), so they share a lot of inside lingo. And the girl’s friendship was a huge part of who they were.

To keep track of Kasey and Gillie’s language, I kept a glossary for myself, which ended up in the back of Freaksville. Their energy was so hyper and exuberant. I really had fun getting to know them more. (Like I said, my characters are very real to me, I see them. Not in the okay-hurry-up-with-the-little-white-jackets-and-cushy-padded-cell see them, but you get the point.)

Besides listening to my characters speak, I always write a smidge of backstory to flesh out my characters. This history of what happened before the story helps me know them inside and out—how they will react to conflict, what their motivations are, what makes them tick. I also did character cards to work out their likes and dislikes and give them quirks—like Kasey’s list-making and Gillie carrying around a mongo-sized bag so she was always prepared for anything. They balanced each other well. They’re also strong females, which I believe all girls can and should be. I believe in Girl Power!

That meant I needed to have strong, honorable male heroes to balance them. Josh and Gunter fit the bill. The guys didn’t know each other before going to school, but they both sensed they were Lycans and that created a powerful bond. They became pack. And to werewolves, just like to their wolf counterparts, pack is important. So the best pal relationship was important for them too. Because Freaksville is a character-driven novel, these bonds of friendship between the guys, as well as Kasey and Gillie, and the interactions between all four of the characters added dimension to the plot and, at the same time, provided ideas for conflict.

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As outlined by Ms. Keswick and publisher Leap Books, Freaksville is the story of a group of teenagers, trapped in a haunted theater on the night of a full moon, who find out that ghosts are the least of their worries.

Every woman in the Maxwell family has the gift of sight. A talent sixteen-year-old Kasey would gladly give up. All she wants is a normal life. Shopping and talking about boys with her best friend and long-time sidekick, Gillie Godshall, consume her days. Until Kasey has a vision about Josh Johnstone, the foreign exchange student from England. The vision leads her into new realms, a lead in a play, a haunted theater … and into the arms of Josh. Yet both Kasey and Josh have secrets lurking in dark corners. Can Kasey’s new romance survive FREAKSVILLE?

About the Author:

Kitty Keswick has been an Anglophile since age four when she saw Robin Hood and fell head over heels in love. As she grew up on her grandfather’s California vineyard, Kitty’s imagination was her best friend. At a very tender age, she started writing her stories and reading them to the grapes.  Kitty spends her days with werewolves, Valkyries, vamps, and other creatures that go bump in the night.

Check out Freaksville’s book trailer and to learn more about Kitty Keswick visit her website at http://www.kittykeswick.com.