Hello
lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Kayla Krantz and her new
book, “Dead by Morning!” For other stops
on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or
any of the images in this post.
Be sure to
make it to the end of this post to enter to be the lucky winner of one of the following: a paperback copy of “Dead by
Morning” OR an ebook copy of Dead by Morning and a second RRPI ebook. Also, come back
daily to interact with Kayla and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for
stopping by! Wishing you lots of luck in
this exciting giveaway!
Dead by
Morning
by Kayla Krantz
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GENRE: New Adult
Psychological Thriller
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BLURB:
Obsession
is deadly. No one learns that better than Luna Ketz, a pessimistic high school
senior. She wishes more than anything to graduate but things don’t always go as
planned. Luna quickly finds herself trapped in a web of lies and murders, spun
by the least suspected person in her hometown. It’s not long before she
realizes she’s being targeted by the person she despises most in the world. When
Luna figures out who is behind the killings, things make a turn for the bizarre
when she is contacted by a friend she has not heard from in years. It is then
Luna realizes she is very much in danger, but although she can avoid the killer
in reality, she cannot avoid him in her dreams.
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EXCERPT TWO:
CHANCE
HAD BEEN surprised at Luna’s stunt; that was the best word he could use to
describe it—stunt. Beside him, David appeared just as surprised. She could’ve
killed herself with a move like that, easily broken her neck on a curb or
busted her head open on the cement. But lucky for her, she had landed in the
grass, though she’d still be in pain. He wouldn’t be surprised if she needed to
go to the hospital. The beginnings of fusion caused him to lapse into a state
that made him feel as if he was in that mind all the time. He found that that
mind was braver and a bit sharper.
He
had figured out she was okay because of her gift, her Teardrop of Knowledge. He
had also discovered she couldn’t stand even being in his vicinity anymore, and
after what had happened, he didn’t blame her. He knew the fear that ran through
her mind; it was the fear he had seen on many of his victims’ faces.
The
realization that he wasn’t playing around—that it wasn’t some poorly-written
crime novel, that he meant murder, cold-blooded murder—seemed to have sunk into
Luna’s mind. He recognized that desperate urge to escape. Chance frowned. He
could feel the cold wind from outside rushing in through Luna’s open door. She
was desperate to get away from him, desperate because she knew stunts like that
were a Hell of a lot safer than being around him.
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INTERVIEW:
What 3-5 words would you use to describe your book?
A haunting story of obsession.
What is your favorite chapter or section of the book?
My favorite chapter in the book is
when Chance and Luna go to the Homecoming dance, and Luna sees a side of him
that makes her believe he’s different—that he’s off in a way that could actually
be dangerous.
Did you come across any specific challenges in writing this
book?
It was hard to find a perfect
boundary for Chance. I wanted to show that he’s a ruthless character, but at
the same time, he has a soft spot. Showing the depth of his evil was difficult
as well because I wanted him to come across as a likeable character to readers
no matter what he does. He also needed to be relatable which turned out to be
the toughest thing to pull off in the entire book.
One of the main themes in this book is obsession. What is something you are obsessed with?
Caffeine is one of my ultimate
obsessions. I have to have an energy drink at least once a week and a soda
almost daily to keep my mind in functioning order.
Stalking is a very series crime that has been in the spotlight
this last decade. Chance stalks Luna and
many other women. Do you think this book
helps shine light and provide insight on this topic?
I think Dead by Morning helps to show
insight on the issue from both sides—both the stalker and stalkee. It shows the
real terror and danger of being in this situation. There are a lot of books
that almost try to romanticize stalking, but mine shows exactly why it’s
something to be feared.
Luna starts out by being repulsed by Chance. What is a trait you find repulsive in a
partner/lover?
I think arrogance is the worst. When
someone looks down their nose at another person, especially those that they’re
supposed to be closest to, it truly is an off-putting trait.
This book contains satanic rituals. What kind of research did you do for this
book?
I did quite a bit of research into
rituals and darker occult things. I know real Satanists don’t do the things
that Chance portrays, but in the story, I wanted to get the idea across that
Chance doesn’t really know these things—that he does what he wants to do and
puts a label on it that makes him feel as if he fits even somewhere, even when
he doesn’t.
Many serial killers are said to have Klinefelter Syndrome. What are your thoughts on this? Do you think Chance suffers from Klinefelter
Syndrome?
I think many serial killers suffer
from diseases of some kind, most of them psychological. The connection between
extra chromosomes and serial killers is interesting, however, I don’t think
it’s what Chance suffers from. His is more in the mind, caused by the traumas
of his childhood. Chance is in fine physical shape, but his mind is a mess.
Because of all he’s been through, he suffers from dissociative identity
disorder which makes it hard for him to know which personality is truly his
own.
I noticed this book is listed as “Book 1” and that there are two
other books listed in this series, “Rituals of the Night.” How many books will be part of this series?
Right now, there are only four books
written, but I plan to have nine in total.
Give us an interesting fun fact about your book.
All the characters in Dead by Morning
are based on real people except for Chance. He’s based on a character in a
reoccurring dream that I have.
As an author, what is your favorite word you love to include in your
books?
If I had to pick one, I would say
death is my favorite word. It’s powerful, both literally and metaphorically.
When death is used in any context, it can really spice up the passage.
Do you write your books with a pen or type writer or computer?
My writing process is actually quite
complicated. When I begin a new project, I first write it all down in a spiral
college-ruled notebook with a fountain pen. Pen on paper helps me gather my
thoughts better than writing on a computer. After I finish my first draft in
the notebook, I transfer all the writing to loose-leaf paper that I keep in a
binder. After this draft is when I finally type it on the computer and look for
things such as plot holes or areas where characters need development.
For your own reading, do you prefer ebooks or traditional
paper/hard back books?
I prefer to read traditional
paper/hard back books. There’s something satisfying about curling up with a
paperback book and listening to the ‘swish’ of the pages as you make progress.
It’s harder for me to focus while reading ebooks because the backlights of
devices often give me a headache.
What book(s) are you currently reading?
Currently, I’m reading 1984 by George
Orwell.
I heard you love 80’s music.
What is your favorite 80’s song?
My favorite 80’s song is Somebody’s
Knockin’ by Terri Gibbs. I love this song because it seems so fitting for my Rituals
of the Night Series.
Most of your books involve scary, nightmare themes. What is something you are most afraid of?
People scare me the most because so
many of them are deceptive. With animals, it’s easy to gauge motives, but
humans are different. They can lie and manipulate which makes it hard to know
exactly who can be trusted and who can’t.
When you watch a scary movie do you watch with the light on or
off?
I like to watch scary movies with the
lights off. Part of the fun is feeling as if you’re in the movie to feel the
terror that the characters feel.
As someone who writes and reads horror books, what are your
thoughts on nature vs. nurture as far as serial killers go?
I feel as if both are contributing
factors, however, I believe nurture has a bit more of an effect. I think
everyone is born with a good and bad voice inside of them. Circumstances that
they go through cause them to lean one way or the other. A good person may turn
out evil if they’re put through hard enough times.
What is your favorite thing about being a writer?
I love being able to capture my
thoughts and feelings in a unique manner. When creating my characters, I know
that each of them contain an essence of myself so it’s interesting to see the
way they thrive and travel through all the various situations that are thrown
at them.
What is your favorite motivational phrase?
I don’t know about motivational
phrases, but my favorite quote would have to be, “What is normal to the spider
is chaos to the fly.” —Morticia Addams.
Which famous person, living or dead would you like to meet and
why?
I would love to meet Eminem. His
music has been such a huge motivating factor in my life both writing-wise and
otherwise. A lot of my characters were developed with the aid of his music, and
I think it would be an amazing opportunity to sit down and talk with him about
what inspired him to create his music.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
My advice to aspiring authors out
there would be to never give up! It’s a hard business, and on most days you’ll
want to bury your head in your pillows and stay there, but there is light at
the end of the tunnel if you have the determination and willingness to put in
the effort it takes to get there.
What's next for you? What are you working on now?
I just finished my side project, a
fantasy novel called The Council. In this story, Lilith Lace is a crippled
witch from Ignis Coven, the witches of fire. In the Land of Five, she struggles
to find out her true identity as a new threat emerges to the land—The
Elementals. The only problem, she can’t decide if she must stand against them
or with them.
As of August 1st, I’ve started work
on Book 5 in the Rituals of the Night Series, Comatose at Dusk.
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AUTHOR BIO:
22-year-old Kayla Krantz was
raised in Michigan but moved to Texas and has experienced the best and worst of
both. Since a young age she has be spinning tales. Kayla has interests in the dark and macabre.
She enjoys '80's music and movies. When
she has the chance, she loves to read books by Stephen King who inspired her to
write. She was always interested in horror as they held a certain realism that
fairytales lacked. While writing, she found herself drifting more toward
Thriller which surprised her. Kayla describes the day she discovered that she
would become a published author like so: “It's hard to describe. I spent so
many years climbing toward my goal, and when it finally happened, it was like
all the burdens of stress and agony and uncertainty were just gone. I felt
light, like I could run for the rest of my life off of the energy it gave me.”
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CONNECT WITH KAYLA:
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BOOK BUY LINKS:
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Kayla Krantz will be
awarding to a randomly drawn winner, via Rafflecopter during the tour, one of
the following: a paperback copy of Dead by Morning OR a ebook copy of Dead by
Morning and a second RRPI ebook.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase made I may receive a small commission to help support this blog. This does not cost you anything, it just
helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and
Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions. Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not
Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are
solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
Hi Kayla! It is great to have you here! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! Thank you again for taking the time of out of your day to talk with me about your exciting new book! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for having me :)
DeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting and being a part of our tour!
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