September 9, 2025 • 40 mins
Keira N James, bestselling indie thriller author, joins us to discuss her journey from a small town in Georgia to becoming a powerful voice in the thriller genre with 15 books under her belt.
• Drawing inspiration from real-life experiences to create what she calls "exaggerated realities"
• Transition from urban fiction to thriller writing after finding her voice in the "dark side of fiction"
• Finding success with bestsellers like "The Grave Mistake" and the spicy short story collection "Embodied"
• Challenging stereotypes about Black women and creating morally ambiguous characters readers can't help but root for
• Using writing as therapy to process personal experiences, especially in her military thriller "Love and War"
• Being part of "Black Women Who Write Thrillers" collective creating space for diverse voices in the genre
• Upcoming release of psychological novella "Orchid" on October 3rd
• Participating in the Black Book Bash in Jacksonville, Florida with her pen sisters
Follow Keira N James on Facebook at Keira N James and on Instagram, Threads, and TikTok @TheKeiraNJames.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey y'all.
Hey, welcome back.
You are watching and listeningto Licks Between the Lines,
where I am your host.
Licks, for the most part, I tryto stay in between the lines,
but we all know that Ioccasionally cross them.
Today, I am so excited that wehave a special guest.
I've been trying to get her infor the longest and finally she
(00:23):
is here and I'm going to let herintroduce herself.
I want you to let us know whatyou're working on.
We want to know your bestsellers.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Hey y'all.
So I am Kira N James, but youcan call me Kira.
I'm an indie thriller authorstraight out of Danville,
georgia, a very small countrytown probably couldn't find it
on a map, but currently I amsitting at about 15 books, most
(00:55):
of which are not on Amazon, butthe ones that are, I'll say over
half of them have beenbestsellers, and right now my
current bestseller is the GraveMistake.
It is a domestic suspensethriller that I am very excited
about and cannot wait to getinto with the legs.
(01:18):
I'm excited to be on this show,so thank you so much for having
me.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
I thank you for accepting.
Now, wait a minute.
When did this one drop, youknow?
Speaker 2 (01:29):
the great mistake was an impulse release, which I
tend to do sometimes.
Sometimes I can get veryimpulsive.
It was not planned at all.
It is actually a re-release ofa previous title when I was
signed to my mentor's publishingcompany, literary Freedom
(01:49):
Publishing, and the originaltitle of the story was the Sin
of Jasmine.
And I say last week, I want tosay I re-released it as the
Grave Mist mistake, with a newtitle and a new cover, and I
have been getting dms ever since.
(02:10):
But I'm like you know what?
What can I say?
I wrote the story, so y'allcoming with the smoke, I'm gonna
have to take it because thosecharacters is crazy I wanted to
was this regarding like is thisthe post that you had?
Speaker 1 (02:23):
I've seen you post before saying that they were in
your DMs about the story.
Is this the one that they weretalking about?
Speaker 2 (02:29):
the one, the post that I think that you are
referring to, is for body,specifically for the story the
sweetest taste of sand, becausethat was really spicy, that was
on the spiciest side.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
I'm nosy as hell.
What did Miss just say?
I don't?
Speaker 2 (02:53):
know.
Okay, this is how y'all coming.
All right then, but all I cando is take it.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
I got a question about the re-release, so did you
have people inboxing you aboutwho read it before and did they
reread it?
Did they have like anycommentary on it?
Speaker 2 (03:15):
No, these were new readers who had just.
They only learned that it was are-release because it was a
note in the book.
So it wasn't the fact that itwas a re-release because it was
a note, um, in the book.
So it wasn't the fact that itwas a re-release that they were
messaging me about.
It was more so along the linesof girl, what does this
character got going on, or Iknow this did not happen.
(03:35):
You know those type of things.
I don't want to spoil it, butthey were, um, they were very
direct and assertive with thosequestions.
I'm like I'm trying to answerit the best that I can, but they
were coming in hot.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
They were coming in hot.
Goodness, do you always getmessages like that in the DM?
Speaker 2 (04:00):
I don't, this is new for me, but I welcome it because
I love engaging with readers, Ilove connecting with readers.
Um, I don't ever want it tofeel like, just because I'm an
author and they're the reader,that I'm untouchable, I'm
unreachable, like no, I'm verypersonable, um, and down to
earth.
So I welcome the DMS.
(04:21):
I'll tell you like hey, whenyou start reading a book, my dms
are open like the doors of thechurch are open.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
I'm here I love that.
Are you in it?
Look, I'm all off topic, butnow that you said that the doors
are open are you in these, likeare you in any reader groups?
Speaker 2 (04:39):
am I in reader groups ?
Uh-huh, not many.
I think I'm in about two readergroups because there was a
thing like oh, authors shouldn'tbe in reader spaces because
they can't talk freely, and Irespect that.
So I am in my book club groupBlack Women who Read Thriller,
(05:00):
horror and Suspense, my bookclub group Black Women who Read
Thriller, horror and Suspense,and I think maybe one other one
is Black Girls who Read or whoRead Too.
Black Girls who Read, I think.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
I think I may be in both of those, especially the
Thriller book club, and I see alot of author and reader
interaction.
So you say you have written 15books and so how many are
published right now?
Did you have to go in, did youre-release half of your catalog
or did you pull those?
Speaker 2 (05:35):
yes.
So I pulled about half of themand I re-released them under new
titles, which I would say fourare of the stories embodied are.
No.
Two of the stories embodied are, um re-released.
So the sweetest types of sin.
(05:56):
I rewrote that and put itembodied.
I condensed it to a short storyand a woman scorned um.
That was also a re-release thatI put in that collection
because I felt like it was.
It was very fitting.
It was very fitting for thething have you always written
(06:20):
thriller, suspense or is thislike your no no, um, when I
first, I well, I published myfirst book in 2018.
And I honestly can't even saywhat genre I wrote in, what
category I wrote in, because Icame into it with no knowledge
(06:44):
of the industry, with how itworked or anything like that,
with how it worked, or anythinglike that.
So at times I still feel likeI'm kind of finding my footing.
But about three years ago, Iwrote the Sin of Jasmine, which
is now re-released as the GreatMistake.
I wrote that intentionally as athriller, because that's what I
(07:06):
found myself more drawn to asfar as reading and writing,
because even though I'm anauthor, I'm still a very avid
reader too.
So I was like, okay, I thinkthis could work for me.
This would work better for me,especially considering the type
of stories that I wanted tostart writing Urban fiction,
(07:29):
urban romance.
They couldn't handle the typeof stories that I wanted to
write.
So I was like, okay, let mejust come over here and see
what's going on on the dark sideof fiction.
And they woke on me with openarms and I'm still here.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
That was going to be my question.
What drew you into thrillersuspense?
Speaker 2 (07:52):
In my real life.
I enjoy the thrill, I enjoy thesuspense.
I love a good surprise andthat's what I wanted to write
and that's what I like to read.
I love that not knowing, likethe not knowing feeling what's's
coming next, trying to guesswhat's next, whether I'm right
(08:13):
or I'm wrong.
That's what I love aboutthriller and suspense.
It's just the the thrill of itall, the action of it all, the
suspense of it all when I tellyou bodied, embodied yeah, I was
.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
I was gonna say I'm not gonna give away any spoilers
because I want people to beable to enjoy it like I did, but
when I tell you, but you saidit continued.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
There's a part, there's a part two there is a
part two um that tanisha stewartum wrote.
She wrote volume two, which shefinishes the last story in my
volume.
So she finishes the authorizeduser and then you get two more
stories in her book so did youhelp co-write any of those in
here?
Speaker 1 (09:05):
did y'all help co-write any in each book, or it
just?
Speaker 2 (09:08):
no.
Um.
So what happened funny storywith how that collaboration came
about.
Um, we were just in the groupchat and I think all of us was
just having a day, and so Idropped the cover of bodied in
there like hey guys, you know,hopefully this will make y'all
happy.
And tanisha was like I don'tknow what this is, but I need to
(09:31):
be part of it.
And that's how it came about.
And I I knew that I wanted itto.
I wanted the two books to tiein together somehow, and so we
came up with the idea for thelast story in my book for her to
pick it up in her book, so itkind of interconnects and it not
(09:52):
feels like two completelydifferent books that don't have
anything to do with each other.
I still wanted it to read as acollaborative series why am I so
scared to start body two?
Speaker 1 (10:07):
can you tell me, philly's on the cliffhanger, is
there going to be a body three?
Speaker 2 (10:11):
or is it no, I'm not really a series girl, so there's
not going to be a volume threeas of right now.
Um, but as I mentioned before,I am very impulsive, so then
again knows.
But there are no cliffhangersin volume two.
You will get very solid,well-rounded stories in there.
(10:34):
Tanisha is an amazing writer,so you're going to get what you
need from those books.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
She's on my list too.
I just read another one of herChristian books, so I can only
imagine I can't wait to diveinto part two and then I start
the con artist soon.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
But the con artist.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Okay, we gonna get into that when you get done who
that was told me I was gonnaneed a whole, like it's really
gonna.
If body was how it was, thenthe con artist was that you that
told me that then the conartist was really gonna I mean
(11:19):
I'll.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
I'll just say this I put a trigger warning in the con
artist.
I never do trigger warnings,and it's not because the book is
heavy or it's deep or anythinglike that, it's just like hey,
I'm letting y'all know.
Now, buckle up buttercup,because it's about to get real.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
It's crazy when a thriller author tells you to
buckle up.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
When writing your thrillers,what stereotypes do you like to
challenge or avoid in your work?
I like to avoid the stereotypeof especially women with careers
(12:06):
.
I've never written like ahousewife because that's not my
lifestyle and a lot of mystories I pull from personal
experience, so I don't like toperpetuate the stereotype of
housewives.
Anything dealing with how thehow society sees black people or
(12:33):
views black people, or whatthey think a black person's life
look like.
I challenge all of that, aswell as your morals, to be
honest, because people in mybooks be doing crazy stuff and
nine times out of ten you'llfind yourself rooting for them.
(12:54):
So it's like, oh, there's alittle moral ambiguity there, so
yeah, so I heard you say thatyou pull some of those.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
Did I hear you say you pull some of these stories
from like life, from real life?
Speaker 2 (13:13):
oh, yeah, all of them .
All of the stories that I writeare real.
Wait, um, they're just likewhat I like to call exaggerated
realities, like all of thesituations that the characters
go through.
They are are exaggerated forthe sake of fiction, but those
situations that they findthemselves in very much real
(13:38):
their feelings, some of theiractions.
Yeah, writing is therapy, man.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Are the characters that you write?
Are they, like, based on peoplethat you know, or their
personalities like based onpeople that you know, or did you
build them up yourself?
Like?
Speaker 2 (13:58):
absolutely.
If it's not me, it's umsomebody that I'm close to,
something that I witnessed, umjust by being around.
You know certain people,because it's easier for me to
pull from my experience than tojust completely make up
(14:19):
something.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
So, yeah, that makes me look.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Make of that as you will Make of that as you will
make of that as you will so.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
I'm really trying hard not to give anything away,
because there's just this onescene embodied where I was like
girl like you know somebody wholet let their son put the girl
was in the trunk of her car withsomebody else, like and and now
(15:00):
that you say you're pullingfrom experiences, I'm just like
oh listen, I am 30 somethingyears old.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
I have seen a lot, I have done a lot, so what you
read is a culmination of thoseexperiences.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
I would be honest, I don't know.
I'm side eyeing you, the factthat, even though we know that
they're exaggerated, but they'renot not gonna be able, not, not
a con artist.
Is this like experience too, or?
Speaker 2 (15:41):
some of it, um, some one of the characters, one of
the main characters, giselle.
A lot of what she dealt with, alot of her feelings, and that's
me in a fictional, fabricated,exaggerated manner.
(16:01):
But yeah, I mean, y'all sayy'all want relatable characters,
right?
So what's more relatable thanme writing about myself or me
writing about somebody that Iknow?
Speaker 1 (16:14):
it was crazy because literally every careful for real
like for no, for real, because,like every story was like dang
this kid.
Really, like you know how yousay, even though you said they
were exaggerated, they wasn'texaggerated to the point where
they couldn't be real life.
So, that's one thing I'velearned.
In Thriller, you know darkromance kind of takes it and it
(16:35):
goes left with the morally grayman.
But the thrillers I'm startingto see like this is really like
some first 48 type stuff.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
Yeah, I live for it though.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
I mean I don't live to live for it, though.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
I mean, I don't live to live for it, but I live to
write about it because I ain'ttrying to go through none of
that shit, no more so yeah jeez,like I've been doing enough so
we're gonna go and do a quickcommercial break and then we
will be right back.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
All right, hey, you guys we are back from commercial
break and, kira, I want to knowwhich book is your was your
favorite to write oh, that'seasy.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Um, my favorite book in my catalog to date is Love
and War.
It's a military thriller abouta naval officer who is wronged
and she suffers a verydevastating loss to someone
(17:48):
who's very close to her.
She suffers a very devastatingloss to someone who's very close
to her and the people aroundher, the people responsible,
they really they live to regretit.
And I say that's my favoritebook because as a vet, like as a
(18:11):
Navy veteran, because I didserve six years in the military,
it was so fun to like relivethose moments in those places
and to also get some things offof my chest.
Because that is another bookthat is full from personal
experience and it's very, verypersonal to me and I hold it
very close to my heart.
So Love and War hands down myfavorite book in my catalog.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
If this was adapted into like a movie or a series,
who could you see playing thelead characters?
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Who could I see playing the lead character?
That is a very good question,and I think I would like to see
Tika Sumter in that role,because I don't feel like I've
(19:00):
seen her in anything actionrelated yet, but I like her as
an actress and I think that shewould do good in that.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Now that you say that , I don't think even in Sonic
she's not really active.
I think it would be nice forher to have a military role,
especially in Navy.
I can see it.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Or that young lady from Woman King.
She played like she was inViola's tribe, I guess you can
call it.
I can't think of her name, butI think that she would do really
good too, because she killedthat role in that movie.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Which one?
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Is she the?
Speaker 1 (19:44):
one who actually is a ?
Um.
Have you seen the one with theblack samurai, where she's on
TikTok and YouTube and uminstagram?
Is that who you're talkingabout?
She practices like martial arts, she does like, she has like,
so I cannot think of her name.
I wouldn't be surprised.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
I wouldn't be surprised, um, if it is her, but
I'm not exactly sure who you'retalking about.
Now I'm gonna have to go lookher up.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
I'm gonna have to go look her up.
I was just gonna say I'm gonnahave to go re-watch the woman
king yeah, so yeah, dang, don'tlook, I don't have to.
I was gonna say don't make mego pull this cast up because
it's gonna eat away it's gonnaeat away at me.
I wanted to ask have you takenany writing classes or done any
workshops, writing workshops orany writing retreats?
Speaker 2 (20:32):
No, no writing classes other than the ones that
were required for my degree,which was.
I don't even know if it was awriting class, I just knew that
I had to write a bunch of papers.
No writing classes, noworkshops.
But I do a lot of studying andresearch on my own um by reading
(20:58):
like resource books, readingbooks in the genre that I write
in that type of thing, butnothing like official it's.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
I just you know, okay , um, how, like you, you didn't
take any classes or anything.
How did you know how to go,like, how to do start the
process for the publishing toget your work out there?
Speaker 2 (21:25):
I called myself doing research before I actually hit
publish on my very first book,and as soon as the book went
live, I realized that I hadn'tdone nearly enough.
Um, so everything that I'velearned, everything that people
(21:49):
get from my books, are basicallyme learning along the way.
Um, whether it's, like I said,me learning from research or
reading, um, I also have my pensisters and I read a lot of
what's online because I'mnaturally an inquisitive person,
(22:13):
so I'm always constantlylearning something, looking up
something, researching something, so it's no different with
publishing.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
So yeah, Did you have to edit your own books?
Did you make your own, likewhen you were first starting out
?
Did you edit?
Speaker 2 (22:30):
and edit all of your covers and you can tell like all
of them was given very much DIY.
And you can tell like all ofthem was given very much DIY
with the editing with the bookcovers, because I wasn't signed
to a publishing house.
Everything that I did came outof pocket and I was like editors
(22:52):
are expensive.
I mean, I could sit here andread the book and make sure the
commas in the right place andthe commas were not in the right
place, sure, the commas in theright place and the commas were
not in the right place, theperiods were not in the right
place, and that was that led tome, um, taking them down and
re-releasing them, becausereaders can tell you know the
(23:14):
amount of effort and investmentthat an author has made into
their book, based on the endproduct.
And as far as, like, theediting and cover design and
things like that, yeah, we cando it on our own, but if you are
not, if you have no expertisein the area, it's going to show.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
So how did you know, when you picked the right editor
and publisher, how did you knowthat that was the right person
or the right team to go with?
Speaker 2 (23:52):
It felt natural, it felt organic.
It didn't feel like atransaction or um, it wasn't
super stuffy like business allthe time.
Um, we were able to beourselves but, at the same time,
still be on the same page,focused on the same goal, and
(24:14):
get the work done.
It just felt right.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
It felt right.
Did you find them like ingroups, or how did you go about
looking for them or finding?
How was that process?
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Whenever I would see like a recommendation, I would
take it upon myself to go lookup that person's work, whether
you know it's a publisher, tosee what type of books they
publish, or if it's an editor,I'll read the book that they
edited and if it's somethingthat I like or was aligned with
(24:47):
what I wanted to do, then I mayreach out.
Or I may, you know, if I'm notwhere I need to be to pay for
the services, I'll keep thuggingit until I'm able to.
But right now my editor isTanisha Stewart and we have been
doing some good work together,some very good work together.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
I love working with her.
She's really good.
Black women who write with yourpen sisters, do everybody have
like a different roles or?
Speaker 2 (25:22):
um, I think I don't know if I would say that we all
have different roles, but wedefinitely know our strengths
and we play to our strengths,and whatever one lacks, we are
always there.
You know, stepping in,sometimes got them, even having
to ask.
So, um, that's how I woulddescribe them, like we, we don't
(25:45):
have roles, but we play to ourstrengths and we do them really
well.
So shout out to me your mom'sdime tony larue, um octavia
grant and tanisha stewart thoseare my parents.
Love them, love them.
Speaker 1 (25:59):
I actually talk with Toni really soon.
She said yes to be a guest.
I'm excited about that.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Oh, that's going to be good.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
Oh man, how did you all meet?
Speaker 2 (26:15):
You know the Lord works in mysterious ways um.
You know the lord works inmysterious ways um.
I read the asylum series writtenby tony and tanisha stewart
right and I hopped into nisha'sinbox, which is something that I
.
I didn't do that, but I hoppedin her inbox.
I was like, listen, I don'tknow what you got going on next.
(26:37):
But inbox, I was like, listen,I don't know what you got going
on next, but count me in.
And then she went and told themand then it's like, oh, you
write thriller, oh, no, youwrite suspense.
And then we're all five blackwomen just sitting here writing
in this space that nobody knowsabout.
And so tanisha created the, thegroup on facebook, and we just
(26:59):
grew from there I seen that listand the um black women who
write thrillers and suspense.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
I did not realize it was like that many black women
who like it was a whole pagelong yeah, nobody.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
And we get that a lot like when readers are looking
for recommendations.
They're like I like freedomMcFadden, but make it black.
And we're like girl.
We right here.
Like look no further.
We right here.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
I'm not going to say what I was going to say.
I'm going to say in between thelines today, you gotta stay.
I collapse that land sometimesit's just that, especially like
lately, everybody has been and Imade a video.
I was like everybody has beenfinding out that I'm reading and
(28:03):
since I've been talking aboutthrillers and stuff, more people
have been in my inbox like hey,have you read frida?
Hey, you need to read this.
How, you need to read this forfrida.
Speaker 2 (28:13):
And I'm just like don't get me wrong freaking know
what she's doing.
I like her stuff, but also it'sour turn, so we're here.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
We're here now out there, you know, and that's my
first thing I say like hey, doyou know these?
Have you read these?
And they're like no, I neverheard of them about two yes, so
what's next for you?
Speaker 2 (28:45):
what is next for me?
I am excited about two thingsin particular right now.
One, um, my new psychologicalnovella, orchid will be will be
releasing October 3rd.
It is about a botanical artistwith a savior complex who turns
(29:06):
vengeance into an art form.
The second thing that I amexcited about is the Black Book
Bash that's happening October3rd through the 5th in
Jacksonville, florida.
I will be there.
My other Florida I will bethere.
My other four pen sisters willbe there.
It'll be the first time thatBWW5 is in the same building and
(29:27):
we're all doing panels on thesame day.
So if you can make it, we wouldlove that.
You know, just come down andrepresent for the Thriller Girls
.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
I have been trying to rework my schedule so I can
have my face in the place.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
I sure hope you make it.
I would love to meet you inperson.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
Me too and then to be surrounded by so many
phenomenal women, or just to bein the building, like in the
atmosphere.
It's just something about beingthere.
You just have to be there.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
building like in the atmosphere is something about
being like you just have to bethere and the fact that it's
going to be like a familyreunion vibe and it's not um
this cold, impersonal event.
Like you can just come up, talkto your favorite author, get
your book signed and go dokaraoke, like I like the whole
(30:21):
programming and setup that caseyand her team is doing so I'm
very excited about that and Ireally hope you can make it is
this your first event thatyou're doing?
this will be my first event intwo years, like I haven't done
an event in two years.
My last event was in Atlantaand it was at the Atlanta
(30:43):
Kickback, but it was open to allgenres so it wasn't dedicated
solely to Thriller which BlackBook Bash isn't dedicated solely
to Thriller, but we are goingto have our own little corner of
the event, so I'm excited aboutthat there's still like a place
where, if you come looking, ifthis is what you're looking for,
(31:05):
it's a corner for it, it's aspace for it, just for it and I
am going to take up that spaceas much as I can, you know, and
everything that I bring, I'mgonna make sure it's extra
special for y'all, especiallythese book boxes so I'm excited
about these book boxes, me toothese book boxes were stressful,
(31:29):
but I had a lot of fun and, um,I'm confident that I did a good
job to to make it special foreverybody that's going to get
one.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
Did you create them yourself or did you have a
company?
Speaker 2 (31:43):
I did.
Speaker 1 (31:44):
You created them yourself.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
I did A lot of what I do, or a lot of what you see of
my work I do myself, aside fromediting, but I also have a lot
of support from my pen sisterstoo.
So, yeah, um, I got somefeedback from them about the
boxes and everything that goesinto it I'm excited I finally
(32:09):
went and checked my email andI've seen the design all the way
around I was like I'm not, Ican't.
It's been a while since I did abox, so I feel like if I was
(32:30):
gonna come back, I had to comeback right, and I had to come
back, um, with something toprove like, hey, I could do this
too now.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
You said it had been two years since your last book
dropped before you started backpublishing.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
No, it had been two years before my last book box.
So the last book box that Icurated was at the last book
event that I went to, which wastwo years ago, gotcha I'm so
excited, like um, I don't know,I've just been seeing so an
influx of um, indie blackauthors.
Speaker 1 (33:11):
and when I say I'm excited for it, like you guys
are really creating a space andshowing people who you know,
because I've talked to so manypeople and they're like I've
been holding on and doing thisand trying and writing this and
building this up for years andI'm finally able to put it out
there.
What advice would you have forsomeone who is maybe scared to
(33:33):
publish or is scared to puttheir work out there?
What?
Speaker 2 (33:39):
advice would you give to?
Speaker 1 (33:40):
Indy.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
As somebody who was that.
I just had to get out of my ownway and understand that it
wasn't going to get done if Ididn't do it, and the biggest
hindrance for me was otherpeople's opinions, other
(34:01):
people's perception of me.
But once I got around that andjust started doing things for me
, I was like, well, nothing canstop me now.
So for anybody who is anaspiring author, get out of your
own way.
Get out of your own way.
(34:34):
Do the research Network Connect.
Make genuine connections withthe people that offer services
that you need, people who haveaccolades or careers that you
aspire to.
To um, be resourceful.
That is my number.
One thing is to be resourcefuland to focus on the the quality
of your work versus the quantity, because it's very easy to get
wrapped up and the need to stayin people's space and to stay
relevant.
But I think it's more importantto produce quality work versus
(34:59):
volume, if that makes sense itdoes, it absolutely does and
believe in yourself that makesall the difference as long as
you believe in yourself.
there's nothing that nobody cantell you.
Because can't nobody outsideyour vision distract you from it
(35:25):
, or at least they shouldn'tdistract you from it?
Speaker 1 (35:28):
Are you preaching on this good Monday?
Speaker 2 (35:31):
Let the church say Amen, honey, I think when you
said get out your own way, youwas talking to me baby, I was
talking to the both of us wouldI say we really be our biggest
(35:54):
op sometimes yeah, because whilewe can be our biggest
cheerleader, we we are also ourtoughest critic, and
constructive criticism is agreat tool to, you know, sharpen
our talent but it is also verydiscouraged, discouraging, and
(36:15):
the person that's discouragingyou shouldn't be the person that
you're looking at in the mirror.
So, yeah, get out of your ownway.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
I feel like I need something more than this tea
that I'm sipping on.
Oh, thank you a little, lord.
Goodness, I feel like theyrequire, like a moment of
silence to soak that in we canfit in silence sometimes it be
(36:52):
the smallest things.
When you hear something, youknow you be looking for, these
big, profound aha moments andstuff and it just be in the
smallest.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
Sometimes it's all you need Just a little snack,
something to nibble on.
Speaker 1 (37:14):
Alright, that's it.
Let me see.
Speaker 2 (37:27):
Let us know where we can follow you and keep up with
your work.
I can be found on Facebook Kiraand James that's K-E-I-R-A and
James.
Instagram Threads and TikTokTheKiraNJames.
Follow me, I will follow youback.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
Do you have a?
Speaker 2 (37:45):
YouTube.
I do not have a YouTube.
I'm in my way.
Ain't that a contradiction?
I'm in my way.
I'm like being on camera reallyain't my thing, but I've been
pushing myself to get it out ofmy comfort zone a lot this year,
and my pencils just have aswell, but I ain't made it to
(38:07):
YouTube yet.
I'm going to do a couple ofmore of these and then maybe
I'll get on YouTube.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
And then yeah, cause you're going to need somewhere
to put this.
Speaker 2 (38:17):
I am.
I'll put this on my website oh.
I can.
If I'm allowed, I would love toput this on my website you most
definitely are, say less.
Speaker 1 (38:33):
You just added to my day say less honey, I thank you
for joining me today.
Speaker 2 (38:41):
You're welcome.
Speaker 1 (38:42):
And I'm not going to lie, I'm probably going to be
begging in your inbox soon as Isee the con artist.
Speaker 2 (38:49):
I'm waiting on it.
I'm waiting on it.
Speaker 1 (38:54):
I've never read a military.
Y'all be introducing me to somuch stuff.
A military thriller I've neverread a military Y'all be
introducing me to so much stuffA military thriller.
Yeah, welcome to the dark sideof fiction.
Really I feel like a poison,like the book.
When you said the book, look, Isaid I'm just thinking about
(39:18):
Orchid, like Like a black poison, ivy.
Speaker 2 (39:22):
I mean it's you know we're gonna get into it.
I'll be back for Orchid.
Can I come?
Speaker 1 (39:30):
back for Orchid, you surely can.
We're gonna have to have a parttwo and then we're gonna give
Trigger warning, content warning, spoiler alerts To only watch
this episode If you have readthe book.
Give trigger content warning,spoiler alerts to only watch
this episode if you have readthe book Because I want to go in
.
Okay, we can go in, we can goin, so it is settled.
(39:51):
Y'all heard that right, yes.
We all heard that she is comingback.
Sure am Goodness, thank y heardthat she is coming back.
Sure am Goodness.
Thank y'all again for tuning in.
Until the next time you guyshave the most amazing day.
Bye.
Hey y'all.
Hey, welcome back.
You are watching and listeningto Licks Between the Lines,
where I am your host.
Licks, for the most part, I tryto stay in between the lines,
but we all know that Ioccasionally cross them.
Today, I am so excited that wehave a special guest.
I've been trying to get her infor the longest and finally she
(00:23):
is here and I'm going to let herintroduce herself.
I want you to let us know whatyou're working on.
We want to know your bestsellers.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Hey y'all.
So I am Kira N James, but youcan call me Kira.
I'm an indie thriller authorstraight out of Danville,
georgia, a very small countrytown probably couldn't find it
on a map, but currently I amsitting at about 15 books, most
(00:55):
of which are not on Amazon, butthe ones that are, I'll say over
half of them have beenbestsellers, and right now my
current bestseller is the GraveMistake.
It is a domestic suspensethriller that I am very excited
about and cannot wait to getinto with the legs.
(01:18):
I'm excited to be on this show,so thank you so much for having
me.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
I thank you for accepting.
Now, wait a minute.
When did this one drop, youknow?
Speaker 2 (01:29):
the great mistake was an impulse release, which I
tend to do sometimes.
Sometimes I can get veryimpulsive.
It was not planned at all.
It is actually a re-release ofa previous title when I was
signed to my mentor's publishingcompany, literary Freedom
(01:49):
Publishing, and the originaltitle of the story was the Sin
of Jasmine.
And I say last week, I want tosay I re-released it as the
Grave Mist mistake, with a newtitle and a new cover, and I
have been getting dms ever since.
(02:10):
But I'm like you know what?
What can I say?
I wrote the story, so y'allcoming with the smoke, I'm gonna
have to take it because thosecharacters is crazy I wanted to
was this regarding like is thisthe post that you had?
Speaker 1 (02:23):
I've seen you post before saying that they were in
your DMs about the story.
Is this the one that they weretalking about?
Speaker 2 (02:29):
the one, the post that I think that you are
referring to, is for body,specifically for the story the
sweetest taste of sand, becausethat was really spicy, that was
on the spiciest side.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
I'm nosy as hell.
What did Miss just say?
I don't?
Speaker 2 (02:53):
know.
Okay, this is how y'all coming.
All right then, but all I cando is take it.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
I got a question about the re-release, so did you
have people inboxing you aboutwho read it before and did they
reread it?
Did they have like anycommentary on it?
Speaker 2 (03:15):
No, these were new readers who had just.
They only learned that it was are-release because it was a
note in the book.
So it wasn't the fact that itwas a re-release because it was
a note, um, in the book.
So it wasn't the fact that itwas a re-release that they were
messaging me about.
It was more so along the linesof girl, what does this
character got going on, or Iknow this did not happen.
(03:35):
You know those type of things.
I don't want to spoil it, butthey were, um, they were very
direct and assertive with thosequestions.
I'm like I'm trying to answerit the best that I can, but they
were coming in hot.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
They were coming in hot.
Goodness, do you always getmessages like that in the DM?
Speaker 2 (04:00):
I don't, this is new for me, but I welcome it because
I love engaging with readers, Ilove connecting with readers.
Um, I don't ever want it tofeel like, just because I'm an
author and they're the reader,that I'm untouchable, I'm
unreachable, like no, I'm verypersonable, um, and down to
earth.
So I welcome the DMS.
(04:21):
I'll tell you like hey, whenyou start reading a book, my dms
are open like the doors of thechurch are open.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
I'm here I love that.
Are you in it?
Look, I'm all off topic, butnow that you said that the doors
are open are you in these, likeare you in any reader groups?
Speaker 2 (04:39):
am I in reader groups ?
Uh-huh, not many.
I think I'm in about two readergroups because there was a
thing like oh, authors shouldn'tbe in reader spaces because
they can't talk freely, and Irespect that.
So I am in my book club groupBlack Women who Read Thriller,
(05:00):
horror and Suspense, my bookclub group Black Women who Read
Thriller, horror and Suspense,and I think maybe one other one
is Black Girls who Read or whoRead Too.
Black Girls who Read, I think.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
I think I may be in both of those, especially the
Thriller book club, and I see alot of author and reader
interaction.
So you say you have written 15books and so how many are
published right now?
Did you have to go in, did youre-release half of your catalog
or did you pull those?
Speaker 2 (05:35):
yes.
So I pulled about half of themand I re-released them under new
titles, which I would say fourare of the stories embodied are.
No.
Two of the stories embodied are, um re-released.
So the sweetest types of sin.
(05:56):
I rewrote that and put itembodied.
I condensed it to a short storyand a woman scorned um.
That was also a re-release thatI put in that collection
because I felt like it was.
It was very fitting.
It was very fitting for thething have you always written
(06:20):
thriller, suspense or is thislike your no no, um, when I
first, I well, I published myfirst book in 2018.
And I honestly can't even saywhat genre I wrote in, what
category I wrote in, because Icame into it with no knowledge
(06:44):
of the industry, with how itworked or anything like that,
with how it worked, or anythinglike that.
So at times I still feel likeI'm kind of finding my footing.
But about three years ago, Iwrote the Sin of Jasmine, which
is now re-released as the GreatMistake.
I wrote that intentionally as athriller, because that's what I
(07:06):
found myself more drawn to asfar as reading and writing,
because even though I'm anauthor, I'm still a very avid
reader too.
So I was like, okay, I thinkthis could work for me.
This would work better for me,especially considering the type
of stories that I wanted tostart writing Urban fiction,
(07:29):
urban romance.
They couldn't handle the typeof stories that I wanted to
write.
So I was like, okay, let mejust come over here and see
what's going on on the dark sideof fiction.
And they woke on me with openarms and I'm still here.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
That was going to be my question.
What drew you into thrillersuspense?
Speaker 2 (07:52):
In my real life.
I enjoy the thrill, I enjoy thesuspense.
I love a good surprise andthat's what I wanted to write
and that's what I like to read.
I love that not knowing, likethe not knowing feeling what's's
coming next, trying to guesswhat's next, whether I'm right
(08:13):
or I'm wrong.
That's what I love aboutthriller and suspense.
It's just the the thrill of itall, the action of it all, the
suspense of it all when I tellyou bodied, embodied yeah, I was
.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
I was gonna say I'm not gonna give away any spoilers
because I want people to beable to enjoy it like I did, but
when I tell you, but you saidit continued.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
There's a part, there's a part two there is a
part two um that tanisha stewartum wrote.
She wrote volume two, which shefinishes the last story in my
volume.
So she finishes the authorizeduser and then you get two more
stories in her book so did youhelp co-write any of those in
here?
Speaker 1 (09:05):
did y'all help co-write any in each book, or it
just?
Speaker 2 (09:08):
no.
Um.
So what happened funny storywith how that collaboration came
about.
Um, we were just in the groupchat and I think all of us was
just having a day, and so Idropped the cover of bodied in
there like hey guys, you know,hopefully this will make y'all
happy.
And tanisha was like I don'tknow what this is, but I need to
(09:31):
be part of it.
And that's how it came about.
And I I knew that I wanted itto.
I wanted the two books to tiein together somehow, and so we
came up with the idea for thelast story in my book for her to
pick it up in her book, so itkind of interconnects and it not
(09:52):
feels like two completelydifferent books that don't have
anything to do with each other.
I still wanted it to read as acollaborative series why am I so
scared to start body two?
Speaker 1 (10:07):
can you tell me, philly's on the cliffhanger, is
there going to be a body three?
Speaker 2 (10:11):
or is it no, I'm not really a series girl, so there's
not going to be a volume threeas of right now.
Um, but as I mentioned before,I am very impulsive, so then
again knows.
But there are no cliffhangersin volume two.
You will get very solid,well-rounded stories in there.
(10:34):
Tanisha is an amazing writer,so you're going to get what you
need from those books.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
She's on my list too.
I just read another one of herChristian books, so I can only
imagine I can't wait to diveinto part two and then I start
the con artist soon.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
But the con artist.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Okay, we gonna get into that when you get done who
that was told me I was gonnaneed a whole, like it's really
gonna.
If body was how it was, thenthe con artist was that you that
told me that then the conartist was really gonna I mean
(11:19):
I'll.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
I'll just say this I put a trigger warning in the con
artist.
I never do trigger warnings,and it's not because the book is
heavy or it's deep or anythinglike that, it's just like hey,
I'm letting y'all know.
Now, buckle up buttercup,because it's about to get real.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
It's crazy when a thriller author tells you to
buckle up.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
When writing your thrillers,what stereotypes do you like to
challenge or avoid in your work?
I like to avoid the stereotypeof especially women with careers
(12:06):
.
I've never written like ahousewife because that's not my
lifestyle and a lot of mystories I pull from personal
experience, so I don't like toperpetuate the stereotype of
housewives.
Anything dealing with how thehow society sees black people or
(12:33):
views black people, or whatthey think a black person's life
look like.
I challenge all of that, aswell as your morals, to be
honest, because people in mybooks be doing crazy stuff and
nine times out of ten you'llfind yourself rooting for them.
(12:54):
So it's like, oh, there's alittle moral ambiguity there, so
yeah, so I heard you say thatyou pull some of those.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
Did I hear you say you pull some of these stories
from like life, from real life?
Speaker 2 (13:13):
oh, yeah, all of them .
All of the stories that I writeare real.
Wait, um, they're just likewhat I like to call exaggerated
realities, like all of thesituations that the characters
go through.
They are are exaggerated forthe sake of fiction, but those
situations that they findthemselves in very much real
(13:38):
their feelings, some of theiractions.
Yeah, writing is therapy, man.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Are the characters that you write?
Are they, like, based on peoplethat you know, or their
personalities like based onpeople that you know, or did you
build them up yourself?
Like?
Speaker 2 (13:58):
absolutely.
If it's not me, it's umsomebody that I'm close to,
something that I witnessed, umjust by being around.
You know certain people,because it's easier for me to
pull from my experience than tojust completely make up
(14:19):
something.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
So, yeah, that makes me look.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Make of that as you will Make of that as you will
make of that as you will so.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
I'm really trying hard not to give anything away,
because there's just this onescene embodied where I was like
girl like you know somebody wholet let their son put the girl
was in the trunk of her car withsomebody else, like and and now
(15:00):
that you say you're pullingfrom experiences, I'm just like
oh listen, I am 30 somethingyears old.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
I have seen a lot, I have done a lot, so what you
read is a culmination of thoseexperiences.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
I would be honest, I don't know.
I'm side eyeing you, the factthat, even though we know that
they're exaggerated, but they'renot not gonna be able, not, not
a con artist.
Is this like experience too, or?
Speaker 2 (15:41):
some of it, um, some one of the characters, one of
the main characters, giselle.
A lot of what she dealt with, alot of her feelings, and that's
me in a fictional, fabricated,exaggerated manner.
(16:01):
But yeah, I mean, y'all sayy'all want relatable characters,
right?
So what's more relatable thanme writing about myself or me
writing about somebody that Iknow?
Speaker 1 (16:14):
it was crazy because literally every careful for real
like for no, for real, because,like every story was like dang
this kid.
Really, like you know how yousay, even though you said they
were exaggerated, they wasn'texaggerated to the point where
they couldn't be real life.
So, that's one thing I'velearned.
In Thriller, you know darkromance kind of takes it and it
(16:35):
goes left with the morally grayman.
But the thrillers I'm startingto see like this is really like
some first 48 type stuff.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
Yeah, I live for it though.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
I mean I don't live to live for it, though.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
I mean, I don't live to live for it, but I live to
write about it because I ain'ttrying to go through none of
that shit, no more so yeah jeez,like I've been doing enough so
we're gonna go and do a quickcommercial break and then we
will be right back.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
All right, hey, you guys we are back from commercial
break and, kira, I want to knowwhich book is your was your
favorite to write oh, that'seasy.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Um, my favorite book in my catalog to date is Love
and War.
It's a military thriller abouta naval officer who is wronged
and she suffers a verydevastating loss to someone
(17:48):
who's very close to her.
She suffers a very devastatingloss to someone who's very close
to her and the people aroundher, the people responsible,
they really they live to regretit.
And I say that's my favoritebook because as a vet, like as a
(18:11):
Navy veteran, because I didserve six years in the military,
it was so fun to like relivethose moments in those places
and to also get some things offof my chest.
Because that is another bookthat is full from personal
experience and it's very, verypersonal to me and I hold it
very close to my heart.
So Love and War hands down myfavorite book in my catalog.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
If this was adapted into like a movie or a series,
who could you see playing thelead characters?
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Who could I see playing the lead character?
That is a very good question,and I think I would like to see
Tika Sumter in that role,because I don't feel like I've
(19:00):
seen her in anything actionrelated yet, but I like her as
an actress and I think that shewould do good in that.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Now that you say that , I don't think even in Sonic
she's not really active.
I think it would be nice forher to have a military role,
especially in Navy.
I can see it.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Or that young lady from Woman King.
She played like she was inViola's tribe, I guess you can
call it.
I can't think of her name, butI think that she would do really
good too, because she killedthat role in that movie.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Which one?
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Is she the?
Speaker 1 (19:44):
one who actually is a ?
Um.
Have you seen the one with theblack samurai, where she's on
TikTok and YouTube and uminstagram?
Is that who you're talkingabout?
She practices like martial arts, she does like, she has like,
so I cannot think of her name.
I wouldn't be surprised.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
I wouldn't be surprised, um, if it is her, but
I'm not exactly sure who you'retalking about.
Now I'm gonna have to go lookher up.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
I'm gonna have to go look her up.
I was just gonna say I'm gonnahave to go re-watch the woman
king yeah, so yeah, dang, don'tlook, I don't have to.
I was gonna say don't make mego pull this cast up because
it's gonna eat away it's gonnaeat away at me.
I wanted to ask have you takenany writing classes or done any
workshops, writing workshops orany writing retreats?
Speaker 2 (20:32):
No, no writing classes other than the ones that
were required for my degree,which was.
I don't even know if it was awriting class, I just knew that
I had to write a bunch of papers.
No writing classes, noworkshops.
But I do a lot of studying andresearch on my own um by reading
(20:58):
like resource books, readingbooks in the genre that I write
in that type of thing, butnothing like official it's.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
I just you know, okay , um, how, like you, you didn't
take any classes or anything.
How did you know how to go,like, how to do start the
process for the publishing toget your work out there?
Speaker 2 (21:25):
I called myself doing research before I actually hit
publish on my very first book,and as soon as the book went
live, I realized that I hadn'tdone nearly enough.
Um, so everything that I'velearned, everything that people
(21:49):
get from my books, are basicallyme learning along the way.
Um, whether it's, like I said,me learning from research or
reading, um, I also have my pensisters and I read a lot of
what's online because I'mnaturally an inquisitive person,
(22:13):
so I'm always constantlylearning something, looking up
something, researching something, so it's no different with
publishing.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
So yeah, Did you have to edit your own books?
Did you make your own, likewhen you were first starting out
?
Did you edit?
Speaker 2 (22:30):
and edit all of your covers and you can tell like all
of them was given very much DIY.
And you can tell like all ofthem was given very much DIY
with the editing with the bookcovers, because I wasn't signed
to a publishing house.
Everything that I did came outof pocket and I was like editors
(22:52):
are expensive.
I mean, I could sit here andread the book and make sure the
commas in the right place andthe commas were not in the right
place, sure, the commas in theright place and the commas were
not in the right place, theperiods were not in the right
place, and that was that led tome, um, taking them down and
re-releasing them, becausereaders can tell you know the
(23:14):
amount of effort and investmentthat an author has made into
their book, based on the endproduct.
And as far as, like, theediting and cover design and
things like that, yeah, we cando it on our own, but if you are
not, if you have no expertisein the area, it's going to show.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
So how did you know, when you picked the right editor
and publisher, how did you knowthat that was the right person
or the right team to go with?
Speaker 2 (23:52):
It felt natural, it felt organic.
It didn't feel like atransaction or um, it wasn't
super stuffy like business allthe time.
Um, we were able to beourselves but, at the same time,
still be on the same page,focused on the same goal, and
(24:14):
get the work done.
It just felt right.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
It felt right.
Did you find them like ingroups, or how did you go about
looking for them or finding?
How was that process?
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Whenever I would see like a recommendation, I would
take it upon myself to go lookup that person's work, whether
you know it's a publisher, tosee what type of books they
publish, or if it's an editor,I'll read the book that they
edited and if it's somethingthat I like or was aligned with
(24:47):
what I wanted to do, then I mayreach out.
Or I may, you know, if I'm notwhere I need to be to pay for
the services, I'll keep thuggingit until I'm able to.
But right now my editor isTanisha Stewart and we have been
doing some good work together,some very good work together.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
I love working with her.
She's really good.
Black women who write with yourpen sisters, do everybody have
like a different roles or?
Speaker 2 (25:22):
um, I think I don't know if I would say that we all
have different roles, but wedefinitely know our strengths
and we play to our strengths,and whatever one lacks, we are
always there.
You know, stepping in,sometimes got them, even having
to ask.
So, um, that's how I woulddescribe them, like we, we don't
(25:45):
have roles, but we play to ourstrengths and we do them really
well.
So shout out to me your mom'sdime tony larue, um octavia
grant and tanisha stewart thoseare my parents.
Love them, love them.
Speaker 1 (25:59):
I actually talk with Toni really soon.
She said yes to be a guest.
I'm excited about that.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Oh, that's going to be good.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
Oh man, how did you all meet?
Speaker 2 (26:15):
You know the Lord works in mysterious ways um.
You know the lord works inmysterious ways um.
I read the asylum series writtenby tony and tanisha stewart
right and I hopped into nisha'sinbox, which is something that I
.
I didn't do that, but I hoppedin her inbox.
I was like, listen, I don'tknow what you got going on next.
(26:37):
But inbox, I was like, listen,I don't know what you got going
on next, but count me in.
And then she went and told themand then it's like, oh, you
write thriller, oh, no, youwrite suspense.
And then we're all five blackwomen just sitting here writing
in this space that nobody knowsabout.
And so tanisha created the, thegroup on facebook, and we just
(26:59):
grew from there I seen that listand the um black women who
write thrillers and suspense.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
I did not realize it was like that many black women
who like it was a whole pagelong yeah, nobody.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
And we get that a lot like when readers are looking
for recommendations.
They're like I like freedomMcFadden, but make it black.
And we're like girl.
We right here.
Like look no further.
We right here.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
I'm not going to say what I was going to say.
I'm going to say in between thelines today, you gotta stay.
I collapse that land sometimesit's just that, especially like
lately, everybody has been and Imade a video.
I was like everybody has beenfinding out that I'm reading and
(28:03):
since I've been talking aboutthrillers and stuff, more people
have been in my inbox like hey,have you read frida?
Hey, you need to read this.
How, you need to read this forfrida.
Speaker 2 (28:13):
And I'm just like don't get me wrong freaking know
what she's doing.
I like her stuff, but also it'sour turn, so we're here.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
We're here now out there, you know, and that's my
first thing I say like hey, doyou know these?
Have you read these?
And they're like no, I neverheard of them about two yes, so
what's next for you?
Speaker 2 (28:45):
what is next for me?
I am excited about two thingsin particular right now.
One, um, my new psychologicalnovella, orchid will be will be
releasing October 3rd.
It is about a botanical artistwith a savior complex who turns
(29:06):
vengeance into an art form.
The second thing that I amexcited about is the Black Book
Bash that's happening October3rd through the 5th in
Jacksonville, florida.
I will be there.
My other Florida I will bethere.
My other four pen sisters willbe there.
It'll be the first time thatBWW5 is in the same building and
(29:27):
we're all doing panels on thesame day.
So if you can make it, we wouldlove that.
You know, just come down andrepresent for the Thriller Girls
.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
I have been trying to rework my schedule so I can
have my face in the place.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
I sure hope you make it.
I would love to meet you inperson.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
Me too and then to be surrounded by so many
phenomenal women, or just to bein the building, like in the
atmosphere.
It's just something about beingthere.
You just have to be there.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
building like in the atmosphere is something about
being like you just have to bethere and the fact that it's
going to be like a familyreunion vibe and it's not um
this cold, impersonal event.
Like you can just come up, talkto your favorite author, get
your book signed and go dokaraoke, like I like the whole
(30:21):
programming and setup that caseyand her team is doing so I'm
very excited about that and Ireally hope you can make it is
this your first event thatyou're doing?
this will be my first event intwo years, like I haven't done
an event in two years.
My last event was in Atlantaand it was at the Atlanta
(30:43):
Kickback, but it was open to allgenres so it wasn't dedicated
solely to Thriller which BlackBook Bash isn't dedicated solely
to Thriller, but we are goingto have our own little corner of
the event, so I'm excited aboutthat there's still like a place
where, if you come looking, ifthis is what you're looking for,
(31:05):
it's a corner for it, it's aspace for it, just for it and I
am going to take up that spaceas much as I can, you know, and
everything that I bring, I'mgonna make sure it's extra
special for y'all, especiallythese book boxes so I'm excited
about these book boxes, me toothese book boxes were stressful,
(31:29):
but I had a lot of fun and, um,I'm confident that I did a good
job to to make it special foreverybody that's going to get
one.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
Did you create them yourself or did you have a
company?
Speaker 2 (31:43):
I did.
Speaker 1 (31:44):
You created them yourself.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
I did A lot of what I do, or a lot of what you see of
my work I do myself, aside fromediting, but I also have a lot
of support from my pen sisterstoo.
So, yeah, um, I got somefeedback from them about the
boxes and everything that goesinto it I'm excited I finally
(32:09):
went and checked my email andI've seen the design all the way
around I was like I'm not, Ican't.
It's been a while since I did abox, so I feel like if I was
(32:30):
gonna come back, I had to comeback right, and I had to come
back, um, with something toprove like, hey, I could do this
too now.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
You said it had been two years since your last book
dropped before you started backpublishing.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
No, it had been two years before my last book box.
So the last book box that Icurated was at the last book
event that I went to, which wastwo years ago, gotcha I'm so
excited, like um, I don't know,I've just been seeing so an
influx of um, indie blackauthors.
Speaker 1 (33:11):
and when I say I'm excited for it, like you guys
are really creating a space andshowing people who you know,
because I've talked to so manypeople and they're like I've
been holding on and doing thisand trying and writing this and
building this up for years andI'm finally able to put it out
there.
What advice would you have forsomeone who is maybe scared to
(33:33):
publish or is scared to puttheir work out there?
What?
Speaker 2 (33:39):
advice would you give to?
Speaker 1 (33:40):
Indy.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
As somebody who was that.
I just had to get out of my ownway and understand that it
wasn't going to get done if Ididn't do it, and the biggest
hindrance for me was otherpeople's opinions, other
(34:01):
people's perception of me.
But once I got around that andjust started doing things for me
, I was like, well, nothing canstop me now.
So for anybody who is anaspiring author, get out of your
own way.
Get out of your own way.
(34:34):
Do the research Network Connect.
Make genuine connections withthe people that offer services
that you need, people who haveaccolades or careers that you
aspire to.
To um, be resourceful.
That is my number.
One thing is to be resourcefuland to focus on the the quality
of your work versus the quantity, because it's very easy to get
wrapped up and the need to stayin people's space and to stay
relevant.
But I think it's more importantto produce quality work versus
(34:59):
volume, if that makes sense itdoes, it absolutely does and
believe in yourself that makesall the difference as long as
you believe in yourself.
there's nothing that nobody cantell you.
Because can't nobody outsideyour vision distract you from it
(35:25):
, or at least they shouldn'tdistract you from it?
Speaker 1 (35:28):
Are you preaching on this good Monday?
Speaker 2 (35:31):
Let the church say Amen, honey, I think when you
said get out your own way, youwas talking to me baby, I was
talking to the both of us wouldI say we really be our biggest
(35:54):
op sometimes yeah, because whilewe can be our biggest
cheerleader, we we are also ourtoughest critic, and
constructive criticism is agreat tool to, you know, sharpen
our talent but it is also verydiscouraged, discouraging, and
(36:15):
the person that's discouragingyou shouldn't be the person that
you're looking at in the mirror.
So, yeah, get out of your ownway.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
I feel like I need something more than this tea
that I'm sipping on.
Oh, thank you a little, lord.
Goodness, I feel like theyrequire, like a moment of
silence to soak that in we canfit in silence sometimes it be
(36:52):
the smallest things.
When you hear something, youknow you be looking for, these
big, profound aha moments andstuff and it just be in the
smallest.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
Sometimes it's all you need Just a little snack,
something to nibble on.
Speaker 1 (37:14):
Alright, that's it.
Let me see.
Speaker 2 (37:27):
Let us know where we can follow you and keep up with
your work.
I can be found on Facebook Kiraand James that's K-E-I-R-A and
James.
Instagram Threads and TikTokTheKiraNJames.
Follow me, I will follow youback.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
Do you have a?
Speaker 2 (37:45):
YouTube.
I do not have a YouTube.
I'm in my way.
Ain't that a contradiction?
I'm in my way.
I'm like being on camera reallyain't my thing, but I've been
pushing myself to get it out ofmy comfort zone a lot this year,
and my pencils just have aswell, but I ain't made it to
(38:07):
YouTube yet.
I'm going to do a couple ofmore of these and then maybe
I'll get on YouTube.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
And then yeah, cause you're going to need somewhere
to put this.
Speaker 2 (38:17):
I am.
I'll put this on my website oh.
I can.
If I'm allowed, I would love toput this on my website you most
definitely are, say less.
Speaker 1 (38:33):
You just added to my day say less honey, I thank you
for joining me today.
Speaker 2 (38:41):
You're welcome.
Speaker 1 (38:42):
And I'm not going to lie, I'm probably going to be
begging in your inbox soon as Isee the con artist.
Speaker 2 (38:49):
I'm waiting on it.
I'm waiting on it.
Speaker 1 (38:54):
I've never read a military.
Y'all be introducing me to somuch stuff.
A military thriller I've neverread a military Y'all be
introducing me to so much stuffA military thriller.
Yeah, welcome to the dark sideof fiction.
Really I feel like a poison,like the book.
When you said the book, look, Isaid I'm just thinking about
(39:18):
Orchid, like Like a black poison, ivy.
Speaker 2 (39:22):
I mean it's you know we're gonna get into it.
I'll be back for Orchid.
Can I come?
Speaker 1 (39:30):
back for Orchid, you surely can.
We're gonna have to have a parttwo and then we're gonna give
Trigger warning, content warning, spoiler alerts To only watch
this episode If you have readthe book.
Give trigger content warning,spoiler alerts to only watch
this episode if you have readthe book Because I want to go in
.
Okay, we can go in, we can goin, so it is settled.
(39:51):
Y'all heard that right, yes.
We all heard that she is comingback.
Sure am Goodness, thank y heardthat she is coming back.
Sure am Goodness.
Thank y'all again for tuning in.
Until the next time you guyshave the most amazing day.
Bye.
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