KDCampbell #PitchWars #BoostMyBio

Hi everyone, welcome to my new and shiny website/blog. Don’t mind its simplicity…it is a work in progress! So shout out to #PitchWars for motivating me to finally build an author website.

Now, you are probably here to hear about me and my book. Without further ado I introduce to you my MS…

A CAP STAINED WITH BLOOD

YA Portal Fantasy

Sometimes when I danced, I felt alive

COMPS: inspired by ALICE IN WONDERLAND & will appeal to fans enchanted by the worlds of Holly Black’s THE CRUEL PRINCE and Sarah J. Maas’s A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES.

A young party girl accidentally wanders into a dark forest on the way home from a night out. She is stolen away to Faerie, where she is forced to dance nearly to her death, run as a prize in the deadly Wild Hunt, and is claimed as the new wife of a blood-thirsty Redcap. But as she tries desperately to find her way home, she discovers that the magical world of Faerie might be connected to her in more ways than one.

I could feel my body growing tired, but still, I danced.

My protagonist, Layla, is a young woman spiraling out of control:

What I had heard others say–what my own mother and father whispered when they thought I wasn’t listening.
Reckless. Out of control.

The story takes place in the magical world of Faerie. It is filled with various different creatures inspired by lore and my own imagination:

As I gasped in rapid breaths, the scent of the forest hit me. It was sweet, the smell of tree sap and blooming flowers, but underneath it was the strong scent of decay from the dead leaves that gathered on the ground. It surrounded me, pushing me faster. It reminded me why I had to run. Why I had to fight this until the last minute.

There’s a Redcap who might have more to him than there appears:

He stood motionless, partially grasped by the shadows. His hat sat bloody on his head, fresh trails of gore running down his temples. His hair was wet, curling around his finely pointed ears. A spark ran through me, trails of flames running through my veins and urging my limbs to move.

There also is some romance:

And villains you can’t forget:

It is the little faerie book of my heart, and whether I am picked for #PitchWars or not, I hope to one day share it with the world.

Now that you have been properly introduced to my book, here’s a little about the writer

About Me:

Though I have been writing nearly everyday for a few years now, I consider myself fairly new. It all started back during my Harry Potter obsessed days as a teenager, where I consumed high amounts of fanfic, and even attempted to write some of my own Dramione and even some Tomione fics (dig deep enough, and you might find them). Currently, I work as a retail supervisor by day, and escape to the magical worlds I have created by night, filling every spare second of my hectic schedule with either reading or writing. While I am editing A CAP STAINED WITH BLOOD for #PitchWars, I am also drafting another SFF space opera that follows a crew of space pirates. I have two family dogs, a Basset named Kenzie and a German Short-haired Pointer named Deeks that I love with all my heart. I live with my real-life book-boyfriend who is a musician and illustrator. I love cheese, rainy days, and a good night relaxing and watching anime. I live in Vancouver, Canada.

My writing process:

Honestly? I break some rules. I’ll often spend time building my world (I like to draw very terrible maps) researching mythology, filling my Scrivener doc with visual images along with backstory and other details. Then I start littering in characters, shaping my protagonists and antagonists, researching and gathering information that is relevant. Once I figure out the characters, then I write out an outline for the plot–sometimes this is in bullet form, other times it is a 1k word summary. With A CAP STAINED WITH BLOOD, I would plot out detailed chapter descriptions only about five chapters ahead, so that I can let the characters lead me through the story, but I don’t sit down with no idea what to write next. I guess I am what you would call a plantser.

I also find editing while writing an important part of my process… I often post on Wattpad while drafting, and there is no way in hell I would post my draft raw for anyone to see. LOL. I find it helps me pinpoint issues in the story while writing, and keeps me on the right track.

What I am looking for in a mentor:

Someone who loves faerie books, fantasy, and tropes like hate-to-love, and enemies-to-lovers. On top of that I want someone supportive, yet willing to guide me along the right path so that my book can really shine. Maybe that will require extensive rewrites–maybe it won’t. Either way, someone who gets my characters and vision and can help me weed out my strengths and weaknesses is the ideal mentor.

What I plan to bring to the table as a mentee:

I am hardworking. Writing is my passion. I am willing to put in the work to make my dreams come true, and even if some feedback is hard to swallow. Through #PitchWars I am hoping to grow even more as a writer and take skills that will help me in my career. Also, I love gifs, fangirling, and will hopefully be a mentee my potential mentor can connect with.

Now, books I LOVE right now:

This should be no surprise… THE CRUEL PRINCE by Holly Black. If anyone knows anyone that can hook me up with an ARC of THE WICKED KING I will love you eternally.

Right now I am reading FURYBORN by Claire Legrand and I AM IN LOVE.

Other recent loves:

CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE by Tomi Adeyemi

THE YOUNG ELITES by Marie Lu

A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES + A COURT OF MIST AND FURY by Sarah J Maas (not up to date on the series)

HONOR AMONG THIEVES by Ann Aguirre and Rachel Caine

EVERLESS by Sara Holland

ASH PRINCESS by Laura Sebastian

THE BELLES by Dhonielle Clayton

DAUGHTER OF THE PIRATE KING by Tricia Levenseller

SKY IN THE DEEP by Adrienne Young

And DEFY THE STARS + DEFY THE WORLDS by Claudia Gray

Books I can’t WAIT for:

WE HUNT THE FLAME by Hafsah Faizal

A SPARK OF WHITE FIRE by Sangu Mandanna

WICKED SAINTS by Emily A. Duncan

WILDCARD by Marie Lu

SERPENT & DOVE by Shelby Mahurin

ALL THE STARS AND TEETH by Adalyn Grace

KING OF SCARS Leigh Bardugo

(I have linked all these to their respected Goodreads pages, feel free to peruse and add them to your TBRs)

Up next on the TBR?

Audiobook: FOREST OF A THOUSAND LANTERNS by Julie C. Dao

Hardcopy: THE CITY OF BRASS by S.A. Chakraborty

Movies I love:

Chicago

Grease

Ready Player One

Avengers: Infinity War

The Hunger Games

Beauty and the Beast

Tangled

Brave

Girl Interrupted

Memoires of a Geisha

All the Harry Potter movies but especially Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire

Mulan

Aladdin

Edward Scissorhands

A Nightmare Before Christmas

Pirates of the Caribbean

Movies I am looking forward to:

Captain Marvel

The Darkest Minds

Anime I enjoy:

Naruto

Bleach

Fruits Basket

Attack on Titan

Cardcaptor Sakura

Sailor Moon

Yona of the Dawn

Honestly I need more anime so feel free to recommend 🙂

ALRIGHT, that’s all folks! Feel free to hit me up on Twitter @KatieCWrites under the tags #PitchWars, #PWPoePrompts, #ThursdayAesthetic, and now #BoostMyBio, or follow me on Wattpad @KDCampbell.

Thanks for checking out my Bio! Good luck to everyone participating/thinking of participating in PitchWars 2018!