Author Interview and Giveaway

To win a free Kindle copy of Kat’s novella, Vengeance is Mine, leave a comment on this post with your email address! A winner will be selected randomly from the comments on May 22nd after 3 PM.

Meet Kat Yares!

Kat Yares has been writing fiction her entire adult life. She is an indie author, screenwriter and filmmaker. Her short fiction has appeared in numerous print publications and online. Currently she, along with her husband Kevin, is editing several short film adaptations of her stories for submissions into various film festivals around the country.

Her fiction is primarily in the horror/thriller genres. Unlike many, she writes horror not to gross out or startle her readers, but to make them think. Most of her stories are mind games and deal with mans (or woman’s) inhumanity to man (or woman).

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Hello! What’s your name?

Hi, thanks for having me. My name is Kat Yares.

What do you write and why?

I’m all over in my writing as far as format goes – I ‘ve written short stories, novellas, novels and screenplays. My better half and I have also made short movies out of several of my short stories. When I was much, much younger I wrote a bit of poetry.

My favorite genre is horror, with historical, fantasy and thrillers close behind.

Do you read the same genre that you write? Why or why not?

Mostly. I write what could be called psychological horror, but I’ll read most anything horror. Except sparkly vampires. I also read a lot about the Great Depression and one story slated to write will be a coming of age story set with the backdrop of those times. Really, in all honesty, I’ll read almost anything if a) the subject grabs my attention or b) I’m bored – then I’d even read a medical journal.

What is the title you are promoting right now?

Vengeance Is Mine

What is it about?

Vengeance is the story of Macie Jones, a young woman unfortunate enough to have been born inside a religious cult with no way out other than death. Her husband happily gives her that opportunity as he leaves her battered and beaten body outside during an ice storm.

Rescued by a hermit that lives above the small village, Macie enters the dreamtime – the world half way between life and death. In this world, she serves as a conduit for the other women and children who have died before her to administer their own version of vengeance upon the men in the village, particularly Brother Joseph Jones their leader and advocator of brutality.

What makes this book different from others in your genre?

I don’t know how different it is, but I would consider it more a psychological horror than a supernatural one, although it contains both elements. I also consider it a social commentary on how religion carried to an extreme cannot be good for anyone involved.

What’s the story behind the story?

I’ve always been fascinated (in a macabre way) with cults. Jim Jones and the Guyana tragedy, Waco, and others played into this story. How far would you go and what would you lose to go there in the name of religion.

What is your goal as an author?

To always write something that is not only entertaining on some level, but to also make the reader think. Many things that you believe are not real are the reality of some.

Are you working on anything new? Give us a preview of what’s to come!

I’m currently working on a book called The Descendants. It will be released in two parts. Part one is titled Beneath the Tor. It is a cross genre, fantasy, alternative history, thriller. Think Mists of Avalon meets The Da Vinci Code.

Part two is titled The XIII. Skip 2000 years into the future from the end of Beneath the Tor and discover a thriller that is my interpretation of the mythical Illuminati.

I hope to have Beneath the Tor out by the middle of June and The XIII ready to go by the end of July.

Oh, and I do try to release a short story for Kindle every two to three weeks.

Who is your favorite author and what is your favorite book?

This is a tough one. Favorite book is easy, The Grapes of Wrath is a book I reread almost yearly. As for authors, love Hemingway, Steinbeck, Michael McDowell, Robert McCammon and of course, Stephen King.

Where can readers find you and your work?

Both Kats Tales and Vengeance Is Mine are available in print or eBook form.

What’s your view on the self-publishing/traditional publishing thing? Ideally, which one would you prefer and why?

I’ve had short stories published in traditional print and online magazines. It’s a great feeling, for sure that someone likes your work enough to fill their pages with it. But, I’ve always known that there was not a publisher that would accept my longer works. Vengeance is a novella – so too short for mainstream publishers. So I self-published it now that the opportunity is there. The Descendants will be self-published also as I see no reason to try and battle the gate keepers for less profit.

Do you have a favorite quote?

“Where mediocrity is allowed, competence sinks in the mire.” Or something like that – I had that hanging over my desk for years, because I was surrounded with people who believed that ‘good was good enough’.

What is the most important advice you have for aspiring authors?

If you want to write, write. Don’t wait for permission and don’t wait for the right time. Grab a pen and paper and write anywhere and everywhere you can steal a free minute. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will your short story or novel, but unless you put pen to paper it will never happen. So, go for it – get that story out of your head and onto paper or a computer screen.

Do the best you can, study the books if needed for proper grammar and style. Once you have the story, find someone who believes in it and get it out there for the rest of the world. And if you’re the only one who believes, then do it yourself and let the readers decide.

Is there anything else you’d like to say before we finish up?

Just that I appreciate this opportunity to share with your readers. And that I hope that even if my books do not interest them that they will continue to look for Indie authors and support them.

Awesome, thanks for allowing me to interview you!

Please take a moment to visit Kat at the links below!

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