Author Interview- Kasie West

1) How did the idea for The Distance Between Us come to you?

Funny story. I've been taking my daughter to guitar lessons once a week for the last couple years to this fun little music shop in the small downtown area of our city. Cute, eclectic, farmer's-markets-in-the-summer, antique-shops-on-every-corner type section of town. Her lessons are only half an hour and not worth driving all the way home. So I sit in my car reading or tweeting or whatever. And right next door to the music shop is a porcelain doll shop called Dolls, Bears, and More. And as I've stared into the window of this shop (and gone in a few times) for the last couple years I thought to myself, that would be the best setting for a YA novel. A girl who works in a porcelain doll shop. At first I thought it would make a good creepy novel, but instead it turned into more of a funny/quirky novel and I'm glad it did because it was so much fun to write.


2) Your first two books are coming out in the same year, just a few months apart. How crazy is that, and how did it end up happening?

It is crazy. And fun. It wasn't on purpose. In fact, The Distance Between Us was slated for late fall originally but it felt more like a summer read. Mainly it happened because I have a rock star agent and a very supportive editor. I finished DBU and my agent loved it and said, we should try to sell this now and see what happens. My editor loved it and said, we should put this out between Pivot Point 1 and 2. And I, kind of dumbstruck, said, uh......okay??


3) Going back to both books, they're so very different from each other. Pivot Point is darker and has more of a supernatural twist to it whereas The Distance Between Us is funny and contemporary. You must feel comfortable writing both genres; is this something you'll continue in the future- a back and forth between light and dark?

I do love both genres. And for now, yes, I will continue going back and forth. Not necessarily between light and dark but between supernatural/paranormal and contemporary. After the sequel to Pivot Point comes out, I have another contemporary ready for the summer of 2014 with HarperTeen.


4) In your bio, aside from your (very cute) husband, you also have two boyfriends: Adam Levine and Hugh Jackman. Tell us how the two boyfriends came into your life and how you make this polyamorous relationship work.

I agree, my husband is very cute. As for the others, Hugh has been in my life for as long as I can remember, but became my official boyfriend when he played Wolverine in the original X-Men. Loved. Then my husband (who supports my Hugh-love and can appreciate a good-looking man) took me to Hugh's one-man show when we went to New York. I got like seventh row seats. It was awesome. He's very charming. Adam Levine is a more recent addition. I've always liked his music. But again, my husband bought me tickets to his concert several years ago and he is seriously one of the most charismatic performers ever. We made eye contact and there was no going back after that. The relationships aren't too hard to maintain. It's a I-send-them-occasional-creepy-love-tweets-and-they-ignore-me kind of relationship. It works well for all of us.


5) What are you currently working on? Can you tell us anything about it?

:) I am currently working on something not even my agent has seen and I love it so much. It's more in the supernatural/paranormal vein. It involves solving a mystery and cute boys (of course) and....that's all I can say. Hopefully you'll be hearing all about it soon.


6) I ask this question of every author: What is your favorite Jelly Belly jelly bean flavor(s)? Or, if you don't like those, favorite snack while writing or as a reward for writing?

Are you kidding? I love Jelly Bellys. I like watermelon the best probably. But I like a lot of the fruity ones. Not such a fan of like the buttered popcorn flavor or the coffee flavor. I don't treat myself to those a lot though. I'm more of a chocolate girl.


7) What book(s) are you currently reading, or are about to start?

My TBR pile is so big right now. When I'm writing I don't read as much as I usually do. But let's see, I just finished Transparent by Natalie Whipple. Loved it. Before that I read How My Summer Went Up In Flames. It was adorable. And Game.Set.Match. Also very good. Of course, by the time this interview goes up on your blog, I'll probably be in the middle of a completely different book. Because I love books. I love to read.