Author Interview: KRISTY FAIRLAMB

I'm kicking off the new week with a very special author interview today. A lovely friend of mine whose books I ADORE, is celebrating the birth of her second book and I'm honoured to be a part of that! 

Check it out... 

Kristy Fairlamb is an Australian author Young Adult novels with high stakes and heart. She spends her days drinking coffee and torturing her characters with loads of tension – both love related and the nail biting kind.

She lives with her husband, teenage daughter, two sons, and cat, Loki, in the beautiful Adelaide Hills. She’s terrible at gardening, likes her bookshelves sorted by colour, and recently checked off a lifelong dream of jumping from a plane.

When she’s not writing or daydreaming about her stories you’ll find her reading, cooking for her family, or doing anything to avoid the housework.
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Follow Kristy here! 

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​A Heartbreaking Choice. A Chilling Consequence.
Lucy Piper used her dreams to irreversibly change the life of someone she loved. Now she’s alone, wading through a life she can no longer remember.

As she bears the full weight of her decision, she discovers her actions have had far-reaching consequences beyond anything she could’ve imagined.

Afraid of an uncertain future, Lucy must work to repair everything she’s destroyed. But there’s something else she must mend, the infinite chasm between her and the one person who always made everything right – Tyler. But what if it’s too late? And what if fixing things only does more damage?
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With sacrifice and love at its core, and laced throughout with an unsettling fear, Luminous is the heart-stopping conclusion to the Lucid series.

Grab your copy here!

Add to Goodreads here! 
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The Interview... 

Who are you and what do you write?

I’m an Australian author and mum. I write young adult fiction. I’ve just released my latest novel, Luminous, which is the sequel and conclusion to my supernatural thriller/romance series, which began with Lucid.

The series is about 16-year-old Lucy, who’s cursed with the ability to relive real life tragic events through her nightmares. In Lucid she meets Tyler, the new boy at her school, who she recognises from one of her dreams, and learns the true power of her ability. In Luminous, Lucy has to deal with the impact of the life-altering decision she had to make in book one. It’s a little scary and a little bit heart-stopping, there’s a supernatural element to it, and some romance too.


Where and when and how did the writing life begin for you?

I was 34. I’d just quit my work with Thermomix. I was a group leader; training, mentoring, reporting for a team, and sharing my love of food and the Thermomix in people’s homes. It had become a full-time job and I got to the point where I questioned if it was really what I wanted for my life. My husband and I made the decision that even if we had to live with less money, it might be worth more to only have one of us stressing about work. I could focus on the house, our three school-aged children, and try to find balance in our home life again.

I love being a mum, but I was suddenly faced with a future where that was all I had, and whilst being a mum is more than enough, it did give me time to question what I truly wanted from my life. I sat down and tried something I’d often wondered about. I began to write my first novel.


How has the journey to this point been? Can you give us a basic rundown?

It’s been bumpy, but also wonderful. If someone told me 5 years ago while I was writing my novel, that it would get published and I’d be where I am now, I wouldn’t have believed them.
My basic, but longwinded rundown, is that I finished writing LUCID in early 2016 and reworked and edited it until I began pitching to agents and publishers in October 2016.

In November of the same year I began writing the sequel, Luminous, and finished it in May 2017, while continuing to pitch Lucid.

In September 2017 I decided to self-publish my book, so I went on the hunt for an editor. The person I chose as the best for me and my book couldn’t fit me in until the following March, but I wanted her so badly that I booked her in and wrote another novel while I waited.

In April 2018 my editor asked me if I’d like to publish my books with her small publishing company. Um, yes please.

Lucid was released in April 2019.

In October 2019 I received an email from my publisher informing me that they were closing down, but were still prepared & happy to release my book until doors permanently closed. They also gave me the option to withdraw my contract.

I chose to stay, but in January 2020 I made the decision to go it alone.

Luminous was released in May 2020.   
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What's been the hardest part of your writing/publishing experience so far? And the most enjoyable?

Probably the moment I received that email. I’d just finished big structural edits for Luminous, and things were gearing up for release in 2020, and in a way, that was suddenly taken away. Even though in truth nothing had, it did feel like the rug had been pulled out from my feet.
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The most enjoyable part has been polishing my words until it turned into book form and finding out people enjoyed those words. That was all I ever hoped from writing stories and it was happening, and it felt pretty damn great.


Would you go back and change anything?

No, not a thing. I fully believe everything has happened exactly as it was meant to. I was never meant to get a publisher in the early days. Looking back, I know the books weren’t ready, and I certainly wasn’t. I was meant to choose that editor, even if I would end up parting ways with the publisher. Because that road taught me more than I ever could have learnt from any other way. Nope no regrets.


Where would you like to be in 5 years time? And 10? Or, what are your plans for the future?

I’d like to keep writing books that people can enjoy. So far so good. I really hope I’ve got at least a couple more books out in the world in 5 years time. I guess we’ll see. I’ll keep tapping away at the keyboard regardless.


What's one piece of advice you'd give to new writers just starting out?

Keep writing. Push ahead. Don’t stop on the one manuscript that you fail to write more stories. And put yourself out there, get involved in the writing community. It feels a little less lonely that way.


And for fun...

Ketchup or Mayo? - Am I allowed to say both? Ketchup for fries, mayo for just about everything else, but if you can make it garlic aioli, even better.
Night or Day? - Night I think. Everything’s so much calmer at night.
Inside or Outside? - Definitely inside
Dogs or Cats? - Cats. We have a very mischievous one. He likes to play a lot, sometimes I think he wants to be a dog.
Twitter or Facebook? - Facebook
e-book or Paperback? - Both. I’m usually reading one of each at a time.
Sun or Rain? - Sun
Keyboard or Pencil & Notebook? - Keyboard
Comedy or Drama? - Drama
Chips or Chocolate? - That’s an awful question. Chocolate. Great, now I want some chocolate.