Kady Cross is a pseudonym for USA Today best selling author Katheryn Smith. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and a pride of cats. She likes singing with Rock Band on the 360, British Guys, Vietnamese food, and makeup (She’s hopelessly addicted to YouTube makeup tutorials!). When she’s not writing, Kady likes to catch up on her favorite TV shows, read a good book, or make her own cosmetics.
The Steampunk Chronicles:
The Girl in the Steel Corset – 2011
The Girl in the Clockwork Collar– May 2012
A Midsummer Night’s Read (MSNR): Hello, Kady! I want to welcome you to A Midsummer Night’s Read, and thank you for giving us the honor of interviewing you for our readers! Congratulations on the upcoming release of your second Young Adult novel, The Girl in the Clockwork Collar.
Kady Cross (KC): Thank you! And thanks for wanting to talk to me!
Kady Cross (KC): Thank you! And thanks for wanting to talk to me!
MSNR: Now, you are already an extremely successful author of fiction novels. What made you decide to write a series for Young Adults?
KC: In 2001 I wrote a YA romance called Anna and the Duke. It was followed up by Emily and the Scot. I had so much fun writing these books that I knew I wanted to do more YA books. However, it was 2009 before editor Krista Stroever (she’s responsible for me becoming published in the first place) approached me about writing for Harlequin Teen. I jumped at the chance.
KC: In 2001 I wrote a YA romance called Anna and the Duke. It was followed up by Emily and the Scot. I had so much fun writing these books that I knew I wanted to do more YA books. However, it was 2009 before editor Krista Stroever (she’s responsible for me becoming published in the first place) approached me about writing for Harlequin Teen. I jumped at the chance.
MSNR: Can you tell our readers a little bit about the inspiration for the Steampunk Chronicles?
KC: I love the Victorian era. I also love fantasy and science fiction. When Krista and I spoke it was just before Steampunk started to become popular again. I told her I had this idea for teen X-Men meets League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. She was the one who called it Steampunk. It just seemed natural to combine two of my favorite things – fantasy and history.
KC: I love the Victorian era. I also love fantasy and science fiction. When Krista and I spoke it was just before Steampunk started to become popular again. I told her I had this idea for teen X-Men meets League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. She was the one who called it Steampunk. It just seemed natural to combine two of my favorite things – fantasy and history.
MSNR: Clearly the story of Jekyll and Hyde was a huge influence on the creation of Finley as a character. Will there be any more references to the original novel in The Girl in the Clockwork Collar?
KC: Not really. Maybe a couple? Finley’s moving forward, becoming more and more of a union of her two halves. It’s a bit of conflict between Griffin and her, because the *real* her is neither completely good or completely bad. Griffin is such a powerful character – more powerful than he may never know – that he has to have a strong partner. Likewise Finley is such a strong character, she needs someone who can match her as well, support her and sometimes challenge her. But there will be more literary references in the books, I’m sure. I hope!
KC: Not really. Maybe a couple? Finley’s moving forward, becoming more and more of a union of her two halves. It’s a bit of conflict between Griffin and her, because the *real* her is neither completely good or completely bad. Griffin is such a powerful character – more powerful than he may never know – that he has to have a strong partner. Likewise Finley is such a strong character, she needs someone who can match her as well, support her and sometimes challenge her. But there will be more literary references in the books, I’m sure. I hope!
MSNR: John Gardner specifies in The Art of Fiction that the most important task for an author is to make the story world believable for the reader. How do you blend reality and fantasy together in this series? Are you careful to remain within the confines of history as we know it?
KC: I try to hang on to a bit of reality in the books to ‘ground’ them. But I think the believability comes from the characters. You have to relate to them on some level. Finley might be able to kick serious butt, but she is still a teen age girl. I hope a lot of readers will see a bit of themselves in her or Emily – or in Sam, Jasper, Griffin or even Jack! As for remaining in the confines of history, I will if it suits the story, but I have no problem jumping out of it. It’s funny, because some people have very strict ideas of how things should be. I had readers get upset that Finley or Emily wore pants, but they had no trouble with sentient automatons!
KC: I try to hang on to a bit of reality in the books to ‘ground’ them. But I think the believability comes from the characters. You have to relate to them on some level. Finley might be able to kick serious butt, but she is still a teen age girl. I hope a lot of readers will see a bit of themselves in her or Emily – or in Sam, Jasper, Griffin or even Jack! As for remaining in the confines of history, I will if it suits the story, but I have no problem jumping out of it. It’s funny, because some people have very strict ideas of how things should be. I had readers get upset that Finley or Emily wore pants, but they had no trouble with sentient automatons!
MSNR: There is an interesting Wickham/Darcy dynamic between Jack Dandy and Griffin. Did you play on the Victorian use of foils when constructing your characters?
KC: Not really. I just knew that Jack had to appeal to part of her, and so did Griffin. Both of them will play a part in Finley figuring out who she really is. One is destined to be her best friend and the other is going to have her heart. On the surface Jack seems dark and Griffin seems light, but both are more complex than that. With Darcy and Wickham, Austen wrote both of them to prove the point that no one is ever exactly as they present themselves, and I think that might be the best way to think of Griffin and Jack, though Jack is a lot more honorable than Wickham, and Griffin is a bit more relaxed than Darcy.
KC: Not really. I just knew that Jack had to appeal to part of her, and so did Griffin. Both of them will play a part in Finley figuring out who she really is. One is destined to be her best friend and the other is going to have her heart. On the surface Jack seems dark and Griffin seems light, but both are more complex than that. With Darcy and Wickham, Austen wrote both of them to prove the point that no one is ever exactly as they present themselves, and I think that might be the best way to think of Griffin and Jack, though Jack is a lot more honorable than Wickham, and Griffin is a bit more relaxed than Darcy.
MSNR: Can you give us any insights into The Girl in the Clockwork Collar?
KC: Nope. LOL. Sure. It’s set within weeks of the end of Steel Corset. It starts with them arriving in New York looking for Jasper, and then quickly jumps to Jasper’s point of view. You’ll learn a lot about Jasper’s past and what kind of person he has been and has become. Finley and Griffin’s relationship changes as well, and there is the beginning of a new arc involving Griffin that will take a couple of books to bring to fruition.
KC: Nope. LOL. Sure. It’s set within weeks of the end of Steel Corset. It starts with them arriving in New York looking for Jasper, and then quickly jumps to Jasper’s point of view. You’ll learn a lot about Jasper’s past and what kind of person he has been and has become. Finley and Griffin’s relationship changes as well, and there is the beginning of a new arc involving Griffin that will take a couple of books to bring to fruition.
MSNR: Why decide to remove our heroes from England and place them in 19th Century America?
KC: I thought it would be fun – and it was the perfect place to tell Jasper’s story. A lot of Steampunk stories are set either in England or the Old West, so I wanted to set it somewhere between. What’s interesting to me is that an early reviewer said that she didn’t think this book was as Steampunk as the first, and I wonder if it was the different setting – so many people think London when they think Steampunk. That’s the only explanation I can think of when there are airships, personal flying machines, automaton horses, mysterious gadgets and Tesla involved!
KC: I thought it would be fun – and it was the perfect place to tell Jasper’s story. A lot of Steampunk stories are set either in England or the Old West, so I wanted to set it somewhere between. What’s interesting to me is that an early reviewer said that she didn’t think this book was as Steampunk as the first, and I wonder if it was the different setting – so many people think London when they think Steampunk. That’s the only explanation I can think of when there are airships, personal flying machines, automaton horses, mysterious gadgets and Tesla involved!
MSGR: How many novels will there be in the Steampunk Chronicles?
KC: I’m hoping to write 5. I know for certain there will be 4.
KC: I’m hoping to write 5. I know for certain there will be 4.
MSNR: Since you are such a veteran of the industry, could you give our readers a little advice about breaking into the publishing world?
KC: It sounds trite, but you need to read like mad and keep writing. Study the authors you love, learn from them and then find your own way of doing things. You have to be tenacious. In my opinion, publishing is not a job you should get into unless you eat, sleep and breathe writing. It’s a hard business, and your ego will take a beating at times, but it is also so amazingly rewarding! So, read and write – and most importantly, finish the book!
KC: It sounds trite, but you need to read like mad and keep writing. Study the authors you love, learn from them and then find your own way of doing things. You have to be tenacious. In my opinion, publishing is not a job you should get into unless you eat, sleep and breathe writing. It’s a hard business, and your ego will take a beating at times, but it is also so amazingly rewarding! So, read and write – and most importantly, finish the book!
MSNR: Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to drop by A Midsummer Night’s Read! We really appreciate it, and we love your novels!
KC: Thank you so much for having me! People like you and your readers are what makes this job so fabulous!
KC: Thank you so much for having me! People like you and your readers are what makes this job so fabulous!
Moving! 