Carla Krae

Publisher info

Fiction writer. Sci-fi lover. Trained vocalist. Cat mom.

Carla Krae lives in California with two crazy cats and a tech guy.

Book list here: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/CarlaKrae2

Smashwords Interview

When did you decide to become a writer?
It wasn't a planned-ahead choice. Creative writing gave me a complete mental block in school until a class my senior year of high school. I could do a short story based on prompts.

I didn't write until 2005, though. When a TV show I loved went off the air in 2003, I read a lot of fanfic to get my fix, and ended up inspired to do my own story to give my favorite character a happy ending that didn't get one in canon. That spawned over 200,000 words from May - Dec. '05.

I didn't get my first original idea for a story until 2006. That story is still a WIP. Beth and Jacob were born May 13, 2007, and it took me years to finish a first draft. Lots of learning and failing and learning more.

I knew writers that started self-publishing in 2007, but I didn't jump in myself until March 2010. I'm glad I made the decision and now wish I'd started even sooner.
What made you decide to write a book about Beth and Jacob?
The first scene I ever wrote for Beth in 2007 was her dream in the hospital. That whole dream was inspired by an episode of "Supernatural" where Dean is poisoned by a djinn and sees an alternate happier life than his real one. He chooses to leave the dream (the djinn's power) because he knows it's too good to be true.

It got me thinking about a character who was offered a second chance by seeing what their life could've been if they chose differently in the past - or finally acted on making their dreams come true.

Beth was an introverted nerd, Jacob was a spoiled rockstar, and Beth's mother's circumstances was the same. Those were the earliest elements of the story. The first draft started on the day before Beth's accident when Jacob is being difficult. I knew they had back story to high school, but I didn't start writing their past until 2010. Everything grew from there, and the series still isn't done, LOL.

As for Jacob's music career, I'm both a music fan and trained vocalist, so it was something I felt I had enough expertise to write. I was a performer for most of my life, so I know exactly how he feels on stage.
Read more of this interview.

Where to find Carla Krae online