Kasia Alba

Kay Red (aka Kasia Alba) writes romance quickies with heat and heart. She lives with her husband wherever their passports can take them. When she’s not writing she can be found consuming books in any format known to woman.

1. What genre(s) do you write?

Contemporary romance

2. Do you have a newly released novel? What is the title and a link to buy the novel?

The Revenge Deal is my debut novella.

3. Are there any other social media links, websites, or other places to learn about you that we should add?

Podcast links:

Author links:

4. If you are traditionally published, who is your agent? If you are self-published, what publishing software do you prefer/ who is your publisher?

As a newbie indie author I use only kdp for now.

5. Your first published book is a novella. Are you only interested in writing novellas, or do you want to dive into novels as well?

I’m also writing novels, just slower :)

6. Is The Revenge Deal a standalone, or will it be part of a series?

It’s part of a series of very loosely connected standalone novellas.

6. You haven't always wanted to be a writer. What inspired you to dip your toe into the writing waters?

I wanted to write my own love story into a book, and after I started reading contemporary romances I realised I don’t actually need to be a literary writer, I can write commercial . It’s still hard and I have a lot to learn but seeing my peers publishing gives me a confidence boost every time.

8. What is the most fun and most difficult part of the writing process for you? Eg. first draft, editing, researching?

The most fun is writing dialogue. I’m so much better at dialogue than any other part. Sometimes when I’m stuck I write the dialogue that comes to mind and later put narration, descriptions and inner thoughts around it.

The most difficult is to actually start a writing session and then keep myself focused. If I’m lucky I will go into the flow and write quickly and a lot, but if not it will be a painful process resulting in 500 words max.

9. What do you do with your free time when you’re not writing?

Besides my full time job and writing, I read a ton. Physical books, audio, ebooks. I ARC read (though now only for friends since I don’t have time). I review books and I manage a bookstagram account. And I have a podcast! Love yapping with other authors about their progress and their successes.

10. Who is your favourite author/s? And why?

I will read anything by Alexis Hall. His writing is phenomenal: funny, witty, so so beautiful, sometimes gentle and sometimes quite crude, and I love all of it. He makes me laugh and cry on the same page.

I also love Kristen Bailey (I weirdly gravitate toward British authors). Her writing is something I aspire to.

Nicky Redford is my friend and I’ve been her fan since her first book (she’s an indie). I love watching her grow with every book—she’s publishing her 10th soon!

Anna Bradley, Alivia Fleur and most of the popular historical authors (Lisa Kleypas, Tessa Dare, Kerrigan Byrne, Alyssa Cole, etc.) I just can’t fathom how these people write so beautifully and how their stories are just so good.

And Penelope Douglas: her writing is quite simple and straightforward but she writes in a way that glues you to the page. It’s impossible to stop reading once you start, even if you don’t like the characters or where the story is going. That’s how addictive I want my writing to be.

11. What are two fun facts about you?

I’m an immigrant and kind of a nomad. With my husband, we lived in 3 different countries, and now we’re about to move to the fourth one.

I can’t ride a bike. And I have a driving licence but I never drive. I just think some people are not meant to be drivers. I prefer to be the second pilot.

12. If you could give any advice to a new writer/author, what would it be?

Don’t wait to write your story. I know it’s scary, and writing prompts and exercises are of course useful, but you’ll never learn until you start. Use your story as your exercise: write the first draft that is very bad, and then fix it.

And then, don’t wait to publish. Querying is a perfectly legit path, but you need to ask yourself: do you really want to publish traditionally or are you scared to hit the publish button? If you’re scared, do it anyway. Close your eyes and do it scared.