Ink and Flame Episode #13
Krystal Kirchberger: Author of The Collection

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Transcription

Tina Koutras (00:00)
Welcome to Ink and Flame. I'm your host, Tina Koutras, and tonight we're sitting down to talk with Krystal Kirchberger, and she's going to talk about her book, The Collection. Hi, Krystal, how are you?

K. Kirchberger (00:10)
Hi, I'm good. Excited to be here. Thank you for having me.

Tina Koutras (00:14)
I'm so excited to chat with you. I would love to know where you're coming to us from.

K. Kirchberger (00:21)
I am on Georgian Bay in Ontario in a little town called Midland. I don't know if you're familiar with that area at all, but yeah, so just a smaller little town on the bay. It's quiet. It's nice. Yeah, it is. There's some scenic areas for sure.

Tina Koutras (00:28)
I am.

and beautiful, I imagine.

Yeah, and how's the weather there? Getting better?

K. Kirchberger (00:43)
Today it's cold and gross. I feel like it's like 8 degrees but since we're on Georgian Bay it's always windy so we get that cool breeze off the bay. So it hasn't been very nice lately but I'm looking forward to the warmer weather. I feel like it's been really long winter.

Tina Koutras (00:45)
Yeah, I know. ⁓

Yeah.

I know that Ontario really hasn't had its grip lessened up very much. It's kind of still hanging on a little.

K. Kirchberger (01:07)
Yeah, at least the

snow is gone because we had a crazy amount. I was joking around saying like we're gonna have snow till like June because it wouldn't melt. Yeah. Okay, yeah, I feel like. Yeah, I feel like we got more snow than the East Coast did this year. ⁓

Tina Koutras (01:14)
Ugh, can't imagine. I'm on the East Coast, so, you know, we get more rain than anything.

Yeah, we

typically are pretty wet throughout the winter. And this year was probably the first time that we had snow hit the ground and then stick with us for like the entire winter season. And then a couple little snow storms in between after spring started. But for the most part, it was a pretty good winter in the grand scheme of things. But now I'm done with it. Let's move on. Exactly. So

K. Kirchberger (01:36)
Well. Yeah, yeah, I'm done with it. We're over right here.

Tina Koutras (01:52)
get

started and talk a little bit about your history. What got you started into reading in the first place?

K. Kirchberger (01:58)
I've always had a love for books, going way back. feel like I remember my dad taking me into the library all the time because I just needed to get my hands on anything that I could read. I was totally one those kids that was sitting in school hiding the book inside their desk, like reading, until the teacher catches you and takes your book away. So I don't know if anyone can relate to that, but that was definitely me. I can't even tell you how many times I have my book confiscated in school.

Tina Koutras (02:23)
You know, you think the teachers would be happy about that.

K. Kirchberger (02:23)
So why not?

but I guess maybe

not when we're supposed to be doing math or something. Harry Potter was more important, okay?

Tina Koutras (02:31)
Hahaha

So do you still or have you ever gone back to the bookstore your dad took you to?

K. Kirchberger (02:38)
So my dad used take me to library all the time. yeah, so I don't live in that town anymore. So I don't go to that particular library, but I do frequent the library in my town. And I'm actually doing like a local author book fair there this week. So that's kind of exciting. Yeah, I'm excited to meet like other because I think they said it's gonna be like 14 authors. So I'm excited to meet some other local authors and see what else is out there. Hopefully, maybe somebody else in the fantasy genre.

Tina Koutras (02:40)
sorry, library.

Ugh.

that's cool.

⁓ very cool. So you're not the one organizing it. You're just, you've been invited to it. That's exciting.

K. Kirchberger (03:07)
We'll see. Yeah.

Yes, yes.

Yeah, it's my first time going to like a or being one of the authors at a book fair, I guess. So that's exciting for me.

Tina Koutras (03:24)
That's awesome. So were there any authors or books that made you think I want to do this?

K. Kirchberger (03:25)
Yeah.

I feel like that's a tricky question. Yes and no. Being an author has always been kind of like a job that I've been fascinated with. But it seemed kind of like one of those unattainable dream jobs. So when reading books like I'll use Harry Potter or A Court of Thorn and Roses or something like that, like big ones, not as an example. So you see that like JK Rowling and Sarah J Maas

were able to turn these worlds that they made up in their head into multiple books and wildly successful careers. Of course you think like, wow, I want to do that too, right? But yeah, I feel like there's so much more behind it than just simply sitting down and writing that book. it's inspired, like authors like that definitely inspire me and make me think like I want to do that too, but it is tricky.

Tina Koutras (04:04)
Yeah.

Yeah, it is. So did you face any unexpected challenges when transitioning from a reader to a writer?

K. Kirchberger (04:27)
Yeah, so the biggest one for me was that when I became a writer, I kind of left the reader behind for a bit, which I know sounds terrible and like upsetting, it was, but that was kind of my reality for a while because any of the free time that I normally had for reading got dedicated to writing. So when I first started writing, I had to give up reading for a while.

Tina Koutras (04:34)
I totally get that.

K. Kirchberger (04:50)
And I'm not talking years or anything, I didn't pick up a book for years. No, no. But there were probably, I can say there were stretches of months where I wasn't able to read a book. I remember when Forthwing came out, I was like, my god, I need to pick this up right now, but I just couldn't. And I had to wait what felt like forever to read it. So I think that was kind of the biggest adjustment for me. The biggest challenge was realizing that...

writing my own book meant putting aside other people's books for a while. And I know there's tons of authors out there who are totally able to multitask and they're reading five books while they're writing and all this stuff. for me, personally, I need to keep it separate in my head. So that was a big one for me.

Tina Koutras (05:32)
Yeah, I totally get that. Yeah.

So how did, how do you feel like your reading tastes have changed or evolved as you grew older and became a writer yourself?

K. Kirchberger (05:47)
Yeah, so I think that my taste has only, so I've been a fantasy reader forever. That's kind of my genre. So I think that my reading style hasn't evolved, but my taste has evolved with my age, like you mentioned. So you kind of grow mentally and emotionally as you yourself grow. And you find out that you kind of need that from the characters you're reading about as well. So you kind of need that.

emotional depth from the characters. as you if you're reading like, and I'm not I'm not pooping on the YA category at all, because I love a good YA book. There's tons of great ones out there. But you know, some of those YA books are really meant for that younger like 13 year old category. And you really don't get into like that emotional depth with the characters. And as an adult reading it, it's something you kind of need out of your characters, right? Otherwise, it's just kind of reads

Tina Koutras (06:34)
Yeah.

K. Kirchberger (06:41)
as like Juvedile, right? So I think that's what kind of grew for me. Being a fantasy reader, that'll never change for me.

Tina Koutras (06:44)
Yeah.

So

right from the beginning, you were fantasy. That was your genre. What was aside from Harry Potter? Did you have any other early favorites?

K. Kirchberger (07:00)
Yeah, fast forwarding from Harry Potter maybe to like my teen years, I think my favorite book, maybe when I was like 14 or 15 was by Stephenie Meyer and it's not Twilight. It's not Twilight everyone. It was The Host and if you haven't read that one, it's actually really, really good. And it's definitely a book that I revisit frequently because I just think it's such a good story.

Tina Koutras (07:20)
Yeah.

K. Kirchberger (07:30)
Like the world that she built, the idea behind that story, it's just so good. And like the characters are great. I I love it. I love it.

Tina Koutras (07:38)
Yeah, one of my children got me to watch the movie and I realized that the movie is never as good as the book. I get that. ⁓ But at that stage of my life, I had kind of shifted gears into different books and I never read that book. But I did love the movie. I thought it was a very good adaptation. Well, I mean, I didn't read it. I guess I can't really say that. But...

K. Kirchberger (07:46)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Tina Koutras (08:04)
I did feel like the whole world was presented and she did a fantastic job telling that story. was amazing.

K. Kirchberger (08:11)
Yeah,

the movie, as somebody who's a big fan of the book and has seen the movie, I know everyone always says, oh, the movie, the book's way better. And I think they did do a good job with the movie. It's not something that I mind watching. Some of them are just terrible and you're like, I cannot watch this. But that's not one of them. I think they did do a good job. But that being said, the book is just even, it's so good. It's so good. You got to read it.

Tina Koutras (08:28)
Yeah.

I think my daughter had read both,

read and seen it. I think she had read it and she wanted me to watch it because she had read it. So actually she got me into a lot of them.

K. Kirchberger (08:46)
Yeah, no, makes sense.

Tina Koutras (08:50)
She got me into The Hunger Games and into quite a few other books. Like she got me back into reading actually, because she started picking up books. Same with my oldest son. So it's fun to have those influences when they start to get to a certain age and they're starting to recommend stuff, even though they're

K. Kirchberger (08:50)
No, yeah.

Yeah.

Tina Koutras (09:06)
kind of designed for a younger crowd, right?

K. Kirchberger (09:08)
For sure. And like I said, there's some great young adult books out there, even if they're meant for the younger crowd, like The Hunger Games, for example. Like you said, I feel like that's ageless. It doesn't matter what age you are. Even though it's meant for young adult, it's great. It's great. You can read it as a teenager, can read it as a 30-year-old, 40-year-old, doesn't matter. It's a great story.

Tina Koutras (09:12)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, exactly.

We were at a release party in January for Onyx Storm and

K. Kirchberger (09:34)
Mm-hmm.

Tina Koutras (09:34)
they announced the sunrise on the reaping release party and the room went bonkers. People were so excited about that book when it came out.

K. Kirchberger (09:45)
Yeah, I think it's great.

She's writing new ones again, like new stories within that same world. I love when authors revisit the same world, like Cassandra Clare's world, like her Shadowhunter universe. It's just like, it's genius. Every single one of them she puts out, I'm like, I need it. I need it right now. It's so great.

Tina Koutras (09:50)
Yeah.

Yes. ⁓

I also

love the way that she went back and forth in time with the release of those books. Like one series was one timeframe and another series was, you know, a different timeframe. So I really enjoyed, enjoyed those books too. Yeah.

K. Kirchberger (10:12)
Yeah.

Yeah, for sure it was great. And she connected all the characters with the last names, their ancestors and everything. Yeah, it's very cool. Yes. Okay.

Tina Koutras (10:20)
Yeah, yeah, very well done. All right, so something to aspire to

for for writers around the world. So did you have any tropes or anything that you loved to play with or subvert during your your writing?

K. Kirchberger (10:27)
Yeah, I know.

I don't think so. There's no trope to me that it's so important to me that it has to be included in my books. I know there's a lot of popular ones out there, like Morally Grey, character, all that stuff. It's super popular in the fantasy world right now. I don't think there was one for me that I had to have it. But I do like the Fated Mates trope.

But I feel like you have to be careful in writing it as to not make it like too obvious for your readers Otherwise, they kind of know where the story's going especially like in the romantasy category of fantasy. So I do like the Fated Mates one, but you have to be careful with it because nobody wants spoilers Like where's the fun in that right? Yeah

Tina Koutras (11:10)
Yeah.

Yeah, exactly. You don't want it to be too predictable, for sure.

So how do you see the genre evolving for the fantasy or romantasy genre? How do you see it changing?

K. Kirchberger (11:32)
I feel like it's been really cool to watch the fantasy and romance genre evolve lately. Like it's not just about dragons and I mean it is about dragons right now, especially with Forth Wing but it's not just about like dragons and epic quests anymore, you know? Now there's so much more focus on like the characters, their emotions, those slow burn angsty romances that

Tina Koutras (11:42)
Ha!

K. Kirchberger (11:55)
everyone secretly or not so secretly lives for. Romantasy especially is just thriving right now, I love it. The vibes from it give me a morally grey love interest, talked about that. I don't know if I'm allowed to say ass, a badass, am I allowed to say that?

Tina Koutras (12:12)
Yeah, sure.

K. Kirchberger (12:14)
You edit it out if you need to. A badass main

character in some magical chaos and I'm sold as a reader. I think that romanticism is just blossoming as a category right now. I think also evolving, readers are really into series right now rather than just standalone. It's not just about one book, it's about staying in that world as long as you possibly can.

Tina Koutras (12:38)
world yeah

K. Kirchberger (12:40)
and getting emotionally attached to all of the characters, even the side characters, you know, it's not even a main character. So yeah, think it's just such a good time to be a fantasy reader right now.

Tina Koutras (12:50)
I totally agree with that. for a lot of reasons. One of the things that, and I'm gonna use Sarah J. Maas for obvious reasons, but one of the things I loved about reading her books, and I see you've got Crescent City on your back shelf there. I love the way it starts off with one character and then all of a sudden you've got 20 and you know everything about them.

K. Kirchberger (13:08)
Yeah, I do.

Tina Koutras (13:16)
and you're just cheering them on. Like, I love the world building. And I know that with that series specifically, because it's like an urban fantasy, that it kind of had a little bit of resistance because of what everybody had kind of thought she was about. Everything Sarah J. Maas

had done was all in the fantasy world. And then everything kind of kicked over and we're talking about cell phones and cars and what?

K. Kirchberger (13:41)
Yeah, I know. And I

think she did it beautifully, though. Like, urban fantasy isn't something I read too often. on per- that's not like something I avoid, but it's not something I typically pick up in a fantasy book when I like am reading the blurb on a book. They usually don't draw me in, but I think she did such a good job with Crescent City, like

blending the fantasy with like the real world essentially or the urban world. So I think she did amazing. I love Crescent City.

Tina Koutras (14:08)
Yeah, me too. So if you could collaborate with any other author in your genre, who would it be and why would you choose them?

K. Kirchberger (14:17)
I feel like the obvious answer is someone like Sarah J. Maas or Rebecca Yaros for their beyond well known books like A Fourth Wing, ACOTAR Crescent City, Throne of Glass. There's a reason that Sarah J. Moss is known as the Queen of Fantasy, right? So I feel like they're the obvious answer. for me, it's going to be someone a little lesser known and I'm hoping it's well known enough that

maybe some of these listeners recognize it, I think you will. But Lynette Noni, she has a few series, but the one I specifically like is the Prison Healer trilogy from her. she just, if you haven't read them, just run, like go get it. Go get it. Yeah, the Prison Healer trilogy.

Tina Koutras (14:52)
Okay, nope.

Okay.

What is it? What is it called? The prison healer?

K. Kirchberger (15:13)
But why her? I can remember reading those books and just absolutely falling in love with each and every character. Not just like, I know people like Zayden from Fourth Wing and people like Rhys from Aquatar.

And don't get me wrong, I like them too, they're great. But like, I just remember reading these characters from this book and like, Jaren and Cal and like, Cal's not even a main character, he's like a side character, but like, did she bring me to tears with him? Absolutely. Like, that's as much as I'll say on him, because I don't want to spoil anything. But like, ⁓ yeah, like Jaren and Cal, like those are my boys. Like, I've never had an author.

Tina Koutras (15:47)
Hahaha!

K. Kirchberger (15:53)
make me emotionally invest myself like she did for those books. So it would be her that I would want to cooperate with because I don't think I've ever had that emotionally depth with a character, that emotionally involved with these characters. She did such an amazing job.

Tina Koutras (15:59)
Wicked.

awesome what a great recommendation so I've written it down

K. Kirchberger (16:16)
Awesome, check

it Let me know how you like it.

Tina Koutras (16:20)
I've got so many books piling up because of this podcast because I love the ones that I'm talking to with the authors and then they make recommendations. I'm currently listening to the Priory of the Orange Tree thanks to my last podcast. It's hilarious. Anyway.

K. Kirchberger (16:25)
I bet.

You

I know. It's

crazy. That's the, like, to be read Pile. this is... Yeah. Yeah.

Tina Koutras (16:41)
It's a thing.

So can you share the inspiration behind your book? Let's start talking about the collection.

K. Kirchberger (16:51)
Okay, so I know this is unexciting, but the idea just kind of came to me randomly. wasn't a ton of inspiration behind it, although I do see, obviously as an author, I read the reviews people give me, good and bad. So I have seen people say that this is...

Tina Koutras (16:52)
You

K. Kirchberger (17:12)
like influenced by aquatar. This is influenced by Hunger Games, stuff like that. So I myself as the author don't think that they influenced me too much. But those are books that I have read and enjoyed. So I'm sure that just like any fantasy author, inspiration comes from the books that you love to read. And so maybe there was some kind of inspiration from there. But really, the idea just

kind of came to me randomly one day and I immediately knew that I wanted to start this story right away to the point where I had it in my head. was in my car. I made notes on my phone. was like, I can't forget this. This needs to stay in here. So the minute I got home, I literally wrote the first two chapters before I had even formulated.

Tina Koutras (18:03)
Thank

K. Kirchberger (18:04)
the rest of the book just because it was in there and I needed to get it down on paper. So yeah, it just kind of came out of nowhere and it hit hard and I didn't want to forget anything running through my mind so I just had to get it out right away.

Tina Koutras (18:18)
So, I mean, you were in your car, but what sparked it?

K. Kirchberger (18:22)
That's the boring part, really nothing. was just... I was like...

Tina Koutras (18:28)
I

K. Kirchberger (18:29)
I know. I can't even remember what I was thinking about at the time that it hit me because at the time that I had this idea I wasn't writing anything else. There wasn't any other ideas on the table. So this one just kind of came out of nowhere and I immediately had to go with it.

Tina Koutras (18:47)
Okay, so you went from having never written before to two chapters and I'm gonna do this.

K. Kirchberger (18:48)
Yeah.

Essentially, yes. When you just have that idea, guess you gotta go with it, And since then I've had a ton of other ideas for books but...

Tina Koutras (18:55)
That's awesome.

So.

K. Kirchberger (19:04)
I've kind been focusing on this series and one other one.

Tina Koutras (19:08)
Okay, we'll get to that in a bit.

So do you think that the story has evolved a little bit from your original concept or did it stay pretty true to your initial vision?

K. Kirchberger (19:20)
I think it stayed very close to my original vision. So after I had that initial burst of I have to get everything out before I forget it, I kind of took the time to obviously plan out the book from there and not just keep writing and winging it. So I think there were times that when I was writing that I would have an idea that I liked even more than what I had plotted out originally, and I would change it up. mostly I think I stayed true to the original vision.

Tina Koutras (19:46)
awesome. There are like lots of people that totally pants their way through it and ⁓ they let the characters develop and they just let it breathe on its own. And I don't think that there's any right or wrong way to tell a story. You know what I mean?

K. Kirchberger (19:53)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Tina Koutras (20:08)
I mean, otherwise the choose

K. Kirchberger (20:08)
No, I don't think so either.

Tina Koutras (20:10)
your own adventure from back in the eighties wouldn't have existed.

K. Kirchberger (20:12)
Those books are so fun!

Tina Koutras (20:13)
They are! You see them

sometimes in like an old bookstore or something and I sometimes want to grab them but you know there's always like a cheesy cover so... So that's right. So how do you approach your world building or character development? Do you have a specific process?

K. Kirchberger (20:22)
Yeah, for sure. No, I don't. I agree. There's no wrong way to do it.

I like to plan them out in advance as much as I can. But that's, like I said, that's not to say sometimes when I'm on a roll with writing and inspiration hits that I change things on the fly. I'm sure that I've added a character.

that I never planned on having in the book, like in that moment. I was like, yeah, I need this conversation to go this way. So I'm just gonna have this, you know, like add this character and so that this next scene that I'm thinking of happening, it has to have this character. So I like, I do like to plan things. I'm kind of a planner in everyday life as well. So for me, having it planned out is ideal, but it's...

Tina Koutras (20:54)
You

You

K. Kirchberger (21:15)
Yeah, it doesn't always go that way. Sometimes I change it up.

Tina Koutras (21:17)
So do you have a favorite scene or something that just every time you think about it you just melt inside? If you can tell us without any spoilers of course.

K. Kirchberger (21:29)
I wouldn't say this scene makes me melt and I won't say much about it because it would be a massive spoiler, but the ending is actually one of my favorite scenes, particularly the final scene in the book, but only because I know as a reader it was just such a like, come on moment that leaves you wanting more. Sorry, I had two readers, I'm sorry.

Tina Koutras (21:44)
Hahaha.

So it's a cliffhanger, is that what you're saying?

K. Kirchberger (21:52)
And I've had so many people in reviews and people I know reach out to me and stuff and be like, are you serious with that? When is the next line? And I'm like, I'm so sorry. So I think that was one of my favorite scenes for me. also because I know as the author, I know where that scene's leading to, what's coming next. And it makes me excited.

Tina Koutras (22:00)
Ha ha.

Ha ha!

Yeah.

K. Kirchberger (22:17)
That's probably one of my favorite ones. There's like, as a fantasy, romantic book, there are some of the more romantically focused scenes that make me kind of go, that's nice. But I think that the ending is my favorite one.

Tina Koutras (22:37)
So do you have

like a movie playing in your mind when you see all this visually stunning stuff that you've created?

K. Kirchberger (22:44)
yes, I do. I love being descriptive and even write down to the outfits and stuff. Especially in fantasy worlds because they don't dress like we dress, right? These girls get to wear these fabulous gowns and all this stuff, right? being able to dream these up and write them out, it's so much fun.

Tina Koutras (22:46)
Ha ha.

Right.

Yes.

I find I'm constantly like Googling what type of armor is this or, you know, like trying to figure out how to describe one thing or another, because, you know, I don't know the different parts of armor. So it's it's kind of funny when you're when you're writing and trying to visualize or trying to write down what you're visualizing. How do OK, what do I call that?

K. Kirchberger (23:21)
Yeah

I know, I feel like with the fantasy Johanna sometimes you have to look things up because it's armor, it's weapons, it's all these things that you wouldn't typically think about or know.

Tina Koutras (23:36)
Yeah, exactly.

Yeah, exactly.

So do you figure you have any kind of quirky writing habits? that you like? Anything you do that get you into the creative zone or rituals?

K. Kirchberger (23:51)
Again, kind of boring. Not really. I'm more... I'm so boring. I like to write on my laptop because I don't like to be stuck at a desk for too long. So I do like to write on my laptop because then I can at least kind of move around from one comfy spot to the next. Or even like head outside on a nice day like in the summertime or something. yeah, I really like to write on my laptop, have a comfy spot.

I like it quiet when I write. I know a lot of authors have these playlists that go with their books and like I was listening to this when I was writing this and all this stuff. And I'm totally a music person. I love music. I love it loud. But when I'm writing, I like to have a quiet space so I can just kind of zone in on what I'm working on.

Tina Koutras (24:35)
Okay. Well,

I think that's just as much a ritual, so it's not really boring. It's just your ritual. Just giving you a little props here. So it's a real thing. How do you handle writer's block or any self doubt during the writing process?

K. Kirchberger (24:42)
Okay. Yeah. Look at me, look at me.

So I think it's a good question for me because the self-doubt is real sometimes. And I commonly experience this feeling when I'm writing referred to as imposter syndrome. So it is as it sounds, but for those who don't know what imposter syndrome is for writers is that kind of sneaky feeling that you're not actually a real writer. Even if you have like...

you're actively writing, you've published a book, you've received praise for that work, all that stuff. It's just kind of that inner voice that whispers stuff like, like, you're not good enough to be doing this or like, someone's going to realize that you shouldn't have written this book, you don't belong here. Yeah, exactly. So I think I experienced that. And for me, it hits the hardest after I have read a really good book. yeah.

Tina Koutras (25:30)
Yeah.

Yeah, who do you think you are?

no!

K. Kirchberger (25:48)
I've mentioned Fourth Wing before, after I read Fourth Wing for the first time, was just like, okay. I was like, all right, well, do I even continue with my book? Because what was that? This is not my book. I thought what I had was great until I read that. That was kind the imposter syndrome I was feeling.

And I feel like I get into that kind of slump every time that I read like a really, really good book, like something that really resonates with me. So dealing with that can be kind of tough, but I think you just kind of have to get through it, get over it, keep writing.

Tina Koutras (26:26)
Okay, do you do anything to get over it or just keep writing?

K. Kirchberger (26:30)
I just keep writing and sometimes it takes time, like sometimes I'll have to take a little bit time off, whether it's because I've been blocked from writing because of the imposter syndrome, or if it's just I have it in my head and I'm ready to write it but I just need to take some time and revisit it when I'm ready to proactively work at it again.

Tina Koutras (26:56)
Yeah. So how long, when did you publish the collection?

K. Kirchberger (27:01)
It came out in July of 2024, almost a year ago now.

Tina Koutras (27:04)
Okay.

Yeah, that's awesome. And how far out is it sequel? Since you left everybody hanging on a ledge. ⁓

K. Kirchberger (27:14)
I'm so sorry!

It's coming, it's coming! No, I am working on it. Something for me with, like you mentioned, writer's block and stuff, something for me is that I need to write, I need to be passionate about what I'm writing. So if I'm not...

if I'm not passionate about what I'm writing, I know that it's not going to translate into the book, you know what I do? You know what I mean? So, so for me, after the collection came out, I took a little bit of time off after having put so much time into it. And then this other book idea kind of hit hard. And I really wanted to start working on that one. So what I should have done is just been like,

Tina Koutras (27:37)
Yeah, yeah, it'll be hollow.

K. Kirchberger (27:59)
hold off and start book two here. But what I did instead was I started that other book. And that's not to say I haven't started book two, book two has been started. But because I decided to write a standalone book before I finished book two of this one, it kind of pushed book two a little bit further down. ⁓ it is coming but it likely

Tina Koutras (28:08)
you

Okay.

K. Kirchberger (28:23)
You might see it at the end of 2025, but it's probably going to be early 2026. Just because in the meantime, there will be something else coming out. Yeah.

Tina Koutras (28:28)
Okay.

Nice.

Did you want to share anything about that one or is it still under wraps?

K. Kirchberger (28:39)
It is still under wraps, it's still in the fantasy genre, Romanticie, and it is a standalone, this one, so there's no sequel to it. So it's just gonna be the one book. No Cliffs, No Cliffs. I owe my readers that. So yeah, that one I'm hoping will be out soon, but you know, everything takes time in the writing process and...

Tina Koutras (28:49)
So no clefs.

K. Kirchberger (29:01)
Right now the book itself is out of my hands and into somebody else's so now we now we wait.

Tina Koutras (29:02)
for

⁓ cool! That's awesome.

So did you take any time to read in between your finishing writing one and moving on to the next or did you just go right into writing more?

K. Kirchberger (29:22)
No, I definitely took some time to read. And I'm finding that I'm able to find a little bit more balance between the two now, as well. So like I said, I am working on book two right now, but I have been reading as well. And I have this group of girls that I constantly do like buddy reads with. We've met, met online and I think we have so many buddy reads on the go that they kind of

Tina Koutras (29:43)
cool.

K. Kirchberger (29:49)
They push me in a positive way to keep reading.

Tina Koutras (29:51)
That's awesome.

So do you do you drink coffee tea or something else when you're writing or nothing at all?

K. Kirchberger (29:59)
I don't drink coffee or tea ever. ⁓ None for me. Yeah, I know. Shocking. I know people are always like, sorry, what? Like, how do you live? how are you standing right now? No, yeah, no tea, no coffee or anything like that for me.

Tina Koutras (30:00)
Really? Alright.

Hahaha

How could you not be addicted to something?

K. Kirchberger (30:20)
I think the most caffeine I get is probably out of a can of pop. ⁓ So as far as having a drink while writing, whatever. It could be water, could be pop, it could be juice. No coffee or tea for me.

Tina Koutras (30:26)
you

You

So if you could meet any one author, who would you choose?

K. Kirchberger (30:44)
Ooh, meet an author.

feel... That's tough. That's tough. There are so many good authors out there. It's hard to pick. I feel like I would, like I said, I wanted to collaborate with Lynette Noni. So I feel like I have to pick her to meet her because yeah, that's part of that collaboration process. there's also, yeah, there's also like, you know, you would love to meet Sarah J Maas and pick her brain because like

Tina Koutras (31:01)
You gotta start somewhere.

K. Kirchberger (31:10)
I don't know how she does it. don't know. Like same with even like Cassandra Clare. I don't know how she comes up because the Shadowhunter world is huge. Like, I can't even count how many Shadowhunter books are back there because and she just like, pumps them out. And there's so many of them to the point where you think like, okay, like this is gonna get old at some point, right? But no, it's never old. They're always amazing.

I don't know how she does it, so someone like her would also be someone I'd like to meet and pick their brain because I don't know how they do it. I don't know how they write all these different characters so amazingly and they build this crazy world that they can write 15 plus books in and still have their readers epically captivated.

Tina Koutras (31:59)
Yeah, exactly. Robin Hobb was that for me. I really, really love Robin Hobb. I'd like to know how they write that fast, personally.

K. Kirchberger (32:04)
Yeah.

Yeah, you know, actually signed me up for that question too, because I am very curious, especially like, I feel like we got some really quick turnaround time with Rebecca Yaros with her first like, like fourth one came out and I feel like Iron Flame came out the same year. And then onyx storm wasn't that bad of a wait. And I know we're waiting. Yeah, and I know we're waiting a little bit longer for like, the next one and people are complaining but like I'm like,

Tina Koutras (32:26)
I think it was a year, yeah.

K. Kirchberger (32:34)
Man, she deserves it. I don't know. You take that. You take that break. I don't. Yeah.

Tina Koutras (32:35)
Yeah. We'll think about

Jennifer Armantrout. Jennifer Armantrout like really whips them out. She's very fast. I'd love to know her broth's process.

K. Kirchberger (32:47)
she is. like,

yeah, because you know what, hers aren't small books either. Like they're pretty, they're pretty thick. So yeah.

Tina Koutras (32:52)
They're huge. Yeah.

Okay. So what's one book that you would love to be able to say you wrote?

K. Kirchberger (33:03)
Well, of course the collection. Oh, oh wait, I did write that!

Tina Koutras (33:06)
I love it! ⁓

Let's go with that. That's perfect. I love that. So let's take a look at that book again. I think you showed me something pretty cool about it. Yeah. So you were telling me about your painted edges and you had a little bit to say about it. So let's talk about your painted edges.

K. Kirchberger (33:10)
Yeah.

I had to, had to.

Was it the edges? Yeah.

Yeah, so I did as a Canadian author. I'm like you're Canadian as well. So I'm sure and you're in the bookish industry. So I'm sure you know as well. There are not a lot of people who do like bookish things in Canada, like sprayed edges and stuff like that. Like everything is just across the border in the States for I feel like a lot of things. So when I found Lindsay,

Tina Koutras (33:53)
you

K. Kirchberger (33:58)
And her Instagram is binging bookish creations. We kind of did a collab on a limited number of copies, like special editions. And this is one of them. And it has like the gold ombre and edges with the black. And we did two other versions as well that weren't ombre.

And one of them had, so the collection has four Courts of Hell in it. one of them had like a symbol for each representation of each court. The other one had like feathers on top with this really cool gold symbol going down the side that kind of matched like the cover. It was very cool. And I had ordered a copy for myself of each one to hold onto and treasure. But as it turns out, they...

sold out immediately and I wasn't really able to hold on to any of them except I managed to snag this one for myself. yeah, so they sold out really fast because the edges were super cool. So I guess I'm gonna have to put in another order for some more for myself.

Tina Koutras (35:02)
That's so exciting.

I met Lindsay about, I guess it was probably a little over a year ago now. And we've been friends on social ever since. So shout out to Lindsay. Great job. I love your artwork.

K. Kirchberger (35:15)
Yeah, they're

beautiful and we're going be doing some sticker designs with her as well. Just some bookish swag.

Tina Koutras (35:22)
Awesome.

A little Canadian love going on. That's awesome.

K. Kirchberger (35:27)
Yeah,

I love it.

Tina Koutras (35:29)
So we already talked about some upcoming projects and events, but you don't have any deadlines or any hopeful timelines for that standalone book yet, do you?

K. Kirchberger (35:39)
No, I can't give you a date or timeline only because like, in my head, I have a date. But sometimes that doesn't always align with other people's dates when it comes to, you know, because there's a lot of, yeah, there's a lot of working parts behind it, like the editing process, the book cover design, like all these things. So the date in my head might not work out as well with the date and everybody else's head. So

Tina Koutras (35:48)
Yeah.

The editing process.

Yeah.

K. Kirchberger (36:05)
I'm hesitant to say a date just yet until I kind of get it back from the editor and know how much work needs to be done and how far out that's going to be.

Tina Koutras (36:14)
And have you done a title reveal yet?

K. Kirchberger (36:17)
I haven't. The cover design is almost done, so I was kind of waiting for that to be done so that I could get the graphics and stuff like that so I can do some cool social media stuff with it. Yeah. Yes.

Tina Koutras (36:19)
Okay.

do them together.

Awesome. So we'll have to keep an eye out for that.

What's the best way for readers to engage with you?

K. Kirchberger (36:38)
Definitely on Instagram. I have other socials like Facebook and stuff, I'll be honest, I'm pretty bad at monitoring the Facebook one. Instagram is definitely the easiest way to find me and engage with me and be up to date on things. Instagram is kind of the one that I post on. So yeah, my Instagram is @ authorkkirchberger

Tina Koutras (36:49)
You

K. Kirchberger (37:04)
So it's simple.

Tina Koutras (37:06)
So that's how I found you. Are there any particular interactions with readers that have stuck out in your mind?

K. Kirchberger (37:08)
Yay! That's how I found you!

Yeah, actually, so I was in a local bookstore in my town discussing my book with the owner of the store. Because they're one of the people who carry it. And there was this woman in the store browsing in the fantasy section. And I like I remember her being like,

just kind of like in the background, you know, like casually like flipping through a book, like, you know, you could tell she was kind of like listening a little bit, you know. And then later, she had messaged me on Instagram and you know, she said something along the lines of like, hey, like I overheard your conversation in the store, like, and she's like, I'm so excited to read your book. And then when it did come out,

Tina Koutras (37:39)
Yeah.

you

K. Kirchberger (38:01)
she was on my Instagram so she had asked me like when it was coming out and we chatted a bit and then when it did come out like she bought two copies during the release week so that she could read it with her I think it was her sister-in-law I could be remembering that wrong maybe her sister something like that but yeah and then after she did read it she reached out to me as well and told me what she thought of it which was great ⁓ and I think it was just such like a nice natural interaction to have with somebody

Tina Koutras (38:24)
Yeah, cool.

K. Kirchberger (38:29)
Because normally the people that you directly interact with are people that you know, right? That have read your book. then sometimes in that sense you don't get their honest opinion because it's your mom's friend, whatever, who's read the book and is like, it's so great, right? So I think it was just a nice, honest, natural interaction to have with somebody that you

Tina Koutras (38:37)
Yeah.

Yeah.

K. Kirchberger (38:55)
you know, randomly overheard or bumped into at a bookstore.

Tina Koutras (39:00)
I remember doing one of my podcasts and I don't remember her name right now. I'm gonna take that out just a sec. I remember doing one of my podcasts and the author I was speaking to at the time said, you should look forward to bad reviews because it means that you finally hit your outer circle, outside of your circle.

K. Kirchberger (39:06)
Yeah.

Tina Koutras (39:20)
And I think that's really a great way to look at it because if you have a bad review, it means somebody without any vested interest in how you feel is reading your book. ⁓

K. Kirchberger (39:30)
Yeah, no, think

that's a good point for sure. I never really thought of it that way. But I do like it. do like it.

Tina Koutras (39:35)
Yeah.

There is some truth to it. mean, having a bad review stinks, but you know, not everybody is going to like the same cup of tea. mean, some don't even like tea. So it definitely makes sense that if you get a bad review, it's somebody who's just being honest with how they feel. And that's not necessarily going to be somebody that you know. It's really cool to think of it that way, I think.

K. Kirchberger (39:48)
Exactly. No, exactly. ⁓ yeah, bad reviews.

Yeah, for sure. It's definitely a better way to look at it because yeah, like bad reviews, negative criticism, like it can be tough, right? But yeah, that's exactly it. Like not everyone is going to like the book you put out. it's just as a reader, like you, you know that right? Like you don't like every single book you read, right? So like, why would every person like your book? Yeah, I think you just have to read them because they're

Tina Koutras (40:13)
Yeah.

That's right.

No, exactly. Exactly.

Find the lovers.

K. Kirchberger (40:33)
Yeah, read the

bad reviews because you know you have to and some honestly sometimes they can be they can be helpful like constructive criticism but yeah you just have to not linger on them too long.

Tina Koutras (40:42)
Yeah.

So last question, and it's hit or miss.

Do you know your elevator pitch for your book?

K. Kirchberger (40:52)
my goodness.

Tina Koutras (40:53)
Give us the synopsis of why people would love to dive into your world.

K. Kirchberger (40:58)
I'm so bad with elevator pitches honestly. And I know it's something I need to get better at for sure. And especially like I said, I have that local author book fair coming up and like, people are going to come over and be like, what's your book about? I'm going to be like, well, like, read the back. It's right here.

Tina Koutras (41:15)
All right, so trial run for this coming up event.

K. Kirchberger (41:15)
Or like, ⁓ I know,

I know, I feel like my, my elevator pitches are actually like, if the elevator was like going up 300 floors. Because they're so long and like, roundabout. So okay, so like once a year, a draw is held in the capital that requires four mortals. this see this, I'm bad at this. So there's a mortal realm.

And then there are other realms and one of them is the realm of hell. So hell's not like a place in the biblical sense. Hell's like a physical realm, like a world that you can go to just like ours. So the strawbots held in the capital requires four mortals from each town be given over to hell. So the mortals are taken to hell where they will either become a mortal in one of the four courts or they will perish in the trials.

So one mortal is there's four courts in hell. So one mortal goes to the court of blood, which is the vampires. One goes to the court of moon, court of werewolves. A third is sent to the court of spell with warlocks and witches. And a final mortal, always a female, goes to the court of song, which is sirens. hell is kind of home to the creatures that are considered of demonic nature. So

werewolves, vampires, sirens, witches, warlocks, that kind of stuff. So back in the mortal realm, 23 year old Kenna hasn't had her name called for the collection since she became eligible at the age of 18. And she has this strong feeling that this is going to be her year, like something's going to change. But it's not her name that's called, it's her best friend who's really like her only family type situation.

So her best friend's name is called instead. So not willing to be without her, she follows her friend through the gateway to hell before it closes. But she doesn't know where her friend is in hell or which court she was collected for. So she has to kind of brave hell and all four courts as a mortal to find her friend. Yeah, and you know, like kind of along the way, you know, she gains the help of

an alluring stranger. know, it's romantic, you know, so there's a love interest who holds a lot of sway and hell. yeah, as like, their fates intertwine and everything happens. Yeah. That's why. So you'll have to read more to find out. Long winded elevator pitch.

Tina Koutras (43:39)
That's fantastic. You got me.

I think I might wait a little

bit until I know that second book is almost out. Because I think that it's awesome to have a cliffhanger ending. has value. But I definitely much more appreciate them when I can go, OK, next.

K. Kirchberger (43:51)
Thank

I

know, I know, I know. I feel the same way and I feel as if a lot of my readers do too and they're like, where's the second one? Like, when is it coming? It's coming, right? Even people I know, like, who have read it, who are friends, like, I...

I get texts all the time being like, so how's that book coming along? And I'm like, leave me alone, it's coming. Leave me be. Yeah.

Tina Koutras (44:28)
That's awesome. And

you've got another one to just fill the gap for people, make them happy.

K. Kirchberger (44:33)
Exactly. It's all coming.

Just be patient. Be patient.

Tina Koutras (44:38)
Mastery takes moments. the way it goes. Awesome. Well, Krystal, I had so much fun talking with you tonight. Thank you so much for joining me.

K. Kirchberger (44:40)
Exactly, yeah.

Yeah, me too.

Yeah, so thank you so much for having me. It was a lot of fun. This is my first time doing like a podcast pod, like a real podcast. So I was a little nervous that I was gonna, you know, blurt out weird answers or something. But you were like super easy to chat with. Super fun. Yeah, I'm sure you could tell I don't either.

Tina Koutras (45:06)
I'm really glad you had fun. I definitely don't take myself too seriously.

Well, I

look forward to the other book coming out so that I can read both of them together. And of course, the middle one. And I now that everyone knows how to find you, hopefully they will be able to dive in and your books are available on Amazon, I would assume. And then some local stores or anywhere else that people can find them.

K. Kirchberger (45:21)
Awesome.

Yep, they are.

Yeah, so Amazon is definitely the most convenient place for readers to pick it up. But there are some local book store local to me, book stores like independent book stores that carry it. But I guess that's kind of it depends where the read. Yeah, if you live in Midland, you'll be able to find it in little stores like in Midland or Barry or Collingwood. But yes, you're not in the area. Amazon.

Tina Koutras (45:51)
Only good if you live in Midland.

Awesome. Well, I really am excited for you and I hope that your journey is long and successful because I think that that is a captivating story concept. So very excited for you. Thank you so much.

K. Kirchberger (46:11)
Thank you. Thank you so much.