Monday’s Friend: Kay Lalone
As Women in Horror Month continues, I am pleased to welcome another woman of horror to the blog. Today’s guest is Kay Lalone, author of spooky stories for children and young adults. Welcome, Kay!
SJT: Some writers discover their calling at a very young age. Others arrive at it a bit later in life. How did it come to you?
KL: I remember in grade school sitting at the kitchen table writing a short story and asking my mom how to spell words. So I knew at a young age that I wanted to be a writer.
SJT: Who would you cite as your influences?
KL: My biggest influences were my parents because they taught me the joy of reading. Without that joy of reading, I don’t think I would have found the passion for writing my own stories.
SJT: What advice would you pass on to beginner writers that you wish someone had told you when you were first starting out?
KL: That it is hard work. If you don’t have that passion to write, you will eventually give up. It’s not easy sending your story (baby) out into the world and seeing it rejected over and over again. You need to have that passion to write even if no one reads your words. You have a story to tell, so tell it.
SJT: Tell us about your latest release, FAMILY SECRET.
KL: Sixteen-year-old Thomas Patrick Henry is thrown into a web of secrets and demons after his mother’s murder.
FAMILY SECRET is not based on a secret from my past or from my family. The idea for FAMILY SECRET came from a picture I saw for a writing class. The writing assignment was to look at a picture and develop a story from it. In the picture were a train and a boy and girl.
I asked the question, What if? What if this boy was running away from something? What if he felt like he wasn’t wanted? What if a secret was being kept from him? Asking what if gets the imagination flowing. Over the years (it took fifteen years before Family Secret became published) I just let my imagination run wild and soon it developed into the book it is today.
SJT: Have you always written spooky stories, or is this a genre you accidentally fell into?
KL: I have always loved to read mysteries and spooky stories. I was always told to write what you know. So, yes, I’ve always written spooky stories.
SJT: Have you ever put people you know in real life into your stories?
KL: No, not yet!
SJT: February is Women In Horror month. Would you say that there is still a misconception out there that women don’t write horror? Have things improved? Discuss!
KL: I have never really thought about it much. But yes I think there is still is a misconception about women writing horror. When I think about horror, the first author that pops into my head is Stephen King. I love to read his books. But recently I started reading a book by Willow Rose.
SJT: What projects have you got on the go at the moment?
KL: At the moment, I am revising a mystery, paranormal story titled MYSTERIOUS VISIONS. It is about a teenage girl who has visions. Of course, some of those visions are scary. There is mystery, romance, and ghosts in this story.
Blurb for FAMILY SECRET
On the road to solving his mother’s murder, sixteen-year-old Thomas Patrick Henry discovers a secret his father has kept from him for years. Tom thought Dad’s secret put him in danger, Mom’s secret is far worse. Magic. Witches. Ancient Book of Spells. Magical Amulet. Ghosts. Demons. Tom never thought these things existed until he is face to face with them. There is nothing else to do but destroy the demons before someone else Tom love dies. He already lost his mom and a close friend because this secret was kept from him. No one else will die. No one else will be possessed. Tom faces his demons. A mother’s love gives Tom the strength to slay his demons.
Kay and her family
Author Bio
Kay lives in Michigan with her husband and teenage son (two older sons and a daughter-in-law and her first grandbaby live nearby) and two dogs. She loves to get up every morning and write about ghosts, the paranormal, and things that go bump in the night. She writes PB, MG and YA novels. No matter the books she writes, she wants her readers to feel like they have met a new friend. She is an avid reader of just about any type of book (mystery, paranormal, and ghost stories are my favorites). She does reviews and posts them on her website and blog. She loves to collect old books, antiques, and collectibles and you can find many of her antiques and collectibles selling on ebay and at fleamarkets.
Catch up with Kay and her books at the following links:
MuseItUp
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Blog
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Imaginary Friends 
Thanks for hosting me.
Thank you for sharing this. I’m easily scared and have to read spooky tale during the hours of daylight. Strangely, this doesn’t apply to crime novels. By the way, it is usually accepted that the first horror story was Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
Thanks for commenting, Rosemary! Even though the first horror novel was written by a woman (and a young one at that – 17 years old) there still seems to be resistance around to the concept that women might read – and write – horror. There are still quite a lot of us out there!