We chat with author Kaitlyn Hill about Wild About You, which is a grumpy-sunshine teen romance where the trail to true love doesn’t always come with a map.
Hi, Kaitlyn! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! I’m the author of three standalone YA reality showmances, Wild About You, Not Here to Stay Friends, and Love from Scratch. I’m also the proud mother of the most perfect dog in the world, Jolene, an avid romance reader, and star of KHGTV, a.k.a. my sporadic Instagram stories chronicling my amateur home improvement and gardening efforts.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
The love of stories definitely came about long before my love of writing. As far back as I can remember, I was creating make-believe adventures for my Barbies, my Polly Pockets, and my poor childhood friends who probably would’ve preferred a less overbearing playmate who let them make up their own dialogue once in a while. I loved reading, but I generally thought of writing as something I did for school, never for fun, until I was a teenager and discovered fanfiction. That was when I felt the first spark of interest in putting words to a page, but it still took a few more years for me to realize that this love of storytelling could become a career.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: the Eloise series by Kay Thompson! I wanted to be Eloise.
- The one that made you want to become an author: The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: A Heart in a Body in the World by Deb Caletti has my heart always.
Your latest novel, Wild About You, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Love is a wild adventure
What can readers expect?
Wild About You follows two college students the summer after their freshman year as they compete on a wilderness survival competition show set on the Appalachian Trail. It has an unapologetic girly-girl heroine who never imagined herself backpacking the AT but will do anything to pay for school, a grumpy, outdoorsy love interest who can’t believe his (bad) luck getting stuck with this princess-y partner, representation of anxiety and grief, banter ranging from snarky to flirty (or sometimes both at once), romantic moments on a mini golf course, only one tent, and silly challenges made up by an author who couldn’t do most of them in real life.
Where did the inspiration for Wild About You come from?
The fictional show in the book, Wild Adventures, is kind of like The Amazing Race, but with contestants racing along a section of the AT rather than around the world. There was a particular season I was watching while coming up with the idea for WAY in which Amazing Race producers tried to add a dating show element, with half the teams being existing couples and half being pairs of single people matched up by the show. Some of the matches they made were so terribly, obviously incompatible from the first leg of the race, but others I got really invested in and wanted them to fall in love. In both cases, it made great TV and sparked a fun story idea.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Natalie is the first protagonist with whom I’ve explicitly explored mental illness and life with an anxiety disorder. A lot of her experiences are inspired by my own with finding out I had anxiety while I was in college, learning how to manage it, and growing more comfortable accepting that part of myself and sharing it with others. Her journey means a lot to me, and already hearing so many early readers say they see themselves in Natalie has been incredible.
This is your third published novel! What are some of the key lessons you’ve learned since your debut in 2022?
Oh gosh, so many! The biggest are probably that 1) a book’s life is way longer than the week of its release, and 2) the small slice of book world that you see on social media does not represent everyone in the world who reads and buys books! I had to see both of those things proven true for me before I believed them.
What’s next for you?
I’m working on book four, which is another YA romance and my first outside the reality showmance realm! I’m also slowly revising a secret project that I hope sees the light of day eventually.
Lastly, are there any book releases that you’re looking forward to picking up this year?
I’m so excited about Summertime Punchline by Betty Corrello, Love, Off the Record by Samantha Markum, Here Goes Nothing by Emma K. Ohland, and Whenever You’re Ready by Rachel Runya Katz.
