We chat with debut author Kara A. Kennedy about I Will Never Leave You, which is an emotional debut thriller that follows a teen girl being haunted by the ghost of her toxic ex-girlfriend, who gives her a chilling ultimatum—help her possess another girl or go down for her murder.
Hi, Kara! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi – absolutely! I’m an author of YA horror/thrillers about sapphic girls finding their place in the world. I live in Pennsylvania with my fiancée and our two cats, and when I’m not writing, you can find me exploring local coffee shops, running while listening to my carefully-curated Spotify playlists, or living a super-exciting double life as a content marketing manager at a startup.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love writing and stories, honestly! Even before I could talk, I was making up stories in my own baby language, and I learned to type because I wanted to write “books” just like the ones on my shelves. My mom was an author, so this career path was clearly modeled for me, which I think gave me realistic expectations along with a drive to push myself down that road.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine l’Engle
- The one that made you want to become an author: Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland
Your debut novel, I Will Never Leave You, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Spooky, sapphic, speculative, haunting, healing.
What can readers expect?
I Will Never Leave You can be a sad read – content warning for emotional abuse, which the mc Maya experiences from her ex-girlfriend Alana’s ghost – but I was also careful to include plenty of moments of levity and humor. I hope you’ll feel for Maya but still have a good laugh, and enjoy exploring Lake Ember with her!
Where did the inspiration for I Will Never Leave You come from?
The setting came first, because I knew I wanted to write something that took place at a lake – for a long time, the working title was “Lake House Ghost Book.” The concept of being haunted by an ex just popped into my head one day, but I assume it stemmed from my love of all things spooky. I always wanted to write a modern ghost story, and at that moment in my life, the toxic relationship between Maya and Alana was something I wanted and needed to write about. I quickly found that a literal haunting was a great way to depict that dynamic.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Alana was by far the most fun and most challenging character to write! Fun because I had her say the most horrible things, but challenging because I never wanted her to read as flat-out evil. I worked hard to infuse moments where the reader can potentially feel empathy or sympathy for her if you choose to.
This is your debut published novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
It felt like a really long journey while I was going through it, but in reality, things happened pretty quickly for me! I was lucky enough to land an internship at Penguin Random House right out of college, which was an amazing experience. While I tried out a few other jobs, I was always writing on the side, and was selected for both Author Mentor Match and Pitch Wars, two writing mentorship programs that sadly no longer exist. I grew so much as a writer through these mentorships, particularly Pitch Wars, which was like boot camp for writers. Through the agent showcase at the end of the program, I received five offers of representation and signed with my fantastic agent, Chloe Seager! We spent the summer revising, went on submission to editors in the fall, and sold after 9 days to my dream imprint and editor, Hannah Hill at Delacorte Press, which is a YA imprint of Random House.
What’s next for you?
I can’t say too much yet, but I’m planning on staying in the creepy, sapphic, horror/thriller space for another YA!
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed so far this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on?
Some of my favorites this year have been EVERY TIME YOU HEAR THAT SONG by Jenna Voris, HEARTS STILL BEATING by Brooke Archer, and UNDER THE SURFACE by Diana Urban. There are still so many books yet to come in 2024, including Rachel Moore’s adventure romcom US IN RUINS and Mackenzie Reed’s exciting mystery THE WILDE TRIALS! I’m also so excited for next year, when OUR INFINITE FATES by Laura Steven will absolutely take the world by storm.
