Welcome to Howling for Books, J.B. Kantt, author of Roses Are Red!
J.B. Kantt is a debut author whose novel Roses Are Red was released recently. Take a look at her book before there's an interview with her!
Roses Are Red (The Blood, Sweat and Tears series, #1)
by J.B. Kantt
Published May 10th 2015 by Silver Rose Publishing
After her foster mother’s unexplained death six months ago, fourteen-year-old Isla Timearth just wants things to go back to normal for her and her twin brother, Monty. But “normal” can only go so far for a closed-off girl with abandonment issues and an anxious boy that gets frequent nosebleeds. Still, the troubled redheads give it a shot by returning to the summer camp they’ve been going to for years.
Aside from her crush showing up unexpectedly, the summer starts out as Isla expected: she participates in multiple activities with her friends, while her brother shies away from doing anything with anyone. But camp traditions get rained on when their biological mother shows up unannounced and, as far as Isla’s concerned, unwelcome.
Knowing that Mother Nature is the mother of all mood swings, Isla isn’t all that surprised to find out that her temperamental biological mother is the terrestrial goddess. What does surprise her is that Monty, the favorite twin, already knew but never told her. Despite being annoyed that such a huge secret was kept from her, Isla has always questioned the loyalty of her own flesh and blood. But once more family secrets start to unravel around her fellow campers, Isla finds out whether blood really is thicker than water.
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About J.B.
The first story J.B. Kantt ever wrote was for a creative writing class application during her college days. Little did she know that a step towards fulfilling her undergraduate language arts requirement would also be a step towards fulfilling a passion for writing she never knew she had. Now, despite her dreams of becoming a developmental pediatrician, not a day goes by that J.B. doesn’t think about becoming an author as well. When she’s not hitting the books, she’s working on her next book (in between volunteering and practicing taekwondo).
Her debut novel, Roses Are Red, is the first of the Blood, Sweat, and Tears Series. J.B. hopes that her journey to publication helps other writers realize that through hard work and dedication, anything is possible, no matter how old you are or how long you’ve been writing.
Now, here's an interview with lovely J.B.!
Can you tell us
about your debut novel, J.B.?
I can tell you that it’s a young adult paranormal. In
terms of any other details, I think the back blurb of Roses Are Red
explains it well:
After her foster mother’s
unexplained death six months ago, fourteen-year-old Isla Timearth just wants
things to go back to normal for her and her twin brother, Monty. But “normal”
can only go so far for a closed-off girl with abandonment issues and an anxious
boy that gets frequent nosebleeds. Still, the troubled redheads give it a shot
by returning to the summer camp they’ve been going to for years.
Aside from her crush showing up
unexpectedly, the summer starts out as Isla expected: she participates in
multiple activities with her friends, while her brother shies away from doing
anything with anyone. But camp traditions get rained on when their biological
mother shows up unannounced and, as far as Isla’s concerned, unwelcome.
Knowing that Mother Nature is the mother of all mood swings, Isla isn’t
all that surprised to find out that her temperamental biological mother is the
terrestrial goddess. What does surprise her is that Monty, the favorite twin,
already knew but never told her. Despite being annoyed that such a huge secret
was kept from her, Isla has always questioned the loyalty of her own flesh and
blood. But once more family secrets start to unravel around her fellow campers,
Isla finds out whether blood really is thicker than water.
What inspired
you to write about Isla, Monty and terrestrial gods?
I was actually inspired by an anime called Black Butler. It was one specific scene
towards the end of the series that sparked the idea for Roses Are Red. I
won’t give away what that scene was because I don’t want to spoil it for those
who plan on reading Roses Are Red and/or plan on watching Black Butler.
What would be the best compliment given to you by a fan of this book?
The best compliment would
probably be that my book somehow made a difference in their life. To know that
my work can have an effect on a reader would be amazing.
Do you prefer writing standalones or series? Why’s that?
I don’t really prefer one to
the other; some books are meant to be standalones, while others are meant to be
series. It really depends on how many ideas I have and/or how complex those
ideas are.
How important
are your peer’s opinions of your work?
I appreciate everyone that reads my book, whether
they’re my peers or readers. I know that everyone has different opinions, some
that are in favor of my work and some that are not, and that’s okay. At the end
of the day, I like writing stories that I’d enjoy reading, and that’s what’s
most important to me.
What books have most influenced your life?
I’d say my favorite books
have influenced my life, just simply because I still think about them even
though I read them years ago. My top
two favorite books are To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and You
Don’t Know Me by David Klass.
Are you busily working on the sequel / next book?
While I’ve created an (disorganized) outline for the
sequel to Roses Are Red, I’m thinking about writing the first book in a
completely different series before I write the sequel.
Thank you, J.B., for visiting Howling for Books and answering some questions!
Remember Me (Storm Lords, #1)
