Kara Robson is a junior SCAD Atlanta animation student who spends her free time writing books. She has written two books at the age of twenty. Her first book is called The Witch and Her Familiar. Max was a normal guy who just wanted to play baseball before his whole life changed when Jaelise flitted into his life. Jaelise is a young witch who is rumored for greatness. This greatness has made her a threat to her own kind and gotten the attention of a shady coven, Golden Animus. When she flies into Max’s life, she gives him a life-changing proposal. Max might be the solution to Jaelise’s problems and Jaelise will show Max a world he never dreamed of. Jaelise and Max’s adventure continues in the second book of the series, The Witch and Her Circle. I sat down with Kara to ask her a few questions about writing a book series while still in college.
Photo illustration by Kara Robson.
Jordan Di Pirro: When did you get the idea for the book series?
Kara Robson: The book series I published originated from a short story I had written in high school about kids with super powers. I basically took the cast, flipped their personalities, and put them in a whole new setting. I was inspired during Halloween to make a Witch AU (alternate universe) of the characters I already loved.
JD: What was your inspiration?
KB: I was already in love with these characters for years and I doodled their character designs in my spare time, so it kind of inspired itself. There weren’t that many other books of the same genre that I pulled from because I hadn’t been reading that many fantasy books at the time. But the YA novels that have been coming out recently pushed me to explore different kinds of characters and how they would struggle in a world where magic is hidden.
Illustration by Kara Robson.
JD: How do you find time to write and do homework?
KB: Finding time to write takes a lot of time management. I usually wrap my days around homework sessions and if I have something I want to write, I usually plan out a few hours where I dedicate to just writing. I usually plan my work sessions between lunch and dinner, that way I have the rest of the evening to do whatever I want, whether it be to write or draw.
JD: When and why did you decide that you wanted to write a book? Why not a comic book since you are in animation?
KB: I love to write! I’ve been writing long “novels” since high school but most of them were fanfiction so it wasn’t like I had it in mind to publish those. National Writing Month’s (Nanowrimo) opportunity to publish your writing for free motivated me to tackle my own novel. Back when I was writing my book, I wasn’t confident enough in my art or ability to draw comics enough to pursue comics, but I’ve been dabbling in web-comics lately for practice and it is surprisingly a lot harder than just writing a novel.
Illustration by Kara Robson.
JD: Being in animation, do you hope it becomes a TV show or movie someday?
KB: It is literally my dream to have one of my stories become a TV show or a movie. That’s one of my ultimate goals. It’s kind of funny I chose animation when I’d probably have a better foot in the door with screenwriting.
Illustration by Kara Robson.
JD: Do you have any plans on writing a book outside of the series?
KB: Of course! I have plenty of different stories I want to pursue besides my witch story. As much as I love my witches, I also love mermaids and fairies and soldiers and warriors and there are still so many different issues and topics I want to tackle in the future.
JD: When is the next book in the series coming out?
KB: At the moment I’m not sure if I’m going to write a third book to the witch series since I’m still debating on how I should do the plot. If I do decide on continuing it though, I’d most likely writing it during Nanowrimo again in November.
Kara Robson’s two books The Witch and Her Familiar and The Witch and Her Circle are available for purchase at Amazon.