EP #139 How A New Mom Built A Dark Fantasy Trilogy From Scratch

A fantasy trilogy doesn’t always start with a master plan. Sometimes it starts with motherhood, a return to reading, and one scene that won’t leave your head. I’m joined by Fredericksburg local author Kate Cunningham, who writes adult fantasy with moody, dark settings, and she shares how The Blood Kingdom grew from a personal writing exercise into a complete three book arc, with the final release on the way.

We get into the real craft work behind finishing a series: how Kate knew her story needed three books instead of stopping at a duology, how her psychology and engineering background shows up in character work and structure, and what it looks like to build a drafting and editing process that actually fits life. She also opens up about racing a hard deadline while very pregnant, tracking daily word count goals, and staying focused long enough to deliver a satisfying ending.

If you’re curious about indie author marketing, Kate breaks down why Instagram is her best platform for connecting with readers and how tapping into Fredericksburg, VA independent bookstores helped her build momentum. She also busts common writing myths, especially the idea that you need credentials or a perfect outline to begin, and gives simple advice for starting anywhere and weaving the story together later. Subscribe for more local creator stories, share this with a writer friend, and leave a review with your biggest writing question or the scene you’ve been afraid to start.

The Blood Folk Series
Book 1: The Blood Kingdom
Book 2: The Blood Crown
Book 3: The Blood Reign 
All books can be found on Amazon, Kindle Unlimited, and Barnes & Noble as well as the local fredericksburg bookstores: (Tales & Tails, Curated, Novel, TBR Shelf, The Book Market)

Kate Cunningham

Local Author

katecunninghambooks.com

linktr.ee/kate.cunningham.books

Transcript

Welcome To Fredericksburg Neighbors

Speaker 1 0:01

This is the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Dori Stewart.

Meet Author Kate Cunningham

Speaker 2 0:13

Welcome back to another episode of the FXBG Neighbors Podcast, where we share the stories of our favorite local brands. I have a special guest joining me today. Instead of interviewing a local business owner, we have a local author, Kate Cunningham. Welcome to the podcast. Hello, and thank you so much for having me. Well, I'm really excited about this, and I've heard great things about your work. So let's start there. Tell us about your books.

Speaker 0:44

Sure. So I write fantasy, adult fantasy, um with moody dark settings, and that's kind of my thing. So I actually just finished my very first series called The Blood Kingdom, um, the Blood Folk Series, but the first book is the Blood Kingdom.

Speaker 2 0:59

Awesome.

Speaker 1:00

How many books are in the series? So I'm about to release my third, and it is the final book in the series.

Speaker 2 1:06

So that's really exciting, and that's really fun to have a series. So it's not just like one and done. So walk me through a little bit of that process. Did you know that it was going to be a series when you started?

Speaker 1:21

So I guess my start is a little um untraditional, I suppose. Uh I just started writing. It kind of poured the story kind of poured out of me as I was becoming a I became a mom and I got back into reading and I really rediscovered my love of fantasy. I've always loved fantasy. Um, but it kind of morphed into this what would it feel like to write my own story? And so when I set out to write the first book, I didn't even really expect it to become a book. It was truly just a writing exercise and just something I was doing for myself. And then I got to the point where I was about 80% through that very first book and what it ended up becoming. And I was like, wow, this is this is actually this is becoming a book and not just a book, but this is becoming a series. So yeah, I think by the time that I had almost finished the first book, I realized this is definitely gonna be three books for sure. And I think that um I just kind of end up sticking with that.

Speaker 2 2:18

So that's so fun. I imagine that is motivating, right? Knowing that there's, you know, gonna be another one and then another one. That sounds like such a fun process.

Speaker 2:31

It was very motivating. It was also very challenging because um at one point when I was writing the second book, I kind of stopped and I thought, could this just be a duology? Because duologies in the fantasy space are definitely becoming more popular than trilogies or longer series. And um, I did have some questions about whether this could be a duology, but I kind of realized, no, my characters need more time to um develop and kind of follow their arcs. And so I definitely needed a third book as well.

Psychology Engineering And Becoming An Author

Speaker 2 3:01

I love that. I love that. I want to learn more about you. Tell me about your background. How did you get into this?

Speaker 3:09

Um, so my so my background is also very unconventional, too. And I think that's a piece of advice I would give to anybody who is considering specifically jumping into writing or thinking about writing a book or has always had a dream of maybe this is something I want to do. Um, I do not have a writing background. I have a background in psychology. I got a psychology degree, and then I also have a background in engineering, and that's what I came from when I became a stay-at-home mom. And so that transition of becoming a stay-at-home mom kind of propelled me into writing these books. Um, this was not necessarily a lifelong dream of mine to write books, but I think I've always been such a voracious reader, and I've always been telling stories in my own head that um I think it just kind of naturally came from that. So if I can encourage anyone else, you don't need credentials, you don't need awards to start writing a great story.

Deadlines Word Counts And Pregnancy

Speaker 2 4:08

You have a very interesting background. So psychology and engineering are so such different mindsets. Yeah. So but and but I bet that both sides of you have helped you in the process of writing the book. Like the engineering side of you, you know, it's very um into systems and processes, and that probably kept you on track, maybe.

Speaker 4:33

Absolutely, especially for this third book. I was definitely less um concerned with process, but particularly with my first book, it was truly just writing for myself. So I put no deadlines on myself, I was putting no constraints on myself. It was just write the story how it comes out, or write scenes as they come, or develop these characters as they show up. Um, but then as I began moving through writing book two, I think that you kind of realize you do need some type of process to make the story come together to find closure at the end. And for sure with this third book, um, I am very pregnant. So I had I had a very strict deadline I had to stick to in writing this third book, keeping to drafting process. And so I had, I mean, if you saw my calendar, um, it is covered with notes because in my calendar every single day I had a word count goal that I was trying to reach, I had editing goals I was trying to reach as far as pages that I was editing through just to make sure that I was sticking and I to my process and sticking to this deadline so that I could make sure this book came out before I had a baby.

Speaker 2 5:37

Oh my gosh. Oh my goodness. How fun though you're you're kind of birthing the uh the baby, but then the trilogy. And so um, how fun is it gonna be though, once you have a new baby and you have the trilogy out? It's gonna be a big time for celebration.

Speaker 5:58

Yes, definitely a big stage of transitions for sure. And so I do feel I'm just I feel really good at this place that I'm in. I feel very fortunate. I've had a huge amount of support from my husband, which is incredible. Um, and so I just feel really great to be putting this book out, especially the final book, to wrap up this chapter in my writing career before I start this next stage because it is another big transition. Yeah. Have you thought about what's next for you in terms of writing? I have. Um, so I've had a project on the back burner. I think most authors will tell you that this is the case. Um, sometimes these little sparks of ideas show up in the middle of when you're trying to do something else. And so that's exactly what happened for me in the middle of writing my second book. Actually, I had this little spark of an idea that was completely separate. Um, so I did start writing that, and that's been on the back burner for the better part of gosh, a year and a half now. Um, so I do have something that I can kind of pick at in the meantime, but um as you know, as any mom or parent knows, um, a lot of things just go to the back burner when you're in the newborn trenches. So I'm not putting any pressure on myself to um to push a new project at this point, but I am glad that I have something to look forward to and kind of something to mull over in the meantime.

Marketing Books On Instagram

Speaker 2 7:16

That's exciting. That's exciting. I love that. And so what has been the best way for you to market your books and get the word out about it?

Speaker 7:26

So for me personally, it's definitely been Instagram. Um, that's just the platform I feel the most comfortable with. I'm sure that has to do with my age. I'm a millennial, so I feel the most confident using Instagram and just um, and I think that's where a lot of my readers are. Um, I know a lot of other authors have had success on other social media platforms. I think you need to do your research when it comes to who your target demographic is. And so for me, it's mostly women between the ages of say 20 to 50. And most of those women are on Instagram. So I've been very fortunate that I have found a really great following on Instagram and I've found a lot of support there. Um, so that's primarily what I use. But also I have made a point to tap into the local places where we lived. Um, my husband is active duty military, so we have bounced around a little bit. But when we landed here in the Fredericksburg area, I made sure to tap into the local bookstores that were in here and just try and get a feel for the writer-author network. And it's really been incredible.

Speaker 2 8:30

I love that. I love that. I love that we have some very local bookstores that do a lot to support local authors here in Protoxburg.

Speaker 8:39

Yes. Particularly this past year, I've been blown away by the amount of local bookstores that have popped up. Um, and I just I feel so fortunate that I was able to tap into that community. I've met really wonderful friends through it.

Myths About Writing And How To Start

Speaker 2 8:52

Yeah, I love that. So, what are some myths or misconceptions that people have? And and you can answer this whether it's about whether it's about writing or whether it's about the genre. Um, what are some things that you hear that that you just feel like you have to bust the myth?

Speaker 9:13

Um, so I mean, we touched on it a little bit. I think I speaking from my own experience, I definitely had a myth that I needed to have a certain background or certain credentials to allow me to do this thing, which is just not true. If you have a great story to tell, it doesn't matter what your previous background is in. Um, and I think it really helped. I was very fortunate to have a mentor who had written a lot of books, and I kind of was able to pick her brain and found out that she came from a completely different background too. She didn't have some fancy English degree, she didn't have writing awards, she didn't have any of those things that I thought you needed to have to write a book. And she was like, no, if you have a great story to tell, that's what matters, and people will be drawn to that. And I think that's very true. Um, and another thing I think that a question I get a lot when I'm at signings or when I get to meet readers is um, how do you start? And I think a lot of people think that you need to have some fully fleshed out idea of a story, or you need to have some fully plotted um concept. And for me at least, that was not true. My story, this entire series started from a single conversation that kind of popped in my head between these two characters, and it was a scene that happened in the middle of book one, but that was the first kind of glimmer I had of oh, these characters talking to each other and what is their dynamic. And I built the story around that. How did we get there? How did we end up there? What are these stories? What are these characters' backstories that make them who they are now when we meet them in the story? And so the best piece of advice I can give for any anyone who's considering writing is just start anywhere. If you have a scene in your head that comes to mind, it's okay if it's out of order. I still write a lot of my scenes out of order and then I weave them together. Um, and I think I think people just think that there needs to be a very specific structure or there needs to be a very specific path that you follow, and that just isn't true.

Where To Buy Books Locally

Speaker 2 11:21

I'm really glad that you talked about that because I thought that. I mean, you think about okay, you're gonna start at the beginning, like where do we start? And so I really love that that you don't have to start at the beginning and you can start anywhere and build build around that. I love that. So if the listeners want to buy your books or if they want to connect with you, what where's the best place to find you?

Speaker 11:47

Sure. So the best place to find me is Instagram, and I am at authorkatec unningham. Um, but also you can find a lot of my books locally, which is incredible. Um, I will be looking at my notes here because I have a whole list of incredible bookstores that carry my books now. Um, so particularly if you're local to Fredericksburg, we've got um my books are carried by Tales and Tails, and they will be doing my release party for book three this Saturday, March 28th, um, four to seven. So if anyone is available, stop by. We'll have some really exciting treats, and of course, you can get a copy of The Blood Rain. Um, and then I also am carried by Curated, which just opened up in downtown Fredericksburg on Caroline Street. Um, novel books, which I don't remember what they're on a side street in downtown, but they're also downtown. And then there's TBR Shelf, which is a mobile book store, and they cruise around Fredericksburg and a little bit south, like King George area, and then the book market.

Speaker 2 12:41

Amazing, amazing. Love all of those local bookstores. Thank you for giving them the shout out. And of course, I'm so excited for you and uh keep me updated on any future releases so we can help share. And I appreciate you joining me on the podcast. Absolutely, thank you so much.

Speaker 1 13:02

Thank you for listening to the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to FXFG Neighbors Podcast.com.