Bonus Episode with K.T. Carlisle

Hey friends! Welcome to another Indie Author Spotlight Bonus Episode! Hopefully you read the feature interview I did with K.T. over on The Writer's Workout website, where I'm a volunteer. If not, please go! Quickly! Without haste! Because K.T. shared some great things and you'll wanna read all about her work. Do it now, do it at the end of this bonus episode, but whatever you do... read that interview on the IAS page!

What does your writing ritual look like? 

I used to have such a strict writing ritual to train my brain into getting in the mood to write, even when I didn’t feel like it. I’d read for an hour or two, write in my journal about what I planned to tackle in my story that day, then start writing. That was before I had a stepson, and my life changed pretty dramatically. Now, my writing ritual is pretty much just me racing to get through my workload every day so I can squeeze in at least 1 – 2 hours of writing time/day before my stepson gets home from school. 

What’s the worst advice you’ve ever received as an Indie Author? 

People were eager to tell me pretty early on that I’d need to throw a lot of money at Amazon and Meta ads if I wanted to succeed. As a digital marketer, I was more than comfortable developing successful campaigns for my clients, so I figured I’d give it a shot. I sank thousands of dollars into ad placements that, while helpful in terms of furthering my reach, were ultimately unprofitable. After that experiment, I decided to take a totally different approach with my next book. Rather than spending thousands on ads, I stuck to just posting about my upcoming release on social media. I sold more copies relying solely on posting to Twitter than I ever did by purchasing ads through Meta or Amazon. 

What’s your go to book, movie or musical artist when you need some inspiration (or just a break from the keyboard)? Why? 

My favorite thing to watch when the creativity well runs dry is Dateline. I’m a huge true crime junkie, so watching documentaries about real crimes that have occurred is a constant (albeit macabre) source of inspiration to me—especially when I’m trying to figure out the details about a particular piece of my mystery puzzle. 

If you could snap your fingers and be “known” for one piece of your writing, what would it be? Is it something already published? Or is it something in your heart you’ve not yet written? 

I’d want everyone to associate me with I KNOW WHAT I SAW. To a certain extent, this has already happened (you wouldn’t believe the number of people who tag me in Bigfoot-related content or shoot me a DM about Sasquatch every day), but if it occurred at a much larger scale and I became an internationally recognized Bigfoot Book Queen overnight, I wouldn’t be mad at it. 

Any other tidbits you wanna share? 

I’m a huge advocate for victims and survivors of domestic violence. As a survivor myself, I’ve pledged over $2,000 in royalties to the National Domestic Violence Hotline since fleeing my abuser in July 2024. While I am no longer in a position that allows me to donate 100% of my royalties, all proceeds earned from my most recent release, INTUITION, will go toward this fabulous organization that helped save my life and the lives of countless other victims.