About K.J.

K.J. McPike is the USA Today bestselling author of the Astralis series. Her debut novel, XODUS, has won multiple awards, including First Place Category wins in both the 2015 Paranormal Awards and the 2016 Dante Rossetti Awards for Young Adult Fiction, a category medal in the 2016 New Apple Summer Ebook Awards, and silver medals in both the 2016 Readers' Favorite International Book Awards and the 2016 Wishing Shelf Independent Book Awards. Her upcoming novel, Tenuous, will release on May 30, 2017. 

After growing up in rural Virginia, K.J. embraced the nomad life and has since lived in Spain and Thailand, as well as all over the United States. Her travels have also taken her to places like Argentina, Turkey, Portugal, England, Italy, Mexico, and Ireland, and she is actively adding more to the list. No matter where she is around the globe, she is likely consuming too much caffeine and spending more time in coffee shops than her own apartment. 

INTERVIEWS

 
 

Live with Katie Adler—K.J. MCPIKE: AUTHOR (Audio Below)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS


HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE IDEA FOR XODUS?

For those who are wondering, the initials are T, K, A, J, and H. Can you see them all?

For those who are wondering, the initials are T, K, A, J, and H. Can you see them all?

Oddly enough, the inspiration for XODUS hit while I was mapping out the plot for a different book. As I was thinking about where to take that storyline, I started rubbing the back of my neck, where  I have a tattoo of a symbol that combines my first initial with the first initials of my four siblings.  Then it hit me that it would be fun to write a book about five siblings and a symbol they shared that had some kind of mystical power. Everything else I originally planned transformed quite a bit through the writing process, but it all began with a tattoo and a little bit of writer's block.


WHERE DID THOSE CHARACTER NAMES COME FROM? (AND HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE THEM?!)

I heard the name Xitlali (seet-lah-lee) for the first time when I was still working in Early Childhood Education. One of the girls in the toddler classroom had the name, and I just loved it (and her, too, of course!).

Oxanna (ok-sah-nuh) and Dixon (dik-suh n) are fairly common names (I think), and they just happened to work for my story.

Ulyxses (yoo-lik-sees) is my slightly tweaked version of the name Ulysses and was definitely the hardest to come up with. I needed certain letters in certain places for reasons I cannot disclose until later in the series, and I went through what felt like a million different made up name possibilities before settling on this one.

As far as I know, I made up the name Salaxia (sah-lah k-see-uh). This name came to me as I was toying around with letter combinations that would fit my requirements. Again, can't say why just yet. You'll have to wait and see!


ARE THE CHARACTERS IN XODUS BASED ON YOUR OWN SIBLINGS?

There are definitely pieces of each of my siblings woven into the characters. There are no exact replicas of any of my family members, but some of the dynamics between the five kids reflect how my siblings and I were with each other growing up. It was fun to revisit what it was like living in such a busy house.
 

HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH WRITER'S BLOCK?

So far, the best remedy I've found for writer's block is to close my laptop and use good old-fashioned pen and paper. I usually just start writing words on the page, even if those words have nothing to do with my project. I've been known to begin with things like "I have no idea what to write" and go from there (shout out to my tenth-grade English teacher, Ms. Stanley, for teaching me that trick). Once the pen gets moving, there's no stopping it. Best case scenario: I get back on track with my project. Worst case: I get my frustrations out. I figure it's win-win.
 

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR ASPIRING WRITERS?

Make time to read and write every day. Both are equally important.

Also, try not to go back and edit until you get to the end of your project. I spent so much time editing and perfecting scenes as I wrote them, only to find I had to cut them once XODUS was completed. Cutting scenes always seems to be heartbreaking, but it eases the pain if you didn't spend countless hours working on one before you give it the axe.
 

HOW CAN I KEEP UP WITH YOU ONLINE?

Oh, how sweet of you to ask! You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Or sign up for my newsletter!