Q: Please introduce yourself! Share your name, pronouns, and something fun, interesting, curious, or important (take your pick) about yourself that you would like your audience to know.
A: Hi! I’m K.R. Thompson (he/him) and I’m a husband, father to my adorable little 9 month old daughter, engineer, planner, and now an indie author. My favorite hobbies are reading (I know, very original for an author to say this), running, video games, and movies. Oh, and pizza is by far my favorite food. I should have mentioned earlier that I like eating food. Add that to my list of hobbies :)
Q: What genre or format do you write in? (for example: romance, fantasy, short stories, poetry, etc.)
A: I write in YA Fantasy, specifically queer fantasy.
Q: Who do you write for? Who is your audience, and are you seeking to reach a particular type of reader with your work? Why?
A: I actually write for myself the most because writing is something I love to do, regardless of if anyone is ever reading my books. But I do hope my books bring entertainment and joy to others too of course! I love sharing my stories. I’d say the audience I’m trying to reach the most is anyone in the LGBTQ+ community given I love to include queer representation/themes in my books. Honestly, anyone who loves fantasy should give them a try, though!
Q: When did you decide you wanted to write?
A: Not long ago, actually. It was about four years ago. I randomly stumbled across Brandon Sanderon’s 2020 creative writing lecture videos on YouTube. I didn’t even know who he was at the time, but the idea of writing a fantasy book sounded fun to me, so I watched every lecture and was hooked into the idea of writing my own book by the end of it.
Q: There are so many possible avenues to take. Why write?
A: So, I still have the same day job as before, and I love it and plan to continue doing it. However, why did I make writing my main “second job” or my “main hobby” (whatever you want to call it) over all the other things I could do? Well, because it's fun and it brings me joy!
Q: Similarly, why pursue being an indie author? What is your goal?
A: I did try to query literary agents first, but ultimately I didn’t get any interest from them and the more I thought about it the more I wanted to go self-publishing anyway. I like to be in control of things, and self-publishing lets me manage every aspect of the writing and publishing process. I can do everything my way and on my own timeline. I actually like the business side of writing too. I’m a big fan of numbers and spreadsheets and things. As for my goal, I’d say it's just to get my debut novel published this May and see what happens! I know that doesn’t sound like an ambitious goal, and maybe it's not, but just finishing a book, polishing it, and getting it out into the world is a massive accomplishment I think.
Q: What do you do to hone your craft?
A: I keep writing (even when it's tough going) and I keep reading other books. I think that’s the best way to improve really! I also learned a lot going through the revision process for my first book, really taking in all of the feedback from my critique partner, my beta readers, and my editor.
Q: What tricks do you use to get out of writer’s block?
A: I don’t actually run into writer’s block very often where I literally don’t know what to write next, but some days are tougher than others to get the words out. On those days, I usually just force myself to get words on the page anyway, even if I feel like what I’m writing isn’t very good. If that isn’t working, I’ll take the day (or even the week) off if I need to. Sometimes we just need a refreshed mind to get back into things!
Q: Would you mind telling us about your writing process?
A: I like to do around six drafts for a book. The first (or rough) draft, the self-revision draft, the critique partner draft, the beta reader draft, the copy edit draft, and the proofreading draft (which becomes my final draft). Everything through the beta reader draft is heavily focused on story-based edits, and everything after is more about line edits and spelling/grammar corrections. When writing the first draft, I’d call myself 80-90% pantser. I only have a few major plot points for the story in my head, and I discovery write my way to those points. Sometimes, I’ll “outline” a few chapters ahead of where I’m currently at if I have a really good idea of what’s coming up soon, but otherwise I’m just discovering the story as I go! I’m also very much character-driven with my writing.
Q: Would you like to share anything about your current work in progress?
A: My debut novel, Divine Blessings, a YA Sapphic Fantasy, is coming out on May 27, 2025. That novel is the first of a trilogy, and right now I’m about 40% of the way through the second book’s rough draft. That book will be a direct sequel and continuation of the events of Divine Blessings. There’s another novel I’m working on when I have the time as well. All I can say about that one right now is it will likely be some sort of fantasy heist.
Q: Do you consider yourself a minority? If so, would you be willing to share the ways in which you are?
A: In most ways, I’d say I am not. I’m a white male with what I’d consider to be a relatively privileged background. But I am bisexual and a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
Q: Does this impact what you write about? If so, why and how?
A: Yes, I mentioned earlier that I enjoy writing queer YA fantasy, and my sexuality is definitely a major reason why. I certainly draw on my own life experiences as a bisexual when writing my stories.
Q: What does representation in literature mean to you? Is it important to you? How so?
A: Representation in literature to me means ensuring that diverse perspectives, settings, characters, and voices are represented in the many books that are out there. It is incredibly important to me. Growing up, when I was in the process of fully discovering and realizing who I was as a person, I still remember the first time I read a story with a gay character in it (Nico in the Percy Jackson series by Rick Rioridan). I remember rereading the scene where he comes out for the first time over and over again and just reading that helped me feel more comfortable about being bisexual myself.
Q: How do you think representation in literature affects culture? Does it?
A: I believe representation in literature absolutely affects culture. My wife is a public school teacher, and I’ve heard from her how excited the students get when listening to diverse stories and learning about historical figures of various socioethnic backgrounds. I think having diverse stories helps people not only connect with their own culture, but also helps them experience and understand other cultures as well.
Q: What advice would you give to new writers?
A: I have two major things that help me. The first is, ironically, to take all writing advice with a grain of salt. All writers are very unique, and advice that works incredibly well for one author might be awful for another. Definitely try all sorts of things out, but if something isn’t working for you, don’t be afraid to drop it and try something different. The second is regarding imposter syndrome. Many writers get it at some point; we feel like what we write isn’t good enough or can’t compare to the other awesome authors out there. Just remember that your writing isn’t as bad as you think. Not only are we all our own worst critics, but also we’re sometimes comparing our rough drafts to these polished final drafts that are on the shelves. That’s obviously not a fair comparison. And at the end of the day, what does “good” or “bad” even mean? It's all subjective.
Q: Do you have any work already out there that you would like to talk about? If so, please tell us about the project, why you wrote it, and what you hope readers will take from it.
A: I briefly mentioned it earlier, but my debut novel, Divine Blessings, is releasing May 27, 2025. It’s a YA sapphic fantasy novel that’s dual POV. It follows two female main characters, Nsiria and Elara. In short, some tropes/elements you’ll see in it include: mythology/deities, coming of age, sapphic light romance, class differences, and, perhaps most importantly, you’ll get a telepathic talking hat. I hope readers will enjoy the light-hearted, goofy humor peppered throughout the book, but will also relate to and connect with the tougher things the characters struggle with as well.
Q: Where can readers find your work? Please share links and pertinent information.
A: My Linktree has all my important links: linktr.ee/krthompsonauthor. My website is also a good place to go and also how you can join my newsletter: krthompsonauthor.com. If you want to pre-order Divine Blessings, you can go to the book’s landing page which links to every retailer currently carrying the book online: books2read.com/DivineBlessings.
Q: Thank you for sharing your thoughts, today. Any final words?
A: Of course, thanks for having me! I always love talking about writing and books :)
About the Author
K.R. Thompson is an engineer, planner, and author with a master’s degree in Civil Engineering from Iowa State University. While writing, he likes to blend lighthearted humor with the deep complexities and challenges that people often face in their lives. As a bisexual, he loves seeing queer representation in literature and will often include LGBTQ+ themes in his own books. Divine Blessings is his debut novel.
Image Description: A chibi-style illustration of the author lounging on a light blue recliner against a black backdrop. The character has peach skin and oval eyes. He is wearing a purple, hooded cloak and has a scroll unfurled in his lap.
Credit: c/o K.R. Thompson
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