Butterfly Tour: Author Interview with Kyra Gregory

Today I will be interviewing Kyra Gregory, author of Butterfly.

What are your favorite book(s)?

From childhood I've adored Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore, both by Murakami Haruki. More recently I've been in love with The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and plenty of manga (Japanese comic books), particularly anything by Yuki Kaori.

Who is your favorite author?

Probably Khaled Hosseini. I've read both of his published works, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, and I really admire how he can tackle difficult subjects but give so much attention to feelings, developing characters that you feel for and get attached to. The way he writes gives people insight into the lives of people that can be different but also very much the same because we can relate to what they feel.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

My inspiration comes mostly from people and their feelings. I think feelings are the most complex and diverse things we have as human beings and feelings truly add depth to a story. I often look at a single situation and then think about the feelings such a situation evokes from different types of people. Since most of my stories are so very character-driven feelings really are what move a story along.

Where is your favorite place to do your writing?

I'll usually choose my setting depending on what I'm writing. Since I often write late into the night after a long day I typically do my writing at a desk in my bedroom which I set up to fit the mood of the scene or story I'm writing. This includes the right music, the correct lighting, any items that fit my story and any research that I need on hand. This is the ideal place for me to write because I can always tailor it to my needs and pace around if I need to without fear of bothering people.

What made you decide to become a writer?

I was looking for something that I was good at and was searching for a place of my own, somewhere I could fit in and be myself. When I found what I loved and what made me feel comfortable, the only thing I truly believe I'm good at, I didn't ever want to let it go.

What is the hardest part of writing for you?

It's certainly the difficulty of the topics I write about; I often write about such heavy subjects and spend countless hours dwelling on them, whether through research or through the story.

Tell us about your newest book.

My latest book is Butterfly, the first in a series called Forgotten Children. After the collapse of an Abbey many young children are displaced. Ellis McGowan, a child psychiatrist, is assigned to understand and get through these traumatised children who have basically appeared out of nowhere. In an effort to learn everything he needs to know to help everyone he takes the two eldest orphans into his home to live with himself, his pregnant wife and young adopted daughter. It follows everyone's struggles as the family tries to adapt and get to know the newcomers, while the two orphans deal with the shock and unfamiliarity of being in such a warm and loving environment.

About the Author

Kyra Gregory is a young author from the tiny island of Malta. In those rare moments when she isn't writing, or even thinking about writing, she's furthering her education. Writing novels from a very young age she began self-publishing in June 2011, releasing four books in six months.