{Blog Tour}: Kelley York Interview

I am lucky enough to be part of the Hushed blog tour today! If you haven't read Hushed, I highly suggest you do as it was amazing, and certainly a dark and thrilling novel. Not typically what I read, but the dark aspect of it was an interesting change. My review of it will be coming very soon!

Hushed by Kelley York

Pages: 260
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Genre: YA Thriller
Buy the Book:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

He’s saved her. He’s loved her. He’s killed for her.

Eighteen-year-old Archer couldn’t protect his best friend, Vivian, from what happened when they were kids, so he’s never stopped trying to protect her from everything else. It doesn’t matter that Vivian only uses him when hopping from one toxic relationship to another – Archer is always there, waiting to be noticed.

Then along comes Evan, the only person who’s ever cared about Archer without a single string attached. The harder he falls for Evan, the more Archer sees Vivian for the manipulative hot-mess she really is.

But Viv has her hooks in deep, and when she finds out about the murders Archer’s committed and his relationship with Evan, she threatens to turn him in if she doesn’t get what she wants…And what she wants is Evan’s death, and for Archer to forfeit his last chance at redemption.

Kelley was able to do a quick and fun interview with me, so I hope you enjoy it!

Hey Kelley! Firstly, I¹d like to say that I loved Hushed, it was so dark and intense wow! Speaking of that darkness, in regards to the main character Archer, he was a bit of a sociopath. What was it like getting inside his head and writing things from his morally skewed perspective?
Surprisingly easy. (Maybe there's something wrong with me??) Even if Archer does things I could never do, it wasn't hard for me to get into his mind frame. He comes across as this distant, cold guy, when in reality Archer's problem is that he loves too much. He cares so intensely about the people he loves—Vivian, Marissa, his mom, Evan—that there really is nothing he wouldn't do for them. I think it's the love he has that lets me really connect to him.

Hushed has been compared quite a bit to the (AWESOME) tv show Dexter, which is about a man that is also a serial killer who kills for what he believes are good reasons. Do you watch Dexter, and if so, was Hushed inspired by it in any way?

No, HUSHED wasn't inspired by it. I watched a few random episodes a couple years back, but never got around to watching the whole thing. I've definitely heard the comparisons and I certainly don't think it's a bad thing to be compared to such a popular series. It's kind of flattering, really, that anyone would think my book could even hold a candle to it!

Okay, let¹s have some fun now! :) Use the letters of Hushed to create an acrostic poem of words that describe your book.

This is going to be embarrassing. You asked for it...
H oping to make
U p for past mistakes, while
S ilently suffering
H imself. But
E ven in the
D arkness, he finds the light.

Don't laugh! Poetry has never, ever been my strong point.

And lastly, are there any things in the book, such as characters or subplots, that changed drastically from the first draft to the final copy?

Not really. Some subtle changes were made, but nothing that required massive rewrites. The only thing I rewrote was the ending: I took out the last chapter and added in two or three new ones going a different direction. At first, I was really hesitant because I liked the ending I had...but my editor and I tossed ideas back and forth and now the ending is so much better than what I started with.

Thank you so much for doing an interview with me Kelley, I appreciate it so much! :)

Thank you so much for having me!

About Kelley

Website • Blog • Twitter

Kelley was born and raised in central California, where she still resides with her lovely wife, daughter, and an abundance of pets. (Although she does fantasize about moving across the globe to Ireland.) She has a fascination with bells, adores all things furry - be them squeaky, barky or meow-y - is a lover of video games, manga and anime, and likes to
pretend she's a decent photographer. Her life goal is to find a real unicorn. Or maybe a mermaid.

Within young adult, she enjoys writing and reading a variety of genres from contemporary with a unique twist, psychological thrillers, paranormal/urban fantasy and horror. She loves stories where character development takes center stage.

What Are Others Saying?

"Kelley York delivers in this impressive debut. I was at the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next! Bottom line, this was unputdownable!!!"

--- YA Fantasy Guide

"How exciting that we live in a time when gay teen protagonists can be just as screwed up as straight ones -- and their stories just as creepy!"

--- Brent Hartinger, award-winning author of Geography Club and Shadow Walkers