Katie A. Lewis

A mother and daughter team. With mom’s help, a new career is being built.

Please, introduce yourself. Tell us about your personal life, family, education.

My name is Katie Lewis, and I’m a young aspiring author. I was born in Cardiff, but I was raised (and still currently live) in Spain with my family. My mum is definitely my biggest fan. I went to an all-Spanish school and am fluent in both English and Spanish. I gave uni a try after completing my high school education and studied psychology for a brief period of time, but that way of learning just wasn’t for me. So now I write part-time, and I also work as a teacher in an Academy.

What do you like doing in your spare time?

I love reading and writing whenever I get the chance, but I also love to spend time with friends and family as often as possible.

If you are a writer, are you an avid reader?

Definitely, reading is by far my biggest passion, and it has been since I was about ten. The Harry Potter books are one of my all-time favourites, and my favourite author is Sarah J Maas.

What is your ultimate writing goal as you see it today?

To be honest, I always want to keep my writing as a hobby, not a full-time job. I feel like if I focus solely on that, then it stops being fun, and the creativity doesn’t come as easily either. It becomes a job, a main source of income, and I never want my writing to become that. I always want it to be flexible and authentic.

Inspiration

What inspired you to write your first book?

I’ve always had ideas in my head due to how much I read, and one day, I sat down and actually started to plan out what I wanted to write. It wasn’t until the pandemic that I actually had all the time in the world to focus on my writing full-time, and that was when A Curse of Love and Law came to life.

Who is your favourite writer, and what is it about their work that really strikes you?

Sarah J Maas. Ever since I read A Court of Thorns and Roses, she’s been my number one. There’s just something so magical and inviting about her world-building and her characters, and to this day I have yet to find an author who can captivate my attention the way she does. She inspires me to create something memorable, so that’s what I’m trying to do.

Do you remember the first book you read?

The first book I read was The Famous Five. I can’t remember which exact story, I just remember it being a huge blue book that took me forever to get through, bearing in mind I was about 9 years old at the time. After that first, I never looked back.

When you see new authors struggling, what single piece of advice could you give them on a moment’s notice?

To take a step back. Everybody has their off days, and instead of forcing it, the best thing you can do is walk away for an hour, a day, or maybe even longer, if that’s what you need. Don’t rush your creativity for anyone. It’ll come; you just need to give it time.

How do you want others to see you or remember you? Is it important to you?

All that I care about is people enjoying my work. Even at the beginning, I remember saying that if one person picked up my book and enjoyed it, I’d done what I set out to do. It’s not about the money or the possibility of building a huge community, it’s simply about creating something that others might like.