A Conversation with Kris Vanc, a Smutty Romance Author

Kris Vanc, a pen name, is the author of The Charlington Chronicles series.  She’s a 33 year old woman, living in a little coastal town in The Netherlands. She writes smutty romance and published Reverse Harems, with lot of other kinds of books in the works. Writing is her way of coping. It’s her way to relax and to escape the real world. In the real world, she works a full-time job and has a busy household with a husband and two small kids. If she’s not writing, she’s reading.

Let’s get started with a quick rapid fire.

Q1. If you could be transformed into one mythological creature, which one would you choose?

A dragon. I’d love to go take a nap while defending my trove.

Q2. What is one thing you wish you enjoyed more?

Awesome question. I’d love it if I could enjoy working out, that’d make it that much more easy.

Q3. What are the least-likely three words someone would use to describe you?

Small (I’m 6ft or 1.80m), late and slow.

Q4. Where did you go on your last vacation?

We stayed in the Netherlands and went camping in a tent.

Q5. Would you rather find your dream job or win the lottery? You can’t do both.

Win the lottery. That way I could perform my hobby (writing) without having to worry about money.

Q6. What is one thing you regret spending money on?

Most of my cleaning utensils. It feels like such a waste of good money.

Q7. What object do you misplace or lose the most?

My e-reader. It’s usually glued to my hand, but my kids have a tendency of hiding it from me when I’m not looking. Great trick my husband taught them!

Q8. If you were a spy, what would be your codename?

AWTO (Accident Waiting To Happen).

Q9. What secret about the universe would you most want to learn?

Where do all my sock go when they mysteriously go missing? One always disappears!

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Q10. Favorite Holiday Destination

Spain. The sun, the food, the people. I love it.

Q11. What was one “before” and “after” in your life?

There was before publishing and after publishing. Before me was always wondering if I was ever going to do it, after me is so proud to have just done it.

Q12. What do you think people misunderstand about you?

People think I’m social, which I’m not. I’m a hermit if you let me be, but I hold myself pretty well in social situations. People just don’t understand that I’m faking it.

It’s time for a more detailed conversation, Kris.

You’ve answered our rapid fire brilliantly, Kris. Now, it’s time for our readers to know more about the person behind the book.

Q. Tell us something about yourself that’s going to keep us wanting more.

I write from what I’m passionate about. I find lots of things fascinating and will hyperfocus on it. I’ll read up on a subject and make sure I know everything about it. Then I’ll write about it from that same passion. What it is I’m passionate about varies. I have a book series about a ritualistic serial killer, but about a rock band as well. A new work in progress is about illegal whale hunting. So really, I’m all over the place.

Q. Well, that’s just…memorable for sure. So, what books have you read more than once in your life? 

I read all my favorites more than once. I’ve read all the books by Robin Hobb multiple times. I can quote parts of the books from Patrick Rothfuss verbatim. Brent Weeks, Brandon Sanderson, Raymond E. Feist.

But I’ve been on a romance binge lately as well. Kate Stewards books are rereads for me, the books by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti. T.J. Klune, Sarah J. Maas. I love rereading books.

Q. Interesting. Who has been the biggest supporter of your writing? 

That would be my best friend. She’s been supporting my writing for the last twenty years. Then there’s a group of writer friends I met a little over a year ago. They got me to actually publish my work. We’ve called ourselves The Sparkling Vampire Bitches and I wouldn’t be able to do what I do without them

Q. Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few die-hard fans will find?

Yes! Easter eggs all over! And if you know me, you’ll find little pieces of myself in all my books. You just have to know to find it.

Q. For an author, what do you think is worse – negative reviews or zero reviews?

Oh that depends on the negative reviews. I can appreciate a negative review when it explain why it’s negative. That means I can learn something from it. I think that’s better than zero reviews. I wouldn’t know what to do when I wouldn’t get any reviews at all.

Q. What comes first for you — the plot or the characters — and why?

Mainly the characters. They’re alive before a plot comes to me. But they’re related though. I won’t write a crime story when my character is a cowboy. My characters speak to me. They insist that their stories are told. The plot comes after that.

Q. How do you plan your plot and characters? 

My characters come to life themselves. They start talking to me. They have names which I have little to no influence on. And then I start with thinking about what these characters are going to learn. I want to know their flaws and I want to know how they’re going to develop. I adjust the plot to that, and I mix it with what I’m obsessing with at that moment.

I start with an outline for a whole series. What do I want to happen in book X, Y and Z? Then I plot the whole book per chapter. It’s just one sentence per chapter, and usually the characters make me mess it up. I start out as a plotter, but I end up as a pantser.

Q. You got 100 points. You need to divide them on the basis of how relevant and important they are to you as a reader and a writer for your book or someone else’s as a reader. Your options are Plot/Story, Dialogues, Book Cover, Marketing, and, Reviews.

Plot/Story 30

Dialogues 40

Book cover 10

Marketing 10

Reviews 10

I’m a sucker for banter. I love it when characters have good dialogue. If they don’t if the book is too descriptive, it’s not my thing. I can look through all the other stuff if there’s a good story and good banter.

Q. So, now, about your book. Talk to us about it. No major spoilers.

This one’s for all the crime junkies. My latest series is called ‘Tellings of the Time’. The first two books, Hidden by Hours and Mourning the Minutes, have already been published. My third and final book in this series, Seconds to Silence, releases December 31^st. It’s a contemporary Reverse Harem.

Abby, the CEO of a non-profit organization that saves kids, stumbles into the burial site of a serial killer. After that, the serial killer named The Time, takes an interest in her. Together with her best friend, who’s an (sometimes not so) ethical hacker, an FBI agent and her latest love interest, she tried to balance life, work, and catching a serial killer before more women die.

Q. What part of the entire book publishing process, starting from the plot idea to the book anniversary, do you find tough or tricky?

The marketing isn’t my strong suit. I’d love it if I didn’t have to self promote, but unfortunately that’s what us Indies have to do.

Q. What is your kryptonite as a writer?

Getting little voices for other characters in my head while I’m still working on another project. Sometimes they’re so loud I have to write them down before I’m able to continue my current work in progress. Admittedly, those insistent voices usually lead to the best characters.

Q. What risks have you taken with your writing that have paid off?

Just getting my work out there. Accepting that it’s never going to be perfect, and doing it anyway. Between writing my first book and publishing it was a period of just two months. I suddenly decided I was going to do this and went for it. It’s paid off because I feel very fulfilled in having finally published something.

Q. Let’s talk about the process of writing. Do you do research while writing a book to add more authenticity? What kind and how far do you go – ever travelled to a foreign place or learned some skill, just for the sake of your book?

I’ll do a million Google searches, read books, listen to podcasts. I want it to be authentic. I have to be careful with it though, because I’ll get lost in an endless research hole.

Q. What was your hardest scene to write?

I have a scene about an attack on a fortified house with a drone and a bomb. My husband came up with the scene, and while I felt it, writing action scenes isn’t my forte. I think I rewrote that chapter at least six times. His vision didn’t match my words was what made it hard. In the end it turned out pretty okay, but I’ll never write about drones again.

Q. What is the best money you’ve ever spent with regard to your writing?

Getting professional covers. They effortlessly make covers that I wouldn’t be able to make in even a hundred years.

Q. Well, this has been great. Now, before we wrap this up, do you have any suggestions to help someone become a better writer? If so, what are they?

Write about what you love – it’ll show in your writing, and readers will feel that. And the cliché saying that something that has not been written can not be improved is very true. Just write it, even if you’re not happy with it. You can always make it better.

Thank you so much for having me!

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