Kieran Wisser is a 19-year old author that I recently had the opportunity to connect with.  Ms. Wisser can be found on Amazon, here:  http://www.amazon.com/Kieran-Wisser/e/B00C7W2TPS/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Her new book, ADAMANT, portrays high school student Kate as she discovers that her life is not exactly as she thought.  How could it be when you find out that you are related to the mythological characters you have been reading about all your life?  The characters in this novel are quirky yet fabulous!  Even now, at the age that I am (wink, wink…), I enjoyed how Ms. Wisser developed her teen-aged characters.  Written for an audience between YA and NA, ADAMANT will appeal to readers that grew up with Percy Jackson; though it is clearly not written for the same audience as Percy Jackson.  The characters become involved in some pretty serious, adult situations.     I hope you enjoy learning more about author Kieran Wisser, and her book, ADAMANT.  I think she’s up and coming!

S. M. Nystoriak:  Welcome to my Writer’s Block, Kieran!  I’d like to begin today by getting some information about you.  Currently, you are nineteen years old.  At what age did you decide to become a writer?

Kieran Wisser:  I know that I wanted to tell stories when I was very young, I would tell stories to myself and my younger sister, and when I got to middle school, I started really getting into putting stories on paper. I used to say it was what I was going to do when I grew up, and when I published Adamant, I decided that I was grown up enough!

S. M. Nystoriak:  Are you a college student now?  If so, what is your current major?

Kieran Wisser:  I am not as of yet, but I’m hoping to start in the fall! I’ll be going for my BFA in visual arts or creative writing, I haven’t decided.

S. M. Nystoriak:  Did you design the cover art for Adamant?

Kieran Wisser:  I did! I drew it in a program called Paint Tool Sai, all digitally. But I have no talent or the proper tools to edit the font for the logo, that was done by my good friend (and fellow Tumblogger) Ines Pena.

S. M. Nystoriak:  What is your favorite medium to work with?

Kieran Wisser:  I really love to sketch and doodle in pencil. I just set up an Instagram so I could take pictures of my pictures, as opposed to hauling out the scanner. I also do a lot of work digitally with a Wacom tablet.

S. M. Nystoriak:  Every writer has their own way of constructing their work.  Would you describe yourself as a “Plotter” or a “Pantser”?  Do you find time to write every day, or do you write on a more sporadic schedule?

Kieran Wisser:  Pantser! All the way. I rarely know where a story will go once I get started. I write at least a sentence or two every day, but I can go into the thousands on a good day.

S. M. Nystoriak:  Adamant is a novel featuring high school aged characters, yet they tackle some pretty thrilling situations.  What are some of your favorite scenes that you wrote for Adamant?

Kieran Wisser:  Hmm… I guess all of them isn’t the right answer? I really loved writing scenes where Kate and West or Kate and Claire interacted, so much opportunity for verbal sparring! And the big final battle was fun to write too.

S. M. Nystoriak:  I liked how in the book you take the time to explain a bit about the mythological characters you introduce.  How long have you been studying mythology?

Kieran Wisser:  I’ve always loved magic and fairy tales. And myths. I’d say that I seriously got into mythology when I was 11 or 12 though, and it blew up in the last few years when I got addicted to Wikipedia.

S. M. Nystoriak:  In Adamant, you make references to Tumblr.  Could you comment on the importance of Tumblr, and sites like it, to the teenager today?   Have those sites become common culture for teens today?

Kieran Wisser:  I wouldn’t quite say they’re common culture, exactly, though when your popular posts make it to Facebook there is something to be said about that. Kate and Claire are intensely nerdy and represent a pretty ignored group of kids who are either mocked or seen as just being weird and having no lives. But they have real and intense passion for fictional things like so many Tumblr users in the infamous fandoms, and have lives outside of fandom too. I love Tumblr, because it put me in touch with so many great (and not so great) people that I share interests with. It introduced me to so many of my favorite books and shows. Although it is a major timesuck!

S. M. Nystoriak:  One of your novel’s greatest strengths are the characters.  Which human character can you most identify with?  Alternatively, is there a mythological character that means the most to you?

Kieran Wisser:  Kate, and a little of Claire too. Kate’s life and her personality have a basis in my life and my personality, and she’s my favorite heroine I’ve written so far because she comes so much from the heart. Claire too, because she’s about my age, and it’s a scary time in someone’s life, those first few years of adulthood. And as for mythological characters, I have to say that while West is my baby, Ares is probably my favorite. He’s been beaten-up by his brothers and sisters so much, and all he wants to do is get rid of all his old junk!

S. M. Nystoriak:  One of my favorite characters is West.  I love his dialogue and the descriptions you include about his actions.  Who was your character to write and why?

Kieran Wisser:  Georgie, honestly, because she’s so tricky! No facial expressions to show how she’s feeling, mostly body language and voice. I loved writing West too though, because I tried to write him in a really free, loose way, very different from most YA leading gents. I’m glad he’s so loved, he’s gotten a really positive response (Georgie too).

S. M. Nystoriak:  Another question about West.  Do you think he would have an iPod?  If so what would be on it?

Kieran Wisser:  Absolutely he would! Probably lots of organic and folksy music, or intense music with a lot of cool imagery. While I was writing I listened to the Fleet Foxes and Florence and the Machine, so I think he’d have those, and Band of Horses too.

S. M. Nystoriak:  Is Adamant your first novel?  If not, please tell us more about other books you have written, as well as what might be on the horizon for you as an author.

Kieran Wisser:  It’s not my first book, but I took my last book down because I just wasn’t happy with it. I don’t like to keep things I’m not thrilled about up for sale. But coming up, I’m hoping to finish up a new adult/YA story called Tambling about a girl who adopts a talking cat and discovers fairies and other mythological creatures in the woods behind her grandparents’ house. I’m also working on the sequel to Adamant, called Iron.

S. M. Nystoriak:  Well, I appreciate the time you took to participate in my Writer’s Block interviews.  Thank you so much!

For anyone wishing to learn even more about Kieran Wisser and her book ADAMANT, Kieran has left the following links:

Kieran’s inspiration blog for Adamant: http://theironworkersdaughter.tumblr.com/

Kieran’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/TypingKira

Kieran’s splash page: http://about.me/KieranWisser.com

Drop me a line!  Have any of you read ADAMANT?  I would love to hear your comments!

Thanks!