A Slice of Cake With... Kelly S. Marsden

This week I am delighted to be having a slice of cake with Kelly S. Marsden.

Kelly grew up in Yorkshire, and there were two constants in her life - books and horses. Graduating with an equine degree from Aberystwyth University, she has spent most of her life since trying to experience everything the horse world has to offer. She is currently settled into a Nutritionist role for a horse feed company in Doncaster, South Yorkshire.

Her first book, The Shadow Rises, was published in January 2013, and she now has several successful series under her belt.

What kind of stories do you write?

I like the escapism that fantasy provides. It’s always been my favourite genre for reading, so it was inevitable that my own books would be the same! It takes you away to different worlds, or different versions of this world, so we can escape from the mundane for a few hours.

My first series features witch-hunters, who work in secret to keep us safe from evil witches. The trilogy follows Hunter Astley and his colleagues as they fight the biggest threat in history.

The Enchena series is a Narnianesque adventure, where two teenagers get dragged into another world, to fight a king that can bring the dead back to life. I always wanted to write books with good monsters and evil unicorns!

The Northern Witch series is based in North Yorkshire and features good witches and LGBTQ characters. Mark is a witch-in-training, who is drawn to a demon-possessed soul.

Can you describe your writing why?

I’ve always been writing, but I was inspired to find a way to publish about fifteen years ago. I wasn’t impressed with the new books being released at that time – they were all ‘celebrity’ authors or the same commercial plots. I decided that if I wanted a new, enjoyable adventure, I could write it myself.

My first book was finally published in 2013, accompanied by a very steep learning curve! There was so much I didn’t realise was involved, beyond writing the initial story, and I am so grateful for the help I received from other authors.

I was quickly hooked, and I now have 9 published books. I even get withdrawal symptoms if I don’t get to write regularly!

Share with us your favourite passage from the book you enjoyed writing the most

Winter Trials (Northern Witch #1)

Mark gathered his coat and bag and headed towards the common room, which was sure to be packed on a wet, miserable day like today. 

“Hey, maybe you could invite the new guy to your party.”  Sarah suggested. 

Mark rolled his eyes.  “Sure, I’ll just ask the good-looking stranger if he wants to come round to my Nanna’s and dance naked around a fire.” 

Mark was suddenly aware of the engulfing silence. 

“Who’ll be naked doing what now?”

Tell us about your latest project

Ah, my latest published book is Sophie: Witch-Hunter. This is a prequel to the Witch-Hunter trilogy and was released in July. It follows Sophie, in the years before she joins the witch-hunters, and explores why she is the cold-hearted bitch we all love.

And… that is all I can say about it! It is chock full of spoilers – if you are interested, I would recommend reading The Shadow Rises (Witch-Hunter #1) first (this is free to download from most ebook retailers).

On a personal note, I’ve had quite a tricky year or so. I had thought about writing the third book in the Northern Witch series, but I knew that in my frame of mind, it would end up being much darker than I wanted.

Instead, I poured all that dark and twistiness into Sophie’s story, which was the perfect vessel for it, and ended up being therapeutic.

What is your favourite cake?

I have a very healthy appreciation for all types of cake. My favourite changes daily! My sister is an awesome cook, and she makes an unbeatable carrot cake. My sister-in-law (to be) is setting up her own cake design business. Her cakes are amazing, the horse cake she made for my sister was so realistic, we didn’t want to eat it! As for myself, my go-to recipe is a no-cook chocolate cheesecake.

You can keep up to date with Kelly's writing on her website.

Join me next week when I will be chatting with Rik Ty.

If you would like to take part in A Slice of Cake With... please fill in the form found here. I'd be delighted to have you.

You can also support my writing endeavours and buy me tea & cake - it's what makes the world go round!

Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet, completely addicted to cake. Find all her books on Amazon. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop.