Q/A With the Queens of the
Mafia World 👠👑🔫
Q. How'd you two decide that Kaz & Vi needed to be put on the paper.
Bethany: I don't know how Kaz came to be, as he came from London's mind, but as for Violet, I sort of fixated on the kind of heroine that would work for his character. And as for how we decided to write, London emailed me one day with, "You bring the Italians. I'll bring the Russians." Haha.
London: Yep, what she said. That's literally how it started. But Kaz? I wanted to write a different kind of hero. For me, Kaz is more blunt, more bold, just more everything. I wanted Kaz to be larger than life, and I think we accomplished that.
Q. I love that with this book (and books that I've read separately by both of you) the side characters are very intriguing without overshadowing the main H&h. As a writer when you write secondary characters do you put in as much time in them as you do for main?
Bethany: I think I do, because I almost always want to give them a story at some point in time. Or I want to kill them off so I either want you to hate them or feel for their death. It just really all depends.
London: Oh definitely. I want the secondary characters to have just as much life as the main characters. The way I work, I set it up where anyone--except the ones that are killed off--have the potential to get their own storyline one day.
Q. I have to point this out, outta all the chapters in the book, chapter one was very powerful. It was like Pandora's box. How did you decide that scene needed to be the opening?
Bethany: You mean the Prologue with Vasily and Alberto? There was a reviewer that said something about the Prologue giving the reader a look at exactly who these people were and you could choose to believe it or not. And I think that sums it up really well. The graveyard scene was the first thing we knew had to be written, although London may remember why we wanted in there, as I don't.
London: Yea, I think that scene sets the groundwork for not just Where the Sun Hides, but for the rest of the series as well.
Q. Kaz and Violet's love is Forbidden but you've also included something else "forbidden" too *which I love you two so much for* I'm talking about Kaz's older Bro. How did that idea pop up?
Bethany: Not everything is as it seems with Ruslan-I mean that topic is there for him, but it's much more complicated than that.
London: Yea, what Kris said. There's a lot to Rus, and I remember going to Kris one day with an idea, and she liked it, but then a few weeks later, she came back with something even better, so here we are.
Q. After we're done with Kaz & Vi, will you guys have a spinoff or is that still undecided?
Bethany: Um … yeah, I think so. You'll meet some people in the second book that we'd like to write about, and probably Kaz's siblings.
London: There's not enough time in the world for all the books I want to write with BK. We have a running joke that we'll just become Kris Miller and write books under that name together, for the projects we want to do together I mean.
Q. Without a doubt you two write very descriptive and thorough background info to the T. And if anyone loves fiction with a relatable reality you ladies are the Queens. However, that being said, do you ever have moments where you're like "nope scratch that"? Or a story that you started but later decided it won't see the light of day?
Bethany: I rarely, rarely, cut material from my novels now. I've gotten pretty good at not adding in words or fillers to up my word count at the end of the day. And if I have put something in, it may seem sort of random, but there is a point to it all you'll probably find out later. I love foreshadowing. As for starting stories I never finished, I have about 3 in my files right now that are less than 10k of words each. That's sort of my limit-if I can't make it to 10k and still like it, it'll probably never go anywhere but an unnamed file in my desktop.
London: Sometimes, yea. I'll be writing a scene, for example, and first I'm thinking it's going one way and then I'll get a spark of an idea and delete it all. All depends on what I'm writing. I don't think I have any that won't see the light of day, I just have to write them.
Quick Fire.🔥🔥🔥
*rapid questions and answer with the first thing that comes to your head*
1. If I was my character I'd be:
Bethany: Catrina from the Marcellos-love her.
London: Calavera--you'll meet her soon enough.
2. Movie that I'd love to star in:
Bethany: I don't like TV all that much.
London: MARVEL. Give me Bucky or give me death.
3. Food that I can't live without:
Bethany: Poutine.
London: Nachos
4. Guilty pleasures:
Bethany: Smoking, Rockstars. Anything sugary or chocolate.
London: Cupcakes and bothering my husband when he's in the middle of playing his video games. Also, BK thought I should put sleeping in ‘til noon.
Bethany: Because she does-so she should. >.>
5. Top 3 TV shows you're in love with now:
Bethany: I don't like TV, but I will drop everything to watch Vikings, Grey's Anatomy, or Big Bang Theory.
London: Peaky Blinders, Mr. Robot, and Modern Family
6. *reply to each others question*
Thing I love about Bethany.
London: (She's not standoffish, don't let her tell you otherwise) But seriously, she's one of the nicest, most supportive people I know. AND, yesterday for example, she sent me like sixty smiley faces to wake me up--or just to mess with me. She's great.
Thing I love about London.
Bethany: She has a very soft heart. ;) I'm sort of standoffish, and she's not, which I appreciate a great deal. And she wrote Mish, Luka, and Klaus, so … winning.
7. If you could travel anywhere in a blink of an eye where would it be.
Bethany: Egypt.
London: Ireland
8.Last book you read that left you in reader's paradise:
Bethany: So Much Pretty.
London: Fearless
9. 3 beauty products that you swear by:
Bethany: I'll use all sorts of products, lol. But basics, of any kind of product, is good lotion, face primer, and the right mascara. Oh, and learn to contour.
London: ABH contour palette, Becca luminous foundation, NARS creamy concealer. I could go on for days. Days.
10. My go-to movie is:
Bethany: Hard Candy.
London :V for Vendetta
