Kate Watson’s newest book, Lovestruck, will be hitting shelves April 2nd! I was lucky enough to receive an Advanced Reader Copy of this book, which I immediately fell in love with (pun intended)! This fun -and funny- novel tells the story of Kali, a cupid-in-training who accidentally sticks herself with her own arrow! Any book that touches on Greco-Roman mythology is a must read for me, and this did not disappoint. Here is a quick summary of the book, pulled from Goodreads:

Sixteen-year-old cupid-in-training Kali is in an Olympus-sized mountain of trouble. Rule number one in arrow-toting matchmaking: don’t stick yourself. But accidents happen, and Kali instantly falls hard for her indie rock, bass-playing target, Benicio.
The God of Love is going to kill her. Even if he is her dad.
Being the daughter of Eros isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. For one thing, a girl can get jaded when her parents have the most beautiful and fatalistic love story in history. For another, immortality royally sucks when the Oracle condemns you to eternity in the wrong profession. Do the Gods care that Kali wants to ditch the love stuff and be a muse?
Nope.
To reclaim her heart and her destiny, Kali is left with no choice but to defy the Gods, tempt the Fates, date the mortal love-of-her-life, and hope she doesn’t lose her best friend, Hector, in the process.

To celebrate the release of this awesome new YA novel, Kate was kind enough to do a little Q&A session with me! Let’s see what she has to say!

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When did you first realize you wanted to be an author?

I was young–probably six or so. I would write and illustrate these little stories called “The Heart People,” which I then sold to my parents for 25 cents a piece. I was hooked from the first quarter!

When did you write your first book, and what was it about? Did it ever make it to print?

I wrote my first book in high school. It was fantasy, about a boy who learned that his parents were part of an evil system that was controlling his world. He runs away from home, learns magic, and has to try to overthrow the government and his own family…kind of like a hundred other fantasy series out there. 🙂 It will definitely never see the light of day.

What does your schedule look like when you are working on a book?

I’m a stay-at-home mom, so I write when my kids are napping or in quiet time, which usually means I have 1-2 hours once (or twice, if I’m lucky) a day, if I don’t have anything else that needs to get done (which I often do). If I’m on deadline, I’ll also write a bit at night and sneak it in on Saturdays while my husband plays with the kids. I always take Sundays off. Gotta recharge sometime!

What character(s) from Lovestruck was your favorite to write? Who was the hardest?

I adore Kali. She’s flawed and jaded and selfish, but she’s also so lost that I can’t help but want to hug her! But Artemis was probably my favorite. I’ve always loved her in myth, and I wanted her to have a happy ending more than even Kali! The hardest to write was Aphrodite, who is a minor character in the story, but who is still important to the events. She has some great qualities but she also has some really problematic ones, and the problematic ones are the ones that had an impact on the story. Finding the right balance for her was tough.

If you could describe the book in 5 words or less, what would they be?

True love is real Hades.

Where did you get your inspiration for Lovestruck?

I was at work about ten years ago, and I had an image appear in my mind of a Cupid standing in a busy school hallway with a dot of ichor on her finger. She was staring in shock at the boy she’d just accidentally matched herself with. I started researching and writing down ideas from there, and then in 2013 for NaNoWriMo, I decided to tackle the story. It was the easiest NaNo I’ve ever won!

Lovestruck is a standalone, but will we ever see a spinoff? This world is so much fun! 

Thank you! I have so many stories I would love to write about those kooky Olympians, but I’m currently working on a different book right now. If the opportunity arises, I will jump on it.

Can you give us a hint as to what you are planning for your next release?

Yes! My next release will come out in 2020, and it’s the final companion novel to my first book. It’s called Off Script and is a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma, with a Hollywood twist.

What is one fun, but super random, fact about yourself?

I used to do voice work for commercials! My husband and I had a party with some friends once, and he had one of my commercials queued up on the playlist for all of our friends to enjoy at my expense. It was one of the most hilarious and mortifying moments of my life. Good thing he’s so cute… 🙂

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A super huge thank you to Kate Watson for subjecting herself to my questions! 😉

Lovestruck is out April 2, 2019. You can order your copy by following this link! It’s available in both paperback and ebook formats, so you’ll be ready no matter your preference!