Born and raised in the small town of Mexico, New York, Kara Leigh Miller was an only child who was forced to find ways to entertain herself. Playing make believe with her Barbie dolls and stuffed animals was her first real taste of storytelling before she became old enough to develop a love affair with the written word.
She began her venture into the publishing world as a wet behind the ears author back in 2010. She started her career writing erotic romance, but in 2014, after a few too many bad experiences, she chose to focus on something completely different -- young adult novels for the secular market. She's represented by Cindy Bullard of Birch Literary. Kara now lives in Michigan with her husband, one (of five) kids, two pit bulls, and five cats. When she's not busy writing romance novels that leave readers swooning, she's spending time with her family, working out, or binge watching Netflix. And sometimes, she'll even play golf with her husband, even though she totally sucks at it. |
Why I Write: My Origin Story
Out of respect for my children's privacy, I'm not going to go into all the nitty-gritty details, but when my two oldest girls were in their tweens, I was unwilling dragged into a pretty nasty custody battle -- and I had very few options. I knew that I was going to end up losing primary custody of my girls, who had both been with me since birth.
I was devastated! I couldn't concentrate on anything. I couldn't write. I couldn't edit. I cried all the time. I started having panic attacks and had to be put on meds so I could sleep. |
Me and my daughter, Shailynn.
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The only thing I could do was read. Getting sucked into fictional worlds helped me "forget" everything for a little while; it calmed my mind and my spirit so that I could pull myself together enough to be able to care for my three other children who were still at home with me.
And I read everything! Mostly YA dystopian series: The Matched Series by Ally Condie, The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins, The Pandemonium Series by Lauren Oliver, The Divergent Series by Veronica Roth, The Uglies by Scott Westerfield. But I also re-read my all-time favorite series -- The Twilight Saga, which is a comfort read for me.
At the time, I didn't realize why I gravitated toward that specific genre, but looking back now, I do.
And I read everything! Mostly YA dystopian series: The Matched Series by Ally Condie, The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins, The Pandemonium Series by Lauren Oliver, The Divergent Series by Veronica Roth, The Uglies by Scott Westerfield. But I also re-read my all-time favorite series -- The Twilight Saga, which is a comfort read for me.
At the time, I didn't realize why I gravitated toward that specific genre, but looking back now, I do.
Me and my daughter, Sierra.
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I had no control over what was happening in certain aspects of my life, and that's often true for the characters in dystopian novels, too. The characters don't really have control over their lives or the larger world around them, and so they embark on a journey to fight back, to make changes that will better the world. I could relate to those types of characters and what they felt.
Eventually, life calmed down, and I've been able to rebuild solid relationships with my girls. But if not for the solace that books gave me, I'm not sure I would've made it through that difficult time. Books saved my sanity, and I knew that I wanted to do the same for someone else. |
And so, I write because I want to give people an escape from real life. I want to help others through difficult times, to find solace in fictional worlds, to find that peaceful place when the rest of life is chaotic. I want my books -- my stories -- to inspire and encourage others so that they can fight through to find the light at the end of whatever dark tunnel they're stuck in.
Kara's four-legged fur-babies: