Interviews

November 2018 - Interview with Leigh Heasley

Hullo everyone! Eveloy here with LeighHeasley , author of Kairos, a time travel story packed with action and romance, Adultfiction 's Book of the Month for November.

Good morning, Leigh, so happy you could make it here today.

Firstly, can you tell us a little about your non-Wattpad life?

Leigh: When I'm not writing, you can find me getting into adventures with my husband KCerescu , my best friend DrawnbyKenna and my dog Jessie. Together, we play D&D (I've been DMing for about eight years now), go to food truck rodeos, geek out over Disney animation and Imagineering, watch MST3K, and generally just being unadulterated dorks together.

Elveloy: What drew you to Wattpad?

Leigh: My 12th grade English teacher was Wendy Higgins (), who went on to write the Sweet Evil series after she left her position at our school. She got her publishing contract via InkPop, a now-defunct website that was a lot like Wattpad. "If she can do that, maybe I can too," I thought to myself. Since InkPop was gone, I did a quick web search for similar websites and stumbled onto Wattpad.

Elveloy: Talking of your writing, do you consider yourself a 'plotser' or a 'pantser'?

Leigh: Kairos was definitely a pantser book. I threw everything and anything I thought was cool at the rough draft for Wattpad and hoped something would stick. After doing a total rewrite for the second draft (not available online right now), I've realized I never, ever want to pants something again. I'm definitely a plotter now. For writers just starting out, though, I recommend pantsing until you begin to understand the rhythm of storytelling.

Elveloy: Sounds like good advice. And I see congratulations are in order! Kairos won a Watty last year! What has been the impact of that (if any)?

Leigh: Winning a Watty was pretty cool! It definitely brought a lot more attention to Kairos and a lot more people follow me on Wattpad now, which is a strange feeling. I also made friends with the absolutely lovely SeventyMurphy because she won a Watty in the same category I did. (Seriously, go read her stuff. I cannot recommend highly enough.)

Elveloy: Not only did you win a Watty, but I understand your story is being considered for a TV series by eOne. How exciting! Are you able to share more with us?

Leigh: Entertainment One optioned the television rights to Kairos in February 2018. I just turned in a Lookbook for it a couple months ago. (For those unfamiliar with the television industry, a lookbook is a little like a document with quotes, visuals, and dream casting choices to help a team understand what the tone of the show should be. Think of it like a really extra mood board.) They're currently looking for a scriptwriter, then after that it will be pitched to networks. I'm pretty low key about the whole thing because optioning doesn't necessarily mean that it will get picked up. 

But, you know, if anybody at Netflix is reading this... HMU?

Elveloy: We can only hope! And what's next in the pipeline for you?

Leigh: I have around five more books planned for Wattpad, not including sequels to Kairos. Wattpad is such a warm and welcoming community that I feel comfortable with experimenting and trying new things on the platform. It's really been a positive experience for me and I look forward to sharing my stories with everyone. 

Elveloy: That's lovely to hear, and I'm sure many of our readers are looking forward to reading more from you. Thank you so much for coming in today.

If you'd like to discover a little more about Kairos, you can read our review in Adultfiction's Book of the Month for November 2018