Inside The Indie Author: A Conversation with Nevah Ann

Diana Kathryn
Aug 18
13 min read

Have you ever considered writing under a pseudonym, and why or why not?

My first short story was published under my real name in an anthology. After that I co-wrote a story with a friend and we combined our real names together to make a pen name. When I published my first story I wrote under my pen name, Nevah Ann, and have been doing so since. I do this because I enjoy the pen name, it has meaning.

What is your “go-to” method for working through or around writer’s block?

I typically have two pieces going at one time (sometimes more). This helps with writer’s block because if one piece hits a block, I can shift to the other. If I do hit a block in both pieces, I pull a character from the story and write a completely different scene. Usually something that will never happen in the book but allows me to see what the character will do in that situation to build my characters stronger. This helps get the juices flowing and helps with character development.

From your perspective, what are the most important elements of good writing?

I love a good strong character. One that is believable and you can see why they do what they do. I can get past a weak setting and a sub-par story line, but I need a solid character that I can connect to when reading or one my readers can connect to when they are reading.

What comes first – the location, the plot, or the characters – and why?

98% of the time, my character comes first. I often have a full and solid backstory for each character (even ones that have a half scene with one line). What happens tends to fall into place when I put those characters into a situation and I just write what unfolds.

What are your least favorite and most favorite things about publishing a book?

My least favorite thing is editing. I do several rounds of editing and it’s so odd when I begin to format and get ready for publishing that there are still mistakes. Some are not obvious ones and others are so bad I just want to say, “How did we miss that?!” It’s crazy and I know it’s common, but it’s one of the things about publishing myself that I dislike. (To be fair, I have friends who publish with a publishing company, and I still find mistakes in their finished projects. It’s not just Indie writers with this problem).

My favorite part of publishing a book is marketing. (Odd right) I love to promote my book and see it out there for people to notice. I write because I have stories to tell, and I want to tell them. I don’t write to become rich and famous. Seeing my hard work finally paying off and my book out in the wild with marketing pictures and giant COMING SOON words is an amazing feeling.

What is a significant way your book changed from the first to the final draft?

My first novel Double-Edged War started off as a 20-page assignment from my college teacher. It was supposed to just be a short story about an experiment. The 20-page assignment was turned into the professor with an extra 50 pages behind it and within six months had turned into a full out series.

What was the inspiration for your most recent book?

I’m currently working on two novels. Theirs (which is the sequel to Mine) and Where Will You Go. Where Will You Go is the first concept I had into my world and I’ve been working on since 2005. These characters have been a huge part of my life. The main character, Ace, is a 15-year-old who is struggling to find where he belongs in the world. As in most of my stories, Ace came first. I had a dream about a boy with blue and red hair who just looked so lost… he kept asking, “Why does it feel like my whole life is a lie?” Shortly after Ace came into my life I heard the song, Where Will You Go by Evanescence. It spoke to me and to Ace… which is where the title came from. It’s been a slow work in progress that I hope to finally release to the world next year (2026).

What is a “darling” you’ve killed in a book that you’d like to resurrect in a future book?

Spoilers – LOL – So I have only killed a handful of people who didn’t deserve to die… but there is a future book coming out that involves the death of a character that I greatly regret killing. Also… if you read my latest book, Knowing… there is a character (animal) who dies that I hated writing so much. If I could find a way to bring them back, I feel like they would make things a lot better for the characters of that story.

Where are your most productive writing spaces, and what elements are important about that space to keep you focused on writing.

I can write just about anywhere, but one of my favorites is McDonalds with an unsweet tea (add four Splenda) and my fellow writer. We tend to keep each other on track and so that’s where a lot of writing happens. I am a multi-tasker so I struggle to only do one thing at a time. With writing though, I can’t have the TV on (I’ve tried that always gets me) nor can I have music with words (I’ll sing aloud). I do enjoy music without words (Piano Disney or Piano hit songs are great). I also found having my laptop to write and my tablet to look stuff up on helps a ton as it keeps from having to jump between screens.

If you were to give one of your side characters a novella of their own, who would it be, and why do you think they need their own story?

All of my side characters have their own backstory, even the ones with the smallest parts in the story. With that said, a lot of my characters from the series, Secrets of Darkness, have starts of their own backstories. The novella, When All Else Fears, is a backstory of a side character. Kyler is a side character in the novel, Where Will You Go, but he has his own history and story to tell. (It wasn’t supposed to come out until AFTER Where Will You Go… but Kyler is pushy and is used to getting his way).

Another character who I think will one day end up with his own novella is Colton. He’s a side character in the series, Ruins of War, and also has his own story to tell. (He’s just as pushy as Kyler). I have several scenes of his already written and in time, he’ll likely have his own story out too.

What risks have you taken with your writing that made the book better?

I work with children on a daily bases. My background is children, development and trauma. Because of this, the things I’ve seen and heard and learned have been pushed into my stories. Knowing was likely the book so far that I took the most risks in. It is by far the darkest of my novels and has a lot of trigger warnings. The things that happen in that story are twists on things I’ve heard about happening in my career. It was written in a dark period in my life and it shows. The first part of that story is also one of my stronger stories I’m told. It breaks my heart to read even now and it likely will to those who read it.

What’s the best monetary investment you’ve ever made with regard to your writing practice?

I think the best monetary investment I’ve made with regard to your writing practice is my tablet. I write on a laptop which is great for travel and assuring I can take it just about anywhere. During the editing process though I’d have to have two, sometimes three, documents open and jump between the screens. It was a pain and often lead to frustration. I wanted to get two screens so I could keep editing notes up on one, and my novel on the other. Buying a second laptop seemed like too much, so I invested in a tablet. This has been a huge game changer. I keep my editing notes open on that and my novel on the laptop. It’s less jumping between and makes my life so much easier.

When you first began writing, what was a common procrastination trap you encountered, and how did you overcome it?

When I first started writing I’d often tell myself “I don’t have time to write today, I’ll do it tomorrow.” This of course then happened the next day and the next and the next… until a month passed without any writing.

I have… slightly overcome this, by joining a Writer’s Group. I need to have items to give them to read every month which means I have to write every month. It’s made my procrastination a little better, but there are days I still find myself saying, “I’ll do it tomorrow…” I am working on carving out a part of the day where I just sit and write, but so far I haven’t been able to do that consistently.

What is your writing software of choice, and what is its best feature?

I do my writing in Word because it’s what I am used to and what I have been using since the beginning of days. I purchased Atticus recently to make formatting easier and use that to format both paperback and kindle versions. I enjoy Atticus as it is simple to use (once you figure it out) and has made my formatting so easy.

The best feature on it is my ability to save Master Pages which are pages I add to all of my novels, such as About Me, Other Books By, Trigger Warning, etc. This means I don’t have to type it all out over and over again.

Do characters’ names come immediately to you? Do you add them in a final draft? Where do you find names, and how do you make a final decision about the names you’ll use?

I am very character driven so typically the characters are all developed, or mostly developed, when the story starts out. My names often come from people I’ve met in real life. Some of the names come from a blend of names I like, or a variation of a name. Most of the names have some meanings to them or the meaning of the name relates strongly to the character and their story. When I was younger I would go to the bookstore and purchase multiple baby name books just so I had ways to find meanings of a name I liked.

Tell us the title of one of your favorite novels, and why this book is a favorite.

I love so many novels but one of my favorites is Dragon’s Bait by Vivian Vande Velde. She is my favorite author of all time and the author who introduced me to fantasy as a genre. The story is a pretty simple story about a girl who is sacrificed to a dragon by her village and seeks revenge with help from an unlikely person. It’s a beautiful story that shows what you think you want, isn’t always what you need. It also shows how your thinking about things isn’t always correct. It’s the first story I read that made me think, “Huh… there are two sides to this story.” She is such an underrated author. When I spot her books in used book stores I grin because it means there is a chance someone new will get to enjoy her works.

Think of the title of a hugely popular novel. What is one major thing you would change about the book?

When the book, They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera came out I wanted to laugh that they would just… give away the ending like that. I picked it up and read it thinking, “Huh, maybe they don’t really die.” Well… spoilers… they did. My friend joked when I wrote Knowing that I should title it, “The Dog Dies in this Book.” Just to warn people. I think if there is something I would change I’d keep the book title the same and make it so they die… but then come back to life. That’s the fantasy author in me talking. To be fair though… that book is a really good book.

What are you reading right now?

I am currently reading I am Made of Death by Kelly Andrew. This is a new author to me and so far I am enjoying her story. It’s a little outside of my normal reading, though not too far. I have already ordered one of her other books The Whispering Dark to read next and will likely follow that up with the last of the books she has written Your Blood, My Bones. If you like horror/romance with some occult like aspects, you should check them out.

If you could take on the identity of a character in one of your favorite books for twenty-four hours and retain the memory of that experience, which character would you choose? Tell us the title, author, character name, and why you would want to be that character.

Oh man, I didn’t know we were going to get into the hard questions… Mmm… I think I would have to go with Delilah from A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab. She is one of those female heroes who you want to cheer on and just see make their goal. She’s not your typical hero in distress and she gets to kill butt AND travel to some awesome places. Sure, sure, she has her troubles but what character doesn’t? Plus… it’s be awesome to meet Kell.

If you could save five books from being destroyed in the apocalypse, what books would you choose, and why?

Only five?! Dang it… Let’s see, part of me thinks I should save some classic, beautifully written books like Dracula and Lord of the Rings… but lets be honest if the apocalypse was going to happen I’d want to grab books I would be ok with reading over and over again because there was nothing else left.

First, I’d grab...

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. It lovely heist book about finding your place in the world with some awesome twists. (Also if I only grab book one and not book two, I don’t have to see one of my favorite characters die again).

Second, I’d grab...

Heartstopper by Alice Oseman. Sometimes I enjoy a good romance novel (in this cause graphic novel) that just makes you want to scream/cry at the characters. I would be sad to leave behind the others in the series as their story just grows from book one… but I would for sure make sure this was in my keep stack.

Third, I’d grab...

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. This comedy/mystery story is such a great story for young readers and old alike. Lemony Snicket has fantastic story telling and characters.

Fourth, I’d grab...

Twilight Children by Torey Hayden. This would be a hard choice to pick Torey Hayden over Cathy Glass as both write some sad/yet true stories about children. Cathy Glass writes about children she has fostered where as Torey Hayden writes about children she has had in her care in school. Torey Hayden would win out but only a little because I read her first and her stories are what led me to Cathy Glass. She only has a handful but Twilight Children is by far my favorite one.

Last, I’d grab...

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (Ok, I did grab one classic). If you haven’t read Lois Lowry, famously known for The Giver which is also an amazing book, you should check her out. In middle school and high school I was often assigned her books to read. As much as I loved to read when I am assigned a book it becomes homework and thus… didn’t get done. It wasn’t until college that I actually read The Giver and Number the Stars. Man, was I missing out… Number the Stars is heartbreaking and so beautifully written that I am not sure I could let the world go on without it.

That was a hard choice to make, and for those of you wondering why I didn’t pick some of my favorite authors to save, like Vivian Vande Velde, it’s because I will remember those stories for years to come and thus wouldn’t need to keep them safe, also I want to have a little range in my books as I love jumping genres when I read. This gives a little for each mood I might be in come days after the apocalypse.

Tell us a little something about your current WIP. When do you expect it to be released?

I am currently working on two novels. Where Will You Go and Theirs.

Where Will You Go is about 15-year-old Ace. He lives with his guardian, Kadin, and works as a slayer to take out supernatural creatures. Ace doesn’t remember anything before his time with Kadin but has dreams of a fire and a little girl. The more he has this dream the more he wants to learn about his past, which leads him to find out things about his current situation that changes the way he sees his life and leads him to a crossroad that will uproot his life, no matter which path he takes.

Theirs is the second book following the events of Mine. It’s told by Lochlan, a 17-year-old dragon who on the outside appears to be a pampered spoiled rich kid, fears being alone and forgotten. When he sees the girl on the camera he begins searching for her as he can feel her pain as if it was his own. There is much more to the story… but I don’t want to give too much away.

Both books are about halfway through being written and I’m looking at a late 2025, early 2026 release for one of them and mid-2026 for the other. Though writing, and delays may hold that plan up some.

What are the titles and genres of each book you’ve written?

You can find me in the anthology, Out of the Green: Tales from Fairyland, edited by Kacey Vanderkarr and Martha J Allard. The anthology is a collection of stories about the fae written by 13 different authors. My story, See You at 7, is published under my real name.
The second set of books I wrote, I co-wrote with my friend KD Ellis. The books Double-Edged War: Holding Ground, and
Double-Edged War: Taking Flight are published under the name Kaylie Lanshaw which is a combination of mine and her name. They are a dystopian young adult book that follows Kaelin and Endymion with some LGTBQ+ elements. They are the same story told from different points of view. You can read one novel and get the whole story or you can read them both and get a better understanding of each character. Some scenes are the same with a different POV and some are completely different.
I then published When All Else Fears. A novella about Kyler a fear demon living in hell. It’s an urban fantasy like story with some horror elements to it.
Next came my first full length novel written on my own, called Mine. It’s an urban fantasy LGTBQ+ story about stripsassin dragons. It follows Mina who wants to protect those in her troupe.
My newest novel, Knowing, was just released July 8^th. It is a dark (and I mean dark, if you have triggers this book is likely not for you) urban fantasy novel. It follows two healers in their journey to find out why their powers aren’t what they should be.