Having someone else voice your characters is a mind-blowing experience, and I couldn’t have found a better person to narrate this story. At the end of our interview, I’ve included a sample of the When Stars Disappear audiobook, which releases October 20th. I love a good sneak peek, don’t you? Now, allow me to introduce our award-winning narrator, Arielle DeLisle!

I’ve had to learn to recognize that sometimes it’s my perfectionism and anxiety at work, and not innovation or creativity. In fact, my continuous meddling can sometimes remove the clarity or character I’m hoping for, as I work and rework the same lines to death.

Katie Ayer has not only designed the cover and formatted both the physical and digital copies of When Stars Disappear, but also provided editorial feedback since the very first draft of the manuscript. I’m so excited for people to finally get to hear about the cover design process, and learn more about this amazing woman!

I imagined myself as a writer one day, but life had different plans for me, and took me in a different direction for a while. I think a lot of people my age—especially women—can relate to that experience. So many of us set aside the dreams of our youth in pursuit of career, family, or something else, and feel like we’re falling behind.

Kae Ayer aka cherrydinosaur created custom artwork for my debut novel, When Stars Disappear. You’ll recognize her work on the cover of my book, but she also brought my three main characters to life brilliantly. Now, you get to meet the person behind the art!

I vividly remember eating everything off the Taco Bell dollar menu in the car with my best friend, standing through the sunroof, screaming Edwin McCain’s “I’ll Be” into the sky, wind whipping my hair as I used a burrito as a microphone. A KFC drumstick worked well, too.