Kristen H. Casey
Author Interview - Kristen H. Casey
Author of The Hands That Treat
Magic. Murder. And a friends-to-lovers romance that burns hotter than a New Orleans summer. The Hands That Treat is a paranormal romance that feels like the cult movie, Practical Magic, but set in a spell-binding, hurricane drunk New Orleans. This spicy, slow-burn follows Ophelia Oubre, a magical healer in her 30s, on a journey to identify the serial killer haunting her family and friends. Her search for answers is revealed when she learns how to trust herself and accepts the help of an unsuspecting friend.
Author Interview - Kristen H. Casey
Author I draw inspiration from:
I love how Barbara Kingsolver honors the Appalachia region, with a level of reverence and criticism that I find so similar to how I feel about my home state of Louisiana. Set in New Orleans, the Oubre Sister Series portrays the city as almost another character. I have a complicated relationship with New Orleans and the state of Louisiana, and writing about my home actually brought me peace and a gentler perspective. I drew from Kingsolver's honesty of the Appalachia region along with her admiration for it. I wanted to present New Orleans in a way that felt genuine to me-- it's as magical as it is heart breaking.
I recently started reading Coco Mellors. Her voice feels fresh and her characters are comically and annoyingly fallible in a way I can't get enough of. Mellors doesn't shy away from the discomfort of her character's flaws but embraces them. She drops us into their lives at their worst, and boy, do I eat up the realness. Her stories taught me that it's okay to let my characters make mistakes. Let them be human. We're not all likable one hundred percent of the time anyways.
Recommended Barbara Kingsolver books: Partita, Demon Copperhead, Prodigal Summer
Recommended Coco Mellors books: Cleopatra and Frankenstein, Blue Sisters
Author Interview - Kristen H. Casey | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
In bed.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
Hades from Neon Gods by Katee Robert or A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair. Either version the Underworld's formidable ruler will do. We'll get out of the elevator eventually.
Author Interview - Kristen H. Casey | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
From the moment I wrote in my first journal, I knew writing was something I wanted to do forever. I still have all my journals from first grade to now. Every now and then I'll reread entries from my elementary and middle school years and have a good laugh.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
Paperback. I just find paperbacks easier to read. I like how you can bend them, hold them with one hand and fan the pages. All so satisfying.
I realize this is a wildly unpopular opinion, but I like my books to look well-loved with annotations, cracked spines and dogged ears.
The last book I read:
I recently listened to Into the Blue by Emma Brodie on a road trip, and I had to stop at a gas station to dry my tears. It's an angsty romance that hits on the brevity of life and the frailty of the human body.
I just turned the last page on Partita by Barbara Kingsolver. It's a more intimate novel than Demon Copperhead, probably more akin to her novel Prodigal Summer but with early adulthood trauma and classical music. I love her writing style and how she touches on tough human emotions and cultural issues without bogging down her narrative. She's a master.
Author Interview - Kristen H. Casey | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
Pen and paper for journaling to get all of my personal thoughts out of the way. This allows me to focus on my character's stories as I clickity-clack away on my rose-colored Macbook for book writing.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
Margo from Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe. I can just see myself going over to her apartment after work, pouring myself a THC drink and brainstorming insane video ideas for her account. I just know we'd laugh so hard it'd feel like we did an ab work out the next day.
I love "yes, and" friends. Friends who match your weird and keep it going. Margo has so much creativity and kindness that I'd be honored to be in her orbit.
Author Interview - Kristen H. Casey | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
I'd work in hospitality. In a previous life, I worked as a server at a high-end restaurant where I became a certified sommelier (level 1 only, so I can't brag too much). I then transitioned over to work as a marketing director for several hospitality groups around New Orleans. I loved those jobs. The work felt meaningful. The people were wonderful. I have a business plan saved somewhere on my computer for a wine shop. Perhaps I'd dust that off and give it a go.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
1960s French Fashion. In another life I'm an over-sexed French woman chain smoking cigarettes in ponte capris, but, alas, I'm American and terrified of lung cancer.
French fashion in the 1960s was starting to lose the structure of the 1950s conservative cuts and explore ideas of youthfulness and rebellion. I love the influx of miniskirts, pants and unique textures. A lot of the French 60s icons possess that look of Francophile sophistication, hyper femininity and progressive playfulness that I think is so hard to pull off.
Place I’d most like to travel:
Greece. I have such a strong memory from my pre-teen years reading The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares when Lena travels to Greece to visit her grandparents and falls in love. Ever since then, it's been on my list. I imagine sparking blue waters, white stone walls, salty anchovies, juicy tomatoes, crisp white wine and a dazzling Grecian sun.
My signature drink:
I'm most known for two drinks-- Diet Coke, ideally from a soda fountain, heavy on the ice add a straw, and a French Rose, ideally outside on a beautiful day.
Favorite artist:
Frank Ocean. His music and lyricism amaze me. Did I mention he's from Louisiana?
I'm just going to leave these lyrics here for evidence...
"Primal and naked
You dream of walls that hold us in prison
It's just a skull, least that's what they call it
And we're free to roam"
- White Ferrari, Frank Ocean
"It's hell on Earth and the city's on fire
Inhale, in hell there's heaven
There's a bull and a matador dueling in the sky
Inhale, in hell there's heaven"
- Solo, Frank Ocean
Number one on my bucket list:
Publish book two of the Oubre Sister Series.
Find more from the author:
https://www.instagram.com/kristenhcaseywrites/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574746611903
https://www.pinterest.com/kristenhcaseywrites/
About Kristen H. Casey:
Kristen H. Casey
Kristen H. Casey is a debut author with a passion for romance. She’s a fifth-generation Cajun who has lived in Louisiana for most of her life and graduated from Louisiana State University in Mass Communication.
Her love and heartbreak for the swampy place are evident in her writing. To escape the onslaught of hurricanes and flooding, she moved her family in 2022 from New Orleans to the Queen City of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Kristen honed her writing skills through a decade and a half of creative marketing strategy at agencies, in-house marketing and classes at the New Orleans Writers Workshop.
She lives happily with her husband, daughter and corgi.
