If you’re anything like us, then you enjoy reading books and getting to meet the authors behind those books. Today’s author interview with Kayvion Lewis is a special one because we’ve been following along with her journey since the release of Thieves’ Gambit.
Now that the sequel Heist Royale is out, her duology is complete. Be sure to check out our in-depth book review of Heist Royale right here. But for now, let’s get into our exclusive Kayvion Lewis interview!
Welcome to The Honey POP! We’re so excited to chat with you today. To get us started, what are three things you’d like readers to know about you?
Thank you for having me! Three things, hmmmm. Well first, don’t take anything I say too seriously, I’m still figuring this author thing out. Second, Author is actually my second career choice. I wanted to be an adventurer, but settled for writing about adventures when I realized “Black Indiana Jones” isn’t a real job. Third, um, apparently I’m bad at listing things about myself.
The Duology
We’re absolutely obsessed with Heist Royale! Can you describe your journey writing this sequel compared to the first book, Thieves’ Gambit?
Heist Royale was undoubtedly more difficult to write than Thieves’ Gambit. It was the first ever book I’d written under contract, so mashing my usual creative process into the confines of deadlines and reader expectations was a new experience. However, I loved getting to come back to the world and characters from Thieves’ Gambit knowing that readers were going to see the scenes I was crafting. For all those reasons, I was a bit more tense working on this sequel than I typically am working on a novel, but it was so much more satisfying to finish and release into the world.
The supporting cast makes up much of what we love about this duology. Who are your favorite characters to write about, and why?
Taiyō is hands down my favorite supporting character to write, closely followed by Mylo. I especially love the scenes they’re in together. I adore grumpy/sunshine pairings, and they’re one that I didn’t think to put together much in Thieves’ Gambit, but I had soooo much fun playing with that in Heist Royale.
Ross And Devroe
Another thing we want to touch on is the romantic tension between Ross and Devroe. What is your favorite moment with the two of them?
Ross having a very serious conversation with Devroe while sitting on his lap in Hart’s Casino is an all-time favorite in the series. Danger, drama, and glamorous outfits all in one scene? *Perfection*
How much of yourself do you see in each main character?
On an individual level, I like to believe Ross, Devroe, and all the other characters are their own people and didn’t inherit much from me personality wise. But the books in their entirety have inherited my sense of adventure and wanderlust. The soul of Thieves’ Gambit and Heist Royale reflects my own, even if the characters themselves don’t mirror me.
One of the main conflicts we noticed in Heist Royale is Ross’s complicated relationship with her mother. Did you always plan for their relationship to develop the way it did? Did you make any major changes to the ending as you were writing?
Ross and her mom’s relationship surprised me as much as—I hope—it surprises readers. When I first started writing, they had a very supportive and honest mom-daughter thing going, but somehow with each draft of Thieves’ Gambit and Heist Royale, layers and layers of complications and deceptions kept popping up. Most of the major twists and reveals about their relationship were later additions. So yeah, you could say I made some major changes.
Researching Heists
When it comes to writing and planning an arc like the heist in the Monte Carlo, how much research do you do? Do you also draw inspiration from heist movies like Taiyō and the rest of the Count’s team?
I definitely indulged in heist media to get in the mood to work on Heist Royale, but it was more about wanting to familiarize myself with the vibe I wanted to capture as opposed to looking for direct inspiration. Casino Royale was an obvious mood-setting movie I rewatched going into Heist. (Hence the homage in the title.) I found myself researching finer details for the logistics of the heists after I’d written the first draft, which usually entailed me googling things like “weird casino heist” and “casino cons,” then incorporating interesting snippets I stumbled across into my scenes.
Travels And Adventures
You’re very spontaneous and adventurous, and that side really shows in Heist Royale. How much of your travels makes it into the books you write?
Less than I’d like but more than you think! A lot of the locations in my books start as bullet points on my travel wish-list, and if I do visit, it ends up being after I’ve written about them. However, when working on Heist Royale, I was able to visit Antarctica and see for myself just how cold and barren the setting I was working with was. I even plunged into the icy water, just like a certain character in Heist Royale does, just to ensure I was describing the awful sensation correctly.
Can you talk about your most recent adventure?
As I write this, I’m flying back from Oregon, where some friends and I ventured to a misty town an hour outside of Portland, which was surrounded by wine vineyards and Alpaca farms. The town itself was like something out of a Hallmark Christmas movie, but strangely devoid of people? Seriously, it was super bizarre! We ate at some restaurant that was elaborately decorated in Christmas finery but had literally no other customers.
We tried to enter multiple shops, only for the owners to stop us at the door and tell us they were closed. (One even came outside to put a closed sign on the door after we waved at her cat through the window.) We attended a Christmas market that was eerily quiet except for the faint sound of Holiday music echoing from the distance. I truly believe we were in the twilight zone. I did, however, stumble across an antique compass in an antique shop, which I’m hoping is magical. We shall see.
What’s Next
We’re looking forward to the film adaptation of Thieves’ Gambit! Do you have an idea of who you would cast for your characters?
I’m not dead set on any specific actors, but I do think it would be cool to have my characters represented by actors of the same nationalities as them. Fingers crossed!
You’ll be at the Louisiana book festival this year. Will you be going on a book tour soon? Can you give us any hints if you are?
No tour this time around, but you might be able to catch me at some festivals in 2025. Who knows!
Finally, now that Heist Royale is here, what are your plans for the rest of 2024?
Writing new things, hanging out with friends, and doing kung fu. My favorite pastimes.
I loved getting to come back to the world and characters from Thieves’ Gambit knowing that readers were going to see the scenes I was crafting. For all those reasons, I was a bit more tense working on this sequel than I typically am working on a novel, but it was so much more satisfying to finish and release into the world.
Kayvion Lewis on Heist Royale
You can order a copy of Heist Royale by Kayvion Lewis here!
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