K.T. Jay shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi K.T. , thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
In this season of my life, my calling is motherhood. I’m called to raise my son with love, to guide him, and to help shape him into a good human who brings light, kindness, and peace into the world. I’m called to lay the foundation for our family — creating rhythms, traditions, and a home where he feels safe, seen, and deeply loved.
I was honestly afraid to step into this calling. Having a child felt like an enormous responsibility, and I was terrified I might get it wrong. Some days, that fear still whispers. But I was once told by a friend in the psychology field that if parents get it right even 40–50% of the time, our children will be okay. That truth gave me so much peace. It reminded me that my calling is not to be a perfect mother because perfection isn’t possible for any of us.
My calling is simply to show up.
I’m called to be present for my son, to care for him, to meet his needs, and to love him unconditionally as he learns how to move through this world. I do it imperfectly. And when I make mistakes, I’m called to humble myself, apologize, and begin again. In doing that, I hope I’m showing him what it looks like to be human. To make mistakes, to choose love and peace, and to keep growing.
Right now, in this stage of my life, motherhood is my calling.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is K.T. Jay, and I’m a young adult fantasy author who writes stories where magic and real-world emotions meet. My most recent novel Inkbound Inheritance, released in September 2025 and follows a boy named Liam who, on his mother’s deathbed, discovers that he will inherit a magical story world she created for him as an author herself.
As Liam journeys into that world, he must rescue his cousin, discover his own emerging powers, and navigate the deep grief of losing his mom. Through this story, I wanted to explore what it looks like to walk through grief honestly and well—
not by pretending it isn’t painful, but by showing that even in the darkest seasons, there can still be hope and light.
At the heart of my work is a desire to help both young adults and adults feel seen in their hardest moments. I want my books to remind readers that they’re not alone, that healing is possible, and that while the journey through loss can be incredibly hard, it’s one we don’t have to walk by ourselves.
Fantasy has spoken to my heart since I was a child. It shaped my imagination and gave me language for wonder, courage, and resilience. As an author, I’m drawn to writing about difficult, meaningful topics, but I choose to explore them through the lens of magic and fantasy. While many fantasy stories can feel very dark, I’ve always wanted to offer an alternative: stories that acknowledge the heaviness of the world while still offering light, hope, and beauty for readers who are searching for it.
That’s the kind of fantasy I love to write—stories that don’t shy away from hard things, but gently remind us that hope still exists, even there.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
I would say my time in karate was my earliest memory of feeling powerful. I trained for six years, and it shaped me in ways I still carry with me today.
I remember our classes were rigorous. We did endless sets of push-ups, leg lifts, and strength exercises. It was demanding, and it required consistency and discipline. When it came time to test for our next belt, we had to break a board—the thickness of the board depended on your belt rank.
I will never forget the first time I punched through a board. I felt so powerful. I was amazed that I had built enough strength and skill to do something that once seemed impossible. To see my hard work physically come to life in that moment was incredibly empowering.
As a child, that experience taught me something invaluable: hard work, consistency, and showing up for yourself truly pays off. All the practice, effort, and perseverance led me to where I wanted to be. Eventually, I earned my black belt — something I’m still very proud of today. I know how hard I worked for it, and that sense of accomplishment has stayed with me.
Looking back, karate taught me discipline, responsibility, resilience, and a commitment to excellence. It showed me what I’m capable of when I stay dedicated and keep going. Those lessons have followed me into adulthood, and they continue to shape the way I approach challenges in my life and creative work.
It meant so much to me that I fully intend to enroll my own son in karate one day, so he can experience those same empowering lessons for himself.
When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
I think that shift began when I was very young. I experienced a significant amount of grief and loss as a child, and it changed me. At nine years old, I was already learning what it meant to carry sorrow, and in many ways, it opened my heart in a deeper way than I had known before.
That early experience with loss expanded my empathy. I became more aware of other people’s pain because I recognized it. I knew what it looked like and what it felt like. Even as a child, I found myself drawn to people who were hurting — checking in on them, sitting beside them, putting an arm around their shoulders, letting them know they weren’t alone. In many ways, I think I began using my own pain as a bridge to connection. If I could help someone else feel less alone, then maybe I wouldn’t feel so alone either.
That instinct has stayed with me into adulthood, and it ultimately shaped my work as an author. My novel, released in September 2025, was born out of my own experiences with grief and loss. After walking through another season of deep personal loss a few years ago, I felt compelled to do something with that pain. To transform it into something meaningful. Writing this book became a way to use my grief not just as something I carried, but as something that could serve others.
Today, I see that pain as a kind of power. It allows me to connect with readers on a deeper level and to write stories that help people feel seen, understood, and less alone. My hope is that when people encounter my work, especially those who are grieving, they are reminded that even in the darkest moments, there is still hope, and there is still light. And most importantly, they are not walking through it alone.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What’s a belief you used to hold tightly but now think was naive or wrong?
Growing up, I was a true hopeless romantic. I loved all the rom-coms, fairy tales, and stories about soulmates and love at first sight. I fully believed in that kind of sweeping, cinematic love. My mom would gently remind me, “That’s not real life — that’s a movie.” But at the time, I didn’t know anything different, so the stories I consumed became my blueprint.
For a long time, I believed love was supposed to feel like a fairy tale—effortless, magical, and perfectly aligned from the very beginning. It wasn’t until I got to college and started dating that I realized real relationships don’t unfold like they do in movies. They’re more complex, more grounded, and far more intentional.
In college, I met my husband, and he has been one of the greatest gifts of my life—truly an answer to prayer. Through our relationship and now our marriage, I’ve come to understand that love isn’t something that simply happens to you. It’s something you choose, again and again. You can feel drawn to someone or attracted to them, but real love is built through knowing them deeply and choosing them daily.
I remember hearing a pastor once say, “Love is a rugged commitment,” and that phrase stayed with me. It completely reframed my understanding of love. Real love is a commitment to stand beside someone in every season when life is joyful, when it’s difficult, when you’re grieving, when you’re frustrated, and when things feel uncertain. It’s choosing to stay, to grow, and to keep showing up for one another, even when it isn’t easy.
After six and a half years of marriage and now raising a son together, I see love as something far richer than the fairy tales I once believed in. It’s not always effortless, but it’s steady, dependable, and deeply meaningful. It requires work, humility, forgiveness, and daily intention. We don’t always do it perfectly, but we wake up each day and choose to try again.
Looking back, my earlier view of love may have been naive, but it also prepared my heart to value love deeply. The love I believe in now — the kind rooted in commitment and faithfulness — is far more beautiful and enduring than any fairy tale.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: If immortality were real, what would you build?
If immortality were real, I think I would spend that endless time building a network of grand libraries that also function as community development centers. I imagine welcoming spaces where people of all ages, backgrounds, and socioeconomic situations could come to read, learn, write, and gain practical life skills.
Books have always been a refuge and a source of wonder for me, so at the heart of it all would be a deep love for stories and literacy. But beyond that, I would want these spaces to meet real, practical needs. There would be classes and workshops shaped by each community—whether that meant tutoring for students, writing and storytelling programs, financial literacy, job skills, or simply a safe and supportive place to gather and grow.
If I had the gift of immortality, I would focus on making this vision sustainable and scalable. I would build one center, learn from it, and then expand that model into surrounding communities, creating a network of spaces dedicated to learning, restoration, and opportunity. My hope would be to help people get back on their feet, to offer resources and encouragement, and to give as many people as possible a genuine fighting chance.
At its core, it would be about fostering a love of reading, learning, and human connection—creating places where people feel supported, inspired, and reminded that their stories matter.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ktjayauthor.com
- Instagram: @ktjayauthor
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/k.t.jay.415752
Image Credits
Cheryl Cummings at Sagewave Media
