Welcome back to the Velvet Runway and the return of our “Inspiring Women” feature, with this exclusive interview with author, Autumn Krause.

Autumn was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She worked as a wedding gown stylist at an upscale bridal salon in Beverly Hills while getting her MFA in creative writing. She lives in Orange County, California, with her husband and two children. 

interview with author, Autumn Krause.

She is the author of the young adult novel, “A Dress for the Wicked”, and here is a brief synopsis of the story, which is described as Project Runway meets Hunger Games with a touch of The Selection series. 

“True to its name, the sleepy town of Shy in Avon-Upon-Kynt is a place where nothing much happens. And for eighteen years, Emmaline Watkins has feared that her future held just that: nothing. But when Madame Jolene, the head of the most prestigious fashion house in the country, throws open her design competition to girls from outside the stylish capitol city, Emmy’s dreams seem closer than they ever have before. As Emmy navigates the twisted world of high fashion, she starts to wonder: will she be able to tailor herself to fit into this dark, corrupted race? And at what cost?”

Autumn has also recently co-written a celebrity memoir “The Road to Roses”, with Desiree Siegfried, and she provides editorial content for a wedding website and writes features for interior design magazines, such as “Cottages & Bungalows”, “French Style”, and many others. 

She is most often found wearing black and is in love with the magical and the macabre.

Exclusive interview with author, Autumn Krause

interview with author, Autumn Krause.

Take a read and find out more about Autumn and what her next projects are: 

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a little more about your ‘backstory’? Have you always been creative, and did you always know you wanted to be a writer?

Yes, for as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be a novelist. I used to illustrate stories at our dining room table as a child and then, as soon as I could figure my way around a pencil, I started writing (very misspelled) stories. By high school, you could almost always find me at my family’s old computer, fingers flying across the keys because I couldn’t get the stories out fast enough. 

Who or what was your greatest inspiration in pursuing a career in writing?  

Funnily enough, probably Jo March and Victor Hugo. So a real person and a fictional one. My mom read us Little Women growing up and Jo March was my first up close icon of an aspiring writer. Then, in high school, I read Les Miserables and my mind was afire with the world I encountered. It seemed as though every emotion known to man was expressed on those pages and I was like, “what is this word alchemy? I must learn it for myself!!” 

Who are your favorite authors and why?

Charlotte Bronte, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Victor Hugo. These pens have captured me unlike any other because they dip far below the calm surface waters of life and deal with the dark turbulence underneath, grappling with the issues we all face, like suffering, love, and loss. 

How old were you when you wrote your first book/ short story?

The first official story I remember writing was by hand in a journal with a pretty cover (the weakness of a writer) and I was probably 11. It was about a very large family—like multiple sets of twins and tons of cousins—and about their little lives. Then things took a turn when I got a little older and they became martyrdom and death. Yeah, my parents had an intervention. 

Where do you find your inspiration for your books? What comes first for you — the plot or the characters — and why?

A few concepts pop into my head. For example, for A Dress for the Wicked, I had the idea of a cutthroat fashion house, a darkly beautiful society obsessed with clothes, and a girl who doesn’t want to spend her life waiting on tables.

As these came together, more concepts came with them—like a high stakes competition and a blacklisted duchess. I had to work to get the foundation of plot laid and then it all formed into one whole. And that’s how my process has been for all my books! 

How much of your writing is based on your own experiences of life?

The themes of all my books are taken from my life. For A Dress for the Wicked, it’s exploring the dark side of ambition and the strange struggle of the creative life.

My other WIPs (works in progress) explore the problem of evil, existential philosophy, and grappling with reality in all its measures of dark and light. 

Do you read your book reviews, and if so, how do you deal with any negative feedback?

Before I was published, I had this idea that I would totally read my reviews and be okay with them. Well, let me just say that has changed. I don’t read them because the negative ones are hurtful—of course, they still find their way to me!

I get tagged in reviews and sometimes readers take it upon themselves to email me their negative reviews. So I don’t deal very well with it. But I also don’t let it stop me! 

And I should add that there are way more good reviews than bad and that those make me glow inside….but you know how it is. Those few bad ones just get their teeth in you and burrow beneath your skin. 

Which of the characters in “A Dress for the Wicked” do you relate to the most and why?

I relate to both Emmy and Sophie! There’s definitely parts of me in both of them. I’m like Emmy in that I’m from a blue collar family and was thrown into a high fashion world and then I’m also like Sophie in that I love black lace and always feel a tad at war with myself and the world around me. Though Sophie is definitely cooler then me! 

What are the essential characteristics of a hero you can root for? 

To be honest, personally, I like a very clear cut hero. One that I feel safe with, one that I know won’t fail. HOWEVER. That being said, those aren’t very interesting to write so I definitely write much more complicated characters who struggle with the lies they believe—and the lies they tell. 

Can you tell us how you juggle being a mother of two small children with writing and how you manage to avoid distractions when working from home?

You know, I basically have to make myself not write so when my baby is sleeping and my three-year-old is playing or when they are asleep for the night, I take to the keyboard with ferocity. But that isn’t hard for me.

Making myself stop writing is harder! I also have an amazing mom and mother-in-law who each watch my kids one day a week. And my time with my babies fills my heart in such powerful ways that it’s almost this energy that then needs to be expended by writing. 

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected nearly every aspect of our lives today, and I read your account of how it impacted the delivery of your second child? Can you share this experience with our readers?

Oh lord, that was terrible. Not only were all the appointments leading up to my son’s (Declan) birth stressful—it was like a dystopian where they interrogated you each time before letting you in and you had to get a “Screened” sticker—but the protocols led to my husband missing the birth entirely because he wasn’t allowed in until I’d been formally admitted. Since we’d been turned away prematurely from the hospital earlier that day and then rerouted to one much further, I didn’t have time to be formally admitted (or to get an epidural!!!!!) so when he came in, I was there without even an IV or ID bracelet, and so was Declan! 

Also, can you share your strategies about how to stay calm and sane during these difficult times?

I think indulging in creative projects always helps the soul! Creativity is so intrinsic to the human spirit so it definitely helps me to see beyond this world and into others—which puts this one in perspective.  

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

Total gym rat here! And one of my most favorite things to do is go out every Saturday with my little family. We set aside special time to just be together. Mark and I get cocktails and relax while Declan (11 months) pats the table demanding to be fed and Juliet gets us all to cheers because she thinks it’s the coolest thing. It’s bliss, a little slice of heaven that makes my heart so happy. 

interview with author, Autumn Krause.

I also enjoy hanging out with friends. While I have wonderful writer friends on Instagram, my real life friends aren’t writers which draws me outside my wild writer mind (haha though oftentimes it’s still humming in the background, even when I’m talking about other stuff). 

If you could give your younger self one piece of advice about writing, what would it be?

Calm down! Don’t panic! You will get an agent. You will publish books. Haha! But my younger self probably wouldn’t have believed it and would’ve still freaked out. 

If you didn’t write, what would you do for work?

Something in bridal! In fact, I had a whole first life in bridal. I got a job at 16 at a bridal salon and then kept working at different ones and went on to write for bridal magazines and blogs. So there’s definitely lace and a tulle and the faint sound of a bride crying and saying “This is the one!” in the back of mind. And I love that.

The bridal side is beautiful and fascinating and so meaningful and I would probably work in bridal styling again. 

What are your aspirations for the future? Where would you like to see yourself 5 years from now and are there any imminent plans that you’d like to share? 

My aspirations for the next five years are the ones that will probably repeat for the rest of my life: to write and publish many wonderful books. 

Finally, What advice do you have for women who are aspiring to launch a career as a novelist? 

Definitely! It’s a very competitive and difficult industry but if you love writing, it’s also magical. Work on your craft, dig deep into that steely part of yourself that just won’t give up (no matter how many “no’s” you hear—because us writers hear them all the time), and write, write, write. Revise. Write, write, write. 

I hope you enjoyed this inspiring interview with author, Autumn Krause, and don’t forget to check out our other inspiring women posts too! 

A dress for the wicked

You can find Autumn here, and follow her on Instagram (@autumnsarahstory), and you can buy “A dress for the Wicked” here, or just click on the image above.