Today we are very excited to share an interview with Author Kayvion Lewis (Heist Royale)!
Meet the Author: Kayvion Lewis
Kayvion Lewis is a young adult author of all things escapist and high-octane. A former youth services librarian, she’s been working with young readers and kidlit since she was sixteen. When she’s not writing, she’s breaking out of escape rooms, jumping out of airplanes, and occasionally running away to mountain retreats to study kung fu. Kayvion is originally from Louisiana, and often visits her family in The Bahamas, these days you can find her in Shreveport, LA—at least until she takes off on her next adventure.
About the Book: Heist Royale
The high-stakes sequel to Thieves’ Gambit, for fans of Jennifer Lynn Barnes and Ally Carter.
It’s been six months since the end of the Gambit. Instead of winning an impossible wish, Ross has the threat of her family’s execution hanging over her head. Devroe, the only person Ross thought she could trust, could wish the Quests into oblivion at any time. Shockingly, despite his betrayal, Devroe is still making a play for Ross’s heart as the two work together pulling jobs for the Organization. But Ross has learned her lesson: A Quest can only trust another Quest.
When Ross finds herself at the center of a power struggle within the Organization, she sees her chance to change her fortunes. As a new deadly Gambit develops for control of the criminal underworld, Ross strikes a risky deal to guarantee protection for herself and her family.
In this final clash, Ross will square off against a ruthless opponent who will stop at nothing to seize power, and in their corner will be not only Devroe but his mother, who wants to destroy the Quests at any cost.
The new Gambit takes Ross and her crew into the intoxicating casinos of Monte Carlo and across treacherous snow-covered slopes in Antarctica as Ross competes against Devroe in a fight for her life. Loyalties will be tested, backs stabbed, hearts broken. May the best thief win.
~Author Chat~
YABC: Following the launch of Thieves Gambit, what has been the most exciting thing that has happened to you as an author?
Probably being invited to Good Morning America to talk about my book. It remains the most celebrity-eque thing I’ve ever done. GMA is closely followed by winning the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, and being flown out to the UK to receive it. I still can’t believe either of those actually happened.
YABC: What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why?
Definitely the entire casino heist sequence, which I’ve been happy to see is enthralling readers too! Casino heists always have a hint of suaveness and James-bond vibes to them, along with lots of moving parts. Of course, I had to add my own spin to it. The casino being infiltrated in Heist Royale is known in the criminal underworld as a place where you can gamble anything from human organs to state secrets, so there’s an extra level of intrigue and danger going on behind the scenes.
YABC: What is your most important non-writing thing in your writing space that helps you work?
Probably the books on the shelves at the library I like to go write at. Looking at the hundreds of finished and published books brings me back to reality when I get overwhelmed about my own writing. I see them and think: “All these people wrote and finished their books, I can totally finish this chapter.”
YABC: What do you like most about the cover of the book?
The knives are very shiny. I like shiny knives.
YABC: What’s a book you’ve recently read and loved?
I started The Night Ends With Fire by K.X. Song yesterday and I’m already halfway through it! It’s a feminist mulan retelling–need I say more?
YABC: What’s up next for you?
I’m currently working on a YA mystery set in the same universe as Thieves’ Gambit and Heist Royale. It’s very, well, mysterious.
YABC: What would you say is your superpower?
I have very chaotic, but strangely serendipitous fortune. I have the luck of some who would accidentally pull the emergency exit and fall out of an airplane, but land on a trampoline and end up at a very fun pool party. (I feel like that whole story could be a metaphor for how I became a writer.)
YABC: What advice do you have for new writers?
Write for yourself first. Don’t waste time and words trying to write stories that aren’t from your heart just because you think other people will love them. Write stories to appeal to you, stories the way you want to read them, and worry about everything else after.
Title: HEIST ROYALE
Author: Kayvion Lewis
Release Date: November 12, 2024
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers
Genre: YA
Age Range: 12+
