Tell us about yourself.:
I’m Kayla Gerdes, a writer, creator, and chaos enthusiast living in New Orleans, Louisiana. I write what I feel, and I’ve felt a lot. My stories are fueled by real life, messy relationships, hard lessons, gut punches, and a little bit of grit and glitter. I don’t believe in sugarcoating. I believe in writing characters who fight, fall, get back up, and set the damn world on fire.
When I’m not writing, I’m usually filming content for my TikTok crew, hanging out with my son and husband or daydreaming plot twists at the most inconvenient times. My work stretches across genres, from dark romance and thrillers to children’s books that mix imagination with practical lessons, because I believe stories can entertain and still leave a mark.
Everything I write comes from a place of truth, even when it’s fiction. And if it makes readers feel seen, heard, or completely wrecked in the best way? That’s the goal.
Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?:
I grew up in the South, where the stories run deep, the secrets run deeper, and nothing is ever as picture-perfect as it seems. I lived through Hurricane Katrina, and it split my world in half. One day I was a kid with a routine, the next I was navigating chaos, survival, and starting over in a world that no longer looked the same. That storm didn’t just change my surroundings, it changed me.
On top of that, I’ve lived through some wild family dynamics, addiction, betrayal, abandonment, and everything in between. I learned early that love can hurt, people can disappear, and silence can scream louder than words. That kind of background gave me a raw lens to write through. I learned that people can be both beautiful and brutal, and that duality shows up in everything I create.
Growing up around instability taught me to pay attention to what isn’t being said. I write about the things people bury, the damage they hide, and the ways they claw their way back to life, because I’ve been there. My writing isn’t just influenced by where I came from, it’s powered by it.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Definitely. I’ll write entire scenes in the notes app on my phone, in the carpool line, in the middle of Target, or at 2 a.m. when my brain decides sleep is optional. I’ve pulled over just to jot down a line of dialogue that hit too hard to ignore.
I also talk out loud to my characters like they’re real people. Sometimes I pace around the room acting out their arguments just to feel the rhythm of it. And I don’t outline like a normal person, I write the intense, chaotic scenes first, then build everything else around them like I’m reverse-engineering the explosion.
Basically, my writing process looks a little unhinged from the outside, but it works for me.
What authors have influenced you?
I grew up in the South, where the stories run deep, the secrets run deeper, and nothing is ever as picture-perfect as it seems. I lived through Hurricane Katrina, and it split my world in half. One day I was a kid with a routine, the next I was navigating chaos, survival, and starting over in a world that no longer looked the same. That storm didn’t just change my surroundings, it changed me.
On top of that, I’ve lived through some wild family dynamics, addiction, betrayal, abandonment, and everything in between. I learned early that love can hurt, people can disappear, and silence can scream louder than words. That kind of background gave me a raw lens to write through. I learned that people can be both beautiful and brutal, and that duality shows up in everything I create.
Growing up around instability taught me to pay attention to what isn’t being said. I write about the things people bury, the damage they hide, and the ways they claw their way back to life, because I’ve been there. My writing isn’t just influenced by where I came from, it’s powered by it.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Stop waiting for the “perfect time.” Write the messy first draft. Tell the story you’re scared to tell. And don’t let imposter syndrome talk louder than your passion. Every author starts as an amateur, you just have to keep showing up.
What is the best advice you have ever been given?
“Write like nobody’s watching.”
It freed me. I stopped worrying about what people might think, family, critics, strangers, and just started telling the truth in whatever form it took. That’s when my writing got real.
What are you reading now?
Right now I’m diving into Tijan’s Carter Reed, because chaos, tension, and morally gray characters are my jam.
What’s your biggest weakness?
I care too deeply about everything I create. I’ll tear a scene apart twenty times if the emotion doesn’t hit just right. Perfectionism is my worst enemy and my most loyal sidekick.
What is your favorite book of all time?
Three Doors by J.L. Vanders is hands-down my all-time favorite. That book haunted me, in the best way, and completely rewired how I see friendships, loyalty, and what darkness can hide behind casual conversations. It’s about six friends and three doors, each choice changes everything. That story sparked something in me: the power of layered characters and choices that can save, or destroy, you.
That book didn’t just stay with me. It shaped my writing: messy, provocative, emotionally guerrilla‑style storytelling. It’s one of the reasons I lean into raw characters, moral shades of gray, and twisty loyalty in my own work.
When you’re not writing, how do you like to spend your time?
Spending time with my son (Kamron) and husband (Michael), filming content for TikTok, playing games or having adventures outside. Sometimes I just sit with a notebook and let my brain wander, those quiet moments often turn into the wildest plot twists later.
Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
The first story that ever hit me was one I wasn’t even supposed to be reading yet, it had adult themes and a character who was broken in all the ways I didn’t know how to name yet. It made me feel seen before I knew what that meant. That’s when I realized stories could be lifelines.
What has inspired you and your writing style?
Real life. The chaos, the pain, the love, the survival, I write from the places I’ve been, and sometimes from the ones I barely made it out of. I don’t sit down and try to sound poetic or polished. I sit down and bleed. My style is raw because my life has been. I’ve seen beauty and betrayal exist in the same breath. I’ve watched people lie with their mouths and love with their hands. That contrast, the tenderness and the violence of being human, that’s where my stories come from.
I don’t want pretty. I want honest. I want readers to feel like they’ve stepped into a world that mirrors the emotions they’re too afraid to say out loud. My writing isn’t meant to be clean, it’s meant to be true. If the heartbreak feels jagged, it’s because heartbreak is jagged. If the chemistry is suffocating, it’s because sometimes love doesn’t come softly, it crashes in.
What inspires me is survival. What shapes my style is the need to tell the truth, even when it’s wrapped in fiction. I think readers can feel that, that I’m not just writing for entertainment. I’m writing because I have to. Because these stories are the ones I carried before they ever touched paper. And when someone reads them and says, “I felt that”? That’s everything.
What are you working on now?
Right now, I’m fully immersed in multiple projects, each one with its own flavor of chaos, tension, and heart. I’m working on Book 2 of my motocross romance series, Flip Flops & Fast Laps, where love collides with speed, secrets, and second chances. It picks up right where the drama left off, pregnancy, heartbreak, and a whole lot of emotional wreckage. The stakes are higher, the chemistry is wilder, and nobody is walking away clean.
I’m also continuing to expand The Circle universe, adding depth, danger, and darker turns to the twisted world readers already know. Each chapter in that series peels back another layer of secrets, betrayal, and obsession. The web is tightening, and no character is safe from the fallout.
And then there’s the dark romance project that’s clawing at me, the kind of story that plays with dominance, power, survival, and the blurred line between desire and destruction. It’s raw and unflinching, and it’s not just about love, it’s about control, trust, and how far someone will go when they have nothing left to lose.
I guess you could say I like to juggle chaos. One story feeds the next. When I shift between worlds, one with racing adrenaline, one with emotional manipulation, one with survival scars, it keeps the ideas sharp and the emotions real.
What is your favorite method for promoting your work?
TikTok, hands down. It lets me be myself while building a community around my books. I mix humor, real talk, steamy teasers, and just enough chaos to keep people coming back. I also love connecting through Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram, and Wattpad.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m leaning hard into series expansion and cinematic storytelling, the kind of stories that don’t just entertain, but consume you. Bigger arcs. Deeper character webs. More betrayal, more love, more consequences. I want readers to feel like they’ve stepped into something they can’t look away from, stories that grip you by the throat and don’t let go until the last page… and even then, leave you haunted.
The Savage Devotion and Circle universes are both expanding in ways that readers aren’t ready for. I’m not afraid to get darker, bolder, or more emotionally wrecking. I want to show the aftermath. The ripple effects. The kind of pain that makes people dangerous and the kind of love that makes them fight.
I also have a few new children’s books coming, projects filled with imagination, humor, and heart. Because storytelling, for me, has always been about impact, no matter the age of the reader. Kids deserve stories that make them feel brave, smart, and seen too.
And maybe the most personal project of all, I’m working on a fictionalized version of my own life story. It’s gritty. It’s painful. It’s healing. I’ve carried these moments for years, Hurricane Katrina, family struggles, hard choices, ancestral weight, and now I’m shaping them into something real, raw, and unforgettable. Not just to tell my story, but to give voice to the kind of survival that doesn’t always get seen.
This next chapter of my career is about freedom, saying the things I’ve held back, writing with zero apology, and leaving nothing safe or surface-level behind.
How well do you work under pressure?
Honestly? Pressure and I have a complicated relationship. I complain about it, but I also thrive in it. Some of my best scenes have come from deadlines, last-minute inspiration, or emotional chaos. I write best when there’s fire under my feet.
How do you decide what tone to use with a particular piece of writing?
I let the characters lead. If they’re loud, messy, and hurt, the tone reflects that. If it’s a children’s book, I let the heart take over. Each project has its own heartbeat, and I follow that rhythm to shape everything from the language to the emotional weight.
If you could share one thing with your fans, what would that be?
You have no idea how much you’ve helped me heal.
Every time someone sends a message, leaves a review, or says, “I felt that”, you remind me why I kept going when I almost didn’t. You didn’t just read my words… you heard them. And in a world where most of us are taught to shrink, to stay quiet, to clean up the messy parts before anyone sees, you let me be loud, broken, soft, angry, and real. And you still stayed.
My stories come from places I’ve bled. From trauma I didn’t always have the language for. From moments I thought might break me. And now, they live on your shelves. In your minds. In your hearts. That’s not small. That’s not “just a book.” That’s connection. That’s survival shared.
You’ve helped me realize that I’m not too much. That chaos can be art. That pain can become power. So if there’s one thing I could say, it’s this:
Thank you. For every highlight, every dog-eared page, every DM where you said “I needed this.”
Keep reading. Keep feeling. Keep being too much.
Because too much is exactly what makes you magic.
Kayla Gerdes’s Author Websites and Profiles
Amazon Profile
Goodreads Profile
Kayla Gerdes’s Social Media Links
Facebook Page
Instagram
YouTube Account
