Tell us about yourself.
I’m Kayla Gerdes, author, mom, small business owner, licensed esthetician, content creator, and unapologetic chaos navigator. I live in New Orleans, where the streets hum with stories and survival is an art form. My writing is raw, intense, and emotionally driven. I don’t hold back, and I don’t flinch at the dark parts of love. I write for the ones who feel everything too deeply and crave stories that do the same.
Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up in Louisiana, where beauty and brutality often share the same space. Life there teaches you grit fast, and if you’re lucky, softness sticks around too. That contrast made its way into my writing early. My characters are fighters. Lovers. Survivors. They break rules and sometimes each other, but always with heart. That duality, the chaos and calm, is deeply Southern. And deeply me.
What was your journey to getting published like?
Messy. Unfiltered. Mine. I didn’t wait for approval, I self-published because I had something to say and wasn’t about to ask permission to say it. I learned everything on my own, formatting, covers, marketing, failure. And with every mistake, I got better. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was honest. And now, every book I publish is proof that persistence can be just as powerful as talent.
What’s the best piece of feedback you’ve ever received?
“That line destroyed me, in the most beautiful way.”
That’s when I realized I wasn’t just telling stories, I was striking something deeper. I don’t write for people to simply enjoy my words; I write so they feel them. In their gut. In that quiet place where truth lingers long after the page is turned. I want my lines to land like a bruise they secretly trace with their fingertips, because it hurt, but it meant something.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Stop trying to write what’s “safe.” Write the story you’re scared to say out loud. The one that feels like a risk. That’s where the good stuff is. You don’t need perfect grammar or a traditional deal to be a writer. You need guts. Truth. And a willingness to bleed a little on the page.
What’s a fun fact about you that your readers might not know?
I grew up riding dirt bikes. That was my therapy long before writing was. Just me, the wind, and the road. It was the only time I felt weightless, like I could outrun whatever was chasing me. That same feeling? That’s what I chase every time I write.
What’s your guilty pleasure book or genre?
Dark romance, always. Give me obsession. Power struggles. Redemption that doesn’t come easy. I want flawed men with dangerous edges and women who don’t flinch when they touch the fire. If there’s blood on their hands and I still root for them? That’s my kind of love story.
What’s your favorite quote about writing?
{“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” – Maya Angelou
That quote doesn’t just resonate, it haunts me. It lives in my spine, in the quiet hours, in the weight of every story I’ve tried to ignore. When you’re a writer at your core, silence isn’t peace, it’s pressure. I’ve lost sleep to words I hadn’t yet released. I’ve carried scenes like secrets, heavy and loud, until they demanded to be set free. That ache, that sacred discomfort, is the cost of truth. And every time I let it out, I remember why I never want to keep it in.
When you’re not writing, how do you like to spend your time?
I’m a full-time mom and business owner, so my free time usually looks like chaos, with snacks. But when I do get a break, I love road trips, outdoor adventures and anything that lets me feel free and alive. I create content, I talk to my readers, and I’m always chasing that next idea, even if it starts on a napkin or the back of a receipt.
Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
I don’t remember the first story, but I remember falling in love with lines. With poems that said too much in too little space. With quotes that hit harder than whole chapters. I used to print them out, tape them to my mirror, tuck them into journals, memorize the ones that felt like truth. Some I still have, wrinkled and worn, but never forgotten.
That’s what made me a writer, not a single book, but the steady accumulation of moments in words. The kind that make your chest tighten or your breath catch. I didn’t just want to read them. I wanted to create them. I wanted someone else to feel what I felt when I found a line that reached into me and whispered, “See? You’re not alone.”
What has inspired you and your writing style? How did you choose the Romance/Erotica genre?
Real life. My writing is inspired by real moments, grief, lust, heartbreak, survival, and everything in between. I didn’t choose romance or erotica because it’s pretty, I chose it because it’s powerful. Sex and love are where we’re most vulnerable, most exposed, and often most transformed. I write about those moments the messy, explosive, addictive ones. Not the fantasy of perfect love, but the raw, teeth-bared kind that changes people.
How do you deal with negative reviews?
I read them once, maybe twice, and then I move on. Not everyone will connect with what I write, and that’s okay. I’m not trying to reach everyone. I’m writing for the ones who need it, the ones who feel it in their gut. If just one person reads my story and it lands in the right place, if it makes them feel seen, understood, or less alone… then I’ve already done what I came to do.
How do you connect with your readers?
By showing up as my full, messy, real self. On TikTok. In their DMs. Through late-night livestreams and brutally honest captions. I don’t put on a face for my readers, I show them the one I live in. And in return, they give me loyalty that means everything.
What’s next for you as a writer?
More. Always more. More dark romance. More twisted thrillers. More stories that make you gasp, cry, and text your best friend at 2 a.m. I’m building a world where readers can grow with me, one book, one heartbreak, one redemption arc at a time.
Are there any Easter eggs or hidden messages in your work?
Always. I bury real moments, past conversations, even people I’ve loved (and lost) into my stories. Some readers will recognize them. Others will just feel them like a bruise they can’t name. That’s how I like it.
How do you approach writing dialogue for your characters?
I say it out loud. If it doesn’t sound like something you’d whisper in a fight or scream during sex, it’s not real enough. My characters talk like they’ve lived something. Because they have. Dialogue should feel like eavesdropping, not editing.
If you could share one thing with your fans, what would that be?
Thank you. For reading. For feeling. For holding my words like they meant something, because they did. You’ve made me braver. You’ve reminded me why I keep showing up. If my books have made you feel stronger, sexier, softer, or more seen, you’ve done the same for me. We’re not just sharing stories. We’re surviving together.
Kayla Gerdes’s Author Websites and Profiles
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