Get Lost Again with Historical Romance author Kris Kennedy!

Get Lost in These Stories…

DECEPTION   Medieval

Con man Kieran has a history of staggering successes and one truly awful failure.  Now, he's on a mission of revenge, he has planned for everything.  Except the appearance of the one woman who can bring the whole thing crashing down around him

Excerpt: http://www.kriskennedy.net/178

Claiming Her: Elizabethan Ireland.

 

Aodh Mac Con Rardove has returned to Ireland to reclaim what his family’s heritage.  He plans to conquer everything: the castle, the lands, the lady.  Unfortunately the lady has no intention of being conquered so easily.  But then, things don't always turned out as planned....    

Excerpt: http://www.kriskennedy.net/183

I am so excited to welcome back fellow historical author and agency sister, Kris Kennedy on the blog today.  I was first introduced to her stories when I heard an editor raving about this fabulous Medieval story she’d just bought after someone on a panel had asked if Medievals were dead.  That same day, I was given Kris’ book, The Irish Warrior, by another person who said I had to read it and I thought, “That’s twice in a row I’ve heard her name. I’ll have to check her out.”  And believe me, Kris’s books live up to the hype—and, as I’ve learned as we’ve gotten to know each other, just a truly nice person.  I highly encourage you to pick up one of her stories today!      

So, let’s get to the Get Lost Interview!!!

Heather:  How often to you get lost in a story?  

Kris:  I checked out our interview from last time, and I see we talked about this same question back then—and my reply is the same, a year later: “Not often enough—I’m too busy.”  Eek.  I find that scary.  Understandable, but scary, because means I’m not reading enough.  So, thanks for the reality check.  I must find a way to make time. It’s difficult, though.  When there’s nothing shouting your attention, you can always find things purring for it.  It seems frivolous to sit down on the couch to do nothing but read for enjoyment.  Note to Self: Add more frivolity to days. . . .

Heather:  What’s the first book you remember reading?  

Kris:  Hmmm, I can’t be sure that it was the first—in fact, I’m sure it wasn’t the first--but I recall reading the Uncle Wiggly stories. 

And the pancake man.  And any and every horse book I could get my hands on.

Heather:  What’s your favorite fairy tale?

Kris:  I love the ones that have a theme of ‘what you thought was your darkest/worst/least loveable side was the very thing you needed to save you” theme.  The Ugly Duckling approach to morality tales.  :)

Heather:  What turns you off like nothing else?

Kris:  Arrogance that isn’t earned.  An adult being intentionally mean to any creature smaller or weaker than they are.

Heather:  Do you write while listening to music? If so what kind? 

Kris:  I see I answered this one before too!  And my cutting edge reply of “Sometimes” still stands, but I think I can elaborate more meaningfully.  It depends on where I’m at with ‘flow.’ If I’m flowing, I can—and do—crank the music as loud as it will go, and nothing, I mean nothing, can derail me.  Nerf darts to the head, the alarm on the oven beeping, no impact.  (You may be able to guess this not always a good thing.)  But other times, when I’m not ‘inside’ the story/ character/ scene, then I need silence.  At those times, I almost I feel like a detective hound dog, my nose down to the ground, sniffing out the story, every so often lifting my head to listen to a sound.  And during those times, I can’t have music. 

Heather:  What was the first story you remember writing? 

Kris:  Oh, my, that requires embarrassing answers.  As a kid, I penciled stories about my friends and me, and let me tell you, we have some hair-raising adventures! (On the page, that is, in my imagination.)  The first romance I wrote was a Revolutionary War-era story with an Irish hero.  It will N.E.V.E.R. see the light of day.  

Heather:  Who’s your favorite villain?

Kris:  Well, if I can step out of the realm of books and enter the realm of stories-in-general, I adore Alan Rickman as the Sherriff of Nottingham in the movie Prince of Thieves (Robin Hood). 

Also, Richard Armitage as Guy of Gisbourne in the BBC production of Robin Hood.

 

Hmmm…I’m noticing a theme here.

Heather:  What’s the first thing you do when you finish writing a book?  
Kris:  Well, it’s never a clear line of, “Oh, look at me, I’m done!”  Being ‘done’ is not a steady state; it’s a bendable line.  But if we’re talking “the first thing I do after I send the story off to editor/formatter” then what I generally do is anything with my son, anything at all, where he gets my full attention. Then, when hubby gets home, we drink the champagne he’ll have brought.  :)

Heather:  If you were given a chance to travel to the past where would you go and specifically why? 

Kris:  To the middle ages, of course!  With a gun and a couple expensive horses, wearing Kevlar and knowing a LOT more French than I currently do.

Heather:  Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?

Kris:  Oh, sure.  :)  I love readers, and while less-than-positive reviews can hurt or even be embarrassing, that doesn’t mean I can’t handle it.  (Mockery or personal attacks are different, of course)   At heart, I’m a craftswoman, and I want to get better.  I have critique partners, and a rather brutal inner editor, but even so, I miss things.  Reviews can sometimes can help me see those.  I tend to have a good sense of which reviews have nailed a true problem (rather than it being a taste issue, or an “I wish you’d written THIS book instead of THAT one” sort of thing.)   That said, I rarely go seeking reviews.   

Heather:  Which is your favorite language other than your native language? 

Kris:  That would be Irish, of course!  :)  

Heather’s GOTTA ASK – Kris’s GOTTA ANSWER  J

Heather:  Can you tell our readers a little about the new venture you’re involved in, Rock*It Reads?

Kris:  Why, yes I can!  :)

Rock*It Reads is a new idea, a ‘brand’ of traditionally published authors who are self-publishing as well.  Each of the Rock*It Reads authors has made a commitment to put out only high-quality self-published works, on par with her New York works.  We’ve got a website (http://rockitreads.com), a newsletter, Twitter and Facebook pages, and an eye-catching logo for our books. 

Rock*It Reads isn’t a publisher.  These are 100% self-published works, done by each author, on her own dime, on her own time.  We’ve simply banded together to form Rock*It Reads to help our readers find other great self-published romances.

GOT A QUESTION YOU’D LIKE TO ASK YOUR FANS?

Kris:  How bad is too bad?  I’m looking for bad boy heroes, alpha heroes who push the edge. I think of my heroes as the “good alpha,” men so confident and secure in themselves they aren’t threatened by an equally-strong woman.  But that doesn’t mean they’re nice.  Oh, no, not even close.  Kier, the hero in DECEPTION, is a con man out for revenge, and Aodh, (CLAIMING HER) is a treasonous soldier who takes what he wants.   Which kind of bad boy hero lights your fire the hottest?    

WILL YOU HAVE A DRAWING FROM THOSE LEAVING COMMENTS?**

 Kris:  I’ll be giving away two of my books!

First, an e-copy of my upcoming self-published super hot historical romance novella CLAIMING HER when it releases later this summer.  Excerpt: http://www.kriskennedy.net/183

Second, a print copy of my upcoming book from Pocket, DECEPTION, which will be sent once it releases. Excerpt: http://www.kriskennedy.net/178

Thanks so much for being with us today, Kris!  Where can your fans learn more about you on the web?

Website: http://kriskennedy.net

Newsletter sign-up (which will let you know when Claiming Her is releasing): http://kriskennedy.net/subscribe-to-newsletter

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/KrisKennedy

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KrisKennedyBooks

*Please click on photos for links to attributing websites. Thanks!