Welcome Kay Thomas and HARD TARGET!

KAY THOMAS

Title: HARD TARGET

Publisher: Avon Impulse

I’m so excited to have fellow Avon Impulse author Kay Thomas here today. She’s an amazing writer and a fun person to hang with at RWA nationals. And she loved the Black Stallion books as a child. That makes her a soulmate of mine whether she wants to be or not!  I hope you enjoy getting to know Kay a little better!

A LITTLE ABOUT KAY

Award-winning author Kay Thomas didn’t grow up burning to be a writer. Until fourth grade she wasn’t even much of a reader. That’s when her sister read THE BLACK STALLION aloud to her. For hours Kay was enthralled—shipwrecked and riding an untamed horse across desert sand. Then tragedy struck. Her sister lost her voice. But Kay couldn’t wait to hear what happened in the story—so she picked up that book, finished reading it herself, and went in search of more adventures at the local library. Today she lives in Dallas with her husband, their two children, and a shockingly spoiled Boston terrier. Her national best-selling "bulletproof" novels have been translated into multiple languages. In November 2013 look for HARD TARGET: Elite Ops-Book 1 in her new series from Avon Impulse. Visit her website at www.KayThomas.net.

A LITTLE ABOUT THE STORY

The first installment in the Elite Ops series, featuring sexy ex-military men ... and the women who rescue their hearts.

Former DEA agent Leland Hollis wasn't planning on being a hero. Recovering from an injury sustained during a drug bust gone wrong and with more personal demons than he cares to admit, he wants nothing more than peace and a chance to rebuild his life. But when Anna Mercado's crazy ex shows up wielding a baseball bat, Leland can't ignore his instinct to help. And after her son is kidnapped, Leland agrees to deliver the ransom into dangerous territory south of the border.

Anna has no choice but to go with this stranger she's just met if she ever wants to see her son again. But getting the boy out of a violent cartel region involves risking everything. And for that Leland will have to convince Anna to do the scariest thing of all…open her heart and trust him.  

CHECK OUT AN EXCERPT OF HARD TARGET  HERE

AN AWESOME Q&A WITH KAY

LIZ: How often do you get lost in a story?

KAY: Pretty much every time I sit down to read a book. I'm very easy that way.

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

KAY: The first book I remember reading that turned me into a reader for life was THE BLACK STALLION by Walter Farley. I mentioned this in my bio. My sister was reading it aloud to me when I was home sick with the flu. In the middle of the story, she got sick and lost her voice. (Caught my flu most likely) I was so caught up in Alec Ramsey's adventures that I picked up that book, finished reading it myself and asked my mom to take me to the library so I could check out the next book in the series. I read all THE BLACK STALLION books back-to-back, and I haven't slowed down on reading since.

LIZ:  As I said--I still have a huge crust on Alec Ramsay and have collected all the books. I think these started me off too!

LIZ: What are the next five books on your ‘to be read’ pile?

KAY: BELLMAN AND BLACK by Diane Setterfield. ALLEGIANT by Veronica Roth. Pamela Clare's new I-TEAM...STRIKING DISTANCE.  FOREPLAY by Sophie Jordan. NO GOOD DUKE GOES UNPUNISHED by Sarah MacLean.

LIZ: What’s your favorite fairy tale?

KAY: Cinderella

 

LIZ: What’s your favorite cartoon character?

KAY: Toss up between Bugs Bunny and Foghorn Leghorn

LIZ:  I had to put Foghorn Leghorn in here. I say, I say, I love that bird. He's so naughty.

LIZ: Name three things that are, at this moment, in your heroine’s purse.

KAY: hospital pager, heart medication, passport

LIZ: What sound or noise do you love?

KAY: The sound of the ocean waves hitting the shore

   

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

KAY: After reading Jude Deveraux's KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR, I've always wanted to go to medieval England—not for very long, just a day or so. But I adore time travel movies. TIMELINE based on the book by Michael Crichton is one of my favorites, and of course SOMEWHERE IN TIME with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour makes me weep every time I watch it.

LIZ: What will always make you smile, even on a bad day?

KAY: My husband's jokes or my Boston terrier's antics

LIZ: What’s your favorite movie of all time?

KAY: Toss-up between Gone with the Wind & Shawshank Redemption

LIZ: Who’s your favorite villain?

KAY: Hannibal Lecter

LIZ: What is your biggest vice?

KAY: Chocolate and coffee

LIZ HAS GOTTA ASK: What’s the most personal thing you’ve ever put in one of your books?

KAY: My debut novel, BETTER THAN BULLETPROOF, was about a woman whose sister suddenly disappears without a trace and she is left to care for her four-year-old autistic nephew. My son is on the autism spectrum and when I wrote that book he was about 8 years old. We were four years into his diagnosis at the time. I put a lot of him as a younger child into that nephew character and a lot of myself into his aunt—her struggle to learn how to deal with her nephew and how to help him. There was one scene in particular where the little boy has a complete meltdown in a hotel room with his aunt and she has no idea what to do for him. They both end up on the floor crying in opposite corners of the room. That felt very personal. I'd been there before. My son is almost 18 now and has made amazing strides. It's humbling to see how far we've both come.

DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION YOU’D LIKE TO ASK YOUR FANS?

Do you like to read a series as each book releases or do you prefer to wait until the author has finished the entire series and read them all at once?

Kay will award one lucky commenter a free ebook download of Hard Target after the release date. That's tomorrow!! (Nov. 12^th!)

CONTACT KAY:

E-mail: kay@kaythomas.net

Website: www.KayThomas.net

Facebook: www.facebook.com/KayThomasWrites

Twitter: www.twitter.com/KayThomasWrites

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/KayThomasWrites

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/KayThomasWrites

Blogs: www.kaythomas.net/news

WHAT’S UP NEXT FOR YOU? 

Book 2 in the Elite Ops series (working title: Personal Target) is about a case of mistaken identity and a very personal vendetta against former SEAL/CIA operative, Nick Donovan. From Dallas to Mexico, across the African Savanna, to the shores of the Mediterranean it’s a race against time for Nick to save the woman he loves but lost years before.

Thank you so much, Kay, for spending the day with us here at Get Lost in a Story!