It's a Triple Threat with Regina Kyle

I’m so happy to welcome Harlequin Blaze author Regina Kyle to GLIAS today so she can tell us about her new book Triple Threat.

Regina knew she was destined to be an author when she won a writing contest at age ten with a touching tale about a squirrel and a nut pie. By day, she writes dry legal briefs, representing the state in criminal appeals. At night, she writes steamy romance with heart and humor.

A lover of all things theatrical, Regina lives on the Connecticut coast with her husband, teenaged daughter, and two melodramatic cats. When she’s not writing, she’s most likely singing, reading, cooking or watching bad reality television. She’s a member of Romance Writers of America and treasurer of her local RWA chapter.

THE STORY BLURB

The Theater of Temptation presents Sabotage…and Seduction!

The Playwright: It’s emerging playwright Holly Nelson’s big break. Broadway. Having survived her traumatic marriage and divorce, Holly is now aiming for success, not love. And any naughty dreams about Nick Damone—the gorgeously dishy star who was her crush back in high school—must remain a fantasy.

The Star: For Nick, Broadway is a chance to go from big-screen-eye-candy to serious actor, and to explore the lust blazing between him and Holly. But life-threatening accidents will force a chain of events that could bring down the curtain on the whole production…or give Nick and Holly a chance to finish the sexy something that started fifteen years ago!

EXCERPT

Link to excerpt on Regina’s WEBSITE

Purchase TRIPLE THREAT:

AMAZON

BARNES AND NOBLE

Q & A WITH REGINA

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

REGINA:     When am I not? Seriously, I’m always either lost in whatever I’m writing or whatever I’m reading. Or watching, in the case of Outlander. Jamie Frasier. Sigh.

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

REGINA:     Flat Stanley. My sister and I were oddly obsessed with that book. I think she got it through the Scholastic Book Club, and I kind of stole it from her. I thought we were the only ones that into it, but then a few years ago, when my daughter was in elementary school, all of these Flat Stanley projects started turning up. You know, where kids read the book, make their own Flat Stanley and have someone take him around and photograph him different places. She had to do it in second grade, and good friends in Washington D.C. took her Flat Stanley to all the monuments. They said it was like traveling with a rock star, so many people kept stopping them!

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

REGINA:     My TBR pile is ginormous. Thank goodness for my iPad mini. I think my next five are Heroes are My Weakness, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips; It’s in His Kiss, by Jill Shalvis; The Night Belongs to Fireman, by Jennifer Bernard; The Second Chance Hero, by Jeannie Moon; and Caught in the Act, by Sara Jane Stone.  SEP and Jill Shalvis are my romance writing idols.  I’m absolutely gaga over Jennifer Bernard’s Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel, and I was lucky enough to meet and hang with her at RWA in San Antonio this year. (She’s lovely!) And the last two are written by good friends and even better writers. I love the support I’ve gotten from the romance writing community, and always try to pay it forward.

LIZ: What’s your favorite fairy tale?

REGINA:     The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Not one of the most popular, but it’s always stuck with me. Twelve daughters, sneaking out of the house every night to meet twelve handsome princes. So daring. And romantic. Not that I’ve ever done anything like that. And my sixteen-year-old daughter better not, either.

LIZ: Cast your book using fairy tale or cartoon characters.

REGINA:     I think I’ll go with Disney characters.  Nick’s definitely Flynn Rider from Rapunzel. Man’s man, ladies’ man, man about town. Confident, maybe a little cocky, but also strong, quick-witted, sensitive and good-hearted. And oh, yeah, he’s got the smolder.

Holly’s more like Belle from Beauty and the Beast. She’s smart, with an active imagination and an open mind, necessary characteristics for a writer. And thanks to her disastrous marriage, she’s determined to stand on her own two feet and not take a back seat to another man. Not even one as yummy as Nick.

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

REGINA:     As a writer, Holly’s definitely got a pad and at least ten pens, her smart phone or tablet (you never know when you might need to Google something), and that necessary brain food, chocolate.

LIZ: What sound or noise do you love?

REGINA:     Rain on the roof. Always relaxes me. Same with the droning of a window fan. We live right on Long Island Sound and don’t have air conditioning. Never had it as a kid, either. I grew up letting the monotonous hum of the fan in summer lull me to sleep. I always feel a pang of sorrow when fall comes and I have to pack it up until next year.

   

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

REGINA:     I’d love to go back to the Renaissance – the most artistic and creative time in human history. Who wouldn’t want to chill out with the likes of Shakespeare, Michelangelo and Da Vinci? Or to eighteenth century Scotland. But only if Jamie Fraser is there.

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

REGINA:     My cat, Oreo. We have two cats, Oreo and Scooter. Scooter’s our old guy, going on 20. I love him, but he’s a bit of a grump, always smacking me in the head when I try to write. Oreo is my writing partner, especially in the summer. I like to sit out on our three-season porch, and she sits in one of the windows, keeping me company. She’s tiny and soft and always gives me lots of snuggles and lovin’. Except, of course, when I find she’s peed some random place that is NOT the litter box LOL.

LIZ: What is your biggest vice?

REGINA:     Reading. There are almost 1,000 books on my iPad. I stay up far too late on far too many nights indulging. Just one more chapter . . . just one more chapter . . .

LIZ: What do you hope for the future of romance publishing?

REGINA:     I’d like the see a truce between the self-publishing and traditional publishing camps. Most folks are great, but there are a few extremists on either side, people who claim their way is the “only” way. There’s no one right path that fits everyone. Self-pubbing can be great if you’ve got the resources and time to put into it. Traditional publishing has its flaws but you can’t beat it for widespread distribution. The bottom line is that each road has its pros and cons, and we have to recognize as writers that our choices for our careers represent what’s best for us, not necessarily everyone else.

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

REGINA:     Well, Triple Threat is my first book, and my first manuscript. But there’s quite a bit of personal stuff in there. Write what you know, they always say. So I did. The theater in the book, the Elm City Reparatory Theatre, is based on the beautiful Goodspeed Opera House, on the banks of the Connecticut River. I grew up going there every year as a child for my birthday, and my daughter, who is a professional actress, was fortunate enough to work there a few years ago. I literally took the Goodspeed, description, history and all, and plunked it in New Haven.

But I think the most personal thing in Triple Threat is when Holly’s siblings tease her about flashing her undies on stage. Yep. That really happened to me. Twice. The first time I was a freshman in high school, and I was wearing a pair of those old-fashioned pajamas with a drop seat. Sure enough, the flap came open and the entire audience saw my undies. Then, sophomore year, I was playing Anybodys, the tomboy, in West Side Story. The director told me to wear my oldest, rattiest jeans – which were also my tightest. I climbed up on top of some scaffolding to “rescue” Tony at the end of act one before the cops showed up – and split my pants down the back seam. I somehow managed to get on stage, get him and get off without revealing too much. I hope. I spent intermission looking for a pair of jeans to borrow. Janet Jackson’s got nothing on me when it comes to wardrobe malfunctions.

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

Have you run into your high school crush since you were teenagers? Where and how, and is he (or she) still crush-worthy? I have a $10 gift card for Amazon or Barnes and Noble for one commenter.

CONTACT REGINA:

Website: www.reginakyleauthor.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/reginakyleauthor

Twitter: _@regina_kyle1__

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/goodreadscomreginakyle

WHAT’S NEXT?

Up next will be the second book in the Art of Seduction series for Blaze, tentatively titled Triple Time, set for release in June of 2015. It tells Gabe and Devin’s story, two characters readers meet in Triple Threat. Gabe is Holly’s brother, an uptight, workaholic prosecutor with a strong sense of right and wrong. Devin is her best friend, a free-spirited, street-smart tattoo artist/bartender. I think you can see where this is headed. Sparks city.