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.
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?
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
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
