Ramblings From This Chick: Interview with Author Kennedy Ryan and Giveaway

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Interview with Author Kennedy Ryan and Giveaway

Meet Kennedy Ryan, author of When You Are Mine.

There were several signs that Kennedy Ryan would be a writer, but making up stories with a mop as her long-haired heroine while the other kids played kick ball may have been the most telling. After graduating with her journalism degree from UNC-Chapel Hill (GO, HEELS!), she found various means of gainful employment having absolutely nothing to do with said degree, but knew she would circle back to writing, in some form or fashion. After years of working and writing for non-profit organizations, she finally returned to her first love - telling stories. Her debut novel, When You Are Mine, the first of The Bennetts trilogy, releases through Grand Central's Forever Yours imprint in June 2014.

In an alternative universe and under her government name Tina Dula is wife to Sam, mom to Myles, and a friend to those living with autism through her foundation Myles-A-Part.

Find Kennedy at:

| Site | Facebook | Twitter |

A la Twitter style, please describe your book in 140 characters or less.
A damaged girl engaged 2 a damaged guy falls 4 the bestie who sets her on fire. Will she ruin all for the love of one? Messy. Angsty. Real.

What types of scenes are your most favorite to write?
I LOVE confrontations! Fights where all the things that have been bubbling under the surface come out, exploding between characters. I actually act these scenes out BEFORE I write them to experience the emotion and get authentic dialogue. You can often find me crying in my kitchen while washing dishes because I am acting out a scene preparing to write it! LOL

If you could have dinner with any three authors (alive or dead), who would you choose and why?

Margaret Mitchell – I live in Atlanta, as did Mitchell. I read GWTW several times in one summer. She wrote ONE book. It was a bestseller, by any standard. Won the Pulitzer for fiction. The National Book Award. Was made into one of the most iconic movies of all time. We sometimes put so much emphasis on being prolific, but she poured everything into this one work, and it stands alone, to a degree in modern fiction.
Alice Walker – Have you SEEN/READ The Color Purple? Geesh, the richness of dialogue, layered characterization, distinctive voice/dialect. The bonds of friendship and family. She created this huge cast of strong women who understood what it meant to survive in seemingly insurmountable circumstances. I just want to thank her. Without the book, one of my favorite movies would never have been made!
Emily Dickinson – For someone who lived a good portion of her life in seclusion, her writing soared. Poetry is my first love, so she always has a spot on my lists. She once asked a literary critic if her verse was “alive” and if it “breathed”. How can you not love someone who thinks in those terms about her writing? And she penned the words that hover over my life – Dwell in possibility! Those words spur me to try things some would say are impossible, but are actually just kind of difficult! We so often miss opportunities assuming things cannot happen. Her words remind me of that.

What are you favorite types of stories to read?
Definitely love stories. The angstier the better. Emotional intensity is huge for me. I love seeing characters GROW and STRETCH in the process of seeking their happily ever after. Two characters who love one another more than anything else, and have to find their way around that thing that makes it hard for them to be together.

Last question, are you working on anything right now?
Yes! WHEN YOU ARE MINE is actually book one of a trilogy. Book two is written (yay!) and being edited. I am writing book three now. I also am finishing up the first draft of a new adult contemporary, and drafting a non-fiction book about my family’s journey living with autism.

What is your “hard limit” in a romance novel? What can you not accept?

Forever is a heartbeat away . . .

Kerris Moreton knows how to make things work. Bounced from foster home to foster home as a kid, she adapted; when opportunity arose, she thrived. Now, about to open her own business and accept a marriage proposal, Kerris is ready to build the life she's always wanted. The only thing missing? A passionate connection with her would-be fiancé, Cam. Kerris wants to believe that sparks are overrated-until Walsh Bennett lights her up like the Fourth of July.

. . . but what about love?

As one of the East Coast's most eligible bachelors, Walsh enjoys financial independence, fulfilling work with his family's nonprofit, and plenty of female attention. But lately he's been distracted by the one woman he can't have. Lovely to look at and even sweeter to know, Kerris is the soul mate Walsh never thought he would find. The problem is, his best friend found her first . . .

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