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Saturday, March 12, 2016

Interview with Author Kendra Leigh Castle and Giveaway


Kendra Leigh Castle is a RITA award-nominated, multi-published author of contemporary and paranormal romance. Raised in the far and frozen reaches of Northern New York, where her love of curling up with a blanket and a good book came early, she penned her debut novel as a Navy wife living in the Nevada desert. Since then, she has managed to continue working in her pajamas while moving around the country. Kendra currently makes her home in Maryland, where she lives with her husband, three children, and a menagerie of pets. She drinks too much coffee, stays up too late, and loves to hear from her readers, who make this crazy job worthwhile.


First off, can you tell us a bit about you?
Sure! I’ve been a working author for nine years now, with fifteen (soon to be sixteen) published books and a handful of shorter pieces that have appeared in Harlequin anthologies. A lot of that has been paranormal romance, though my current series is small town contemporary. That was a big jump for me! I’m also a busy mom of three kids and a Navy wife, which is a job all on its own. We live in Maryland now, which has been wonderful since I’ll always be an east coast girl at heart.

Did you always want to be a writer?
Not exactly. I always wrote—poems, short stories, you name it—but I wasn’t a very confident child and it never occurred to me that I might be good enough to make a career of it. Still, wanting to write a book was always in the back of my mind. I kicked the idea around for a long time, and when we got stationed out in the Nevada desert, it seemed like a good opportunity to sit down and give it a real shot. It hasn’t always been easy, but I’m very glad I did!

What kind of writer are you? Panser or Plotter?
I’m a pantser. SUCH a pantser! I know plotters, and I am in awe of them, because my brain just doesn’t work that way. If I know everything that happens from the start, I’ll get bored. Instead, I find my way through a story in relative darkness…it lets me have those “A-ha!” moments that keep me going. It also makes me want to tear my hair out on a semi-regular basis, but by now I’ve just accepted that this is the way I work. It’s messy, but productive.

Where do your ideas come from?
I’m not sure, honestly. I think I’m just wired this way—I wonder “What if?” about all sorts of things. I always had an active imagination, and writing provides me with an outlet for it.

A la Twitter style, can you describe your book (or series) in 140 characters or less.
Carefree baker and town bad boy overcome their pasts to learn that going from friends to lovers is the sweetest chance they’ll ever take.

What are some of your favorite kinds of stories to read?
I’ll pick up anything that catches my eye, but I love to read fantasy. I’m just finishing up Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel trilogy, and it has everything I like: a vibrant world, fascinating characters, and a strong heroine. I’m also a big A Song of Ice and Fire fan (Game of Thrones is back on TV soon, WOO!), which I love even when it makes me want to throw things.

Do you have a favorite book and if so what is it?
That’s like picking a favorite child. I can’t! My keeper shelf has things on it like Stephen King’s The Stand, Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series, and of course, Harry Potter.

What are the scenes that are the hardest for you to write? Why?
This is going to sound funny, but the sex scenes are the hardest for me to write. They take at least twice as long as everything else! I breeze through the run-up and the aftermath, but the scene itself…not so much. I think some of the reason why is that I want each of those scenes to feel natural and be different from each of the other ones I’ve written, and, I mean…there are only so many ways to describe how the act itself works, you know? So it requires quite a bit of thought. I figured out a long time ago that this means I’m definitely not cut out to write erotica!

If you could have dinner with any three authors, who would you choose and why?
I’d choose the authors I mentioned having on my keeper shelf: Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, and JK Rowling. They all build the most amazing worlds in their heads and then manage to get them down on paper, and I’m in awe of the way each of them uses language. I don’t know that I’d do much talking—I just want to listen to them all talk shop!

Last question, are you working on anything right now?
I’m actually taking a short breather right now, as I’ve just this week turned in the edits for A LITTLE MORE LOVE, which is the last Harvest Cove book and will be out in September. After I catch my breath, I’ll be coming up with something new…it’s always an adventure!

I’m always looking for new things to read, so: what is your favorite book, and why?



The author of One of These Nights returns to Harvest Cove for a brand-new sweet and sexy romance...

Nothing’s sweeter than a chance at true love...

Larkin O’Neill refuses to let anything stand in her way. Despite a troubled upbringing, she’s created the life she always wanted, surrounding herself with close friends and opening the bakery of her dreams. But the free-spirited baker is blindsided when she falls hard for the local bad boy. She knows that she should stay away, but the sizzling attraction between them is just too tempting...

Shane’s love 'em and leave 'em ways have left him a persona non grata in Harvest Cove. But when Larkin bursts into his life, the handsome lawyer can't think of anywhere he'd rather be than by her side. She’s the first person in a long time who believes there could be more to him than meets the eye. Now he’s determined to prove to Larkin that he’s worth taking a chance on—and prove to himself that he’s the kind of man she deserves.

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | B&N | iTunes |

Check out the Harvest Cover series:
   

Up For Grabs:
  • 1 Signed copy of Come on Closer

To Enter:
  • I’m always looking for new things to read, so: what is your favorite book, and why?
  • Please fill out the Rafflecopter form.

Good Luck!

Special thanks to Kendra Leigh Castle for sponsoring this giveaway.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

23 comments :

  1. I've had a long time to read... I'll re-read any James Mitchener book and Herman Wouk's Winds of War were excellent.

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  2. I really loved K. Bromberg's Driven series. It has wonderfully, flawed characters and such an emotional story that they went through.

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  3. I love Georgina Guthrie's WORDS series. It's a romance about a college student and her TA falling in love despite a major obsticle in the TA's past that's not quite in the past. There's plenty of love and laughter and even Shakespeare thrown in, and it will always be one of my go-to series'. You should definitely look it up – The Weight of Words is the first in the three-book series.

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  4. I enjoy Julie James and Sherry Thomas' books.

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  5. I love Sherry Thomas for historical and Jill Shalvis for contemporary. Ilona Andrews for urban fantasy and Anne Bishop for fantasy. Can't narrow it down to *one* so here's my list ;) thanks for sharing!

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  6. I love all Colleen Coble books. She has a good mix of suspense and romance in her books. I love The Friday Harbor Series by Lisa Kleypas, the romance, the family, and the realistic magic. I also love Glimpses of Paradise by James Scott Bell. I enjoyed the time period and the fact the girl was trying to make it as an actress. I went to school for theatre and English. Thanks for having the giveaway.

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  7. I don't really have a favorite book I'm always in love with all characters and books right now I'm hung up on Reeve Sallis from First Touch

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  8. I don't really have a favorite book I'm always in love with all characters and books right now I'm hung up on Reeve Sallis from First Touch

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  9. I have several "favorites". The last two I read were "Seeing Love" by Maryann Jordan and "Justice For Corrie" by Susan Stoker. I love the tough, alpha military man who "rescues" his woman. In JFC, the female is equally as tough!

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  10. My favorite book at the moment is The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh because it is a hearfelt, heartbreaking fantastic novel that I couldn't put down ♡ Thank you

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  11. My favorite is Gone With The Wind. I liked that it told about our history as well as a love story.

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  12. I don't have a favorite book but I have favorite authors. I enjoy anything by Nora Roberts and Julia Quinn.

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  13. That is a difficult question. I have to admit that I have many favorites in different genres. I love all of Kristan Higgins' books and Julia Quinn is also a favorite author of mine. As for my non-fiction favorite, I have to go with Jenny Lawson's "Furiously Happy"... She is certifiable and so am I!😀

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  14. That is a difficult question. I have to admit that I have many favorites in different genres. I love all of Kristan Higgins' books and Julia Quinn is also a favorite author of mine. As for my non-fiction favorite, I have to go with Jenny Lawson's "Furiously Happy"... She is certifiable and so am I!😀

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  15. My all time favorite book is LONESOME DOVE by Larry McMurtry. It is such a beautifully written epic. The characters are memorable, the scenery majestic & the villains wicked!!

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  16. I don't have a favorite book as I really love them all. Hard for me to find a bad book, per se. However, I have favorite series: Galenorn, JD Robb, JR Ward, Nora Roberts, and more.

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  17. Oh gosh, I'm not sure I have a favorite book, but I've always loved The Catcher in the Rye... I'll pretty much read anything though. Right now I'm reading Kat Martin's Raines of Wind Canyon series and it's fantastic!

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  18. No way I could pick one favorite book or even one favorite author - I enjoy lots of authors and their books - and a variety of genre (tho mostly romance with an HEA).

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  19. My favorite book is Gone With The Wind, because I love the characters.

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  20. I really loved East of Ecstasy by Laura Kaye. It's part of a wonderful fantasy series and I really enjoyed the characters and storyline. I also learned more about mythology.

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  21. My favorite of all time is Outlander, because it's a great story and the whole series goes so in depth into the character's lives. I have several other books and series I love though too.

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  22. Julie Anne Long's What I Did For A Duke is one of my favorites. I just love the way she writes and this book (actually the whole Pennyroyal Green Series) just gives me a lot of the "feelies" that I look for when I read romances.

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  23. My favorite would be Saving Grace by Julie Garwood. It's the first ever romance I ever read and it started me on the path of loving HEAs. Reading about such a strong heroine and overcoming obstacles to find her hero, it's just always stuck with me.

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