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Sunday, July 15, 2012

Interview with Author Debra Kayn and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome to RFTC author Debra Kayn. Debra is celebrating the release of her book Rodeo Rebel and has stopped by to answer some questions. Before we get to the interview, lets get to know a bit about Debra.

Multi-published Romance Author, Debra Kayn, lives with her family in the beautiful coastal mountains of Oregon on a hobby farm. During the summer, she enjoys riding motorcycles, gardening, playing tennis, and fishing. During the winter, you’ll find her outside playing in the snow. A cold weather nut, she lives for the days she’s snowbound and fighting with the woodstove to keep the house warm when the power goes out. A huge animal lover, she always has a dog under her desk when she writes and chickens standing at the front door looking for a treat. She's famous in her family for teaching a 270 lb pig named Harley to jog with her every morning.

Her love of family ties and laughter makes her a natural to write heartwarming contemporary stories to the delight of her readers. As someone who met her husband on a blind date when she was nineteen years old, she’s a believer of love at first sight and happily ever after.

Places to find Debra:


First off, can you tell us a bit about you?
I live in the beautiful coastal mountains of Oregon. I’m married to the man I met on a blind date when I was 19. We have four kids ranging in age from 16 to 22. During the summer, I love to ride motorcycles, play tennis, and go fishing on our creek. In the winter, it’s all about being outside. I love the snow and cold. I’m a huge animal lover, and there is always a dog or two under my desk, and chickens standing at the front door looking for any scrap I can toss their way.

I love soft caramel squares. I buy too many boots. And, I own a pink sparkly fishing pole that lights up when I reel in a fish.

Oh! And, I’m famous in my family for teaching a 270 lb pig named Harley to jog with me every morning.

Did you always want to be a writer?
I don’t think I ever dreamed about being a writer, but I always filled journals with my writing while growing up. It wasn’t until my kids passed their toddler years that I started wondering if it was possible to publish a book. Then the real learning began.

What kind of writer are you? Panster or Plotter?
Both. I start out as a panster. I’ll write two or three chapters and get a good feel for the story without really knowing what was going to come at the end. Then I start plotting it out scene by scene.

Where do your ideas come from?
I’m a people watcher. I love creating stories for strangers, which probably makes them wonder why I’m grinning and staring at them. I also like to put parts of my own life in stories. It could be a location, or an event I went to.

A la Twitter style, can you describe your book (or series) in 140 characters or less.
"They had a contract. She won't let him break it—come hell or his daughter."

What are some of your favorite kinds of stories to read?
I love contemporary books. If the man is a little older, and if she’s had a crush on him, I’ll buy it!

Do you have a favorite book and if so what is it?
This is always such a hard question to answer. Hm. There are so many. How about the last book that made me cry happy tears? That would be The What If Guy by Brooke Moss. I bawled like a baby!

What are the scenes that are the hardest for you to write?
Kiss scenes! I struggled with making them more powerful for the longest time. One day, I forced myself to write the longest kiss ever, just for fun, and it ended up being 7 pages long. I’ll never need that long of a kiss in a story, but it helped make more of an impact for my readers.

If you could have dinner with any three authors, who would you choose and why?
  • Shirin Dubbin – Because I lurve her. She’s one of my buddies, but we’ve never met in real life.
  • Gina Gordon – I’m going to take her to a bar someday. Not some frilly lounge, but a bar with a name like Jack’s Bar that has a mechanical bull and peanut shells on the floor. She needs to learn how cowgirls have fun. Sh. Don’t tell her that.
  • Nora Roberts – Just because she’s Nora. I’m a talker, but even I would sit there in total silence just to soak up all that is Nora.

Last question, are you working on anything right now?
Oh, I’m excited. Entangled Publishing gave me a contract for another book. I’ve been busy writing a proposal for my editor for the 4 books that come after that one. Keep your fingers crossed! This series is about professional athletes and the women who love them despite their big, um, egos.


When widower and land baron Cole Reardon acquired the Turner Grain Corporation, he didn't know the company sponsored a bull rider. He refuses to support thrill-seekers dumb enough to get on the back of a crazed animal. He’s not willing to risk his fortune and livelihood when he has his daughter's well-being to consider. Not even when the bull rider is the sexiest woman he's ever seen.

Bull rider Florentine McDougal plans to turn pro after the season championship, fulfilling her lifelong dream of succeeding in a man’s world. That is, until Cole Reardon shows up and threatens to break his sponsorship contract with her. Now everything she’s worked for is less than eight seconds away from being destroyed.

Cole distracts Florentine with his sexy mouth and unreasonable demands, and he's not going to compromise his integrity. But she's not going to let him loose until she has pro status. And neither will come away from this dust-up unscathed.
Places to Purchase:

Want to win a copy of this book? 1 lucky commenter will win a copy. 

To Enter:
  • Leave a meaningful comment or question for Debra. 
  • Fill out the Rafflecopter form below.  

19 comments :

  1. Congrats on the new release! Thanks for a fun interview and giveaway!

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  2. What a unique concept - a female bull rider. I didn't know women rode bulls and I love it. I will definitely check this book out.

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  3. I hope your contract goes through...I would definitely read your 4 books about jocks and romance! I love your website...so cheerful and am now a follower so I can keep up with your new releases!

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  4. Thanks Erin, JenM, books4me! It was such a fun book to write. Florentine is such a tough woman with a mouth on her and when she decides to she loves someone, she'll sink her spurs in and hold on.

    Remember, if Rodeo Rebel makes it to the top 100 on Amazon or Barnes & Noble, I'm giving one lucky person a pair of cowgirl boots and a cowgirl hat. The details are on my website, and you don't even have to purchase the book!

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  5. Great new release, What made you come up with a female bull rider? Thanks for the interview it was fascinating. I want to know also why you jog with a pig?
    Carin mawmom(at)gmail(dot)com

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  6. HI Carin - Florentine is an identical twin to Chantilly. Growing up she wanted to be different than her sisters, and she was good at riding wild horses. It progressed to bulls with the support of her daddy. Stuart McDougal believed his girls could do anything they set their heart to doing.

    lol We were raising a batch of hogs, and one of them was more lazy than the others. I decided to make her jog for her feed every morning. Pigs are actually really smart. She learned that if she wanted fed, she had to go jogging. She would lumber behind me, and when we were done jogging, she'd walked through the gate, wait for her feed, and then promptly lay down to eat her slop. Well, pigs grow fast and in a few short months, she was at 270 lbs. It was quite the sight to see that big of a pig jogging.

    There is an ending to the story of my jogging hog, but I included that real life story in the 3rd Sisters of McDougal Ranch book called Margot's Lawman. I don't want to give the story away! ;)

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  7. Thanks for the fun interview and the book sounds great, a female bull rider!

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  8. I've never read a book about a bull rider. Sounds like a good book.

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  9. Sounds really good! Thanks for the chance to win!

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  10. Thanks for sharing the interview,I love your books:)

    reginamayross@gmail.com

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  11. Thanks for commenting, Myra, bn100, Natasha, and Regina.

    Good luck everyone!

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  12. Hello Debra,

    Congrats on your new release of "Rodeo Rebel". What a very creative and unique idea for a Book, I have never read any Book with a female bull rider, I'm really LQQking forward to reading your new release. Thank you for the Great Interview.

    Take Care & Stay Naughty,
    PaParanormalFan (Renee’ S.)
    paranormalromancefan at yahoo dot com

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  13. Congratulations and GL!! sounds great and Im looking forward to reading it!


    kerryjcj AT verizon DOT net

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  14. Congrats on the release! This is the first I heard of your book and it sounds great.

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  15. Congrats on your debut book Debra but how did you train a pig to jog?! That would really be a sight to see. I hv enough trouble training my dad's dog!

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  16. I swear, Debra, I'm NOT stalking you. Honest. Cross my heart and hope to cry...happy tears when I get your book, that is. LOL

    This is the latest in a series of stories about five ranch sisters, and I loved every minute of the first four. When my world gets less chaotic (ahem, read that as when the kids go back to school), I might actually get around to updating my goodreads account to reflect my readings.

    Even if I don't win a copy through my stalker endeavors, I plan to buy a copy when I get my finances back in order.

    Love your work, Deb!

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  17. Thanks everyone!

    Linda - Hogs are pretty smart and easier to train than a dog. They're just stubborn. lol So when one especially lazy hog wouldn't "get in shape" I taught him to jog after me by carrying the feed bucket. Pretty soon it became routine. We'd jog together in the mornings and he'd receive his breakfast. (Btw, the story of the real Harley Hog is included in the 3rd Sisters of McDougal Ranch book, Margot's Lawman. Margot too has a Harley Hog)

    Heather - lol You know I wuv your dedication! And, it's very appreciated. You can stalk me to your hearts content!

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  18. Debra,

    When I read the interview I wondered if that was how Harley came about in Margot's book - too cute.

    I love this series and definitely recommend all 4 books (the first three are Carina Press).

    *don't enter me since I have my copy already - I just wanted to stop by and support Debra. It was a great interview.

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  19. Hi Debra,
    thank you for the chance at such a great giveaway. i love the cover, it's gorgeous and the book sounds wonderful.
    did you design the cover yourself/have a lot of say in how it would look? i know some authors get little to no say in how the book cover will look.

    tammy ramey
    trvlagnt1t@yahoo.com

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