Interview with Author KC Klein and Giveaway

Today I am so happy to welcome to RFTC author, KC Klein. Last fall I came across KC's book Texas Wide Open and it blew me away. Seriously, it was so freaking good and it left me an emotional wreck but in such a good way. I admit I kind of stalked her for awhile because I was afraid to approach her because I was afraid I would go total fangirl on her. But once I finally worked up the nerve to say hi, I just knew I had to have her come by the blog to chat. So please give KC a super warm welcome. =)

KC Klein has lived most of her life with her head in the clouds and her nose buried in a book. She did stop reading long enough to make a home with a real life hero, her husband, for over sixteen years. A mother of two children, she spends her time slaying dragons, saving princesses, and championing the belief in the happily-ever-after. Her debut novel, Dark Future, is a finalist in the 2012 Prism contest and has been honored with a reviewer’s choice award. Her other titles include a science fiction romance anthology, Hotter on the Edge, and a new contemporary romance, Texas Wide Open. KC loves to hear from readers and can be found desperately pounding away on her laptop in yoga pants and leopard slippers or more conveniently at www.kckleinbooks.com.

Places to find KC:

| Site | Blog | Facebook | Twitter |

First, I want to thank you, Danielle for asking me to come on to your blog. If I remember correctly, we met on Twitter, started a discussion, and it evolved into a blog invite. How cool is that? So, thanks for having me on and thanks for tweeting with me. =)

First off, can you tell us a bit about you?
Well, I am a mother of two girls, a wife for over seventeen years, and a self-proclaimed day-dreamer. I’m one of those annoying people who like to exercise, but I still hate dieting. May favorite food combination in is sweet-salty, add a glass of red wine, and I’m in heaven. My uniform of choice is yoga pants and leopard slippers (guess what I’m wearing right now), and I spend an obscene amount of time in front of the computer.

Did you always want to be a writer?
Doesn’t everyone? J It always baffles me when other people say they could never write a book or have no interest in reading. I’m always like, so what do you think about all day long? To me, writing is like breathing. Writing is the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing before I go to sleep. From the time I read my first Judy Blume book, I knew what I wanted to do with my life.

What kind of writer are you? Panster or Plotter?
For my first book, Dark Future, I was a Panster. That did well for me until I got to the end and almost had a nervous breakdown since I had no idea how I was going to end it. (To see if I pulled it off, read it and let me know) After that, I promised myself I’d never put myself through that again. So now, in order to keep my sanity and my production up, I outline very roughly. My outline mostly consists of a list of scenes in chronological order. About halfway through the book, I abandon the outline, but by that time though, I know where I am heading.

Where do your ideas come from?
Gosh, everywhere. Really, nothing is sacred. My boss’s jokes, best friend’s marriage counseling sessions, and my childhood dramas. I pull from everywhere, but mostly from music and movies. If I can isolate one scene or lyric that speaks to me, then I can create a whole story around that one inspiration.

A la Twitter style, can you describe your book (or series) in 140 characters or less.
Katie loved growing up on a ranch. She had her horse, the beautiful Texas prairie, and Cole, the cowboy next door. But there are a lot of secrets hidden under a Texas sky…

What are some of your favorite kinds of stories to read?
I do like historicals. It’s what I read when I need to relax. Now that I’ve read so many, I am starting to branch out into sci-fi, urban fantasy, and contemporary. All of them romance, of course. J

Do you have a favorite book and if so what is it?
I love Karen Moning’s Dream Fever series. I love the Game of Thrones series. But the all-time fav would have to be Gone With the Wind.

What are the scenes that are the hardest for you to write?
It really just depends. There’s always a point in a book where you just want the whole thing to be done and over with. There was a scene in my latest novella, To Keep a Wife, that I just didn’t want to write. The scene was very dark, and even though I tend to write gritty, I just didn’t want to go there. My life was going good, and I wasn’t feeling the angst. In the end, I just had to pull on my big girl panties and get the scene.

If you could have dinner with any three authors, who would you choose and why?
That’s easy. Here they are and the questions I would like to ask.

• Margaret Mitchell: Why didn’t you write another book?
• George R. Martin: How do you keep all the plot and character arcs straight over such a long series?
• Eloisa James: How did you become so cool?

Last question, are you working on anything right now?
I thought you’d never ask. J Of course, there’s always something in the works. I will be releasing a second installment of my sci-fi anthology, Hotter on the Edge 2, very soon. This will be a continuation of Hudson and Lake’s story.

So many people have asked me this, and I am happy to say, yes, there will be a sequel to Texas Wide Open. The book is tentatively titled Hustlin’ Texas, and this will be Jett and Nikki’s story. Hustlin’ Texas should be out late this year or early next year.


I thought I’d do something a little different. I came up with a short novella proposal that was ultimately rejected by one of my publishers (supposedly sci-fi romance isn’t selling). I’ll post the blurb below, and please let me know if this story is something you as a reader would be interested in. No hard feelings either way. I’d just like to get a feel for what readers like and don’t like.

Enjoy!

His Personal Courtesan

Princess Mia, last remaining heir to the Centauri Throne, barely escaped with her life when her brother staged a coup and overtook her father’s palace. The sole witness to her brother’s crime, Princess Mia is desperate for escape to one of the less inhabited Outer Planets. But becoming a stowaway on an OuterSolar flight is a lot harder for a girl who’s been raised behind ivory walls. So now she’s stuck hiding out on the Bates Space Station, stealing into unsuspecting travelers’ rooms for food and lodging while they recover from the after-effects of Deep Stasis.

Captain Jax Roux is a wanted man by the Omega Centauri Galaxy for a crime he didn’t commit. Now he’s on the run, hiding out on the shady Outer Planets and frequenting the less-than-reputable Space Stations. When he wakes up to find the courtesan he’d paid way too many credits for, is not only lovely, but already in his bed, he thinks it’s about time things start going his way.

Little does Princess Mia know that the handsome man whose room she’s inhabited is none other than Captain Jax Roux, Commander of the Royal Guard, and at one time her father’s personal body guard.

Princess Mia is in trouble and who better to help her than the man she’s been desperately in love with when she was just a child. The only problem is a wanted man may not appreciate having the entire Royal Guard hot on her trail so what better way of keeping things on the down-low than posing as a slave or, in Captain Jax’s case, his personal courtesan?

Katie Harris loved growing up on a ranch. She had her horse, the beautiful Texas prairie, and Cole Logan, the cowboy next door. But there are a lot of secrets hidden under a Texas sky…

Katie always knew she’d marry Cole one day—until he broke her dreams and her heart. But now that Katie’s father is sick, she’s back home, older, wiser and nowhere near the love-sick fool she once was.

Cole knows Katie doesn’t want anything to do with him. But after so many years, he can’t pretend she’s no more than a neighbor. Holding his ground was hard enough when she was seventeen. Now that she’s her own woman, Cole’s heart doesn’t stand a chance…

Purchase: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

Check out my review here.

Check out whats up for grabs.

Up For Grabs:

• 1 lucky winner will win an eBook of Texas Wide Open

To Enter:

• Please answer KC's question: I thought I’d do something a little different. I came up with a short novella proposal that was ultimately rejected by one of my publishers (supposedly sci-fi romance isn’t selling). I’ll post the blurb below, and please let me know if this story is something you as a reader would be interested in. No hard feelings either way. I’d just like to get a feel for what readers like and don’t like.
• Please fill out the Rafflecopter form. 

Good Luck =)

a Rafflecopter giveaway