The first author I interviewed here on
UNWRAPPING ROMANCE was a debut author by the name of KC Klein. She introduced
her writing talent to us with the awesome sci-fi romance, DARK FUTURE. Since
then she joined with two other wonderful authors and provided us with the
anthology, HOTTER ON THE EDGE. Well, her talent never ceases, for
her first full-length contemporary romance, TEXAS WIDE OPEN, is fantastic and she's here today to talk about it and the future - or is the past, perhaps the present. If you haven't read my reviews on her other fabulous works, please click on a title and peruse but hurry back because she's about to join me and we've got a Giveaway, of course!!
Exerpt from TEXAS WIDE OPEN:
Katie watched as Cole slowly turned, and at the sight of his bare chest, smooth and ripped with muscle, she locked her knees to keep upright. Instead of his inviting smile, there was a hardness she rarely saw that contrasted with the desire in his eyes. Cole stood and stared. The silence between them crackled as if a whole conversation could be said without words.
Her breathing quickened ... She refused to hide her body’s reaction even as a flush of heat rushed to her cheeks. She’d been waiting all of her life for this moment. She was tired of hiding. She was ready. Unashamed, she gazed in his eyes and let the wealth of her feelings pour into her face.
Cole was no coward—he returned stare for stare—but she could see his jaw flex and knew he was pissed. She’d pushed him hard, but this was where the women separated themselves from the girls.
"I’m not a child any longer.” She took a step closer. "And I told you, if you wear that shirt again, I’ll burn it,” he growled.
But Cole would have to do more than display a little anger to scare her. Before she lost courage, Katie crossed her arms and pulled.
She threw her shirt in his face, along with her challenge. "Go ahead and do it."
* * * * * *
Steamy, huh? Please join me in welcoming back, KC Klein to UNWRAPPING ROMANCE ...
Amy: Hi
KC, welcome back! It's truly an absolute delight to have you back here with us
again and celebrating TEXAS WIDE OPEN makes it even better.
Perhaps you'd like to tell everyone a little bit about yourself for those who
haven't met you yet.
KC: Well,
I am a mother of two and have been married to my own hero for over seventeen
years. I work part-time in the dental field and on my days off I write. I am
one of those strange people who actually likes to work out, so I try to get
some physical activity at least 5x a week. My house is never clean, most of my
plants never make it past the first year, and I spend a lot of my time driving
in circles because I’m too busy making up stories in my head to pay attention
to mere road signs.
Amy: You sound like a typical creative type to me - I can relate! I do envy your getting in all that excercise though, I should but never seem to get the time. When I first met you, you had just debuted with an awesome sci-fi romance
called DARK FUTURE, now you're back with a contemporary romance about cowboys
and second chances at love. So exactly how did you make that jump and what
inspired you?
KC: DARK
FUTURE was a labor of love. I wrote that book over a period of years. There was
a lot of intensity in that book that had to do with what I was going through
during that time—loss of job, post-partum depression, and learning to deal with
a colicky baby in the house. DARK FUTURE will always have a special place in
my heart because of that, but when the book was finally finished I felt like I
needed something lighter, easier, and funnier. Well, as things turned out I
don’t really write light and fluffy, and no book is easy to write. But I am
finding that I like the mix of writing both genres, so will probably flip back
and forth between them both.
Amy: I like hearing that because I think your sci-fi romances are awesome. Your first novel centered around time travel which you handled exceptionally
well, if I may say. In TEXAS WIDE OPEN, you utilize another technique that
takes the reader traveling back and forth through time. I know you were worried
if it would work - it very much did - but what brought you to using such an
unusual technique to tell us the backstory?
KC: Ahh,
yes. What in the hell inspired me to structure TEXAS WIDE OPEN in such a crazy
way? I wish I could say I had planned it that way, but that wasn’t how it
happened. When I started TEXAS WIDE OPEN it was the basic story about Katie and
Cole. I was shooting for a sweet romance aimed at the category lines of
Harlequin.
The
partial for TEXAS WIDE OPEN finaled in a conference contest and was read by a
Harlequin editor. She loved the writing, loved the characters, but told me that
teenage love didn’t sell well in adult romance. So back to the drawing board I
went, except the core story about Katie and Cole had so much to do with their
history that I couldn’t take it out. So I created their modern day story and interspersed
it with their past which I happened to really like.
But
that was only the beginning. Fast forward one year and Kensington bought the
book, but they needed the story to be a full length single title. That’s when
things got a little tricky. I had to add Nikki and Jett’s story, but only
during the present time period and not in the past. Truly, I almost lost my
mind. There was definitely some tears shed over this book, but one good thing
was I learned how to write a transition from one scene to the next. LOL!
Amy: Well, it worked amazingly so perhaps it's a new technique that will be picked up by other writers as well. I really appreciated was the side story featuring Nikki and Jett. Are we
going to see their story? Are they going to get their second chance at love?
KC: Oh,
Nikki and Jett. Nikki has been a total pain in my butt from the start. When I
first started writing Nikki I had gotten a lot of comments that she wasn’t sympathetic
enough. I tried re-writing her over three times and each time she came out more
smart-mouthed and more of a mess than the time before. Finally, I just went
with it.
So
to answer your question, yes, Nikki and Jett’s story will be coming out the beginning
of 2014 and it’s tentatively titled HUSTLIN’ TEXAS. (She’s a pool hustler and
Jett’s nickname for her is Texas. HA!)
Amy: Sounds great and as for her being a smart-mouthed, I'm sure many readers will agree with me, we love smart-mouthed women! Speaking of second chances, I'd like to go back in time a little to your first
book, DARK FUTURE. Are we going to see any sequels come out of it? That story
still fascinates me and I think there are many others who would like to see
what the future holds for Dawning Hope Smith.
KC: Thank
you, Amy. Do I have the sequel to DARK FUTURE in me? You betcha, but
unfortunately sales determines a lot and sci-fi romance hasn’t seem to hit its
stride. But I haven’t given up on the idea yet, and if the opportunity presents
itself I would jump at the chance. It is funny, I seem to get more and more
people asking me to write the sequel as the years go on. Maybe it’s a sign?
Amy: Oh, I do hope so. I know I'd love to read the sequel! Last question and since this is your second time visiting, you've already
answered my fave question. So, I thought long and hard as to what I could
ask you this time and here's my new put-you-on-the-spot question. *wink*
If you could be reborn as any author throughout time, who would it be and why?
KC: Great
question! I have always LOVED LOVED Margaret Mitchell. To have said that I
wrote such a masterpiece my first time out would be beyond my wildest dreams. GONE
WITH THE WIND is still my favorite love story of all time.
Amy: Wow, that is an awesome thought, isn't it? I wonder if Margaret Mitchell were here now, what she would think about the success of that novel.
KC,
thank you so much for joining us today and as always you're welcome back
whenever you like. I'm sure all my readers will join me in congratulating you
on the release and success of TEXAS WIDE OPEN and we'll be looking forward to your next
book wherever it comes from in the time continuum. *wink*
So everyone, I hope you've had a chance to pick up this extraordinary contemporary romance novel by this truly awesome lady. If not, here's your chance to win a digital copy of TEXAS WIDE OPEN!
If you'd like a chance at winning a digital copy of TEXAS WIDE OPEN by KC Klein, just answer the question I just posed to KC -
If you could be reborn as any author throughout time, who would it be and why?
GIVEAWAY!! THE PRIZE: ONE DIGITAL COPY OF TEXAS WIDE OPEN by KC Klein Blurb for TEXAS WIDE OPEN:
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. Not when thinking about her cherry lip gloss and
hell-for-leather passion is keeping him up all night. 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…
GIVEAWAY RULES: ** This Giveaway is OPEN TO EVERYONE with an ereader!! (void where prohibited, of course) ** You must leave a comment and a valid email address to qualify for entry. Remember the magic formula for entry:
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED! THANKS FOR PLAYING.
** This Giveaway will run until 11:30PM EST, Friday, December 7, 2012 at which time a random comment will be chosen to win the prize. The winner will be notified by email and announced on a special post on Saturday. Please make sure you leave an email address. Good Luck!
If you would like to learn more about KC Klein and her fabulous books, please feel free to visit her website and follow her on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr.
The first author I interviewed here on UNWRAPPING ROMANCE was a debut author by the name of KC Klein. She introduced her writing talent to us with the awesome sci-fi romance, DARK FUTURE. Since then she joined with two other wonderful authors and provided us with the anthology, HOTTER ON THE EDGE. Well, her talent never ceases, for tomorrow she releases her first full-length contemporary romance, TEXAS WIDE OPEN, and she rocks it! So I'm glad to be able to review this new book from this fab author on Wacky Wednesday - it just seems appropriate.
***eARC provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unscripted review.
Blurb for TEXAS WIDE OPEN:
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. Not when thinking about her cherry lip gloss and hell-for-leather passion is keeping him up all night. 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…
* * * * *
TEXAS WIDE OPEN by KC Klein is three stories rolled into one wonderful contemporary romance that will have you spitting nails when it ends because you're going to want more.
Cole Logan has always known that Katie wanted more from him than he could give. It wasn't that he didn't care for her. It was more about his past, about honor, respect for her father and respect for her. He wanted more for her than he could give but still wanted her more than any woman that passed through his life. Now she was back. She was just as she was when he'd been forced to break her heart, just as brash, just as reckless, just as desirable and driving him crazy in her cherry red boots.
KC Klein opens TEXAS WIDE OPEN with a look into the past then takes us to the present then back to the past again for a look at the beginning of this hot, desperate love between two hard-headed, single-minded people who are too proud to admit their wants and their mistakes. By taking us on a journey to the past, KC explains the angst that Katie feels upon returning to town and being close to the one man, Cole, who can steal her breath with a sideways glance. In the meantime, she slowly introduces us to a pair of secondary characters with their own romance in the making. All four characters have known each other all of their lives. Their lives, their stories, their wants and their desires are all interwoven which helps create the seamless transition from past to present and back again. With a happily-ever-after for one pair that will have you smiling with delight, there's the promise of another yet to come.
TEXAS WIDE OPEN by KC Klein is an intrinsically clever weaving of three stories surrounding a second chance at a love that was fated to be. Not to mention that all of this is set around a horse ranch with plot tiers of trust, willfulness and the struggle to prove one's worth, plus a very sexy cowboy, making this one of the best contemporary romances I've ever read.
Happy Reading Everyone!
TEXAS WIDE OPEN by KC Klein, eKensington, release date - November 15, 2012, available in ebook formats.
