Welcome Y'all to Book, Line and sinker:
I am super excited to be working with Kelly Eadon on this book giveaway and thought it would be fun to get to know more about her. Please welcome her.
Welcome Kelly,
I have totally enjoyed both Kelly's books I can't wait to read more from her. I love as a reader getting to know more about the authors I have read, So I sat down with Kelly and asked her some questions I hope you enjoy the interview and stick around for the giveaway at the end.
1) How did you get into writing and when did I start?
My parents' attic has a box filled with books we made from fabric and cardboard in the second grade, with my stories written inside. I was obsessed. Even when I wasn't physically writing my stories down, I created them constantly and they almost always involved romance. One of my favorite activities was cutting characters out of magazines and making up stories about them. I had hundred of envelopes saved, each with their own little cast of paper cutout people inside.
As I got older it became more and more obvious to me that writing as a career would be difficult, if not impossible. I found myself falling in love with the idea of being a lawyer and working to protect abused children. The funny thing is that I've managed to pursue that dream and revive my writing aspirations. My mom passed away right before I graduated law school and got married, and I found myself in a bit of a funk. She was a musician, and so it felt very important for me to capture and carry on some of her creative spirit. After some soul searching, my husband suggested I try writing again. I'd be lying if I said it was easy going. I wrote The Wedding Date and submitted it to agents, one of whom requested a revise and re-submit. She ultimately passed on my re-write, but Dawn Dowdle of the Blueridge Literary Agency signed me. And requested that I re-write my manuscript. When Grand Central got it on submission, they requested that I pitch a three book series...and of course that I do some major re-writes. Technically, I've seen my first book published, but I've re-written it at least a dozen times so I'm not sure it counts!
2) What writers really inspire me?
This is such a hard question to answer because I know and respect so many authors. Within the romance industry, I very much look up to Kelly Moran. She writes stories that suck me in and keep me enthralled, she was kind and generous with giving me advice when I was starting out, and she truly loves and values her fans. She's the type of author I aspire to be in terms of writing style and personality. Outside of romance, I love The Hunger Games. I resisted reading it for years because I found the premise gruesome. Once I started to read I was hooked and I continue to marvel at Suzanne Collins' ability to write compelling characters and fast moving plots.
3) Do you have other projects in the works?
I'm in the middle of writing my third Belmont Beach book, which is Ryan's story. It's a blast to write because he's very witty and sarcastic, so he needed to wind up with a woman who would challenge him. I have one more plot line in the back of my mind in case I decide to continue with the Belmont Beach series. If not, I have the first book of my next series written, as well as two plot lines for sequels. The second series starts with Ben DeLuca, a Hollywood actor who's wrestling with his desire for a more traditional lifestyle and professional photographer Alex Pettit, who is limelight avoidant. Their chemistry is explosive, but they want completely different things in life.
4) What do you like to do in your spare time?
Spare time? What's that? I have a regular day job as a lawyer, which doesn't always leave me the most time for writing. When I'm not working and not writing I'm often at the gym or walking my dogs. My husband and I have been active in animal rescue for more than ten years and currently have three cats and two dogs. I also love to drink wine and eat good food. Thank goodness we live in Richmond, where there are lots of restaurants to enjoy!
5) For your own reading do you enjoy e-reader or paperback books?
Paperback. I'm guilty of compulsively one click shopping and I love to organize my kindle into different categories, but bookstores and libraries bring me a level of joy and excitement that can never be replicated. Every Summer I anticipate laying in a pool chair and reading obsessively. I find myself building huge To Read lists on Goodreads and placing holds on all the newest releases at the library. I love exploring the library and leaving with a pile of books. That said, my husband and I downsized houses last year, so most books I want to own need to be on Kindle. Otherwise, there'd be no room for us to live in our house with the books!
I think this is a problem most readers have, Well I know I do.
6)- I just have fallen in love with the characters of Belmont, Can you
tell us what your upcoming book The Family Man is all about?
The Family Man is about Beth Beverly. We met her as Kate's best friend in The Wedding Date. She's based on a real life acquaintance of mine who is sunshine personified. I always admired her, so when it came time to write Beth a lot of her mannerisms popped into my head. She's attracted to the slightly brooding and mysterious Griffin Hall, who is a former rockstar and moved to the small town of Belmont where he owns a coffee shop and is raising his daughter Mabel. They're compulsively attracted to one another, but both feel a responsibility to go about dating the "right" way. I tried to play with this idea that we're all told there are rules to dating and social acceptable ways to pursue our attraction to someone else. Real life often doesn't work that way and Beth and Griffin the perfect example. They both feel a strong responsibility for the people in their lives and need to learn how to balance that with pursuing their own happiness.
7)What is one thing you really enjoyed about writing The Family Man?
Griffin's daughter Mabel. She's a trip. I don't have kids but I spent a lot of time babysitting, and my job brings me into contact with a lot of children. Mabel is spunky and full of fire. I found her to be endlessly entertaining. She's one of those characters I didn't have to work to create; she more or less already existed and I just translated her onto paper.
I just love Mabel she is a spitfire and adds to much to this book!!!
8) Can we expect to see more from the characters of Belmont Beach?
That's up to my publisher! To be candid, I wrote The Wedding Date as a standalone and it was my publisher who encouraged me to expand and follow up on some of the other characters. I have a few more Belmont residents I'd love to provide a HEA for, but I'm also satisfied by the opportunity I've had to fully portray this really close friend group. This reminds me that I need to email my editor and ask her this question!
Well I want to thank Kelly for taking time with me today and doing this interview she has been such a blast to work with. I have reviewed both her books "The Wedding Date" and "Family Man" both reviews are up on my blog and I would love to have you check them out.
Well thanks for stopping by and please feel free to leave a comment below and Click on the link below to enter to win a gift card. Make sure you leave your email address in the comments after you have entered to that Kelly can contact the winner.
Thanks again,
Sarah
So great to get to know more about Kelly and The Family Man.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Leslie!!! Glad you enjoyed hope you took the time to enter the giveaway
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