Interview with Author Kelli A. Wilkins
- Tell us about your book
and how the story came to be.
This year I set a new record for myself. I had three
romances published, and they’re all very different. My latest is A
Secret Match. It’s a contemporary gay romance set in the world of
professional wrestling.
A Secret Match is a follow-up (of sorts) to my other wrestling
romance, A Perfect Match. That book was all about a straight couple (Vin
and Danni) and Everett (the main character from A Secret Match) was a
secondary character. I loved writing for Ev and always thought “one day” I’d
give him a book of his own, but I didn’t have a clue as to what the story would
be. I put thoughts of him aside and then one morning he popped into my head
with a four-line book summary. Within an hour, I had the whole story in my head
and I started writing.
Here’s the summary:
Everett Kinkade is a world-famous
professional wrestler and the sexy heartthrob of millions of adoring female
fans. But Ev has a secret he doesn’t dare share with anyone. He’s gay.
After years of being Ev’s secret
lover, Josh is tired of hiding in the shadows and wants Ev to openly
acknowledge their relationship. Coming out is the last thing Ev wants and fears
it will ruin his career.
One night in a moment of truth,
Everett outs himself on live TV. There’s no going back, and his announcement
sparks a firestorm of problems – both personally and professionally. He’s
forced to come to grips with who he really is while facing down a tag team out
to destroy him.
Torn between living a lie and
losing the man he loves, Ev has risked everything… can he find a balance
between his career and his heart?
The link is:
My two other romances of 2014 are straight (M/F)
historicals. Wilderness Bride is a traditional romance set in the Michigan
Territory in 1823. This full-length novel is a blend of tender romance and
adventure.
The idea for this book started with a simple premise: a
woman on the run impersonates a mountain man’s mail-order bride and lives in
his cabin in the woods. From there, I thought about the characters and how they
would interact, learn to live with each other, and naturally fall in love.
Michelle and Luther are very different people—sort
of like a city mouse and a country mouse—and I
played on their differences in lifestyles, clothing, expectations, etc.
throughout the book.
As Luther and Michelle get to know each other (and fight for
each other) they realize they have a lot more in common than they once thought.
They both are on their own in a rough, unforgiving world, and both had to fend
for themselves to survive, with little or no family support. All of that brings
them closer together and makes their love stronger.
Here’s the summary:
Wilderness Bride
A woman running from her past…straight into the arms
of a wild stranger
In a moment of desperation,
Kathleen Stanton flees her pampered life in Kingston, New York and ends up
stranded in a small town in the Michigan Territory. Out of money and lacking a
means of escape, she impersonates a handsome stranger’s mail-order bride.
Kathleen calls herself Michelle and begins living a lie with her “husband,”
Luther, in an isolated mountain cabin. She tells herself the arrangement is
temporary until she can move on.
Luther can’t believe his luck when his beautiful
blonde bride arrives, but something doesn’t feel right about his new wife. She
has terrifying nightmares involving a man named Roger and is reluctant to talk
about where she came from. But Luther is harboring a secret about his
background and fears Michelle will abandon him if she learns the truth about
him—and his family.
The couple tries to maintain their rocky relationship
as they work to fight brutal townspeople and overcome harsh living conditions.
When circumstances force Michelle to stay longer than she expected, she
succumbs to her growing attraction and falls in love with Luther. But when they
finally give in to their desires and agree to become a proper man and wife, a
dark figure from Michelle’s past catches up with her, putting her and Luther in
grave danger.
Dangerous Indenture is a spicy historical with mystery elements
set in Pennsylvania Colony. Shauna Farrow leaves Ireland to become an
indentured servant to the strange Stewart family. She falls in love with her
master’s roguish son, Ashton and together they try to solve the murder of a
previous servant.
Here’s the summary:
Dangerous Indenture
Eager to escape her past in
Ireland, Shauna Farrow signs on to become an indentured servant to Joshua
Stewart, a wealthy man in Pennsylvania Colony.
But a life of servitude quickly
turns to drudgery, and her hopes for starting over and creating a better life
for herself are waning—until she meets her master’s roguish son, Ashton.
Shauna fights her growing
attraction to Ashton, torn between propriety and acting on her emotions. But
amidst their flirting, something dark stirs. Shauna soon discovers why no other
servants will work for the strange Stewart family.
Stewart House has an unsavory
reputation: a previous servant died there under mysterious circumstances. When
another servant goes missing in the middle of the night, Shauna is convinced
that a member of the family is responsible.
When Shauna’s investigation leads
her too close to the truth, it’s up to Ashton to save her before time runs out.
Dangerous Indenture is one of those books that jumped
into my head. One day, I overheard the name Shawna Farrell, but I thought I’d
heard Shauna Farrow. The name stuck with me and I wrote it down. A few minutes
later, I knew all about her: she was an Irish indentured servant who came to
Pennsylvania Colony and worked at a house where another servant was murdered.
Once I knew that, I started outlining the book.
As you can see, my romances are very diverse in genre and
heat level. I had a lot of fun writing all of these novels, and I hope readers
enjoy them.
- What three words best
describe your main characters?
Over the years, I’ve created dozens of interesting and unique characters. The
main characters in my three recent books could be described as: determined,
flawed, and hopeful.
- Do you have a method for creating your characters, their
names and what do you think makes them believable?
I don’t necessarily “create” my characters. For me, it’s
more like I’m meeting them, or discovering them and their stories. Sometimes my
characters will “show up” and tell me about themselves. Other times, something
I hear or see will get me thinking and before I know it, a new character has
emerged.
I like to take bits and pieces of traits, likes, and dislikes
I see in strangers, friends, or whoever and mix and match them into a
character. I did a lot with character traits in Dangerous Indenture and Wilderness
Bride. It’s fun to create their unique quirks.
Finding the right name for a character is sometimes the
hardest part of writing a story. Some characters will tell me their names right
away (like Odaria from The Viking’s Witch, Sherrie from Trust
with Hearts, and Elara from A Most Unusual Princess), but many
times I have to think about the name and try out a few different ones before I
get the right one. Once in a while, I’ll write a few scenes referring to the
character as “Ralph” just to get the words on paper. After a while, the character’s
real name will come to me.
I make sure that my heroines and heroes aren’t too perfect—every
character needs to have faults and something to work toward overcoming or
improving. My heroines tend to be strong females who stand up for themselves
and aren’t going to settle for just any guy who comes along. I like to give
them a sense of independence, yet when they meet the right man, they want to be
with him, (like Michelle from Wilderness Bride). Heroes also need
to be strong, but not overly aggressive. Rothgar, from The Viking’s Witch comes
off as an “alpha” male and domineering, but then we see a different side to him
and realize that he’s a sensitive, guilt-torn guy.
- Do your characters follow
your plot path or do they take on a life of their own? Do you keep them in
check?
Each book and every character comes to me in a different way.
Before I start writing, I make sure I have an outline completed—and I know what
the first line of the book will be. As I develop the story, I outline each
scene, what the purpose is, which character’s point-of-view the scene will be
in, high points of the scene, and any snippets of dialog I want to include.
When I sit down to write the book I have a map of where the story is going. I
find that it’s easier (and faster) for me to write this way and I don’t get
lost in the middle or forget something I wanted to include.
But as I write, I allow myself some leeway to explore things
I hadn’t considered in my outline. I might add entire scenes or write scenes
that are later omitted. Sometimes I’ll be writing a scene and the characters
“take over” and decide the scene should go a different way, or something I
planned on happening changes. When that happens, I go with it and see where the
characters are leading me. I’ll write scenes for them and delete them later if
they don’t work or if they’re not a good fit for the plot. I think it gets the
characters’ needs out of my system and I treat those scenes like writing exercises.
I thought I knew all about my characters before I started
writing The Pauper Prince and A Midsummer Night’s Delights—but
I was wrong. Even though I created them, I was surprised to discover a
different side to Prince Allan (in The Pauper Prince) and Julian (from A Midsummer Night’s Delights).
The plot for A Perfect Match came to me in a dream, so I wrote the outline
based on the dream, and then wrote the book from there. Unfortunately, this
doesn’t always happen, but it’s nice when it does! Writing a book is always an
adventure for me, and I never know where the characters or stories will take
me.
- Have
you ever suffered from writer’s block? If so, how did you overcome it?
No, I don’t. Occasionally I suffer
from writer’s procrastination, though! Basically that’s when my brain says
“enough!” and goes on strike when I’m supposed to be editing or revising a
book. Usually this happens when I’m overloaded and trying to do too much. To
counteract it, I take a break and let my mind recharge and rest. I go for
walks, exercise, read something I didn’t write, or watch TV. After a day or so,
I’m ready to get back to work.
- What
types of books do you like to read?
Growing up, I hung out at the
library and read anything I could find. I started out reading Stephen King
short stories and other horror stories, but I also read all the Little House and Nancy Drew books. Today, I read everything from A-Z: fiction,
non-fiction, history, self-help, or whatever looks interesting.
- What
do you like to do when you aren’t writing?
I
like to read, travel, go to creepy/haunted places, visit flea markets (they’re
great for story ideas), and garden.
- What’s
next for your writing? Are you working on a new story?
Right now, I’m between projects. I’m
outlining several new romances, including a full-length historical, a
paranormal, and another gay contemporary.
In the horror department, I’m
working on a few short stories. My latest Halloween tale, “Home for Halloween” was
just published in the
Moon Shadows horror anthology. Read
more about it here:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N232UEG
One of my goals for next year is to enter the world of
self-publishing. I have lots of ideas for different types of non-fiction ebooks
and an erotic romance series. All I need is time to develop them!
- What’s
the best piece of writing advice you’ve received?
I started out taking writing
classes. They really helped me develop my skills and I always recommend that
anyone who wants to be a writer take classes. One of the best pieces of advice
I got in class was: go for it! Don’t be afraid to submit your story. You might
be rejected, you might get suggestions for revisions, or you might get
published. If you never submit your story, it’ll never go anywhere. Write the
best story you can, take a leap of faith, and submit it. Every writer starts
off by sending out that first story….and you never know where it will lead.
- Where
can readers find you and your books?
Thanks
for letting me visit! It was fun sharing my thoughts with readers. I invite
everyone to visit my site (
www.KelliWilkins.com) to read excerpts, reviews, and summaries of all my
romances. I welcome feedback from readers, so contact
me with questions or comments. You can sign up for my newsletter,
Kelli’s Quill, here:
http://eepurl.com/HVQqb
ABOUT KELLI A. WILKINS
Kelli A. Wilkins is an award-winning author who has
published more than 90 short stories, 19 romance novels, and 4 non-fiction
books. Her romances span many genres and heat levels. Kelli had three romances
published in 2014:
A Secret Match,
Wilderness Bride, and
Dangerous
Indenture. Look for her story, “Home for Halloween” in the
Moon
Shadows horror anthology here:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N232UEG
Kelli publishes a blog: (
http://kelliwilkinsauthor.blogspot.com) filled with
excerpts, interviews, writing prompts, and whatever else pops into her head.
She also writes a monthly newsletter,
Kelli's
Quill, and posts on Facebook and Twitter. Kelli invites readers to visit her
website,
http://www.KelliWilkins.com to learn more about all
of her writings.
Catch up with Kelli
on the Web:
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1123678.Kelli_A_Wilkins
Prize: $25 Amazon Gift Card or PayPal cash (winner's choice)
Contest ends: December 27, 11:59 pm, 2014
Open: Internationally
How to enter: Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.
Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by the author, Suzanne de Montigny and is hosted and managed by Renee from Mother Daughter Book Reviews. If you have any additional questions - feel free to send and email to Renee(at)MotherDaughterBookReviews(dot)com.
Prize: One winner will receive a $100 Amazon gift card or $100 PayPal cash prize, winner's choice
Contest closes: December 9, 11:59 pm, 2014
Open to: Internationally
How to enter: Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.
Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by Fiona Ingram, Cheryl Carpinello, and Wendy Leighton-Porter and is hosted and managed by Renee from Mother Daughter Book Reviews. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send and email to Renee(at)MotherDaughterBookReviews(dot)com.
