KIMBERLY LEWIS WRITES A WESTERN SERIES

Please welcome an author new to me, Kimberly Lewis, whose book I’m eager to read. In November of 2011, author Kimberly Lewis stepped into the writing world with her first original western contemporary romance novel, WHEN THE HEART FALLS.Today, however, she's talking about her new release, ZANE: THE McKADES OF TEXAS. Here's an interview with Kimberly.

Author Kimberly Lewis

Caroline: Please tell our readers something about yourself.

Kimberly: Well, I grew up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the country. We had a farm with horses, cows, pigs, chickens and, at one time, goats. And of course we had dogs and cats as well. I have a younger brother, but I have many cousins who are all around my age and lived right next door—so growing up it was like I had at least ten other brothers and sisters ☺ As far as being a jock or a bookworm...I’d say I was probably a little of both. I loved to read but I really also enjoyed getting outside and playing sports. When I got older, reading won. I am married to the most wonderful man who is caring and very supportive. We have a two year old son and are expecting a daughter the end of this year ☺ And I can’t forget our other daughter...our nine year old Doberman Pinscher.

Caroline: It’s true that our pets are members of our family. Who are your favorite authors and favorite genres?

Kimberly: My absolute favorite genre to read is romance—western romance to be specific. I just love cowboys and how they are tough enough to handle a wild horse or bull but become a complete softy around the woman they love. Some of my favorite western romance authors are Joanne Kennedy and Carolyn Brown. I love the worlds and characters they create.    I also enjoy reading other genres as well. JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series is one of my all time favorites.

Caroline: I am also an eclectic reader, but western romance is always a favorite. What’s your favorite way to relax and recharge? Hobbies?

Kimberly: Gosh, I don’t really get much time to relax these days but when I do get around to having some “me time” I enjoy curling up on the sofa and watching a really good movie or diving in to a good book and getting lost in the story. Besides being a couch-potato and bookworm, I also enjoy horseback riding, baking and crafting.

Caroline: Sounds like you’re busy. Do you have a favorite quote that sums up how you feel about life?

Kimberly: “Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. ”
―  Ralph Waldo Emerson
Caroline: I should post that above my computer! How long have you been writing?

Kimberly: I've been writing ever since I was little, but I never started writing seriously until a few years ago.

Caroline: Where do you prefer to write? Do you need quiet, music, solitude? PC or laptop?
Kimberly: Well, right now my designated writing spot is my dining room table so I guess I’m most comfortable there ☺ One of these days I’d love to have my own office, but that’s going to be quite a ways down the road. I have to have silence in order to write. Some background noise is okay, but I can’t be bothered when I’m trying to write. I get distracted easily. ☺I’m more comfortable writing on a desk top—probably just because I like the raised keys on the keyboard—but I mainly write on my laptop.

Caroline: I do so much better on a desk top,  and save the laptop for when I’m ill or for travel. Are you a plotter or a panzer?

Kimberly: Both, but I’m probably more of a panzer. I get an idea and just roll with it. After I start writing, I start thinking about where I want the story to go so I’ll come up with an outline of sorts. Do I always stick to that? Heck no. I’ll get writing and come up to a scene I have in my outline and completely scratch it because I’ve come up with something that sounds way better all of a sudden. Of course, that little change of manuscript could mean I have to change the rest of the outline as well, but that’s okay. I just save those ideas for other stories where they might work better.

Caroline: That sounds as if you’re a plotzer. Do you use real events or persons in your stories or as an inspiration for stories?

Kimberly: Persons, no. Events, yes. I’ll take events from my real life events, or stories my family has shared and occasionally throw them in my novels. In this particular book, there is a scene at the very end where Zane’s younger brother, Luke, plays a prank on him and Andi. That was an actual prank that my parents’ played on my aunt and uncle.

Caroline: Do you set daily writing goals? Word count? Number of chapters? Do you get a chance to write every day?

Kimberly: I do not set goals for myself, but when I do sit down and start writing I find it hard to stop. Normally I’ll write a chapter or two and then call it quits for the day. I used to have time to write every single day, but that has slowed down a lot now that my son is two and is all over the place. ☺ Now I mainly stay up late on the weekends to write.

Caroline: I like to write late at night, but that’s hard with small children. What do you hope your writing brings to readers?

Kimberly: I just hope that my readers enjoy my novels and want to read more. ☺ I think that’s all any author could ask for.

Caroline: True. What long-term plans do you have for your career?

Kimberly: Well, I’d love to be able to make writing my full time career (aside from being a mother and wife). It’s my dream to be able to wake up in the morning, grab a cup of coffee and head off to my office for a full day of nothing but writing.

Caroline: Oh, I hope you can be a full-time writer soon. Except for being a wife and mom, it’s the best job in the world. Would you like to tell us what you’re working on now?

Kimberly: Right now I’m working on the second novel for my “McKades of Texas” series. This story revolves around Zane’s sister, Norah. I’d love to be able to tell you a little bit about it, but I’m still working out all the details—I’m a panzer, remember? LOL.

Caroline: What advice would you give to unpublished authors?

Kimberly: I always feel like I should have some sort of deep and meaningful answer for this question, but I don’t. I would advise aspiring authors to just go for it. If you have an untold story in your head write it down, have a very close friend or family member read it and give you their opinion (make sure it’s someone who’s going to be honest with you and not sugar coat things). If it’s good, keep writing. If it’s not so good, tweak it and make it better. And just remember that ALOT of famous authors received multiple turn-downs on their manuscripts before someone realized just how good they were. So don’t ever let a denial get you down.

Caroline: You are so right. Once when I was bummed out, my youngest daughter made a list of famous authors who’d had multiple rejections. What is a fun fact readers wouldn’t know about you?

Kimberly: I can draw. For the longest time I wanted to be an illustrator for children’s books and then it switched to graphic arts. Something clicked when I was visiting art schools my senior year of high school and I realized that I didn’t want to be an artist anymore. I still draw, mostly on my computer, but now I only do it for fun.

Caroline: Wish I could draw, especially on the computer. What is something about you that would surprise or shock readers?

Kimberly: I really don’t have an exciting or shocking answer for this question, lol. I guess a couple of things would be that I have never been off of the east coast of the United States and that I never flew in a plane until my husband and I went on our honeymoon.

Caroline: Your book is the first of a series? How many books do you plan in The McKades?

ZANE: THE McKADES OF TEXAS is a series. I have three books planned and they each revolve around the McKade siblings: Zane, Luke and Norah.

Caroline: Can you tell us something interesting you learned while researching for The McKades series?

Kimberly: I think the only amount of research I did was to make sure the town I created for the McKades to live in did not exist:) I know a lot of authors write about actual towns but I feel that no matter how much research I do that I would never do that town justice. So I make up the places I write about (although I do use some actual cities and towns, but only mention them and not go into detail about them). I find it fun getting to create a place from scratch.

Caroline: I do the same thing. Creating the town give an author so much more freedom. Please give us a blurb about KANE:

Kimberly: Here’s a blurb:
Kellan Anderson is in hillbilly hell – or at least that’s what it feels like. After enduring endless accounts of abuse from her now ex-boyfriend, Kellan makes a run for her life and finds herself in cowboy country. Leaving her fancy clothes and expensive lifestyle behind her, she trades in her high heels for cowboy boots and changes her name to Andi Ford. With her painful past threatening to catch up with her, hiding out in this small town seems easy enough – until one blonde hair, blue eyed cowboy steps in the picture.

Zane McKade has sworn off women, determining that they are all liars and cheats – including the new waitress at the local bar. After a rather unpleasant first encounter with the beautiful brunette, Zane’s radar is set to high as he believes this woman is not who she claims to be. When his intimidation methods fail to break through Andi’s barrier he decides to turn on the charm to get her to tell the truth. But Zane’s plan begins to backfire as the more time he spends charming Andi, the more he finds himself breaking his own rules and falling for her.

Caroline: Gorgeous cover. How about an excerpt?

Kimberly: Here’s an excerpt:
Kellan saw the man coming her way and a nervous feeling began to grow in the pit of her stomach. She hadn’t noticed it when he rode up, but he was incredibly good looking. The man had to be a least six two, with long muscular legs leading up to narrow hips that angled into a  very  masculine upper body. He looked like an athlete. He looked…solid. And although his pale blue shirt was soaked with sweat, it somehow added to his overall appeal. He stopped at her table and glared at her. Only then did she realize that this man was not coming over for friendly chit-chat and her mood shifted.
“Is that your red sports car out there?” Zane asked, tilting his head and jerking his thumb towards the parking lot.
“Yes,” Kellan told him.  What’s it to you?  She stared up at him, waiting for him to continue. But when he just stared back, his deep blue eyes shooting daggers at her, she decided enough was enough. “Is there something I can help you with?”
Zane’s jaw flexed. “You could have four miles ago.”
“What?” She was utterly confused as to what mileage had to do with his apparent anger towards her.
“I don’t look familiar to you?” He stared at her, his eyebrows coming together in frustration.
She looked the man over from head to toe. “No, I’m sorry you don’t.”
Zane let out an exasperated sigh. “How about now?” He raised his arms above his head and waved them just like he had done when he was trying to flag her down.
He looked completely ridiculous and she fought back the urge to laugh at him. But the more she looked at him she realized that he did look strangely familiar. Oh my… He was the man on the side of the road next to the pickup truck just outside of town.
“Oh,” Kellan said. “Yes, I do remember you now. I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you with your shirt on.” She loaded her voice with sarcasm and crossed her arms over her chest. If he was going to have an attitude with her, then she was going to give it right back.
Zane’s eyes narrowed. “Well, would you care to explain why you just blew past me like that?”
Kellan laughed, quietly as to not draw attention. “Why did I blow past you? Hmm, let me think. Um, maybe it has to do with the fact that you were partially naked and in the middle of nowhere.”
Well damn. He hadn’t thought about that. He’d been all riled up thinking that some  guy  just ignored him. Now, thinking about it from her perspective, he could see why she didn’t pull over to help him. As it was though, his built up anger from everything that had transpired today got the best of him and he continued with his rant.
“I was  not  half naked,” he said, his voice low as he briefly glanced around the room to see if anyone could hear them speaking.
“Look,  cowboy.” She said the word as though it were an insult and not an affirmation of what he obviously was. “I’m sorry you’re having a bad day, but don’t come over here and take it out on me. I had a good reason for not stopping earlier and I’m not going to apologize for looking after my own safety. You could’ve been a murderer for all I knew.”
Zane knew that he should just man up and walk away, but he just couldn’t do that now after her snarky “cowboy” remark. Why’d she have to go and say it like that anyway?
“Look,  princess,” he said with the same tone she had used. “This ain’t Hollywood. Take your sunglasses off. You’re inside and you look like a damn fool.”
Kellan’s jaw fell in disbelief.
Zane smiled, feeling triumphant that he got in the last word. He turned and started to walk away from her.
“Screw you,  cowboy!” she yelled after him, saying the word exactly as she had before. “And that horse you rode in on.”
And—Whoops!—now everyone in the diner had turned to look at them.
Zane turned around to face her with amusement on his face. “Very original,  princess.”

Caroline: Where can readers find your books?


Kimberly: In Kindle and Print at:

Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008TYZK6I?ie=UTF8&force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1112416445?ean=2940014827584 

Caroline: How can readers learn more about you?

Kimberly: Try these links:
Twitter: @klewisnovels
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kimberly-Lewis/290011734397673 
Blog: www.kimberlylewisnovels.blogspot.com

Caroline: Is there anything else you’d like readers to know about you?

Kimbely: I just want my readers to know that I appreciate them very much! Without them this whole writing career of mine would be non-existent.

Caroline: Well said. Thanks for stopping by to visit with us today, Kimberly. Best wishes for success in your career so you can quit the day job. ☺

Readers, here is the complete list of stops on Kimberly Lewis's blog tour;

Aug 22 - Black Lion Tour Blog/introduction
Aug 23 - Cait Lavender, Cowgirl Writer/review
Aug 24 - Caroline Clemmons Blog/interview
Aug 26 - A Novel Idea/live interview (airs 1:00 PM MST)
Aug 28 - Coffee Addicted Writer/guest post
Aug 30 - Books, Books, the Magical Fruit/guest post
Sept 7 - MK McClintock Blog/review and spotlight
Sept 10 - Nothing Better than a Book/review
Sept 11 - The Book Nook/review
Sept 13 - Reviews by Molly/review
Sept 14 - Black Lion Tour Blog/wrap-up
​

Thanks for stopping by!