Friday, September 04, 2015

INTERVIEW WITH KAE ELLE WHEELER AND CINDERELLA'S EVIL STEPMOTHER




Kathy L. Wheeler, who writes as Kae Elle Wheeler, has graciously consented to an interview so readers can learn more about her as well as her Cinderella series:

CC: Where did you grow up?

Kae: I was born in Maine, grew up in Texas, high school in Colorado, then back to Texas and eventually ended up in Oklahoma. I have a very strange family line that could take up this entire interview. But to keep it simple: My mother and my father were both married 6 times. My stepmother had one son. My stepfather (who currently lives in the Seattle area, had two sons. So sibling-wise, I have two real sisters and 3 stepbrothers. (these are the siblings I claim, well, that I grew up with)?

CC: Were you considered a “bookworm” or a jock? 

Kae: I was definitely a bookworm. I didn’t date in high school. I collected Harlequin books. I wish I’d kept them....

CC: Married, single?

Kae: I am married. I have one daughter. She had a baby last January! I thought she’d planned on not having children. He’s a cutie.

CC: Lucky you. Who are your favorite authors and favorite genres?

Kathy: I love historical romance. But I also love contemporary, but historical is my absolute favorite. But I’m also a person who follows an author faithfully. Jayne Ann Krentz is my favorite. Which works out well, because she also writes historical under Amanda Quick and paranormal under Jayne Castle.

CC: What’s your favorite way to relax and recharge?

Kae: I am a huge NFL and NBA fan. I hold season tickets to the Oklahoma City Thunder (and Russell Westbrook is my favorite player). I play in two NFL fantasy football leagues. I also love musical theater and hold season tickets to the Broadway touring company in Oklahoma City. I love to travel, read, write, oh....and karaoke.

CC: Do you have a favorite quote that sums up how you feel about life?

Kae: Well, I did write a book called Quotable. The heroine uses obscure quotes to keep people from getting too close. And there is on in particular that cracks me up. “The more I learn about men, the more I love my dog.” She says this to her friend, who responds with, “You don’t even have a dog.”

CC: What cute lines. How long have you been writing?

Kae: I started writing in late 2006. I joined RWA/OKRWA in March of 2007. It turns out, I’m a fairly fast writer. I have over ten books out....

CC: Where do you prefer to write?

Kae: I was a computer programmer in day life up until this past March. My husband is an attorney and sole proprietor. When I was laid off, I moved into his office and started answering his phones and writing full time. So I use a laptop. On occasion when I’m stuck, I will go to a restaurant and sit at the bar and write in a notebook. I can tune almost anything out except music. I have a vocal minor music degree and listening to music distracts me because I start analyzing the person singing. Did she take a breath there? How did she sound out that st / s on the word “lasts”... You see what I mean....

CC: Yes, I listen to classical for that reason. I don’t have a musical background but I love music. If there are lyrics, I can’t tune them out. Are you a plotter or a panzer?

Kathy: I sit down with an idea and run with it to a certain point. Then I start making notes at the end of my document of things to include or go back and add. I’m not a strong plotter.

CC: Do you use real events or persons in your stories or as an inspiration for stories?

Kae: Again, using Quotable as an example, I was telling my husband one day that I had a situation (Venus/Mars type of thing). Anyway, he said, “So, basically, you have a bilateral miscommunication.” I’m thinking OMG. That’s hilarious. So my character quotes him. It’s pretty funny. It’s toward the end of the book, in case you were wondering.

CC: Do you set daily writing goals?

Kae: I don’t set writing goals. When I was president of my chapter, I set a daily word count of 300 words so I wouldn’t get off track. It paid off. I finished 3 books that year. And now that I’m sitting at my own desk with a great view of Penn Square Mall in Oklahoma City, I do write every day.

CC: What do you hope your writing brings to readers?

Kae: I just hope they love reading my stuff as well as I love writing it.

CC: Me, too. What long-term plans do you have for your career?

Kae: I want to make my own way with my writing. I’ve always been a day late and a dime short. In writing, you don’t have to be the prettiest, the smartest, the best because each writer’s voice is so subjective. You write from your heart and your readers will be able to tell.

CC: That’s true. With billions of readers, each of us has a voice that will attract her share. What advice would you give to unpublished authors?

Kae: I’ve had this question many times. The answer is the same every time. Sit your ass in the chair. You can’t edit a blank page. An unwritten manuscript won’t sell (you’d have to get back that advance)

CC: Good advice. Share a fun fact readers wouldn’t know about you.

Kae: Well, I did sing at the Oklahoma Opry once. I sang Paper Roses...

CC: Is your book a series? If so, how long? Family saga, other?

Kae: THE PRICE OF SCORN is book four of my Cinderella Series.

THE WRONGED PRINCESS – book i
THE UNLIKELY HEROINE – book ii
THE SURPRISING ENCHANTRESS – book iii
THE PRICE OF SCORN – book iv: Cinderella’s Evil Stepmother



CC: Can you give readers a blurb about your book?

Kathy: Here is a blurb about THE PRICE OF SCORN:

Fairy tales don’t always end happily...

Lady Hildegard Roche has nothing but resentment and scorn for the stepchild who culminates all that was stolen from her. Fourteen years after Prince Charming and Cinderella are crowned as King and Queen of Chalmers, Cinderella and her sisters gather at their mother’s deathbed. Stunned speechless, the sisters learn how tragedy shaped their mother into the woman she became. The question is: Can they forgive her?



CC: How about an excerpt from THE PRICE OF SCORN?

Ke: Certainly:
Hilda squinted in the afternoon sun over the array of blooms that normally calmed her. “Lord Roche,” she began. “I cannot—” The words were more difficult to say than she’d envisioned. Her knees shook beneath her skirts and she forced herself to move, lest she collapse. At the low terrace wall, she laid her hands atop.

“Please, your grace. I must apologize for placing you in such a precarious position.”

She glanced at him, his earnest expression tugging at her.

He began to pace. “’Tis true. As I said, I am looking for a wife. But, I feel there is something truly special about you.”

Her short laugh erupted at the irony. “Me, special? Lord Ro—”

“I have not explained to anyone why I need a wife.”

Hilda paused.

He stopped before her, captured her gaze. “Anyone can see how much you love your children. Your face lights up the dark just saying Lady Pricilla’s name.”

Something inside melted a little. “Oui, Lord Roche. That is so. She—they—are my world,” she said softly. Steeling herself against long dead dreams, she straightened and her tone sharpened. “That changes nothing, sir.”

“Do you fear for your children?”

“Every day,” she bit out, feeling as if Gustaf still had his hand gripped about her throat, squeezing.

“They’ve nothing to fear from me.”

She looked away from his gaze back over the garden. She almost believed him. But a woman was always under a man’s control.

CC: Intriguing. Where can readers find THE PRICE OF SCORN and your other books?

Amazon UK:  http://amzn.to/1EY5ygB
Barnes & Noble:  http://bit.ly/1UetsLU

Kae Elle Wheeler, Author

Kathy L Wheeler (writing as Kae Elle Wheeler) graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with a BA in Management Information Systems that includes a Vocal Minor. She is an avid theater buff (holds season tickets to Broadway Series in OKC), loves the NFL and NBA (also holds season tickets to Thunder Basketball in OKC), loves travel, people and karaoke.

She is a member of several RWA chapters, including OKRWA, DARA, and The Beau Monde. She writes both Contemporary and Historical romance.

Kathy/Kae lives with her musically talented husband in Edmond, Oklahoma, has one grown daughter who recently had a baby, and one bossy cat!

For more about Kathy / Kae Elle please visit:


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