An Interview & Giveaway with Kelly Rae

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An Interview with Kelly Rae

The Reading Cafe would like to introduce Author Kelly Rae. 

This is Kelly’s first novel, so let’s find out more about her and welcome her to The Reading Cafe.

 

 

 

 

Hi Kelly and welcome to The Reading Café.  We would like to start with some background information.

Kelly: Thank you so much for having me, it’s a pleasure to be here and visit with you and The Reading Café fans.

TRC: Please tell us something about yourself?

Kelly: I am a mother to a fabulous nine year old, named Triton. Who, it just so happens, is also my favorite person in the world. I love to drive fast cars if I have a little open road, but only if they are manual shift. A sports car with an automatic transmission, to me, is a waste of talent. I no longer eat meat this includes chicken and fish. For some reason when I say I don’t eat meat, people say even chicken, or even fish…yes those are meats. LOL. It has been almost a year since I made that choice; mostly from a health stand point, although I have always required some deniability when it came to eating meat. I never purchased whole chickens, as it made it too real for me. I could never eat fish that was delivered to the table with its head still on and you won’t catch me at the part of a luau where they make a ceremony out of extracting the pig from the ground. Not eating meat, at all, was a pretty easy step for me, although I will admit that I miss bacon and for Christmas, I did have a slice of ham. That is the sum total of my missing meat and a little about me.

TRC: Have you always been interested in writing?

Kelly: ALWAYS! I won a writing contest in the 6th grade and that was that. Throughout my life, I used writing as therapy by writing poems or little short stories. When I was younger, I just thought it would be something I did for myself, but as I got older, the idea of seeing my name on a bookstore bookshelf became more and more enticing. And What If… came to light.

TRC: Is there anything (in general) you find particularly challenging about writing?

Kelly: Yes, I am a speed-reader by nature, not training, so I tend to skip over detail parts of books. If an author is describing a house as the main character walks up the drive, I skip it. I already have an idea in my head what the house and scenes look like (maybe the writer in me), so it doesn’t seem like necessary reading. However, there is a good chance that my readers are going to want to know all of those details. So, I have trained myself to write into my books the pieces that I would not read myself. It’s a complete challenge and I usually add details after the first run, because then I can be more focused on them.

TRC: “What If…” is your first book?  Would you please tell us something about the premise?

Kelly: What if… is about a woman who was dealt a serious blow her senior year of high school and a decade later is still dealing with the ramifications. She has pushed through life focusing only on her professional life and when that life leads her back to her hometown, she has to face up to the fact that she has let her personal life slide. This means making meaningful friendships, being involved with the community and facing her first love, Chris Staller. It’s a tale about first love and second chances, with a little hope and forgiveness thrown in the mix.

TRC: Is Contemporary Romance the only genre you are interested in writing? Do you plan to try another genre?

Kelly: My next book, currently titled “I Do, But I Can’t” is a Romantic Comedy / Chick- Lit piece. I am about half way done. After that, I am going to do another Contemporary and at some point, I have a series in my head that will be Romantic Suspense with a sense of humor. I hope to cover a lot sub genres, but the basis for all my writing will be about love, both romantic and self, and of course happy endings. 🙂

TRC:What are you working on now? 

Kelly: I am currently working on “I Do, But I Can’t” a romantic comedy about how quickly life can change when you are engaged to a man who can’t/won’t commit.

TRC: What challenges have you faced getting your novel published?  How does it feel to see it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other sites?

Kelly: My biggest challenge with What If… was getting over the notion that it would be perfect. I think we have all read a book in our life where a word was misspelled or it said she, when it should say he. Little things like that, bestselling works with typos. Letting go, to say ok, this is done. It’s been put through three rounds of edits and my snarkiest friend and if there is a typo, someone will find it, they will tell me and I have to be okay with it….you can’t be a perfectionist.

Seeing my work, my name on Amazon and Barnes & Noble was a huge and powerful moment for me. I set out to prove, not only to myself, but also to my son that dreams can come true with consistent effort and belief. Doing that and showing my son, who has NBA aspirations, was a moment of pure joy and immense sense of pride. I said I did it….and then I smiled.

TRC:  Many author bounce ideas and information between each other and their family and spouses.  With whom do you bounce ideas?

Kelly: Anyone who will listen. 🙂

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Kelly: Thank you for having me and thanks to your readers for taking the time to stop by and learn a bit about me and my book What If…, which is currently for sale in ebook and paperback on Amazon and Barnes&Noble and ebook only on Smashwords, Itunes, KOBO and Diesel.

******GIVEAWAY******
One lucky person, who makes a comment on this blog today, will win a free copy of What If… via Smashwords coupon so you can download to any ereader or laptop you might have. I hope you enjoy reading What If… should you decide to pick up a copy. Have a wonderful day!

REMEMBER:  You MUST make a comment to be eligible for the giveaway.

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food        Pizza

Favorite Dessert   It’s It Ice Cream Sandwiches – Mint

Favorite TV show  House

Favorite Movie      Princess Bride

Dark or Milk Chocolate   Oh absolutely DARK

Do you have any pets?  Chocolate lab named Corra and an aquatic turtle named Tommy

Kelly, thank you very much for taking the time to answer our questions.  We look forward to your next book “I Do, But I Can’t”.  The Reading Café wishes you all the best.

To learn more about Kelly, visit any of the following links.

Website: http://www.kellyraebooks.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/KellyRaeBooks
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/KellyRaeBooks


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25 thoughts on “An Interview & Giveaway with Kelly Rae”

  1. Thanks Kelly for stopping by and telling us about yourself and your terrific books. I do not meat either, mainly for the same reasons! My girls and I watched Princess Bride last night, we can quote the lines back! Especially the old hag’s speech to Buttercup,…..BOO, BOO…….lol I wish you luck in your writing career. I will go on to Amazon’s site and check them out!!!

    • Thank you so much for the well wishes, it takes time to build an audience and more BOOKS and since I love writing this is the easy part! 🙂 My son was 4 walking around the house saying “Never mess with a Sicilian with death is on the Line”! Glad I am not the only one who enjoys those lines!

  2. Hi Kelly….and welcome to The Reading Cafe.

    I, too, am a speed reader…and skip some of the long passages with descriptive narration..gawd…look at Lord of the Rings 😉

    • I am glad I was interesting, lol! It’s one thing to write fiction and another to talk about yourself. :/ I am so excited about I do, but I can’t! New characteers are like new friends and I am totally in the lunch 3 times a week, happy hour, and call me at least once a day stage with these guys! It should be a very good time for readers, as well. Have an amazing day!

    • Hi Karen 🙂 thank you! I have to say that not eating meat has actually made me feel better, so the advantages to me,the animals and eco-system make it easier to say no to a burger! LOL
      Wishing you all the best!

  5. Pingback: Guest Blog Bonanza!! | KellyRaeBooks

  6. Hey Kelly, welcome to TRC. For those of you just meeting Kelly, you will find she has such a great sense of humor. She is fun, and we enjoyed bringing her here.

  7. hi kelly, this was a terrific interview. it is such a pleasure to meet you. i want to read your book. i too have a friend who does not eat meat, and when we go to restaurants she is usually ordering pasta or eggplant.

    • I am waiting for McDonald’s to offer me a veggie burger, :). But it can be tricky to order on occasion. Waiters/Waitresses look at me funny when I order and say w/o the chicken or even worse w/o the bacon. I had one lady try and convice me the the grilled cheese was just no good w/o the bacon. My son finally said, she is a vegetarian!! LOL Did I mention I really do miss bacon???

      • LOL I had gone to Burger King one day with this friend. She ordered their Veggie Burger, which she said is good. When they would give her the order..they called it a Virgin Burger. lol

        Unfortunately for my friend, they no longer carry the Veggie Burger.

  8. Great interview Kelly and the best of luck with your books and all the ones to come .I am sorry to say i love me a great steak as long as it does’nt moo then i’m ok with it , but i was also a farm girl in my much younger years . and you eat what you raised , best of luck …..

    • I totally understand, one of my best friends is married to a RANCHER and he just shakes his head at me, well not only about my diet! 🙂 He thinks I am a crazy city girl. They sure smell good on the grill!

  9. Great interview Kelly. And, I too am a speed reader. I get a little ticked if I read too many passages about the white star flowers that line the path to the house!! LOL!! Love the premise of What If…………. I’ll definitely be checking it out. And, I loooooove the moment with your son and your dream coming true. As a parent myself, that, imo, is one of the hardest things to convey is for them to dream big and pursue it, even though you may get knocked down a couple of times. I try to show them by example.

    • It’s been a pretty great experience to make things happen and have my son along the way. I hope it inspires him to dream big and take risks for the things he wants. Time will tell. I know that he cried when he read the dedication in my book and he likes to take my bookmarks to school to show off, it’s a start! 🙂

      p.s. I never mentioned the tears thing….big trouble!

  10. Oh my gorsh…I am a total opposite! lol. Call it compulsive but I just HAVE to read word for word. I do get frustrated if the details kept going on and on but I still can’t skip it no matter what. It’ll be nagging at me the whole time to go back and read it. 🙂

    Hafa adai (Hello) Kelly and welcome to the site. ‘What if’ sounds interesting that I should like to check up on that. I am a contemporary romance reader at heart. However PNR does have its powers to pull me to their realm sometimes lol.

    • Hello, thank you for stopping by and saying hello. You are the reason my editors insist I go back an add more and so I do. Those of us who want/need to can skip an those who just can’t miss a word, get the full effect! If you happen to pick up a copy of What If…I hope you enjoy Katie and Chris as much as I do. All the best!

      • Hello again Kelly, Since I happen to win “What If…” I can’t wait to get a start on it.
        Ok ok so I’m bragging about my winning, WHOOHOO!! lol.

        Thank you TRC and most especially to you Kelly.

  11. What a wonderful interview! I do want to try “I do but I can’t”…just because the title reminds me of my premarital jitters. LOL I love reading about how much you love your son and I also like that he has NBA aspirations…I am a big basketball fan too. I can’t wait to try out her books!

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