ME: Between the Bluegrass books, the Web of Lies series, and the Women of Power series, you have amazing storylines. What’s the inspiration for them?
KB: I have different inspiration for each series. The Bluegrass series started as I remembered visiting my cousins in upstate New York as a child. They thought Kentucky was so foreign and full of stereotypes. The idea came to me to have this big city attorney coming to Kentucky and feeling out of place, but finding all the hidden treasures we have. The inspiration of the Women of Power was actually a History Channel show called The Men Who Built America. I watched the history of Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, and Ford, and thought, women are powerful too. We can build America too. We can run these major companies and be women full of emotion, love, and determination to succeed. Along the same lines, the Web of Lies was inspired by James Bond. Woman can fight for our country, save our country, and operate in the shadows as the best of spies. I actually wrote two of the books before the United States election and couldn’t believe how timely they were, which was really fun to explore. (The first book in the Women of Power Series is Chosen for Power, and the first Web of Lies book is Whispered Lies)
ME: Readers seem to be drawn to Keeneston for a variety of reasons, but what keeps you coming back to the town?
KB: I think what keeps me writing Keeneston books are the same things that keep readers reading them. These characters are part of my family and I miss them if I’m not writing in their world every so often. Bluegrass State of Mind was supposed to be one book only. But then I fell so in love with the town, the characters, and the community that I couldn’t stop writing. I may take a break to write other series, which to me are just as wonderful as Keeneston and all have the same feel you’ve come to expect from me, but I always come back home. (It's true. Keeneston is home to me, and so many other readers. Even if you love where you live, Keeneston is amazing.)
ME: 1. Who is your favorite character to write and why? Also, who is the hardest character to write and why?
KB: I’ll stick to secondary characters, because I could never choose a favorite main couple! For Keeneston the Rose sisters are always a hoot to write. As the series as moved onto the new generation in Forever Bluegrass, the older generation is passing the baton and Aniyah has picked it up. I want to be her best friend! I just love her and her big heart. In the Women of Power series, it’s hands down Shirley. She’s like the dirty minded version of Miss Violet! And in the Web of Lies series Alex made me chuckle as I explored my inner “dude-ness”, but I really enjoyed Humphrey. I liked how he grew from a snoring breaking and entering teacher to a confident man who the group all depended on.
ME: As a part of the Café, I see a lot of people making predictions about pairings and what they think is going to happen/has happened with characters. Have any of these predictions made you change what was going to happen?
KB: I love seeing everyone’s predictions! Kathleen’s Blossom Café group on Facebook is such a great group of readers. I love seeing pictures posted of who they envision as characters and talking about what’s next, who the panty droppers are, who’s going to be pregnant next and how the father’s are going to act. However, I usually have everything planned out in advanced, so the pairings, the panty dropper and so on has already been decided before I even wrote them in the first time. However, where it’s helpful for me was especially in the Web of Lies series. I wanted to make sure I was keeping everyone in suspense since it was an ongoing plot line. (I'm not explaining the panty dropper. If you're curious, GO READ THE BOOKS. You'll thank me later :) )
ME: Anything to share on upcoming Bluegrass books, or your new series, set in Shadows Landing?
KB: Next up is Piper Davies’ story in Forever Guarded. I already love this book so much. I hate to step away from the computer at the end of the day. It’s also fun bringing in a Brit as the hero. I can tell you the story starts off with a bang and that Piper is going to grow a lot. She’s struggling with what she perceives as failure. She’s also different from other characters like Layne and Sophie, as she’s not trained in anyway by Special Forces fathers like her cousins were. But she’ll find her footing and her confidence along her journey. And there will also be a few cameos of past characters. As for Shadows Landing – I cannot wait to start this book! The characters have already been speaking to me so much that I’ve had to start their own notebook to write it all down. The things we love about Keeneston – small town community, quirky characters, love, togetherness and support even if you rib on each other – it’s all there in Shadows Landing too. It’s a small coastal town where everyone knows everyone and the biggest conflict is which BBQ you like the most. Until a woman washes up on shore after someone tried to kill her. And now trouble has come to Shadows Landing. (We just got introduced the the Faulkner characters in Forever Devoted, and they all seem so much like their Davies cousins, except a little less Special Forces-ish. Darn that Mother Faulkner for keeping them all apart!)
These next two questions I couldn't keep myself from asking. I didn't think I'd get a straight answer out of Kathleen, and I didn't really. I'll admit, I teared up a bit at the answer to the second one.
ME: Will we ever actually find out how John Wolfe and/or DeAndre know everything in town?
KB: Where’s the fun in that?
ME: How exactly are the Rose sisters going to become immortal so we never lose them?
KB: I honestly don’t know. I know at some point they will need to pass on, but I just can’t bring myself to do it yet. I’ve joked that I’ll turn them into vampires so they can live forever, but that would need to be a different series! Can’t you see it? Miss Violet sees this handsome man and pulls her to her bosom… “Oh my!” Don’t worry, I’m not going to actually turn the Rose sisters into vampires!
Check out Forever Hunted on May 8!!
Carter Ashton had always been close to the entire Davies
family. Until he decided he wanted to bring his relationship with Reagan Davies
out of the shadows. As tempers flare, Carter must stand his ground or lose the
love of his life. But when an old family friend asks for help, Carter
unknowingly brings danger to the doorstep of the woman he loves.
Reagan Davies has
been hiding her relationship with Carter from her father and everyone else in
Keeneston. It had just been a fun fling . . . until it became something much
more in a very public way. And just when things couldn't possibly get any
tougher for Reagan, she finds herself thrown into a dangerous game of life or
death. Now instead of worrying about an over-protective father, Carter and
Reagan find themselves in a fight for their lives. The person pursuing them has
everything to lose if Carter and Reagan make it out alive, and will stop at
nothing to hunt them down.
After that will be Forever Guarded, which does not have a confirmed release date yet!
A guarded heart is a lonely heart . . .
Piper Davies is a leading researcher in the fields of viruses
and nanotechnology. All she ever wanted was to help save lives. But her newest
creation has the potential to be manipulated to kill a single person, as well
as launch a global pandemic if it ever landed in the wrong hands. And
unfortunately, someone knows what she's created and will stop at nothing to get
it. Piper's family hires someone to protect her when the threats become
dangerous.
Security specialist Aiden Creed knew all to well what
someone would do to get their hands on Piper's viral nanotech creation. His
time in the British Army's Special Air Service exposed him to the true evil
that hid throughout the world. What he didn't count on when he accepted this
assignment was the danger Piper posed to his heart.
* * * AND INTRODUCING * * *
SAVING SHADOWS
Gavin
Faulkner was the only doctor in the small South Carolina inner coastal town of
Shadows Landing. He was used to patching up everything from fishing lures stuck
in skin to gator bites. Nothing could surprise him anymore—except when he found
an unconscious woman partially submerged on his beach after a fierce
thunderstorm.
Ellery St.
John’s last memory was of a bat swinging toward her head. The next thing she
knew, she was cold, wet, and a sexy man was pressing his lips to hers. Too bad
it turned out to be CPR instead of a passionate kiss.
Gavin
thought Ellery would be safe in the small town where BBQ wars were the biggest
danger, but he was wrong. Now it was up to him to help Ellery put the pieces
together in order to discover who had tried to kill her and why before they
both ended up at the bottom of the ocean.
I also want to say, to my faithful readers, I don't know how Kathleen does it! She was awesome and shared the Saving Shadows blurb and cover with me Monday, before it was officially released. It was wicked hard not to go dancing through the Café typing "I know something you don't know!!!"
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