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What can you tell us about your new release, Knocked Up by the Master?

Knocked Up by the Master was written with fans of Knocked Up by the Dom in mind. It starts fast, doesn't let off the gas, and will keep you wanting to turn the page and find out what happens next. There's a ton of steam, and of course, a great romance that was so special to write and watch unfold.

What's the best book you've ever read?

I think The Martian definitely makes the list. I've always been a sucker for books that are set up in a journal style, and The Martian took that style to its fullest, in my humble opinion. And as a nerd for story structure, I think it's an incredibly good example of a book that hits all the major moments and points in the story structure at exactly the right times.

Who are your literary heroes working today? Why do you admire them?

I don't know if I'd go as far as to say "literary" because I've always felt like the term literature/literary implies a certain kind of stuffiness. I much prefer just judging a book by one thing and one thing only: how much I enjoyed the experience of reading it. That being said, I've always enjoyed Brandon Sanderson's fantasy--particularly the Mistborn series. I really love nerding out on his complicated magic systems and political intrigue. I admire that he has such a talent for making the mechanics of how magic works in his story universes a central and interesting part of every book, because I know that can't be easy to do.

What's rocking your world this month?

Deadlines! I am trying to get out two books this month, which means my normal few days of recovery between writing books is gone, and I have no wiggle room when it comes to hitting my word count every single day. It's stressful, but it'll be worth it when I've got the three Knocked Up books out as quickly as I wanted.

If you had to pick one place to vacation for the rest of your life, where would you choose?

Grindelwald Switzerland. In the winter, it looks like something out of a fairy tale. Little cottages speckling a steep hillside with a tiny country road crisscrossing between every house. You can see smoke rising up from the chimneys and warm yellow light in all the windows. You can just look at the scene and imagine the kind of life you would live in a place like that. I live in Florida and have lived here for pretty much my whole life, and the worst part is I absolutely *hate* hot weather. So imagining a life where I could actually go outside most of the year without feeling like I just stepped into an oven sounds like Heaven.

What's in your Netflix queue?

I'm actually not a huge show watcher right now because my daughters are 1 and 2. I try not to just have the TV on when they are awake, and when they are asleep I'd rather be reading or writing. But I eventually want to watch Stranger Things because I've heard really good stuff about it and it sounds like my kind of show.

What scene in Knocked Up by the Master was your favorite to write?

Without spoiling anything, it was a scene near the end of the book. It's kind of strange as the author, because I set out with a pretty decent idea of who my characters are and why they do the things they do. One of the harder things about writing is not turning every character into a fictionalized version of yourself who does and says what *you* would do in every scenario. Usually, the easiest way for me to avoid this is to try to imagine them as real people. I try to think of their past and some defining moments in their lives, so when they are faced with a difficult decision, I can reflect back with them on their past and use that to inform their decision. ANYWAY, to get back to the question. My favorite moment in this book was the feeling of discovering Leo's (the hero) past. I had an idea of where he came from, but it felt right to explore that with him and Lysa. Writing those moments was really special for me, because it was almost like I was starting to understand why Leo was the way he was for the first time, too.

Penelope Bloom is the author of the new book Knocked Up by the Master. 

Connect with Penelope:
Author Page

 Twitter

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What can you tell us about your new release, Mustang Buck?

Where to begin… Mustang Buck is a small-town romance set in Kingsbury Falls, Texas. It is the story of town bad boy, Jax McKinney who meets a mysterious visitor to town and falls head over heels for her. Unbeknownst to him, she came with a very specific agenda. When her secrets and lies come out… it’ll turn the entire town upside down!

What or who inspired you to become an author?

I was an English Literature and Linguistics major in college and loved to read. When I had my first child, I had a number of health issues and long recovery times. The more I read, the more I realized I had my own stories to tell. What started as a short story became a novel, which turned into a series, and that has turned into a career.

Who is your favorite couple from literature?

That’s a really difficult question! I have so many. I would have to go with Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth from Jane Austen’s, Persuasion. I think they are far more interesting than Miss Bennet and Mr. Darcy. Anne has so much depth of character. Where some would see her as weak for giving Captain Wentworth a second chance years after they first fell in love, I see her as strong. In that time period, loving a man with such ferocity and conviction was a precarious position to be in as a woman. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read it!

What's your favorite thing about writing?

The moment of conception. When an idea evolves as you type. It could be the entire story, or just a scene. You know when you’ve done something special when you love the characters so much they can bring you to tears. When I am in the flow with a major turning point for the main characters, I feel like I could fly! It’s magical.

BAM. You're a superhero. What's your superpower?

Selfishly, I would want to be able to teleport with the blink of an eye or the click of my fingers. I live in Houston, Texas with my husband and babies, but I’m originally from Glasgow, Scotland. All of our family is back there, so I would love to be able to see them all the time, while still being able to give my kids the opportunities and experience of living abroad.

If you had an extra hour each day, how would you spend it?

Reading. Since I started writing, my reading hours have dwindled significantly. For me, reading is food for the soul. We all need it. I would definitely enjoy having a dedicated hour in my day to read.

What scene in Mustang Buck was your favorite to write?

It’s hard to narrow this down to one scene. This book truly took on a life of its own, twisting and turning in ways I hadn’t planned. It became so much more to me. In the time between writing the first sentence of this book and typing The End, I snapped a bone in my foot, lived through a hurricane, and found out I have a second autoimmune disease. It’s been an emotional journey to say the least, and so many scenes reflect that heartache and overwhelming love. I think the Epilogue might be my favorite if I need to choose one. The connection between Jax and Savannah reminds me so much of my husband and me. He’s my rock, my best friend, and the love of my life.

Sienna Parks is the author of the new book Mustang Buck. 

Connect with Sienna:
Author Page
 Twitter

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What can you tell us about your new release, Unloved, a love story?

This past March, my husband and I were driving from our home in Connecticut to an airport in New York City, and he was telling me all about a book he’d just finished reading called The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. This non-fiction book takes place at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, which Herman Webster Mudgett, one of the first American serial killers, used for his “hunting” grounds. He was convicted and executed for murder in the first degree, and some estimate his victims to number over 200.  But of all the lurid details my husband shared with me about Mudgett, the one I couldn’t shake was that he had two children: a son and a daughter.

I kept thinking about these children—what it must have been like to learn that their father was a monster, how it affected their growth, if they felt shame or anger or fear when they thought of him, or if they blocked out his memory entirely. His daughter became a schoolteacher and his son was eventually the city manager of Orlando, which leads me to believe that they were conscientious, responsible adults.  But what damage did their father’s crimes have on their psyches?

It was with these questions swirling around in my head that the character of Cassidy Porter, the hero of Unloved, a love story, was born. When the Maine State Police arrest his father, Paul Isaac Porter, on his eighth birthday, Cassidy goes from being a normal, American kid to being the son of Maine’s most notorious serial killer. His mother becomes a self-taught authority on genetics and makes Cassidy promise never to marry or have children, just in case his father’s darkness lives on in Cassidy’s DNA. And Cassidy would have kept that promise…if Brynn Cadogan hadn’t stumbled into his life, desperately needing his help.

The more time Cassidy spends with Brynn, the harder he falls for her. But, his genetics and the possibility of inheriting his father’s demons plagues Cassidy. And eventually he must decide if he can break the chains of his genetics or if giving up Brynn is the best way to prove his love for her. To find out which, you’ll have to pick up Unloved, a love story!

What or who inspired you to become an author?

To be honest, I sort of fell into it. I was an at-home mom for many years, and when my children were finally in school full-time, I felt very aimless. I didn’t want to go back to my pre-mom career as an office and facilities manager, but I needed a purpose. A friend encouraged me to take a short story writing class in January 2012. By December 2012, I had written my first novel and I sold it in March 2013. By Proxy was published in September 2013, and Unloved, a love story, will be my 34^th published novel and 26^th self-published novel.

Which books would we be surprised to find on your shelves?

Hmm. Let me take a peek!

<Katy leans to the right to look at her bookcases.>

Well, sorry to be predictable, but I think Welcome to the Monkey House, by Kurt Vonnegut, is the only one that’s truly incongruous. I have tons of books on writing, on writing romance, love stories and novels by other romance authors, and lots of my own books. But here’s a twist: Welcome to the Monkey House is actually my favorite book. It’s a collection of short stories, mostly science fiction or dystopian, and there are so many I love, though my favorite is “The Long Walk To Forever.” My copy is dog-eared and fragile now, with a ripped cover and pages threatening to fall out. It’s been well-loved.

What's your favorite thing about writing?

The control.

I’m not trying to be provocative, but I love having control over what I write, and how, and when, and where. I love being in charge of my characters, titles and plotlines, my covers and my edits, my marketing plans and publication schedules. I mean, I also love living in the fantasy worlds I create and it should go without saying that I adore my readers. But, the first word that came to mind was “control” and I know it’s honest. You have to understand: I’m self-made. This is my career and these books are my babies and there is something completely intoxicating about it.

If you could have dinner with anyone, alive or dead, who would you choose and why?

The very best dinners are the ones when you are surrounded by those whom you love and who love you back. So I would have dinner – always – with my husband, kids, parents and brother. If my best/closest friends and their husbands and kids could join us, that would be awesome too. And maybe my aunt and uncle too, if someone would fly them in. We’d be about 40 or 50 people, but you didn’t give me a limit, so I choose a super long table in a gorgeous vineyard with 20-25 chairs on each side…twinkle lights in the trees…candlelight on the table…shiny glass that catches the flickering flames and white plates clean and gleaming. There’d be music too – maybe a guitarist playing folk music and show tunes and classical melodies…and there would be tons of wine and beer and food and laughter and conversation deep into the night. And love. There’d be so much love at that dinner table.

If you had an extra hour each day, how would you spend it?

OMG. I can barely conceive of such a luxury. I have a husband, a nine-year-old, a twelve-year-old, two dogs, a cat, a home and no help. No assistant. No nanny. I’m a full-time wife, mom, homemaker and novelist. And churning out over thirty books in four years has been a lot of work. I guess I would use it for work…or to watch a show on TV with my kids…or to make my husband a nicer-than-usual dinner. As-is, my life is busy and full and happy, so I would probably fold that hour in and use it for something ordinary.

What scene in Unloved, a love story was your favorite to write?

This book has a MAJOR twist at the 75% mark. Game-changer. Mind-blower. And I have to say…I was writing bits and pieces of that chapter from the very beginning. And in my head, I was rubbing my hands together with glee, because oftentimes, in romance novels, the last 10-25% of the story can be predictable as the author wraps up the story. But I have some surprises in store for my readers that will keep them on their toes until the end.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

When my children were little, I would always ask them, “What’s the most important thing?” And they were trained to answer, “Kindness.” If you asked them today, they’d give you the same answer because I made sure the message was deeply ingrained. If that’s a philosophy, I guess I’ll claim it. Be kind. Be kind. Be kind.

Katy Regnery is the author of the new book Unloved, a love story. 

Connect with Katy:
Author Website
 Twitter

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