Osiyo~

Welcome one and all! Grab a beverage of choice, something sweet and sinful. No-no, not the men. What’s the matter with you? You know the hands-on rules… The guest gets first pick! 😉 Take a comfy seat for another, or a first, spin in the Round Pen.

I’m thrilled to welcome my wonderfully talented guest today, Kristina Knight, who is sharing their book, Start Me Up with us!

Please show Kristina some real Ranch love

Before I get to the nosy 5-3-4 part of this interview, tell us a bit about you.

Okay, I’ll begin with five questions, then follow with three more, and end with four final ones.

My writing area at the moment is a corner of the couch in my living room. What does your writing space look like?

It depends on the day! Today, I’m working on more ‘business-y’ stuff – like blog posts and art fact sheets, so my office is my actual desk in our living room. I’ve got a lot of knickknacks laying around – including an orange stress ball, a broken Boyd’s Bear figurine and a ceramic pic. When I’m writing the actual books, my ‘office’ changes to suit my mood – I might curl up in our recliner with my iPad, I might hit Starbucks or McDonalds or even the library.

For a lot of writers it’s a life-altering event coming up with titles and character names. Others it comes as naturally as breathing. Which is it for you?

Character names usually come to me, although I’ve had a character insist – half way through a draft, in fact! – that I got their name wrong. lol Book titles are … so much harder. Finding the right 3-5 words that encompass an entire book is so hard!

What advice would you offer aspiring and new writers?

Keep pushing yourself. Try to make each paragraph, chapter and book better than the last. That doesn’t mean whip out the thesaurus every other word, it just means dig deep into your well to get the emotion, characterization and setting right.

The constant shift of the industry makes me often scratch my head and ask ‘what next?’ So, what do you think it takes to be a successful author at the moment?

I still think the key is perseverance. There are so many ‘nos’ in this industry that it is easy to pack it in and just write for ourselves…it’s the people who keep pushing forward, who don’t take the first for five hundredth ‘no’ who make it.

Who would you like to meet in the publishing industry- dead or alive- and why?

I soooooo want to have a sit-down with Nora Roberts. She writes amazing books, first of all, but she’s had her own battles and I think it would be so interesting to get her take on things.

I agree 100%. It’s time for 3 in 1! I’ll ask the questions and you answer them in one word. 😆

Favorite animal? Dog (hazel-the-pup)

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter? Summer!

Favorite food? Bacon (just had BLTs for lunch and yum!)

Well done! 🙂 And who doesn’t like doggies, warm weather and bacon? Well, I suppose there are some who don’t, but not here on the Ranch! 😆

Okay, Flash four. Ready?

What are you working on now?

I just got copyedits on my first SuperRomance, called The Daughter He Wanted, so I’m working on that. I have a proposal I’m polishing up the proposal for my second SuperRomance (*squeee*) and I’m finalizing the draft of a super secret project that I’m hoping to be able to share with you all soon!

I can’t wait! Can I cheat? 🙂 What are you sharing today?

I’m sharing a quick excerpt from my new book, Start Me Up, the second in my Rockers trilogy. Here’s the tagline: When Hollywood hunk Chase MacIntyre proposes a faux relationship, disgraced L.A. matchmaker Nina Wright can’t refuse…until some serious sexiness makes “on paper” happen between the sheets!

The excerpt:

“I can’t lie to your family.”

            “We are lying to the entire world, with or without dinner.” It was a reminder to himself as much as to her.

            The lights dimmed again, cutting off further conversation. But not before he saw the flash of hurt in Nina’s eyes.

            Nate took the stage, welcoming the audience and introducing the first performers, a brother-sister duo competing on the reality show Star Power, which Nate and Chase’s sister, Lily, starred on.

            “I’m hoping to sign them after the season,” Chase whispered in Nina’s ear. “I’m sorry about that lying to the world thing. I didn’t mean it. Nate kind of caught me off guard.” Not her apparent attraction to his friend. Definitely not that.

            “I didn’t think about the family thing, either. This is a little more complicated that I imagined,” she said. Nina took his hand in the dark, cementing the connection between them. Her touch was soft. Soothing. A juxtaposition because the inch of space separating their thighs was a shooting gallery of heat. And then it was only the two of them. No residual doubt at her reaction to Nate. Nothing but Nina’s hand against his.

            The couple on stage went into the chorus, singing about hurt. Chase joined in the applause as they left the stage a moment later. A flash of deep purple caught his attention and he saw Jillian from the corner of his eye. She offered him a finger wave and, unsurprisingly, Chase didn’t feel a thing.

            It was Nina who held his attention throughout the show. Nina who he wanted to dance with.

            Two dates and a single kiss and the woman had his blood at the boiling point.

 * * *

Where can we find you and your books?

You can find me: Website: http://www.kristinaknightauthor.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kristinaknightromanceauthor

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/authorkristina

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/authorkristina/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5827833.Kristina_Knight

Google+: https://plus.google.com/+KristinaKnightAuthor/posts

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Harlequin-Contemporary-Romance-Box-Set-ebook/dp/B00KPJP7G8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406740028&sr=8-1&keywords=start+me+up+by+kristina+knight

BN: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/harlequin-e-contemporary-romance-box-set-volume-3-sarina-bowen/1119641002?ean=9781460339534

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/harlequin-e-contemporary-romance/id896507885?mt=11

Where will you be next?

I blog every Tuesday and Thursday on my personal blog (www.kristiknight.blogspot.com) and each Wednesday at WordWranglers (http://wordwranglers.blogspot.com), and you can always catch me on Twitter and Facebook (don’t tell my editor!!!)

I’m giving away an e-copy of my backlist, you get to choose, for those of you who tell me what it is that you love about romance novels?

Thank you so much for playing along Kristina! Wishing you much luck with your book and writing. I hope you’ll come visit again one day.

Dodadagohvi~