Interview with K.C. Kendricks

 

CTR:  Please give us a short blurb on your book and where we can get a copy! Please include genre and overall rating, considering explicit content, realistic language, violence etc.

K.C. Hello, Coffee Time! Thanks for having me here today with two of my blue-collar men from my latest release, OPEN ROADS, which is available at http://amberquill.com/AmberAllure/OpenRoads.html  .  Here’s the blurb:

Tyler Phillips enjoys his small town life. He’ll never get rich working the family business, but he knows there’s more to a man than the size of his bank account. Easing into mid-life, Tyler’s restless for something he can’t find in the little borough of Easton – male companionship.

Noel Springs got caught up in the economic downturn. His job gone, and retirement a lot of years in the future, Noel decides to take a long drive and see some of the country before dedicating himself to finding new employment. The open road is just what he needs right now. 

When his car overheats outside the little town of Easton, Noel discovers the local mechanic is hotter than his radiator, and just as eager to blow off some steam.

CTR  What inspired you to write this particular story?

K.C. I enjoy creating communities of friends in which one character runs through several stories and ties it all together. In the Southern Cross series, it was Austin who “anchored” the six characters together as brother to one and good friend to another. With OPEN ROADS, I had already completed the first of the Marionville stories, A Hard Habit to Break, and knew Dylan was the anchor character for the series. 

            As it turns out, Dylan is an ex-lover to the main characters in both A Hard Habit to Break, and Open Roads. He’ll get his own story soon in What You Don’t Confess.

            What actually inspired made me give the lead character in Open Roads, Tyler, the profession of auto mechanic goes straight back to my love of the American muscle car. I understand a love of cars, so it’s natural to have characters who relate to that.

            The really cool thing happened after I was about three chapters into writing Open Roads. The head guru at Amber Allure put out a submission call for a new series he had in mind called Working Stiffs. The timing was perfect, and Open Roads got to debut the series and the cover. 

CTR:  What do you find “hot” or especially appealing about blue-collar lead characters?

K.C.    I love it that they are regular guys. They work hard, and play harder. They’re not afraid to get their hands dirty by doing a job themselves. They don’t live life through their checkbook. They’re right there in the trenches with the rest of us, every day, getting the job done.

CTR:  Where do you find the main inspiration for most of your work?

K.C.    Inspiration comes from everywhere. It can hit me in the middle of a movie, a tv show, a song. Sometimes it happens as I’m typing, and the turn of a phrase inspires a new story. It’s a two-edged sword. It’s great when it happens, but – and you knew there was a but in here – it can sometimes bring on a bad case of idea overload. I have six folders on my desk right now. That’s my writing for the next year, and possibly fifteen months!

CTR:  Have you ‘always’ wanted to be a writer and worked toward that goal or did the urge hit later in life?

K.C.    I don’t remember ever having an “aha” moment about writing. It sort of developed out of a lifelong love of books. My mom read to me when I was little, and I mean she read to me every night or I got surly. She taught me there is magic in a book. She’s still an avid reader.

Somewhere along life’s journey, I had this story develop in my head. It was my own little world and playground. When writers joke about the voices they hear, it’s not really a joke. It’s the story trying to get out. I finally wrote that story, and the whole thing took off with me in tow. I’ve loved the ride, too.

CTR: What else would you like to tell perspective readers about this book or others you have available?

K.C.    I love what I do, and I hope that comes through in my characters. I make them as real as I can while at the same time infusing them with a little bit of storybook ideal. I want them to be sexy, of course, but I want them to also be someone who speaks to the reader. I love characters that become an instant “friend,” and I try to create that in a story. Hopefully, there are a few readers out there who feel the same way. 

CTR: . Where can we find more about you and your books?

K.C.  This list grows longer all the time. It’s amazing what it takes to maintain “an online presence,” so here goes:

Visit my website at: http://www.kckendricks.com

Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks

Join my mailing list at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/betweenthekeys

Read my personal blog: http://www.kckendricks.blogspot.com

Check out the MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/kckendricks

You can find me on facebook, too, by running a search and looking for the little butterfly.

I also host two blogs for authors. Saturday Evening Romance is a promotional excerpt blog located at http://saturdayeveningromance.blogspot.com. Saturday Morning Reviews is a promotional blog where authors can crow about their reviews. It’s at http://saturdaymorningreviews.blogspot.com . I invite other authors to email me at kckendricks_1@yahoo.com for details about becoming a contributing member.

I’d like to thank Coffee Time Book Brew and AzGaye for hosting this interview, and say thanks to all the people who work behind the scenes at Coffee Time Reviews.

CTR: Thanks K.C. for sharing with us today! I think it is fascinating the similarities and differences in writers—how they go about the process, what gets them going, how they got started etc. Now let’s have an excerpt from Open Road!