Interview with novelist K.L. Brady

Today I have an interview with K.L. Brady about her new novel. It's a romantic comedy titled 12 Honeymoons.

During her virtual book tour with Goddess Fish Promotions, K.L. will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a randomly drawn winner, and a Kindle Fire HD (International Giveaway) to another randomly drawn winner. To enter to win one of the prizes, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:

K. L. Brady is a D.C. native but spent a number of her formative years in the Ohio Valley. Her writing career started in the pages of diaries when she was 7 or 8 years old. But it wasn’t until her 40th birthday and an Oprah “Live Your Best Life” moment that she finally answered her calling and wrote her first novel–The Bum Magnet. The originally self-published novel was picked up by Simon & Schuster in a two-book deal, and K.L. hasn’t looked back since, penning the follow-up, Got a Right to Be Wrong and self-publishing the first books in two young adult series and a spy thriller series based on her 20+-year career in the U.S. Intelligence Community.

She has a B.A. in Economics, an MBA, and is a member of the Maryland Writer’s Association, Romance Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. She’s addicted to writing and chocolate—not necessarily in that order—and currently lives in the Washington D.C. area with her son. She is hard at work on several projects, including the next installment of the series.

Welcome, K.L. Please tell us about your current release.

I have this theory about how people find their purposes and destinies.

Some people know what they are meant to do, almost from birth. They go through every day of their lives knowing what their gift or talent is and spend most of their time trying to figure out how to bring it into the world.

For others, they have zero clues about who they are meant to be. These people seem flighty and switch from job to job or "thing" to "thing" because they are desperately searching for their purpose and won't stop searching until they find it.

For yet others, they discover their purposes at a very early age, but they talk themselves out of believing they can't do it. Some fear failure, others fear success. They don't have faith that if God has given them a purpose, he has also equipped them to fulfill it. So they bounce around aimlessly from "thing" to "thing" trying to discover what they've already known for most of their lives.

This book is about Miki Vincent, a woman who fits squarely into the latter category. She's known her purpose from a very early age but fears failure and perhaps success. She's addicted to beginnings because she's afraid of endings—in life and love. So, instead she's accomplished nothing, committed to no one and gets into a lot of trouble because of it. This book chronicles the part of her journey where paying for her mistakes and some rude awakenings help her to embrace what's she's already known her entire life.

What inspired you to write this book?

A look back on my own journey into writing. If there’s a message, I guess it’s that it’s okay if you take a more circuitous route to achieving your dreams or even finding love.

I’ve often thought that if I had figured out that I wanted to be an author sooner that I might be far more successful at this stage of my life. But writing this story made me realize that my theory is probably horse puckey. It is the sum of my experiences that have provided me with so much rich material about which to write. Without my experiences, the good and the bad, I’m not sure the stories would be half as good or “real” or funny. So, I’ve come to realize that everything happens in its due time. Whatever path you take, if you’re open to finding and following your true calling, it will eventually lead you there—even if you take a few back roads and scenic routes.

Excerpt from 12 Honeymoons:

I spent my time trolling Facebook and shopping Tiffany & Co. for engagement rings, looking back on those dizzying, emotional highs between day 1 and day 89 after you meet someone new, wondering why I couldn’t put them on Groundhog Day repeat. I wanted to relive each first touch, first hug, first kiss, and first roll in the proverbial hay during The Honeymoon Phase—those heavenly moments at the beginning of a relationship during which sublime happiness could not be contained, when you agreed to everything and fought about nothing. And the butterflies. Oh, the butterflies. How they flapped around in your stomach as you lie giddy with anticipation waiting for the phone or the doorbell to ring. The mere thought of you compelled him to acknowledge your presence on earth and in his life. And don’t even start on the lovemaking. It was so delicious and frequent you could produce enough serotonin and dopamine between the two of you to fuel a medium-sized Chinese village in the Shanghai Province. I convinced myself that this vision of perfection, excitement and passion was how we all should experience love, not just in the first ninety days, but always.

What exciting story are you working on next?

31 Days, a planned novella, is the follow-up to 12 Honeymoons and will come out next year. It will focus on Pamela’s story and provide some much-needed relief to the readers of 12 Honeymoons. Those who have read it understand.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I’ve been a writer all of my life. I’ve been journaling since I was 7 or 8 years old. But I never thought of myself as a writer until I sat down to write my first novel in late 2008. To me, authors were like gods on Mt. Olympus that worked a special brand of magic unavailable to mere mortals to write my favorite books. They didn't sit down and grind every day and type. Oh, what a rude, but happy, awakening it was when I realized how wrong I'd been. Writing is something that everyone can do, but you have to work hard and learn your craft to do it well, and consistently well, through every book. I wrote my first book, The Bum Magnet, in four months, self-published it a year later. It got picked up by Simon & Schuster four months later and the rest, as they say, is history. That was six years ago, and I'm nine books in now. Pretty incredible journey

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

No, I’m not fortunate enough to be able to do the creative writing full time. I work full time, usually writing early in the morning (I’m up by 3 am or 4 am) and then again after work, usually late into the evening.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

It’s funny. I’ve never really been a persnickety writer. I can pretty much write anywhere under most conditions, especially if I have a deadline. BUT—I will say, when I write longhand, I’ve become partial to Moleskine notebooks and gel pens, something about the smoothness of the stroke, I don’t know. But the words come faster when I have those two in hand.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I always wanted to be a writer, but I talked myself out of it for decades. I kept thinking I needed a degree in English or an MFA and that it was too late for me. I’m proof positive that it’s never too late, and the only thing that will hold you back from achieving your dreams is your own negative thinking.

It’s funny as I think about it. I used to practice my autograph when I was young. It’s funny that I pretty much use that same signature. I was an author before I knew it.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Thank you so much for joining me today. Please check out my books and feel free to reach out to me on any of my social networks. I’m very responsive to readers and writers, and I’m happy to answer questions or provide advice. 

Links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter 

The book will be on sale for $0.99 during the tour.

Amazon book page | Amazon author page

Thanks for being here today, K.L.

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