Funny, readers have asked me the following more than once. How did you come up with the series? Did you plan all the books out? (No.) Did you know where you were going when you started? (Hell no.)
I think the real answer is inspiration is never that cut and dry. Sometimes you choose a series you want to write and sometimes you fall into them…totally clueless…face first into the mud.
The latter is how I found my series. The first book in the Texas Fever Series, Texas Wide Open, was meant to be a quick side trip to a nice sunny place away from my darker, grittier, sci-
Funny how you plan and God laughs.
The sci-fi series never got to book two, and the contemporary series is already on book three with number four waving gingerly in the distance. (Lord, help me.) Texas Wide Open was easy. I basically dreamt up that book. I had the core of the story in my head, and truly there were no surprises. When my editor came back to me and said the book needed to be longer, I panicked a little. (Okay, I broke out into stress hives) Contemporary romance is a harder genre for me to write in. The tension has to come from emotional issues/connections between the characters instead of blood thirsty aliens and life and death shoot-outs.
To help me get the word count up I did a tried and true plot device and used the story line I had planned for book two and weaved it throughout book one. Nikki and Jett’s story never came to a final conclusion in the first book. It wasn’t supposed to. It wasn’t their book. But when I started book two, I found I’d written myself into a corner. I had to start their story from where I’d left off.
Now, that was fun.
Some books are easy to write, others not so much. Hustlin’ Texas was not an easy book to write. The writing felt like pulling teeth. I indulged in my love of fine wine. Then because of money, I switched to cheap wine. (When taken in high enough amounts cheap wine does the same trick as fine wine.) There was no thread. No theme. I had no idea what Jett and Nikki’s real problem was besides Nikki’s smart mouth and Jett’s resentment to bailing Nikki out of her messes.
Well, since I’m here talking about my newest release it’s easy to guess that I did finish Hustlin’ Texas. Of course, all the while I was swearing up and down that this would be my last contemporary romance ever.
Famous last words, right.
I hope you all fall in love with Nikki and Jett as much as I did. I find that sometimes your problem child becomes your most favorite, yes? In the end Nikki won me over, and Jett? Well,he always had my heart.
Thanks for reading and thanks for commenting below for a chance to win the e-copy of Hustlin' Texas. (Yay!)
So what are some of your most favorite romance series out there? What do you like about them? What keeps you coming back?
Oak Groves’ most beloved bachelor, Jett Avery, lives by a simple set of rules. Getting involved with a complicated woman isn’t one of them. He learned that the hard way two years ago when he spent one of the most incredible nights of his life with Nikki Logan. But then she hightailed it out of town, never to be seen again—until now. It might be time to break one of those rules…
Picking up the pieces of her life, Nikki is back in Oak Groves, face to face with the one man she’s done her best to forget. But she has her reasons for being here—and they don’t include winding up in bed with Jett. Especially since he’ll never forgive her once he finds out the truth about why she’s back…
EXCERPT:
Jett nodded, then glanced around the crowded bar. When he turned his gaze back on her, a person would be hard pressed to describe his eyes as anything sweet or candy like. “I was hoping you’d be up for a little game of nine-ball.”
Nikki took a sip from her beer and raised her brow in question. Nine-ball was the hustler’s game. It was short and quick, without all the rules of straight pool.
He nodded his head toward the tables in the back. “I heard you played.”
“Then you heard wrong.” She took another sip, eying him the whole time. “I’ve given it up for Lent.”
The corner of his mouth hinted at a smile. “Found God, have you?”
“Among other things.”
Jett glanced to the tables, then back to her. “One game. No money.”
Nikki shook her head. “I don’t play for fun. No thrill in it.”
He swallowed, and she could see his jaw work. “Then we’ll play for a favor. A debt. You up for a little more red in your ledger?”
She didn’t want to ask, not really, but gambling was too deep in her blood not to hear the stakes. “What’s the favor?”
He smiled, not the golden boy smile she’d come to know, but instead one that lacked any charm at all. “Well, Texas, that’s the thrill part. You don’t know until the end. Anything goes. No boundaries.”
Her heart did a funky jump-start in her chest at the possibilities, but her game face was ice-cold. “No limits?”
“None. Unless that’s too much heat for you? We could place some ground rules if you want to play it safe.”
Nikki knew what Jett was doing. It was so obvious, and yet, there was that achingly familiar thrill that zipped up her spine and buzzed in her blood. Some families were predisposed toward red hair or near-sightedness. The Logans were addicts. Throw a dart at the family tree and you’d hit a vice—drinking, smoking, shopping. You name it, and the Logans could turn anything into a compulsion. But really, under all the addictions, there was only one. One vice that was as indicative of a Logan as dark hair, brown skin, and blue eyes.
It was very basic, really. The Logans were gamblers.
There were stories as far back as her grandfather, if stories in the Logan family could be believed, who won his first car—a 1950 Cadillac—on the toss of a coin. Then there was her father, Dakota, who’d bet on every sports game invented, and even ones that hadn’t, like golf without clubs. Her father had once bet a hundred dollars on his ability to throw a golf ball through the eighteen holes. Legend had it, he’d won that hundred, but lost the money in the same night in an “I can piss into a can from the second story” contest.
So Jett knew what he was doing. And Nikki was smart enough to know this was more than a simple favor and way more than a simple game of pool. She also knew something else. Jett was no match for her in this game.
She hid her smile with a sip of her drink. The thrill of a “sure thing” was headier than any shot of tequila, more exciting than a leather-jacketed man on a motorcycle.
“Oh, I can take the heat,” she said.
“But can you handle this much heat?”
“Oh, I can handle it. Because we both know I can beat you with one hand tied behind my back and blindfolded.”
His eyebrows arched. “Then you’d best start figuring out what your favor will be.”
Nikki put down her bottle, no longer needing the buzz. “Already have.” Her car fixed…for starters. “You really think you can beat me at pool?”
God, he was so cocky. It was almost tragic.
His eyes narrowed and there was absolutely no humor in his voice when he spoke. “Oh, I’m betting on it.”
Nikki took a sip from her beer and raised her brow in question. Nine-ball was the hustler’s game. It was short and quick, without all the rules of straight pool.
He nodded his head toward the tables in the back. “I heard you played.”
“Then you heard wrong.” She took another sip, eying him the whole time. “I’ve given it up for Lent.”
The corner of his mouth hinted at a smile. “Found God, have you?”
“Among other things.”
Jett glanced to the tables, then back to her. “One game. No money.”
Nikki shook her head. “I don’t play for fun. No thrill in it.”
He swallowed, and she could see his jaw work. “Then we’ll play for a favor. A debt. You up for a little more red in your ledger?”
She didn’t want to ask, not really, but gambling was too deep in her blood not to hear the stakes. “What’s the favor?”
He smiled, not the golden boy smile she’d come to know, but instead one that lacked any charm at all. “Well, Texas, that’s the thrill part. You don’t know until the end. Anything goes. No boundaries.”
Her heart did a funky jump-start in her chest at the possibilities, but her game face was ice-cold. “No limits?”
“None. Unless that’s too much heat for you? We could place some ground rules if you want to play it safe.”
Nikki knew what Jett was doing. It was so obvious, and yet, there was that achingly familiar thrill that zipped up her spine and buzzed in her blood. Some families were predisposed toward red hair or near-sightedness. The Logans were addicts. Throw a dart at the family tree and you’d hit a vice—drinking, smoking, shopping. You name it, and the Logans could turn anything into a compulsion. But really, under all the addictions, there was only one. One vice that was as indicative of a Logan as dark hair, brown skin, and blue eyes.
It was very basic, really. The Logans were gamblers.
There were stories as far back as her grandfather, if stories in the Logan family could be believed, who won his first car—a 1950 Cadillac—on the toss of a coin. Then there was her father, Dakota, who’d bet on every sports game invented, and even ones that hadn’t, like golf without clubs. Her father had once bet a hundred dollars on his ability to throw a golf ball through the eighteen holes. Legend had it, he’d won that hundred, but lost the money in the same night in an “I can piss into a can from the second story” contest.
So Jett knew what he was doing. And Nikki was smart enough to know this was more than a simple favor and way more than a simple game of pool. She also knew something else. Jett was no match for her in this game.
She hid her smile with a sip of her drink. The thrill of a “sure thing” was headier than any shot of tequila, more exciting than a leather-jacketed man on a motorcycle.
“Oh, I can take the heat,” she said.
“But can you handle this much heat?”
“Oh, I can handle it. Because we both know I can beat you with one hand tied behind my back and blindfolded.”
His eyebrows arched. “Then you’d best start figuring out what your favor will be.”
Nikki put down her bottle, no longer needing the buzz. “Already have.” Her car fixed…for starters. “You really think you can beat me at pool?”
God, he was so cocky. It was almost tragic.
His eyes narrowed and there was absolutely no humor in his voice when he spoke. “Oh, I’m betting on it.”
Here's what other author's are saying........
“Sassy, sexy, fun, but sweet at heart, KC Klein knows how to spin a tall Texas yarn.”—Lori Wilde
“A sexy read. KC Klein’s hero is as hot as a Texan summer’s day. KC is an author to watch..”—Rachel Gibson
“A sexy read. KC Klein’s hero is as hot as a Texan summer’s day. KC is an author to watch..”—Rachel Gibson
KC Klein has lived most of her life with her head in the clouds and her nose buried in a book. She did stop reading long enough to make a home with a real life hero, her husband, for over sixteen years. A mother of two children, she spends her time slaying dragons, saving princesses, and championing the belief in the happily-ever-after. Her debut novel, Dark Future,is a finalist in the 2012 Prism contest and has been honored with a reviewer’s choice award. Her other titles include a sci- fi, 2012 ROWN award winning romance anthology, Hotter on the Edge, and the first two books in her Texas Fever contemporary romance series, Texas Wide Open, and Hustlin’ Texas. KC loves to hear from readers and can be found desperately pounding away on her laptop in yoga pants and leopard slippers or more conveniently at her website......
WEBSITE: www.kckleinbooks.com
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BLOG: http://kckleinbooks.tumblr.
TWITTER: @kckleinbooks
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/
PINTEREST: http://pinterest.com/
AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE: http://kckleinbooks.com/
GOODREADS: http://www.goodreads.com/
**********GIVEAWAY**********
Giveaway is for an e-copy of Hustlin' Texas by KC Klein.
-To be entered, LEAVE A COMMENT ANSWERING KC'S QUESTION, along with your email addy (no email=no entry).
-Giveaway is OPEN TO EVERYONE.
-Giveaway ends at 11:59 PM CST on 12/13.
I love the In Death series by JD Robb, because of the continual character development and evolving relationship between Eve & Roarke. Beside, who wouldn't come back for Roarke? LOL. authorlorisjoberg@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteReally interesting how story ideas come about, for sure. One little scene and you can weave a whole novel from there. I understand you on the sequel, too. The first story is easy compared to the next one!
ReplyDeleteHi KC! I'm really enjoying Kay Hooper's paranormal series - FBI and private investigators - evil killers. Except she keeps letting the serial killer murder on of the sisters.... LOL lcahoon7@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteI adore your books, KC!
ReplyDelete