My friend Karyn Good is here today for Interview Friday. EXPOSED, Book Two in her Aspen Lakes series, releases today from The Wild Rose Press! Let's find out a little more about Karyn:
What do you want readers to come away with after they read your book?
A sense of time well spent. A connection to the characters and the writing that will make them want to read more of my stories. I hope Kate’s struggles will inspire people to keep moving forward. That my fictional town of Aspen Lake and its characters entertained them. And most importantly, I hope that if they were looking for a couple of hours of escape they found it within the pages of my book.
Do you work on more than one book at a time?
I try to! But I find it hard unless those books are in different stages. For instance, I can work on changes for my editor while working on the first draft of another story, promote an already published work, and jot down notes for a new project that is stewing. But I find it impossible to work on two first drafts at the same time. Likely because getting that first draft down is the hardest part of the process for me.
I agree Karyn; I multitask, but I have to concentrate on one first draft at a time. What comes first for you – plot or character?
That’s an interesting question. If I think of the projects collecting in my head that are at their barest beginning, I would have to say character, but once in a while the plot comes first. Or sometimes it’s the setting, which was the case in a previous book OFF THE GRID, which is Book 1 of my Downtown Eastside series. I was very taken with the idea of setting a story in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, infamously known as Canada’s poorest urban postal code, and Sophie and Caleb were created with that setting in mind.
Do you write in the same place every day or do you like to change it up?
I generally write in the same place, my office. I love my office. It’s my sanctuary and I’m very blessed to have a space I can call my own. There is a desk in the family room that I use on occasion. But I don’t write in coffee shops or restaurants or those types of places. I’ve tried, but I end up being distracted by the stuff happening around me. I think if I did feel the need to write away from home I’d go to the library.
What genre is your favorite to read?
Romance is my absolute favorite genre to read. I love happy endings. Love, love, love them. When I need to escape the world for a little while that’s my go-to choice. But I’m also part of a book club and have been for 13+ years. So, I read all different kinds of books. But nothing settles my soul like a happy ending.
What are your hobbies away from the computer?
I love to take pictures. I like to feed people, but wouldn’t consider myself a foodie. And I love to walk. Which might explain why I enjoy golf.
If money were not an object, where would you most like to live?
Of the places I’ve been, I’d have to say Hawaii. It really is paradise. I wouldn’t mind giving London, England a try! But I would only consider those places part-time. I love where I live. I feel like the Canadian Prairies is the place I’m meant to be.
I have to agree with you, Karyn. I love Hawaii, and London is exciting, but I belong here on the prairies. What do you like best about your hero?
Seth Stone is this easy-going guy on the surface, but underneath he’s still trying to figure it all out. Who he is and where he fits. But probably one of my favorite things about Seth is the fact that as a young guy, he’s only 22 years old, he doesn’t have all the answers and he doesn’t pretend he does.
What do you like best about your heroine?
Hands down it’s her attitude. And Kate Logan has plenty of it. She’s not always likeable, but hopefully she’s real.
How do you choose the names and physical characteristics of your characters? Do you base them on real people?
Choosing names for characters is always interesting and I’m not particularly good at it. But I do find movie credits helpful and also sport team rosters. I also try to make them slightly symbolic in some way, if that makes sense. I generally have a sense of what they look like in my head and then I try and find a likeness. But with Seth Stone it was different, from day one he has always looked like Travis Fimmel to me.
How can readers reach you or find you online?
Tell us a little about your current work in progress.
My current work in progress is the third installment of my Aspen Lake series and it’s Grace Bighill and Constable Mike Davenport’s story. A body is found and an old cold case is reopened. Old rumors, enemies, and hurt feelings resurface and leave the town reeling.
If I was a first time reader of your books, which one would you recommend I start with and why?
You can start with either BACKLASH or OFF THE GRID. Each one is the first in a series. EXPOSED follows BACKLASH and is the second book in my Aspen Lake series. OFF THE GRID is book one in my Downtown Eastside series. But really they are each stand-alone novels and can be read out of order.
Tell us about your current release.
Kate Logan is back home in her hometown of Aspen Lake working hard to rebuild her life and her reputation. A series of events have Kate worried about her safety and the future of the Gothic Revival Festival she is spearheading. She hires Seth Logan, who is new to town, to repair the damage to her boutique after a freak break-in.
Seth agrees to help out Kate even though he’s pretty sure working for her is going to give him frostbite. He’ll risk it for the extra money he’ll earn. Money he needs to push his art career forward. He soon learns there is much more to Kate Logan than a pretty face. But helping her out is going to cost him. In fact, it’s going to cost them both.
BLURB:
Kate Logan needs a safe haven, a place to start over after her modeling career disintegrates in scandal. But her hometown of Aspen Lake isn’t the sanctuary she hoped. Her vow of a low-key life is disrupted by a break-in and other strange happenings at her boutique. As the chair of Aspen Lake’s Gothic Revival Festival, she’s also drawn the ire of a religious fanatic. Kate is up to her stilettos in drama and intrigue including one sexy carpenter who’s determined to get in her way.
New to town, Seth Stone is seeking inspiration and solitude to concentrate on his art. Short on funds, he agrees to take on a second job restoring the damage to Kate’s Closet. Trouble erupts along with the desire to get to know Kate better. When he’s used as a pawn in a smear campaign against his gorgeous boss Seth fights back. But now the whole town is watching. Including the man determined to further his own agenda. Time is running out with nowhere to hide.
EXCERPT:
Kate folded the piece of paper and stuffed it back into her pocket. She wasn’t going to ask Seth out on a date, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have things she needed to say to him.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Sure.” Even though it looked like it was the last thing he wanted.
“I’ll just find something to do somewhere else.” Grace flashed her a thumbs up and headed for the back of the shop.
When you screwed up, you admitted it. Or you were supposed to. She’d always had problems with the admitting it part. “About earlier? That thing with Matthew Parsons threw me off, and I took it out on you. I got pissy. I’m sorry.”
Seth went on wiping his hands with a rag. No eye contact. No great smile. Blank. “That guy is not going to back off.”
“I know.” Was the note burning a hole in her pocket? Did she smell smoke? Or was that the blaze of sexual attraction turning to ash. “I appreciate the fact you wanted to help. I do. But I can handle him. I just...need to do it my way.”
“Okay.” He shrugged a flannel-covered shoulder and finally, finally, looked her in the eye. “We’re good.”
She had her doubts and gave another try at sounding contrite. Or, at least, human. “I didn’t say it earlier and I should have. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He tipped his head in the direction of her front door. “Come on, let me know what you think.”
Message received, back to business. She ran a hand over the resurfaced wood, the brand new knob, and deadbolt. What could she say? It looked like her door. But she wanted forgiveness and a smile. “It looks great. I can’t tell a difference. You do amazing work. Really—you do. Fabulous.”
She tacked on a babbling “It’s perfect,” for good measure accompanied by a megawatt smile that hurt her cheeks.
It worked. Sort of. He maintained eye contact. But no flirty grin for her. No casual with an undercurrent of sexy.
She lost the smile, but the crazy she’d tossed around like confetti cluttered the air between them. “I’ll stop now.”
“Appreciate it. It’s just a door.” He stuffed his rag away and dug out a paper. “I gotta go. But I figured I’d give you this first.”
“Sure.” She nodded. “What is it?”
“An invoice for the work already done and a quote for the rest of it.”
“Right. Of course.” She made a show of unfolding the paper and studying it. It wasn’t unreasonable. In fact, it was probably on the low side. “Everything looks to be in order.”
“So, we’re good?”
“Yes.” The need to smooth things out overwhelmed her. “And thanks again. For agreeing to do the job.”
He left on a nod without a backward glance. It hurt. Which was ridiculous. She didn’t need the distraction of mutual attraction. The one-sided kind was bad enough. It took focus to get a business up and running, along with drive, dedication. No room for flirting, or...other messy, silly things.
She was his boss. It was her boutique. Her livelihood. She had the right to demand excellence. To give orders. She squared her shoulders. He liked the silent treatment? Fine. He was about to find out she was the queen of the cold shoulder.
About Karyn Good:
I grew up as a displaced city girl on a mixed cattle and grain farm in the midst of the Saskatchewan prairies. Among other things, I fed chickens, hilled potatoes, and developed a love of dill pickles. I've picked crab-apples, saskatoon berries, chokeberries, and battled grasshoppers.
Eventually, I graduated to a small prairie town and from there to a big prairie city, the word big being relative and somewhat exaggerated, with the relevant word being prairie. I thrive here in this vast open space with its sky, fields, sunshine, beaches, lakes...I could go on forever.
My high school yearbook makes mention of wishing to work in a bank, little did I know numbers and money managing gives me hives. So I married a numbers guy. We lost our minds and decided to become parents. Time passed and they morphed into teenagers. They remain one step ahead of us.
The whole time I read books. Lots and lots of books. Occasionally, I picked up a pen and paper or tapped out a few meagre pages of a story on a keyboard and dreamed of becoming a writer when I grew up. One day, after a rather significant birthday, the inevitable happened and I knew without question the time was right. What to write was never the issue. I'm a together forever type of girl with a love of alpha males and feisty females.
Karyn, thank you for being my guest today. I can't wait to read EXPOSED!
