K-Lee is doing a giveaway for an ebook copy of Textual Attraction. Leave a comment and tell us which piece of technology you just can’t live without. Contest will be open until December 1st.
Tell us a little about your writing process. Do you write slowly and steadily or all in a rush? Do you plot or pants?
I’m a very sporadic writer. I can go a few days with nothing on the page, then suddenly BAM! I’ll write 4000 words in one sitting. I also have at least three stories going on at the same time. I just can’t write one story at a time. I would love to say I’m an organized plotter, but alas, I’m a very disorganized pantser. I usually have a plot idea first, but then my characters are given priority. I always know physical appearance, ages, mannerisms, likes, dislikes, etc. If I’m lucky, I have the beginning and the ending of my story with maybe a little in the middle. Of course, this rarely happens so I just go on my merry way and hope things eventually tie-in together. As for an actual written outline, I’ve tried and failed every time. Lol.
Do you have comfort reads? What are they?
My comfort reads are very important for my sanity. I have quite a few, but most are old school books. The Home series by TA Chase. The With or Without series by JL Langley. Bareback series by Chris Owen. Keeping Promise Rock by Amy Kane. Taking the Odds series by James Buchanan. Drawn Together by ZA Maxfield. And I embarrassingly admit, there are certain fan-fiction writings which are also important comfort reads for me, especially Stucky.
How do you decide what project to work on next?
I do a lot of “PAX collections” with Amber Quill where there will be a general theme and the writers submit stories based on that theme. Those are interesting to do because there can be such variations, and because they keep me writing. I also do a lot of series (often not on purpose) so those books are always waiting to be written. And my muse can be quite fickle so some days I may plan on writing one thing and end up writing something else.
Is there anything you must have while you write? Caffeine? Chocolate? Peace and quiet? Strangely enough I write best in the bathtub on my iPad and I usually have a movie or TV series going, as well. My muse must like the water – sometimes for up to three hours. I also write with music, and depending on the story, I’ve been known to listen to a singer, album or even song on repeat for a really long time.
When is the last time you laughed really hard?
This is going to sound ridiculous, but it was at a gif of The Winter Soldier and Captain America where Bucky is dancing and wiggling his hips. I still giggle at it every time I see it (on my iPad where it seems to have made a home). I think you have to know my obsession with those two particular characters to understand. 😉
You’re stranded on a desert island. What do you most hope you find in FedEx packages that wash ashore?
Sebastian Stan, Chris Evans, Salt n Pepper potato chips, Coke Zero, and an acoustic guitar. (see my obsession per question #5)
Do your characters ever make you angry?
I have one character that I favor and love with all my heart, but can also make me see red. He is, of course, Brett Taylor from Unbreak My Heart. Brett and I both went through a pretty tough time when I wrote his original book – I broke him and myself in the process. He’s also the one character that sticks with me the most and is easiest for me to step into. He’s bossy, always tries to butt in when it’s not his turn, but has a heart of gold. I adore writing him because under all that tough, alpha cowboy exterior lies a sappy old-fashioned romantic who loves with all his heart and everything he has.
What are you working on now?
I have a short story coming out on December 6 from the aforementioned Unbreak My Heart series called Unbridled Hearts. And right now I’m writing a novella called Gimme Shelter involving two musicians (a fiddler and cellist), another novella tentatively titled Twist of Kate with two feuding neighbors and a cat, the sequel to Finally Home, and the second story in my Stone Magic series featuring Dart. I’m also rewriting a couple of free short stories called Lazy Sundays and Lazy Valentines. They’ll be combined into one novel with the rest of Scott & Devon’s story. It’s one of my most popular pairings and I’m excited to work on them again. So, as you can see, I like to stay busy, or maybe, enjoy being a little insane most of the time. 🙂
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Textual Attraction
Lewis has spent most of his adult life looking after his aging parents, and he recently ended a relationship with a domineering guy who’d been nothing but bad for him. Despite his less-than-stellar track record with men, he’s still hopeful there’s someone out there for him, but he’s learned to be careful with his heart.
So he can’t figure out why a cryptic, gruff, drunken voice mail from a stranger named Jerry doesn’t make him hit the DELETE button. It’s clear the man’s got the wrong number. But when Jerry begins to text, Lewis finally responds saying he’s not the guy Jerry wants. Jerry, however, is nothing if not persistent, and he keeps texting and teasing Lewis, even after he knows the truth.
Lewis is surprised when something sparks between them. Jerry turns out to be charming and witty, and they develop an odd friendship through text messages. When Jerry suggests they finally meet in person, Lewis is apprehensive, yet curious. Can he take the big step to meet Jerry face-to-face? More importantly, can he maybe even trust Jerry with his heart?
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Excerpt
“I’m acting ridiculous,” he said to absolutely no one. “It’s only a phone call. Doesn’t mean it has to be bad news or any news at all.” He’d seen his mother earlier, and he’d heard his father shuffling around the apartment, so Lewis’ two biggest fears were unfounded.
With the gentle slide of his finger, he arrived at the voicemail page. He didn’t recognize the number, but he threw caution to the wind, guessed his password in two shots, and pressed the play button.
“Hey, Tom. It’s Jerry…” LOL!
Tom and Jerry, really? Now all Lewis could picture was a feuding cat and mouse, and that made him feel old—old and extremely curious.
“I know we didn’t end on good terms last week, but I found that color-challenged knit cap of yours in between the cushions of my couch. I know you’re pretty attached to it, so I figured you’d want it back. You already have my number…or maybe you don’t. It’s 555-6722, so, you know, if you want it just give me a call or else I’ll just drop it in the lap of that homeless guy down on Seventh. Doesn’t matter to me. Yeah, okay…well, later…or not.”
Lewis quite liked the deep, raspy voice. It was one of very few kinks for him, surely obtained from television and movies with hot growly men in them. J Kink aside, he found himself interested in the stranger in the message, despite the weird cartoon names and telltale slur he attributed to alcohol. The background noise was rife with loud music and glass bottles clinking together. Calling from a bar to return, or not return, an ugly cap didn’t seem the perfect way to go about talking to someone. But who was Lewis, who rarely used the phone at all, to judge?
When he finally fell asleep, visions of knit caps danced in his head. They sat atop two lumberjacks he was certain he’d seem in one lumbersexual calendar or another. Yeah, that was definitely another kink of his lately. Unfortunately, they had the disturbing faces of a cat and mouse with appropriate matching plaid shirts and sexy growls. The men-animals were moving in what Lewis could only describe as the worst twerking dance ever, and, oddly enough, were accompanied by a dance version of “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back).”
Textual Attraction
Available November 22, 2015 from Amber Quill Press
35% off during first week of release
Buy link
http://www.amberquill.com/store/p/2295-Textual-Attraction.aspx
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Bio
K-lee Klein has lived in one part of Western Canada or another for her entire life. She’s a doting mother of three now-grown kids, and has had characters and plots running around her head for as long as she can remember. In an attempt to avoid major writer’s block, she keeps the image of muse on her leg so he can’t run off too far, unfortunately it doesn’t work all the time. K-lee’s days consist of planning her next tattoo design for her growing collection, having a lot of baths since her muse loves the water, and fighting off an abundance of fabulous gay men, large and small who continually bounce off the walls of her skull, competing for their turns to tell their stories.
Among her favorite sub-genres to read and write are rock stars, cowboys, shifters, friends-to-lovers, and opposites-attract relationships. But to be honest, she’s open to almost anything if it involves messing around in the heads of her characters. She’s also big on series—because she has a hard time letting her characters go—and is usually working on a handful of stories in various stages of completion all at the same time.
Places to find K-lee.
Website – kleeklein.com
Blog – http://chaosinthemoonlight.blogspot.ca
Twitter – https://twitter.com/Klee_Klein
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/kleemoon
Facebook author/reader group https://www.facebook.com/groups/812548795471921/
Amber Quill Press – 35% off through December 3 – http://www.amberquill.com/store/m/237-K-lee-Klein.aspx
