BooksChatter: ℚ Lover's Leap

Today we have the pleasure of meeting up with author Kimberly Keyes to talk about her novel Lover's Leap (2 October 2015, The Wild Rose Press, Inc, 261 pages), a Contemporary Romance.

Author Q&A | Synopsis | Teaser | About the Author | Giveaway & Tour Stops

A very big welcome to Kimberly Keyes; thank you for joining us on BooksChatter.

What was the inspiration for your latest release?

"LOVER’S LEAP is my most recent release. It’s a contemporary romance, published by The Wild Rose Press. It’s the third/fourth book I’ve written. (I say it that way, because I tend to work on two projects simultaneously, so I worked on books 3 & 4 during the same period. :-))

LOVER’S LEAP is a bit unusual for me as far as the premise goes. My sister actually dreamed the basic “mistaken identity” theme that makes up the beginning of the book! She called me one morning and said, I have a story for you! Basically, the hero and heroine have a mutual friend in common, who happens to be gay. The heroine assumes the hero of the story is also gay, and he allows her to think so for his own personal reasons.

I took the idea and ran with it,filling in the details as in the personalities of the characters, the location where the story unfolds, the internal conflicts keeping my hero and heroine apart, and their backgrounds.

I loved writing LOVER’S LEAP. It was my first contemporary."

How much of yourself is reflected in this book, and how?

"A speaker at a writer’s conference I once attended said that in order for an author’s book to come across as authentic to her readers, the overarching story must be the author’s own truth. After I thought about this, I agreed. For instance, one of my favorite romance author’s books always tells this story: True love never dies. Another of my favorite authors tells a more light-hearted story: Hot guy falls for wallflower girl and finds a diamond in her. My books all reflect my truth—I hope. :-) Namely, love heals, and, true love begins with love of self. A woman or man who values himself will not settle for crumbs, no matter how much she/he may desire a person."

The first thing that draws me to a book is its cover. Can you tell us about your cover for Lover's Leap - why you chose that concept and who the artist is.

"My publisher takes its author’s input very seriously, which is something I love about The Wild Rose Press. LOVER’S LEAP’s cover turned out exactly as I wanted it! I envisioned my heroine on the cover, smiling, looking fresh, sitting outdoors, wearing in a sundress. I also wanted an image of Lake Tahoe, where most of the story takes place. As for my hero, I wanted my readers to use their imaginations, so I asked that a frontal shot of him not appear—and that’s exactly what I got!

I wanted the cover to convey that this book takes place in the summer, at a highly coveted location people would want to imagine visiting themselves! And I didn’t particularly want the cover to be steamy. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot steamy sex and sexual tension in LOVER’S LEAP, but the sex isn’t gratuitous. My intention is that as the tension builds, and with every love scene, the reader’s experience of Candace and Logan falling in love will be heightened."

Why should we read Lover's Leap and what sets it apart from the rest? What makes your book unique?

"Read LOVER’S LEAP to escape and fall in love. One of my reader’s wrote me that reading Candace and Logan’s story made her believe in love again. I couldn’t ask for a better stamp of approval!!"

Who would you recommend Lover's Leap to and what should readers be aware of (any warnings or disclaimers)?

"Anyone who loves contemporary romance should read LOVER’S LEAP!

But as a disclaimer, and as I mentioned earlier, there’s a lot of sex and sexual tension in LOVER’S LEAP. If you don’t like hearing about certain parts of the male and female anatomy, or if you don’t love steamy sex scenes, I won’t say don’t read LOVER’S LEAP, but I will say be prepared to skim certain sections!! :-)"

If you could / wished to turn Lover's Leap into a movie, who would be your dream team?

"I’ve thought a lot about who could play these two characters. I came up with Kate Hudson for Candace, and the star of one of the recent Superman renditions, super hottie, Henry Cavill."

What do you like to write and read about? Do you stick to a particular genre or do you like to explore different ones?

"I’m all about romance! I spent a long period of my life reading and studying non-fiction. When I finished writing my thesis (a mini-book on the birth of feminism) I decided I didn’t want to read a non-fiction book for a good long while. I started reading my first love—romance novels. One day a lightbulb went off, and I decided I needed to sit down and write my own romance. I’ve never looked back—but I do read non-fiction again, occasionally!"

What is your writing process?

"I would say I’m a hybrid between a pantser (ie writing from the seat-of-my-pants), and a plotter. While I’m working-out the premise for a novel, as in what’s going to happen, who the main players are, and what the major conflict will be, I’m all about coming up with a workable plot.

But when I’m actually writing the story, I let my characters have a little free reign. Sometimes as I get to know them, they let me know my plot needs to change to accommodate them. That’s when I’m a pantser.

Throughout the whole process, start to finish, I go back and forth between plotting and pantsing.

Another thing I tend to do is work on two projects at once, in two different genres. I find that when I need to let the next scene in book A germinate in my head a while, that’s a good time to work on book B, which I’ve been pondering while working on book A. It keeps me focused and working without forcing my creative process."

What is in store next?

"I’m so excited to tell you I’ve got a historical romance coming out soon! Whereas LOVER’S LEAP is a stand-alone book, my historical, THE TROUBLE WITH TIGERS, is book one in a series I’m calling Hidden Treasures.

The treasure in each of these Victorian romances is one of my lead characters (hero/heroine) whose life’s circumstances have forced into hiding. Of course their counterparts upset the apple cart, and end up bringing them out of hiding—all part of the fun!"

And as a final quirky thing, to get to know you a little bit better... do you have a pet or something that is special to you that you could share with us?

"Oh, this is the easiest question of all to answer! Depending on the day, I have either three or four black dogs, affectionately known as the Black Dog Club. They’re all rescues and I love them to the moon and back. But the president of the club, Frank Foo, is the love of my life. We’ve been together 13 years! I’ve included a picture of him here."