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Tuesday, July 27, 2010

You know your tired...

Here I was thinking I survived the insanity
of the last two weeks in tact. I finally have a day
to sit and relax and checked my agenda ... 
according to it there was nothing pressing to
be dealt with today.

Of course the fact that I was reading August 28th
and not today probably had something to do with
it!!  After a nap I looked again at the right date
and I have edits on two books, interview questions
to answer, promotional excerpts to submit and
an entire ms to read.

Maybe I've been working a little too much lately.
In addition to reading the wrong month's schedule
I also tried to staple paperwork together with the
phone ... it didn't work well at all.
Maybe just one more short nap will help...


Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Interview with Kaily Hart

Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Kaily Hart on
tour with her debut short erotic romance Picture This.




Hi Jacqueline, so glad to be with you today!
1. Who is Kaily Hart?
I’m a wife, mother, chauffeur, referee, ex-corporate 
executive, type A, slightly OCD personality who is just 
unable to stifle the urge to write any longer. 
Now, I can add author to all of that!

2. What genres do you choose to write? Why?
Actually, I read across all the genres, but I started off 
writing steamy contemporaries. Why? I love reading 
a good contemporary romance and it didn’t require 
extensive research (such as an historical would involve) 
or complicated world building (of a paranormal). LOL. 
While I love historical, I don’t think I have the voice for it, 
but I do think I’ll head to paranormal at some stage. 
I have too many ideas not to!

3. What is the hardest part of writing for you?
I find it’s the actual writing part! I love to start a new 
book. It’s all shiny and new and exciting.  It remains that 
way, but after the first chapter or two? Then it really is 
hard work to adequately develop characters that the reader
 can invest in, evolve those characters and thread through a 
compelling enough plot with deep emotional undertones for 
a satisfying story. Whew! By the time that’s all done, 
I’m really ready for the next one!



4. What is the easiest part of writing for you?
Ideas! Ideas! Ideas! Ideas are the easiest for me. My 
mind is constantly birthing ideas for stories, scenes, 
characters and dialogue. I literally have an ideas file 
that has about 35 books in differing stages of 
development. Some of those I might never get around 
to writing, but it’s fun to explore different scenarios and 
try to come up with a premise that’s unique.

5. What do you do when you’re not writing/editing 
or thinking about writing/editing?
Uh, sleep? LOL. Even then, my mind’s at work. I once 
dreamt an entire story. I got up the next morning, wrote it 
down and I have an outline for a book I’d love to write 
one day. Seriously though, I have kids that are still young, 
so anything outside of actual writing or writing related is 
usually spent on some family activity. I also love interior 
decorating and design. I’m one of those people who have 
reams of designer magazines lying around. My house 
needed a lot of work when we bought it and I’ve remodeled 
it entirely both inside and out since 2005. It never seems like 
it’s completely done, though. I’m always coming up with 
some idea or another that I just have to try. 
Hubby just rolls his eyes.

6. When did you realize you wanted to write?
This is actually a really difficult question to answer. 

If you’d asked me two years ago, I’d probably have 
looked at you funny and asked what you were smoking. 
Seriously! I was heavily entrenched in the corporate IT 
world. But things happen and stuff changes. Yeah, I 
know very technical. It’s certainly been a journey of 
realization. Today, I’d say it was at the end of 2008 
when I sat down and decided I was going to write, 
but I’ve since come to the conclusion that I’ve 
suppressed it for awhile. I was always a voracious 
reader, but I’m not really sure when the writing spark started.

7. While working on a story, do you write directly 
onto the computer or are there notebooks and plot 
ideas jotted down in various places?
I write directly on my laptop. Well, for the most part! 
I carry a notebook around with me everywhere I go and 
I’ve been known to jot an idea or some dialogue down 
on a receipt, a kids school note, an appointment card, 
whatever is available.
My desk sometimes looks like a patchwork quilt of sticky 
notes where I jot things down as I’m working on the laptop. 
I don’t want to lose my place in the story to put a note 
directly in the manuscript or distract myself by typing it 
into another document, so I’ll quickly put it on a sticky note. 
Sometimes it’s just a reminder for the story I’m working on. 
Sometimes, it’s a line of dialogue for another story entirely. 
Sometimes, it’s a whole new story idea all together. 
I often come up with the best ideas when I’m working on 
something totally unrelated!

8. From your own writing, do you have a favourite 
story or character? Why?
It would be really difficult to pick, but generally my 
favourite is whatever I’m currently working on. I have to 
be in love with it for it to be the best story I can write.

9. What’s one thing about you that your readers 
may not know?
Well, at this point, they probably don’t know a whole 
heck of a lot. I LOVE to travel. I love to explore new 
places and get immersed in the character or culture they 
have to offer. One of the best trips I ever did was a 
driving tour my husband and I did of Scotland several 
years ago. We had no accommodation booked and 
just drove around. Absolutely beautiful!

10.  What other books do you have out and in what 
formats are they available?
I wish my answer for you here was very long and 
detailed, but Picture This is my first published book. 
It was released on June 29 from Ellora’s Cave and I’m 
still celebrating! I’m hard at work to ensure it doesn’t stay 
by it’s lonesome out on my author page! I’m currently 
working on 2 more novellas in the same vein as Picture This 
(short, sexy with ‘rough around the edges’ heroes), I have 
a full length contemporary novel simmering and I’ve 
outlined a couple of short paranormal series I’d love to 
sink my teeth into in the not too distant future.

Jacqueline, thanks so much for having me here today! 
The questions were really interesting and fun. 
Hopefully, my answers were too!

Great answers Kaily!!  Thanks so much.

Here's a bit about Picture This

Desperate and young, Jillian Moore did something 
she knew would one day come back to bite her 
in the ass. She’d posed nude. For money. 
Years later, and on the fast track to a successful 
career, she’s still haunted by her mistake. 
She can’t help but wonder when her past will 
catch up with her.

Samuel Steele is not short on female attention, 
but the women who warm his bed pale in 
comparison to the fantasy he’s created of 
the seductive temptress in the painting 
hanging prominently in his bedroom. 
A fantasy that has ruined his once satisfying 
sex life. When he discovers that her exact 
likeness works in his building—for him—
things get…interesting.


Thursday, July 1, 2010

Back to reality

My short peaceful trip with no children, no work and
no phone ended far too soon.

I came back just in time for the wind up of summer
with work and the chaotic first long weekend here
with school out and Canada Day!!

I'm going back to the serenity of the lake ASAP!!!


Brooks Falls
I wanted to stay at the Falls all day, mostly to save climbing
back up where we were supposed to view them from.
:)


Canoeing on Owl Lake 

The ducks that came canoeing with us


My view each morning when I came out of the tent
(also before I set the date on the camera ... we would have
been in 8ft of snow if this date were correct)