Please Welcome My Guest...

Please welcome my guest, Kathryn Knight.   

As a child, Kathryn kept her parents on a constant quest to find enough reading material to last her through each week.  An early fondness for books about horses later gave way to a lasting preference for both love stories and ghost stories; as a writer, the paranormal romance genre is a perfect fit.  Silver Lake is Kathryn's first novel; her second novel, Gull Harbor, has also received a contract from The Wild Rose Press and will be released in 2013.  She lives in New England with her husband, her sons, and a number of rescued animals.  Please visit her at www.kathrynknightbooks.com or on Facebook at Kathryn Knight books.

 Tell us something about yourself both writing and not writing related.

Sure!  But first, I’d like to thank you for having me on your blog.  Let’s see, I started writing my first novel, Silver Lake, on notebook paper on an 8-hour car ride.  On the completely unrelated to writing side, I teach fitness classes every morning.  I’ve been an instructor for 21 years and I still love it.

You're welcome. I'm happy you're here.  Do you have a writing routine?  Where do you usually do your writing?

I do my writing on my laptop at my kitchen island.  I don’t keep a strict routine, and I’m too busy to just sit in front of the keyboard if the words aren’t coming.  Instead, I jot down ideas and lines as they come to me, and sit down to do the writing once the scene has been worked out in my head.

I jot down ideas and bits of dialog as they pop into my head too. Why do you write in the genre/sub-genre that you do?  Any plans in the future to write in a different one?

I absolutely love a good ghost story, and my second paranormal romance was recently contracted by TWRP.  For me, the mix of a mysterious and spooky paranormal element combined with a tension-filled romantic relationship is the perfect recipe for an exciting read.  However, I would like to try my hand at historical romance some day.

Congratulations on your new contract!  How do you stay motivated when writer’s block hits or your muse won’t cooperate?

I don’t handle writer’s block very well…I’m not a patient person.  I usually talk it over with my husband, and try to distract myself while I let my mind turn things over.  If I simply just don’t feel like writing, I don’t…I realize my writing will suffer if I force it.

I like that you talk it out with your husband. If I start talking about a current WIP, most of my family members' eyes start to glaze over. LOL.  What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever done in the name of research?

Probably going on a ghost tour of an old New England town, and then calling the tour guide later with follow-up questions!  I’ve also visited with mediums and had personal readings done.

I love ghost tours. We have quite a few in my state - We have an old asylum for the insane that's reputed to be haunted. I've never been there though. I did the ghost tour that's held every Halloween a few blocks from my neighborhood.  What’s the best writing advice you were ever given?  

Two things: to put the conflict out there in the first few pages, and to tighten the manuscript until the pacing is just right.

Good advice.  What do you like to do in your leisure time?

Read, read, and read some more!  A good book and a glass of wine is the perfect end to a busy day.  I enjoy gardening and exploring new places with my family as well.

I'm the same way.  If I have any free time, I can usually be found with a book in my hand.  Tell us about your current release in a couple of sentences.

Silver Lake is both a love story and a ghost story.  The basic premise involves a group of former friends who reunite after 5 years to try to solve the mystery of their friend's disappearance.  Amidst the escalating paranormal activity at the lake house, the two main characters, Rain and Jason, get a second chance at romance.

Sounds like a great story.  Can you tell us a little about your next project?

My next paranormal romance, Gull Harbor, will hopefully get a release date soon.  In the meantime, I’m mulling over plot lines for two different ideas, and trying to decide which one to pursue first!

Please be sure to let us know when you get your release date for Gull Harbor.  Anything else you’d like to share?

Another big thank you for having me today, and a thanks to all visitors helping celebrate my release week!

You're very welcome.  I love introducing different writers to readers.  

Check out the great blurb and excerpt from Silver Lake below.

Blurb:

Rain Anderson can't decide which is more unsettling—encountering the ghost of her missing friend, or reuniting with the man whose love she foolishly rejected. But one thing is certain: the past has come back to haunt her, quite literally.

Five years ago, Rain's tight-knit group of high school friends unraveled when one vanished during their senior year. Now, a parent's deathbed request has reunited the friends at Silver Lake, including Jason Lansing, the man Rain discarded. Rain and Jason discover the powerful attraction between them has survived, but though Jason is willing to forgive, he can't let himself forget. The possibility of falling for Rain again is too risky.

Slamming doors, crashing objects, flaring fires—clearly the ghost has a message to share. As Rain and Jason struggle to unravel the truth, they must face a desperate spirit in need of help…and a burning passion that refuses to die.

 Excerpt:

             “I saw...a figure.  A figure with dark hair, and I think it was Brandy.”  She shuddered and put her forehead back on his chest. 

Reluctantly, he moved their bodies apart a bit and scanned her face.  He held on to her shoulders and asked calmly, “You saw Brandy?  Brandy is here?”

            She shook her head.  “No, I saw… like… an image of Brandy.  I woke up, because it was cold, and I saw something moving.  It was Brandy, I’m sure of it, although I didn’t see her face clearly.  And then she, um, disappeared.”

            “An image of Brandy?  Are you saying you saw a ghost, Rain?”  He was pretty sure she’d had another nightmare, but the way she had flown out of her room gave him the impression it had been an extremely vivid one.

            “I know, it sounds ridiculous.  But that’s what I saw.  And she sort of, well, went through the wall.  I’m sure you don’t believe me,” she added miserably, lifting her stormy eyes to his.

            He pulled her back into a hug before he could stop himself.  “I absolutely believe you.  Whether you were awake or asleep, you saw Brandy and that’s scary.  I don’t think we can deny that weird things are happening here.”

            Jason smoothed her hair and waited patiently for her trembling to subside.  If a ghost really was lurking in her bedroom, there wasn’t a whole heck of a lot he could do about that.  A rare sense of powerlessness caused his jaw to clench in frustration.

He stopped watching the door and instead focused on the gorgeous woman in his arms.  She clung to him, and his body responded to hers with a familiar ache.  He knew he was losing the battle to keep his feelings platonic.

 You can purchase a copy of Kathryn's book at the links below.  We also included various ways you can contact her.

Buy link TWRP  http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=177_139&products_id=4973

Buy link Amazon  http://www.amazon.com/Silver-Lake-Kathryn-Knight/dp/1612173853/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345749376&sr=1-1&keywords=Silver+Lake+Kathryn+Knight

 Kathryn Knight
~Passionate Romance with a Paranormal Twist~
SILVER LAKE, available now on Amazon

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