Books-n-Kisses is pleased to welcome Kathryne Kennedy to the blog for the first time.

Kathryne, can you please share with us a little about yourself
KK: I’ve been married for over thirty years, have two sons, and currently, three dogs. I have an old Chihuahua named Baggins, and two new puppies. Champagne is a tiny Yorkie, and Pikachu is a small Chihuahua mix. I grew up in the Air Force, so I have lived in Guam, Okinawa, and several states in the U.S. I currently live in the desert state of Arizona.

Have you always wanted to be an author?
KK: Not until my mother became a published author, and I realized it was possible. But I have always been an avid reader.

Are you a plotter or a panster or combo of both? Can you explain the difference?
KK: I use a combination of both. I have a general outline of the plot before I get started. And of course, I have the world built. But then there’s the characters…they are always doing something or heading off in a direction I never thought of, and yes, they do occasionally alter the plot and I have to do some major juggling to keep up.

What is your most interesting writing quirk?
KK: I giggle to myself when I’m writing something I consider funny. I suppose it would look strange if anyone was watching me.

Can you please tell us about your latest book(s)?view
KK: Everlasting Enchantment is the brand new fourth book in the Relics of Merlin series. It takes place in a magical Victorian London, where powers determine rank. My heroine, Millicent Pantere, is a shapeshifter caught up in a scheme to use one of Merlin’s relics to overthrow the Crown. When she steals a bracelet and it wraps around her arm and won’t come off, she meets Gareth Solimere, once a Knight of the Round Table, and since, trapped within the relic until he finds his one true love. Millicent is sure she isn’t the one to break the curse. Gareth thinks otherwise, and using all the experience garnered through centuries of lovemaking, sets out to seduce her.

How did you come up with the idea for this story?
KK: This is so hard to answer, because I usually start out with a germ of an idea, and build on it until it’s something tangible. In Everlasting Enchantment, I knew I wanted to switch it around a bit, so that this time the shapeshifter is the heroine. And then I knew she had to be a black panther, because it spoke of sleek and sexy to me, and this started creating her character.  Then I knew she had to have grown up in the Underground, the dark city beneath London that Magic Users created to experiment with black magic. And this created all sorts of insecurities and strengths in her character. And then I knew I had to have a hero who was completely opposite of her, a man who was goodness and honor and…chivalry. Which made me think of the most chivalrous men in mythology (or history, depending on who you are talking to) King Arthur’s knights. I kept going on from here, the plot unfolding as I went.

Can you share with us your current work(s) in progress?
KK: Right now, I’m brainstorming another book in The Elven Lord’s series, and also fiddling with an idea for a young adult series.

Who is the one author that you would love to meet someday and why?
KK: Andre Norton, because she introduced me to the world of fantasy and science fiction…worlds that fully captured my imagination. Unfortunately, she passed away, so that’s one wish that won’t be fulfilled.

What is the best piece of advice you would give to someone that wants to get into writing?
KK: Learn the craft, and then write what you want to read, not what’s selling or popular at the moment. You have to know the rules before you can bend them.

Can you share with us something off your bucket list?
KK: Funny you should ask. There’s a restaurant here in Arizona that is 24 floors up and revolves. I always wanted to have dinner there, and just did, a few weekends ago. Yep, it’s off my bucket list, but can’t say I enjoyed it. Who would think it would revolve so fast? Who knew it would make me so dizzy I could barely eat my dinner? But there’s one strike off my list, anyway.

What is in your To Read Pile that you are dying to start or upcoming release you can’t wait for?
KK: I’m currently reading Erin Quinn’s “The Five Deaths of Roxanne Love.” She’s my beta reader, and although I’ve already read the book in its manuscript stages, it’s an entirely different experience to read it bound and published. Sometimes, she puts words together like poetry, so I’m actually marking the pages and am going to highlight those sentences on my blog…so it’s taking me a bit longer to read it.

What is one book everyone should read before they die?
KK: Goodness, that’s a tall order. I suppose the bible.

What is your favorite time of year & why?
KK: Winter. Because there’s Christmas, my most happiest time of year. I love giving gifts. I love being with the family all warm and snug. I love sparklies and Christmas music and lights twinkling on otherwise ordinary houses. I love magic, and I think it’s the one time of year where it abounds.

Who is your Celebrity crush?  And what would you do if you ever meet him or her?
KK: I think I get more of a crush on the character they are playing, not the actual man…so it’s still Legolas played by Orlando Bloom in the Lord of the Rings movie. 

Is there anything else you would like to add?
KK: Yes. I have some fabulous readers, and I would like to thank them for their loyalty and support of my work.

 IN STORES DECEMBER 2013

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Powerful Magic is Afoot …

Millicent Pantere has lived her entire life in the notorious London Underground. She cares nothing for the problems of the crown or the intrigues of society. But the ladies of the realm are acting strangely, and Millicent is coerced into tracking down the rumors of a mysterious man—a magic man who comes in the night and disappears at dawn.

And So the Hunt Begins…

Millicent’s search leads her to one of Merlin’s legendary relics and the seductive knight whose fate is bound up with it. Centuries ago, Sir Gareth Solimere made the mistake of seducing the wrong woman, and he has been trapped ever since by a diabolical curse. He’s looking for the one who can break the enchantment—but in this world, there is no love without betrayal…