What a glorious day! Perfect weather and the perfect author to grill in the Hot Seat!
For all the aspiring writers stopping by today, you're going to be glad you did. We met KAILY HART just months before she became an award winning author. That's right! She was one of the first Novice Writers To Watch then quickly jumped to A Debut Author To Watch. Talk about a whirl-wind of success!
I adore Kaily and never fail to find inspiration from all her many achievements. She's a mom and a writer--two careers that seldom bode well for a gal's sanity, but Ms. Hart pulls it all together and keeps climbing.
Today's interview is one I will definitely look back on as a reminder of where I want to one day be. If you're need of a gentle push to reclaim your resolve, look no further! Grab a snack and get ready to be dazzled!
1)If you were a book, what would your blurb be?
Kaily Hart, a seemingly straight-laced mother of four left corporate America and a high-powered, lucrative career to be a stay at home mom. Ha! That lasted about four weeks, during which time she realized she had a deeply repressed dream - to write. And romance at that! By day, Kaily plays conservative wife and soccer mom, but at night crafts hot and steamy tales of romance and love with gorgeous heroes who wouldn’t dream of leaving the toilet set up. Ever. She’s smart and sassy, at least in her own mind, and is trying her best to bring the alpha male solidly back to contemporary romance, one hot story at a time. Two years ago she never would have thought she’d be doing this, but now that she is? Well, you couldn’t pay her enough to do anything else.
2)Using three words, describe your voice.
The benefit of having multiple books out is that I now get to see and hear how others perceive my work. I always did wonder whether what I aim to create or how I look on my own work was totally out there. I’m happy to say that based on the reader comments I’ve had for PICTURE THIS and PAY UP, I was pretty spot on, but now I would probably focus it to:
Hot, Emotionally Intense
It still ties in well to my tag line I think – Love… Steamy style
3)Debut Author to Multi-Pubbed Author: Any new insight to share? Have there been any misconceptions debunked?
I thought it would get easier. By ‘it’ I mean, the creative process of writing, handling the nerves of submitting, dealing with the anxiety of a book coming out, the uncertainty of waiting for reviews. I thought all of that would get easier with each book, but it’s not really the case. The creative process is a little easier in some respects because you become more experienced at the writing and understanding your own process a little better. For me, I want to write the best book I can EVERY SINGLE TIME. I do get wrapped up in trying to make it as ‘right’ as I can. When it is, I know it. The doubts and insecurities about what others think I’m not sure will ever go away completely. I view it as an author is only as good as the last book they wrote, so I probably put a lot of pressure on myself as well.
4)What's the biggest obstacle you've had to overcome in your writing/career?
The first thing that popped into my mind was ME. LOL. Sometimes I’m second guessing myself too much, sometimes I’m not as focused on the writing as I should be and sometimes I’m just dicking around on the internet when I should be writing. You’ve heard of fear of failure, right? Well, I have fear of success. I know, it sounds absurd, but I have a niggling fear of not being able to create something as good as I have before. It can paralyze sometimes. Of course it passes, but I’m having to manage it. I probably sound like I need a padded cell.
5)Tell us about how it felt to win a 2010 Rising Star Award at Romanticon this year.
That was a total surprise. I really had no idea that there would be any recognition for new authors at Ellora’s Cave when I turned up for the awards dinner. Honestly, I was too engrossed in checking out the Cavemen to be paying much attention until they started the introduction. Of course, getting that award meant more photo ops with them, so all was good! Although that kind of recognition is awesome and it will be proudly put on display on my desk, the best recognition I could ever get is a reader sending me an email telling me she liked my book or coming up to me at the book signing in Ohio and either buying my book or telling me they already read it and loved it! It might not be something tangible, but it will have a prominent place in my thoughts long after my little statue has fallen to pieces.
6)Do you have any helpful tips for struggling writers on achieving their aspirations of publication?
My mind explodes with advice and tips and encouragement I could throw out. There’s so many factors that play into getting published. Luck and timing happen to be in there somewhere as well, but aspiring writers need to focus on the things they can control and let go the things they can’t. This is going to sound like ‘duh’, but you HAVE TO WRITE. You want to be a writer? Then you have to actually write. There are something like only 3% of people who say they’re going to write a book actually do. If you’ve done that, you’re already in a very small group of people who actually have the drive and discipline to sit down and write a book. You’re ahead of the game! OK, so you’ve written a book. The only way you get better at the craft of writing and understand what editors are looking for to ensure your work has it, is to KEEP WRITING. This was a mistake I made early on. I wrote a book, submitted it and waited, sure they’d ask to see more and probably even publish it. Yeah, right. I should have written another book while I was waiting on THE CALL. Instead, when they passed on my query (not wanting to actually see my writing) I should have had something else ready to go. Instead, it take me several months to get something else out there. Just keep writing.
The other thing I would say is you have to want it AND WANT IT BAD because it’s up to YOU to make it happen. No-one can do this for you. It has to come from within you. You have to have the discipline to write (even around the challenges of everyday life), the courage to get it out there even if you’ll get rejected, you have to be open-minded enough to hear and listen to constructive criticism, you have to develop a tough skin because this business isn’t personal but it can feel that way and you have to learn to be comfortable in selling yourself and your work. You have to decide consciously you want it. If you want it badly enough, you won’t give up. Because that’s probably the most important aspect to this whole process. You can’t give up. If you give up it’s guaranteed you won’t be published. Perseverance does pay off. You just have to be able to last long enough.
(Oh, my! I think I heard a heavenly choir.LOL Seriously, I need a Kaily Doll on my desk.) ;)
7)What's up next for you? Any news you'd like to share?
I’m currently finishing up a third book for Ellora’s Cave. I love this story because it’s about two people, totally different and on completely different paths in life. A chain of reaction causes them to come into contact with each other in the most unusual and intense way. Of course, things aren’t always the way they seem, either. I’m hoping to have PLAY ME to my editor in a matter of days.
BLURB
Neighbor. Friend. Lover.
At least that’s what Carly Wagner wanted Rio Reyes to be. She’d settled for two out of three for almost a year and it just wasn’t enough. Not anymore. When Rio proposes a shockingly sexual bet, she knows it’s out of character and he’s not really serious, yet she can’t resist. The pay off could be finally getting her hands on the gorgeous firefighter she’s drooled over since she moved in next door.
The timing had never seemed right for him and Carly, but that hadn’t stopped Rio from imagining wild and wicked things about her. It had been a joke—sort of, but Rio’s shocked when she takes him up on the dumbass bet. Now he’s in a world of hurt, because regardless of who wins, he might be crossing a line he never thought he would and jeopardize a friendship that means more to him than anything.
PAY UP is currently from Ellora’s Cave - http://www.jasminejade.com/p-8747-pay-up.aspx and should be on all the other outlets for ebooks in a couple of weeks!
If anyone would want to contact me (which I would love by the way), they can find me all over:
Web – http://www.kailyhart.com/
Blog - http://kailyhart.blogspot.com/
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/kaily.hart
Twitter - http://twitter.com/kailyhart
Holy smokes! I feel revamped and recharged. LOL No Red Bull required. Didn't I tell ya Kaily would deliver the words my fellow lolly-gaggers needed to hear?! I LOVE it! Here's a HUGE thank you to the lovely Kaily for her wonderful advice and for being so fabulous! I wish her the best and know it won't be long before she's riding the waves of success all the way to New York!
THANK YOU,TLN'ers! Here's hoping you've been inspired to go forth and achieve your goals, too. How about a jaunty tune to get you perked up and ready to whip some words out this weekend--enjoy some SUGARLAND and STUCK ON YOU!! Swing by on Monday and share your progress stats, ya'll! Until then, happy writing!
For all the aspiring writers stopping by today, you're going to be glad you did. We met KAILY HART just months before she became an award winning author. That's right! She was one of the first Novice Writers To Watch then quickly jumped to A Debut Author To Watch. Talk about a whirl-wind of success!
I adore Kaily and never fail to find inspiration from all her many achievements. She's a mom and a writer--two careers that seldom bode well for a gal's sanity, but Ms. Hart pulls it all together and keeps climbing.
Today's interview is one I will definitely look back on as a reminder of where I want to one day be. If you're need of a gentle push to reclaim your resolve, look no further! Grab a snack and get ready to be dazzled!
1)If you were a book, what would your blurb be?
Kaily Hart, a seemingly straight-laced mother of four left corporate America and a high-powered, lucrative career to be a stay at home mom. Ha! That lasted about four weeks, during which time she realized she had a deeply repressed dream - to write. And romance at that! By day, Kaily plays conservative wife and soccer mom, but at night crafts hot and steamy tales of romance and love with gorgeous heroes who wouldn’t dream of leaving the toilet set up. Ever. She’s smart and sassy, at least in her own mind, and is trying her best to bring the alpha male solidly back to contemporary romance, one hot story at a time. Two years ago she never would have thought she’d be doing this, but now that she is? Well, you couldn’t pay her enough to do anything else.
2)Using three words, describe your voice.
The benefit of having multiple books out is that I now get to see and hear how others perceive my work. I always did wonder whether what I aim to create or how I look on my own work was totally out there. I’m happy to say that based on the reader comments I’ve had for PICTURE THIS and PAY UP, I was pretty spot on, but now I would probably focus it to:
Hot, Emotionally Intense
It still ties in well to my tag line I think – Love… Steamy style
3)Debut Author to Multi-Pubbed Author: Any new insight to share? Have there been any misconceptions debunked?
I thought it would get easier. By ‘it’ I mean, the creative process of writing, handling the nerves of submitting, dealing with the anxiety of a book coming out, the uncertainty of waiting for reviews. I thought all of that would get easier with each book, but it’s not really the case. The creative process is a little easier in some respects because you become more experienced at the writing and understanding your own process a little better. For me, I want to write the best book I can EVERY SINGLE TIME. I do get wrapped up in trying to make it as ‘right’ as I can. When it is, I know it. The doubts and insecurities about what others think I’m not sure will ever go away completely. I view it as an author is only as good as the last book they wrote, so I probably put a lot of pressure on myself as well.
4)What's the biggest obstacle you've had to overcome in your writing/career?
The first thing that popped into my mind was ME. LOL. Sometimes I’m second guessing myself too much, sometimes I’m not as focused on the writing as I should be and sometimes I’m just dicking around on the internet when I should be writing. You’ve heard of fear of failure, right? Well, I have fear of success. I know, it sounds absurd, but I have a niggling fear of not being able to create something as good as I have before. It can paralyze sometimes. Of course it passes, but I’m having to manage it. I probably sound like I need a padded cell.
5)Tell us about how it felt to win a 2010 Rising Star Award at Romanticon this year.
That was a total surprise. I really had no idea that there would be any recognition for new authors at Ellora’s Cave when I turned up for the awards dinner. Honestly, I was too engrossed in checking out the Cavemen to be paying much attention until they started the introduction. Of course, getting that award meant more photo ops with them, so all was good! Although that kind of recognition is awesome and it will be proudly put on display on my desk, the best recognition I could ever get is a reader sending me an email telling me she liked my book or coming up to me at the book signing in Ohio and either buying my book or telling me they already read it and loved it! It might not be something tangible, but it will have a prominent place in my thoughts long after my little statue has fallen to pieces.
6)Do you have any helpful tips for struggling writers on achieving their aspirations of publication?
My mind explodes with advice and tips and encouragement I could throw out. There’s so many factors that play into getting published. Luck and timing happen to be in there somewhere as well, but aspiring writers need to focus on the things they can control and let go the things they can’t. This is going to sound like ‘duh’, but you HAVE TO WRITE. You want to be a writer? Then you have to actually write. There are something like only 3% of people who say they’re going to write a book actually do. If you’ve done that, you’re already in a very small group of people who actually have the drive and discipline to sit down and write a book. You’re ahead of the game! OK, so you’ve written a book. The only way you get better at the craft of writing and understand what editors are looking for to ensure your work has it, is to KEEP WRITING. This was a mistake I made early on. I wrote a book, submitted it and waited, sure they’d ask to see more and probably even publish it. Yeah, right. I should have written another book while I was waiting on THE CALL. Instead, when they passed on my query (not wanting to actually see my writing) I should have had something else ready to go. Instead, it take me several months to get something else out there. Just keep writing.
The other thing I would say is you have to want it AND WANT IT BAD because it’s up to YOU to make it happen. No-one can do this for you. It has to come from within you. You have to have the discipline to write (even around the challenges of everyday life), the courage to get it out there even if you’ll get rejected, you have to be open-minded enough to hear and listen to constructive criticism, you have to develop a tough skin because this business isn’t personal but it can feel that way and you have to learn to be comfortable in selling yourself and your work. You have to decide consciously you want it. If you want it badly enough, you won’t give up. Because that’s probably the most important aspect to this whole process. You can’t give up. If you give up it’s guaranteed you won’t be published. Perseverance does pay off. You just have to be able to last long enough.
(Oh, my! I think I heard a heavenly choir.LOL Seriously, I need a Kaily Doll on my desk.) ;)
7)What's up next for you? Any news you'd like to share?
I’m currently finishing up a third book for Ellora’s Cave. I love this story because it’s about two people, totally different and on completely different paths in life. A chain of reaction causes them to come into contact with each other in the most unusual and intense way. Of course, things aren’t always the way they seem, either. I’m hoping to have PLAY ME to my editor in a matter of days.
BLURB
Neighbor. Friend. Lover.
At least that’s what Carly Wagner wanted Rio Reyes to be. She’d settled for two out of three for almost a year and it just wasn’t enough. Not anymore. When Rio proposes a shockingly sexual bet, she knows it’s out of character and he’s not really serious, yet she can’t resist. The pay off could be finally getting her hands on the gorgeous firefighter she’s drooled over since she moved in next door.
The timing had never seemed right for him and Carly, but that hadn’t stopped Rio from imagining wild and wicked things about her. It had been a joke—sort of, but Rio’s shocked when she takes him up on the dumbass bet. Now he’s in a world of hurt, because regardless of who wins, he might be crossing a line he never thought he would and jeopardize a friendship that means more to him than anything.
PAY UP is currently from Ellora’s Cave - http://www.jasminejade.com/p-8747-pay-up.aspx and should be on all the other outlets for ebooks in a couple of weeks!
If anyone would want to contact me (which I would love by the way), they can find me all over:
Web – http://www.kailyhart.com/
Blog - http://kailyhart.blogspot.com/
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/kaily.hart
Twitter - http://twitter.com/kailyhart
Holy smokes! I feel revamped and recharged. LOL No Red Bull required. Didn't I tell ya Kaily would deliver the words my fellow lolly-gaggers needed to hear?! I LOVE it! Here's a HUGE thank you to the lovely Kaily for her wonderful advice and for being so fabulous! I wish her the best and know it won't be long before she's riding the waves of success all the way to New York!
THANK YOU,TLN'ers! Here's hoping you've been inspired to go forth and achieve your goals, too. How about a jaunty tune to get you perked up and ready to whip some words out this weekend--enjoy some SUGARLAND and STUCK ON YOU!! Swing by on Monday and share your progress stats, ya'll! Until then, happy writing!
8 comments:
Thanks for the tips, Kaily! And once again to Sarah, your enthusiasm is infectious! My goal for the weekend is to edit 175 pages (yeah, yeah, stop laughing) so I can send it out to the three publishers waiting for it by Monday =) Achievable? Dunno but I'm going to try!
Enjoy, ladies!
Bron.
Hi Kaily,
You left some very valuable tips.Thank you. I like the sounds of your fireman. Well any man in a uniform does things to me.
cheers
Margaret
Hi Kaily,
You're one wise woman. You're so right about the fact that we can be our own worst obstacles. As always, sound and sage advice.
I love friends to lovers stories and Pay Up was the best! Can't wait for your next one!
Sarah, you are one awesome lady and you almost made me blush with those words. When I wrote out the answers to your questions and read back over them I thought "Too honest? Too much"? I decided to leave them. It really would be the best advice I could give and I don't really know how to be anything other than open and honest anyway :)! Thanks again for having me here.
Bronwyn, best wishes to you on your editing goals. If having 3 publishers waiting for a ms isn't incentive enough, I don't know what is :).
Thanks Margaret. My fireman's even better out of his uniform ;).
Rula, I often think I'm my own worst enemy and that's a pretty hard obstacle to get around! I'm so glad you liked PAY UP.
Kaily and Sarah, you're both entertaining as always!
I try, Helen :).
Kaily,
Nice to see you here again. Thanks for all of the advice. It's exactly the kick in the butt I needed!
Sarah, thanks for bringing Kaily back. Good times! Good luck with your releases.
Hugs
Micole
Hey Micole, glad to be of assistance :) and thanks!!
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