A Debut Author To Watch: Meet Kaily Hart!!

Welcome back, TLN'ers! Did you survive the weekend? Thanks to ice cream and the A/C I did!!

I've been looking forward to today's blog, because one of my peep's upgraded her status bar from "Aspiring Author" to "Debut Author"! Best of all, you got the chance to meet her before she catapulted into stardom.

Super fabulous mom and dynamite blogger/writer, KAILY HART is here today as the latest DEBUT AUTHOR TO WATCH!!

If you're needing a shot of inspiration get ready to be dazzled! Take it away, Kaily!


Déjà vu anyone? It feels like I was just here. Oh, wait a minute, I WAS. LOL. Thanks for having me back again, Sarah. It’s great to be here.

(You're welcome back anytime! :) )

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. Romance! 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. Two years ago she never would have thought she’d be doing this, but now that she is? It just feels so right.

OK, so I did cop out a little and used the one I wrote for my ‘novice to watch’ appearance, but hey, it really wasn’t that long ago!

2) Using three words, describe your voice.

Edgy, hot & snappy

I still think it describes my writing style or voice.

3) Everyone asks this Q, but I never get tired of it. Tell us how you "Got The Call"!! Was it everything you expected?

Well, that’s good because as of yet, I’m not tired of telling it! It’s funny with epublishing because as you would imagine communication is done electronically, so I never got ‘The Call’ as I once imagined. There was no phone call, no editor surprising me with news that they wanted me book, telling me how wonderful I was and how much they loved the book LOL! The first communication I had came via email about 4 weeks after I submitted. When I first read it, I thought she was rejecting it! It was in fact, a revision request. It took awhile to understand the non-committal editor type language they use because at that point there really is no guarantee they’ll buy it. So, I revised the manuscript (after much agonizing) per the comments and sent it back. About two weeks after that there was another email. Again, upon first read I got that she liked what I’d done, but the language again through me off. After awhile it occurred to me it was actually an offer for contract! I was still cautiously ecstatic. Until I received the contract the next day!! After that, it was just flat out excitement and hasn’t really abated since!

4) Writing with kids: How do you stay on top of mom duty AND get your writing done?? Inquiring minds (me!) want to know!

Honestly, sometimes I’ll look back on a time period and think, “How the heck did I do all that?” The last 10 years have been incredibly hectic for me. I’ve built and sold a business, I’ve bought and renovated an entire house inside and out, I worked 12 hour days for the three years before I started writing and along the way I managed to have four kids. Still not exactly certain how that happened LOL. I’m not really sure how I did it other than that Mom gene that somehow kicks in, where you have no choice but to do the best you can and just take one day at a time. I’m fortunate now that my youngest two did pre-school last year, so all the kids are out of the house during the week. It gives me a lot of quiet time during the day and if the house isn’t picked up or every bed isn’t made? Well, the world’s not going to come tumbling down. I used to, but I don’t sweat that stuff anymore. If I have to prioritize my work and my kids with house stuff, well the house might sometimes look like a tornado hit. I also got into the habit many years ago of working late at night when all the kids were in bed. It’s a habit I’ve never gotten out of. I am so not a TV person, so I work every night on the computer for an hour or two. But, do you know what my real secret is? I have a fabulous husband who does ALL the grocery shopping and ALL the cooking! If not, we all would have starved a long time ago!

5) With your debut novel racking up the rave reviews, do you have any words of inspiration for the aspiring author?

Aw, thanks Sarah. I’ve been so happy with the reviews so far, particularly those comments I’ve gotten from readers. They truly are something to treasure because you can only hope when you write that you manage to touch someone, even if it’s to give them something to escape to for a short period of time. If anyone’s read my book and happened to notice the dedication, I dedicated it to aspiring authors. It’s a tough place to be in and if you’re out there submitting, ‘emotional roller coaster’ doesn’t even come close to describing what it’s like. The only thing I can really say is ‘don’t give up’. If you feel in your heart and your soul this is what you should be doing, don’t give up! I’ve never heard a successful author talk about their road to publication without the word ‘rejection’ coming up. I look at it as just part of the journey. Don’t let it derail you.

6) Novice Writer to Debut Author: What have you learned about the publishing process?

Gosh, I don’t even know where to start on that one. The whole thing has been an incredible learning experience. If I had to boil it down to the key things, they’d be:

·I made a good decision to establish an online platform BEFORE I sold. If I’d had to have done that after I received my offer, it would have probably been a disaster, I would have been incredibly stressed about everything and I probably wouldn’t have had any time to really research the marketing side of things. I’d decided on a blog over a website at the time, and I’m still happy I did it that way.

·Don’t underestimate social networking, especially Facebook and Twitter. A lot of industry professionals are on there, Twitter in particular. At least make yourself aware of what they have to offer and check them out to determine if it’s for you. They’re not for everyone, but you can make an informed decision.

·All the marketing and promotion can’t make up for book that’s mediocre. A good editor wouldn’t let such a book be published in my opinion, but it’s still all about writing the best book you can. For the aspiring author, this should be the highest priority. Always.

·Marketing is time consuming. Really, the options I’ve chosen to pursue for Picture This cost little, except in time. I probably under-estimated just how much time it would really take, although it really is an individual decision to decide how much marketing an author does.

·The writing doesn’t stop once you’ve written the book and it’s been accepted. I don’t know how they handle these cycles specifically at other publishers, but it’s probably similar everywhere. There are revisions and edits to go through before it’s declared really finished. Depending on the book this can be painless or substantial and can end up being very time consuming.

·Publishing is a business. Of course, everyone knows this, but decisions are made based on marketability, sales and profit, just like any business. It’s about the book and the story, but publishers are companies with a bottom line to manage. It helps to understand that so that you can see their perspective sometimes.

·Editors are real people too! My editor is really great, but I know I had a lot of angst about what it would be like to work with an editor. They do want to acquire good authors and they want to buy good books!

·Getting published for the first time isn’t an end to anything! I know as an aspiring author my big goal was to be published, but it’s really just the beginning of a whole other phase of being a writer. I liken it to the first rung of a ladder. A ladder I hope will be high and straight and a breeze to climb.

7) Give us the "deets"!! What's up next for you?!

I’m in the process of finishing up two more novellas targeted for my epub. I’ve found I love writing them and I’ve had such a positive experience so far. I’d love to get a small backlist out there of these books. I’m also working to finish another full length novel and I’ve outlined two small paranormal series. I read a lot in this genre and have been itching to get my teeth into writing one. No vampires or shifters for me, though! I have something completely different that I’d love to explore.

Thanks again for having me and for the great questions. You do such an amazing job with this blog. Glad I didn’t outstay my welcome last time!

BLURB for 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.

EXCERPT:

It’d been sold, again, three months earlier. Private auction, anonymous bidder and there was no way for her to find out who’d bought it. All she knew for sure was that it’d been a man. It figured. Damn, she’d been close this time. Not that she would have been able to afford to make even one bid herself. It had opened at fifteen thousand and after some fast and furious bidding had finally gone for a cool seventy-five thousand—dollars. Jeez, she’d probably be paying off her student loans for another twenty years and some guy had dropped seventy-five grand on a picture?

Jillian sighed. She wasn’t even sure what she’d do if she could uncover the identity of the new owner. She’d kept telling herself she’d be able to buy it one day once she got established. She’d planned on it, she’d counted on it. It was why she’d tried her damnedest to keep track of it for the past ten years. Her only hope now was that it would sit in some private collection, gathering dust and never see the light of day. Yeah, right. She’d never, ever been that lucky. All those years ago, who would have thought? Deep down though she’d known and it had plagued her ever since. When she least expected it, it was going to come back and bite her on the ass. She just knew it.

You feeling infused with the pep to get up and get going? Well, I sure am! What better way to start the week than with a slam dunk of motivation?! I'd like to thank Kaily for her time. I know I sure enjoyed at peek at the other side of the coin. If you'd like to learn more about Kaily Hart, check out these sites:

Links for Kaily Hart:
Book buy link - http://www.jasminejade.com/p-8437-picture-this.aspx
Web – http://www.kailyhart.com/
Blog - http://kailyhart.blogspot.com/
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/kaily.hart
Twitter - http://twitter.com/kailyhart

Here's a THANK YOU just for you, TLN'ers! Hope your week is full of productivity and cheer. To help you stay cool in the heat, how about a hot hunk and a bunch of water! Here's BRAD PAISLEY and WATER! No need for floaties just grab some glasses and have blast. *wink wink* See ya' Wednesday!

A Novice To Watch: Meet Kaily Hart!!!

Welcome to another installment of A NOVICE TO WATCH!!

Today's novice writer is the super sexy and witty KAILY HART!

A click on over to Kaily Hart, Writer, is a sure-to-please adventure. Kaily injects a delicious dollop of her zany and sassy voice into every post. Whether the topic is about life or writing, visitors will leave well satisfied!

Ain't no use dawdlin', let's get to the good stuff . . .


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. Romance! 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. Two years ago she never would have thought she’d be doing this, but now that she is? It just feels so right.

BTW, this is the hardest blurb I’ve ever had to write!

(Well, you ROCKED it!!)

2) Using three words, describe your voice.

You know, I’ve actually thought about this a lot. Probably way too much. When I was trying to come up with a tag on my blog, I wrote about 3 pages of notes, trying to describe my writing, stories and voice. I haven’t actually found a tag line yet that fits 100% and I keep changing it thinking eventually something will click. What did I come up with? Well, if I have to narrow it down to 3, it’d be - Edgy, hot, and snappy. Yeah, it’s not exactly earth shatteringly amazing, but I think it narrows it down well.

3) What genre do you write? Which popular author would you say comes the closest to your style?

I started off writing contemporary romance as a conscious decision. I figured at the beginning, I would have enough challenges with the craft of writing and I didn’t want to complicate it with huge amounts of necessary research or complex world building. I should know about things contemporary, right? At least that was the idea. I used to read strictly contemporary but now read romance across the genre board, gravitating toward paranormal and urban fantasy lately. I’m fairly sure I’ll end up writing these types of stories as well. I have a ‘WIP’ file bulging with ideas on this. A popular author close to my style? Are you serious? I’ve just started to get used to the idea that I might actually be able to write! I think my style is very ‘spare’. It’s action based without a lot of descriptive prose, but no way could I liken my style or writing to a popular author. Sheesh. I’m much too humble yet. I might have to get back to you on that one, or better yet, if when I’m published, perhaps someone could let me know what they think?


4) Tell us a little about your WIP(s). What kind of word count do you aim for?

I used to be a one WIP at a time gal. Now I’m just a WIP slut. Oops, can I say that word here? Anyway, these days I seem to like to share myself around. You see, I discovered the allure of the novella. It’s instant gratification for the writer. I currently have 3 things I’m actively working on while I wait on 2 submissions; one a requested full at Harlequin (Blaze) and another (a novella!) after one round of revisions for an epublisher. It’s kind of fun to flip between 3 hot heroes and it sometimes gives a story a much needed break so that I can come back to it fresh. I don’t really stress about word count so much. I mean, I don’t have daily or weekly goals, but try to set a target for the month. I was amazed at Nationals last year when Jayne Ann Krentz said her goal is 3000 words a day. Wow! One day I wrote 5000, occasionally I can write 2000, others a few hundred, some days nada. Sometimes, it’s not working at all, so I’ll work on characterization, fiddle with my blog, try to get up the nerve to post on Twitter (LOL), or do some research about the business aspects of writing. As long as I’m working to the bigger goals I’ve set, I don’t beat myself up about it too much. I do (try to) write every day though.

5) How did it feel to enter the Golden Heart? Which category and MS did you enter? Did you have the MS ready to go for opening entry day or did you sweat bullets until the deadline?

I think the Golden Heart is one of those ‘rites of passage’ things for unpublished authors. If you’re on this journey to publication, you probably should enter at least once. Of course, I don’t think it necessarily guarantees publication even if you win, and I’ve heard of writers publishing works that didn’t final. Just like all contests, it’s subjective of course, and you don’t receive any feedback apart from the scores. I entered the Contemporary Series Romance category and I’ll probably continue to do so each year. I figure if I manage to final or win (gasp!), the accolade ain't gonna hurt. Right?


6) What kind of future aspirations do you have for your writing?

Future aspirations? Gosh, that sounds so formal. The goal I have for my writing is really simple. I want to be a ‘I’ll buy any book with her name on it’ author. OK, I said simple, not easy! I figure the more specific goals - such as hitting bestseller lists, or writing single title V category, or publishing with certain houses, or selling a certain number of books - will come automatically if I can reach readers to that extent. I also have some goals that go beyond writing. I’ve been shocked to discover that romance is still looked down upon in terms of ‘viable’, ‘respectable’ fiction and still doesn’t get the respect it deserves overall (despite the hard numbers and performance of books in this genre). I’ve discovered there are still many people who think readers of romance are ugly, overweight, under-sexed, socially outcast women, unhappy with their lives (someone actually said this to me!), not to mention what they think about people who WRITE them. There is definitely a stigma in the writing industry as well. Do I care what (some) people think? I shouldn’t, but it saddens me to think people (mostly women) can’t feel they can be open about what they read or write. I would love to be a part of raising awareness for this genre and somehow add validity and weight to it . Additionally, I’d like to give back and provide value to other writers, particularly those of us working toward publication. Sarah, I really love the profiles you do on your blog and when I thought about what I could do, I immediately fantasized about being able to grill published authors about everything I ever wanted to know about how they did it. So, I thought – why the heck not? Just Published is a feature that’s actually launching on my blog today!

Sarah, thank you so much for the opportunity to be a ‘novice to watch’. I check in on your blog on a regular basis and you seriously rock this stuff! Keep up the great work, my friend. I hope one day I can return the favor and feature you on Just Published. You’ve truly been an inspiration and I’ll be a herd with you any day, anywhere!

Aw, thanks, Kaily! We'll have to think of a name for our novice herd. Oh, and definitely a theme song! Wouldn't we be a pair to draw to?! *hubba, hubba* :)

I'd like to wish Kaily the best of luck with her writing career. With her talent and drive, I know it's only a matter of time before she adds Published Author to her blurb!! If you'd like to know more about Kaily Hart and her writer's journey check out her lovely blog.

Thank you, TLN'ers! Hope your week is Fantabulous! I've got just the song to get you running on all cylinders. How about a little Conway Twitty and TIGHT FITTIN' JEANS! No one can resist a good girl goin' naughty song! Catch you back for Whip-IT Up Wednesday! TTFN!!