On The Record… With Kimberly Kincaid

Welcome to ON THE RECORD where I chat with romance authors about their favorite topics, which usually includes writing but almost always includes handsome men! Today I’m thrilled to be chatting with debut author Kimberly Kincaid!

TB:  Kimberly, you’ve just released your first novella! Tell me about it!

KK:  LOVE ON THE LINE is the story of a gruff police detective injured in the line of duty, and the heart-on-her-sleeve personal chef who throws him for the loop of his life as he recovers. It was a blast to write because the characters (Violet and Noah) were so opposite, yet deep down , they were a perfect match. I really loved watching that transformation!

TB:  And readers will love it, too! How does writing a novella differ from drafting a full length novel?

KK:  It’s deceptive, because you’d think novellas are easier since they’re only a third of the word count. But oh no! Just because they’re shorter doesn’t mean they’re “less”. You’ve got to get all your story elements, characters arcs, and plot events into a limited space. It’s like packing for a month-long glamorous vacation, and all you’ve got is one suitcase. It takes a lot of moving and shifting to get it just right!

TB:  Having shared a hotel room with you, I know you do not travel light so the packing analogy is very apt! How long did this novella take you to write?

KK:  I am notorious for the “feast or famine” method of writing (sorry for the foodie pun!) It took me nearly ten days and two false starts to get LOVE ON THE LINE plotted out. But once I typed Chapter One, I wrote and edited the entire draft in 30 days.

TB:  Yes. You did. And I hate you a little bit for that! Just kidding, of course. I know it took “awhile” (in Kim time!) to choose this story as your first novella but once you started, you ripped through it at an amazing pace. Do you have writing rituals or can you write anytime, anyplace?

KK:  I am actually really uptight about writing in a vacuum—it must be pin-drop quiet, otherwise nothing’s getting done. Otherwise, no. I can write in a ball gown (I highly recommend this, actually) or in my ratty PJ’s (I recommend this even more though).

TB:  Long live the ratty pajamas! What are you working on now?

KK:  I am working on a companion novella to LOVE ON THE LINE, featuring Violet’s brother Jason as the hero. I’ve also got a book proposal in the works for my foodie series with Kensington.

TB:  You currently have a three-book series with Kensington, and an anthology coming. What are the titles of those books?

KK:  I’m thrilled to have collaborated on a Christmas anthology with Donna Kauffman and Kate Angel, titled THE SUGAR COOKIE SWEETHEART SWAP, which kicks off my Pine Mountain foodie series. That releases in October. My first full-length novel, TURN UP THE HEAT, will follow in February 2014.

TB:  I cannot wait to see them in print! What is something you know now that you did not know a year ago?

KK:  There are conservatively a billion answers to this question J But if I had to pick just one, I’d say I’ve learned that patience goes a long, long way in writing and publishing. When I first signed with my agent in 2011, contemporary romance was a hard sell. But we hung in there, and when the tides turned, it happened!

TB:  Where would you like to be in five years?

KK:  Right here, doing exactly this, only more! I am in this for the long haul. As long as the stories whisper to me, I’m going to want to write them.

TB:  That’s a great answer. I know not everyone gets to do a job they love so I’m super grateful to be where we are! What would you tell an aspiring writer?

KK:  One word, and it’s the kind of word you want to write on sticky notes and slap onto every available surface in your house. PERSEVERE. Rejection happens. You’ll fall down a lot (and here it is—everyone. Falls. Down. Anyone who says she doesn’t isn’t being truthful with you!) Get back up. Believe it will happen. PERSEVERE.

TB:  Amen to that. Not only do we fall down. Sometimes we are pushed! But you have to get back up! Describe your writing space.

KK:  My office is the only room in my entire house that is not beige. It is cranberry red (hello, color of love, and all!) I have books from floor to ceiling on one entire wall, and an idea board over my laptop with all my “stuff” (pictures, recipes, sticky notes with plot ideas) for whatever I’m writing at any given time. Right now there’s a lot of Taylor Kinney going on up there. What can I say? I have a little crush!

TB:  Excellent choice. There is more than one reason they call that show Chicago Fire!  Okay, random question time. Do you have a pet? Tell me about it?

KK:  We are ridiculously pet-free in my house because my kids have bad allergies. But that doesn’t stop them from asking if we can get a dog or cat every single day!

TB:  That’s pretty funny that your pet-peeve involves a pet! Describe your favorite pair of shoes. (I know this is going to be a tough one for you!)

KK:  Picking one favorite pair is like picking your favorite child. You really can’t! But my signature pair of shoes is pair of lipstick red patent leather Mary Jane pumps. I wear them whenever I need to feel fantastic about life. It always works!

TB:  I love those shoes. And that picture. If you could have dinner with any fictional character, who would you choose?

KK:  Jo Bourne’s Adrian, from The Black Hawk. Dark, dangerous, handsome, *and* can teach me all kinds of stealthy spy stuff? Come on! What girls says no to that?

TB:  Oh, good choice! You have to love a man who could assassinate a bad guy with a butter knife.  Is your perfect man: Alpha or Beta? (I already know your answer!)

KK:  Capital-A-Alpha. Every time!

TB:  Yep! I was right! And I’m with you on that. Alpha with a side of Beta. What do you usually think of when you first wake up, or when you’re trying to fall asleep?

KK:  I am about to out myself as a writing Fembot here, but I noodle plotlines. A lot. And it is the reason I have a whiteboard next to my bed.

TB:  I don’t have the white board but I definitely fall asleep while plotting! I will dream full stories. Once I even critiqued my own dream while I was in the middle of it! I wonder if all writers do this? Shifting gears again. Where would you like to travel to?

KK:  As a foodie, I am down with anywhere the food is good, and local food? Even better! I would love to do a food and wine tour of Italy, and am dying to eat freshly-picked pineapple in Hawaii.

TB:  What food can you not live without?

KK:  This is a changeable answer for me, but I am a huge fan of food that comes directly from the earth. Peaches still warm from the sun, perfect, fat heirloom tomatoes, crisp, tart apples…I could live on produce all by itself, I mean it!

TB:  You’re making me hungry. I’m going to go have a snack and re-read LOVE ON THE LINE!

Kimberly Kincaid writes contemporary romance that splits the difference between sexy and sweet. When she’s not sitting cross-legged in an ancient desk chair known as “The Pleather Bomber”, she can be found practicing obscene amounts of yoga, whipping up anything from enchiladas to éclairs in her kitchen, or curled up with her nose in a book. Kimberly is a 2011 RWA Golden Heart® finalist who lives (and writes!) by the mantra that food is love. Kimberly resides in northern Virginia with her wildly patient husband and their three daughters.

 

BLURB FOR LOVE ON THE LINE:

 

Violet Morgan puts the personal in personal chef, catering to clients who want the full cooking experience rather than a culinary drop-and-dash. But when her brother’s police detective partner is injured in the line of duty and needs help during recovery, she makes an exception. Violet lost her father to the job seven years ago, and worries for her brother’s safety every day. The last thing she wants is to get up-close with her brother’s career-cop partner…again.

For Noah Blackwell, being a detective isn’t just a lifestyle, it’s a legacy. So when he’s forced to take mandatory leave and deal with the trauma amnesia keeping him from identifying his shooter, it’s a literal case of adding insult to injury— and now he’s got to deal with an unwanted culinary caregiver on top of it. Never mind that he and Violet shared a steamy, secret kiss last New Year’s Eve. She rejects everything related to the job, and Noah’s not about to be distracted from recovering his memory and getting back to what he does best. No matter how pretty Violet is.

Despite their differences, Violet and Noah share a surprising bond in the kitchen that grows into something neither of them expect. But as Noah heals and their feelings for each other extend from the kitchen to the bedroom, Violet knows she must make an impossible choice. She may wear her heart on her sleeve when it comes to food, but can she risk it all to put love on the line?