Author Appreciation – Page 2 – Liz Meldon

Well, November is drawing to a close. I can’t believe December is just a day away — where has the year gone?! I won’t lament it forever, because I’m sure hundreds of other bloggers are saying the same thing. All I can say is: It’s been real, November.

I set out to make the month about appreciating my fellow authors, and I wanted to do that by hosting interviews. I hoped to make my questions a little unique and different, and I was super excited to start my new WordPress off with a bang. When I initially put out my Google form, I thought maybe two people would sign up, and they’d probably be people I knew.

Well, that wasn’t the case. I’ve had so many amazing authors sign up with me, many who have books that I’m beyond interested in. Thank you, everyone. It warmed my heart having all of you here.

But the month isn’t over! One final interview awaits us, and this time New Adult Kelly Cain takes the stage to chat with me a little more about her upcoming release.

Which, I might add, already has a 4-star review on Goodreads, and has a cover reveal coming up SOON. Be prepared, lovelies.

Take it away, Kelly!

Tell me a little about your upcoming release. Sure. Altered is my debut novel and will be released January 26, 2016, by Penner Publishing. It’s a New Adult fiction title about a woman, Liv, who is devastated by a breakup with her fiancé. Her classmate, Nicholas, is a bit of an enigma – he’s an eighteen-year-old law school student who keeps his past closely guarded. After he saves Liv more than once, she is determined to unravel the mystery who is Nicholas. Although usually shy and withdrawn, Nicholas blossoms with Liv’s friendship and soon wants more. Liv is guarded too, not with her past, but with her heart.
What are your biggest fears about this release? Two year ago, I had no notion I wanted to be a writer. Then this idea came to me and kept poking me until I put it on paper. It evolved into something far different than my initial interpretation of this idea because as a lot of writers will tell you, the characters took over their story and made it into what they wanted it to be. My biggest fear is not that people will not like it (although that’s a pretty hefty fear), but that people won’t see it to make that judgment.
Do you see some of yourself in your main character? What traits have passed from you to them? There’s no doubt that there are pieces of me in my main character and in the others as well. Like Liv, once upon a time I was in law school. Liv is making the choices that I didn’t make and she’s becoming successful where I failed. Nicholas, is ultra-organized, punctual, and task-oriented, traits I pride myself on. He probably takes it to a different level though.
What are you most excited about with this upcoming release? Being a first-time author, I’m most excited about seeing my words on the printed page and having them made available for others to read.
What has been the biggest struggle marketing your upcoming release? Or, if you haven’t started, what do you think you might struggle with? I haven’t received my cover yet (any day now) so the actual marketing hasn’t really begun. But I can see that my challenge will be “pimping” myself. Blowing my own horn has never been a strong suit of mine and it’s necessary to get the novel in front of people (see Q2 above).

Here’s a spot to pimp one of your writer friends… GO! (Or to gush about a recent fave read)

I have several Penner Publishing (@pennerpub) author friends now and I’ve been able to read their novels. All of these books have been amazing, so to pick just one was difficult. I landed on Ditch Flowers by Amanda Linsmeier (@amandalinsmeier) mostly because it’s not a story I personally would ever pick up. I’m more into New Adult or Historical Fiction, and this is Women’s Fiction. It a story about Julia, who has had a rough time conceiving. She and her husband move to his hometown and she begins working at a daycare where she sees a little boy who looks suspiciously like her husband. I loved following her path as she decides what to do. The book is so well written and so interesting that I ended up giving it 5 starts. But again, I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the Penner titles.

Altered

Drawing on the author’s own experience studying law, the novel follows Liv, a young woman in her a first semester of law school. When her fiancé abruptly breaks things off, Liv is heart-broken.

Enter Nicholas, a classmate who is so withdrawn that he is an enigma to everyone around him. Nicholas is unusually young and unusually quiet, and keeps his past a tightly guarded secret.

While Liv is still reeling from her break up, Nicholas begins appearing in her life and coming to her rescue. Intrigued and grateful to this quiet young man, Liv becomes determined to unravel the mystery of who Nicholas is.

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Kelly is a new adult and contemporary romance novelist. After many years of being entrenched in business and data analysis, she began writing last year and discovered it to be her passion. She loves reading most genres, but historical fiction and new adult are her favorites. She has two adult daughters and lives in a suburb of Houston, Texas.

Connect with Kelly on her website, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Tumblr!