Our visiting author today shares something we all need a little of in our lives…ROMANCE. Kelly Eadon was kind enough to answer a few questions for us about her new book, The Wedding Date. She is an amazing woman with a demanding day job and then time to write a romance that will make you laugh! If you don’t believe me, read the excerpt she shared with us below. After that, find the prize guy
at the bottom of this post because Kelly is having a Snark and Spice Facebook party where they are giving away a Kindle Fire!
Hi Kelly. Tell us a little about yourself.
I write contemporary romance with a comedic twist. I love to find the humor in every day situations, in particular by writing quirky, realistic characters. In The Wedding Date Kate has this great story about how her dog locked her out of her car while it was running and an entire team of fire fighters, with a fire truck, came to break her in. My beagle did this to me. He was thrilled when he was finally freed and got to make the rounds and be petted by all of the firefighters. I also try to write strong women, to twist stereotypical gender roles and gender tropes, and to include lots of rescued animals. Some of those motivations stem from my day job. I’m a prosecutor specializing in domestic violence prosecution, so it’s nice for me to have an outlet where I can focus on seeing the humor in things. I also have a house full of rescue animals and my husband and I regularly foster both dogs and cats. I’ll use any platform I can find to promote animal rescue!
What inspired the idea behind your book?
The Wedding Date has been percolating for a long time and parts of it have come to me in dreams. I think all authors dream plot points when they’re truly immersed in their book. Kate’s underlying anxiety about going home and being classified in the same old box was my way of working through some anxieties before my ten year high school reunion (which was a blast by the way, I shouldn’t have worried so much). Also, her struggle to cope with the death of her father and to let people in is a struggle I went through when my mom died six months before my wedding. It can be hard to let yourself truly need another human being. My hope was that by taking things I’ve struggled with and writing them, I’d create something readers could relate to.
Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?
One of my friends just read the excerpt online the other day and her reaction was along the lines of, “I would have known that was you anywhere.” I have a distinctive author voice. I’m snarky and sarcastic and very deadpan, because that’s exactly how I am in real life. Most of the interactions that happen between my characters are also extracted from real life. At one point James brings Kate gluten free flours, because she’s celiac. That was a gift from my husband one year who was using the play on words between flours and flowers. (Shhh don’t tell him he’s the model for a romantic hero. His head might get too big). Kate’s friendship with her best friend Beth, is also very true to life for me. I’ve been close with the same five women since we were around seven years old. We make fun of each other, we talk over each other, we say it like it is, and we’re fiercely protective of one another. I love them like they’re family. It was very important to me to write an authentic friendship, because I think that’s a powerful love story that doesn’t always make it into romance books.
Who is your favorite character to create scenes for in the book?
I feel like you just asked me to choose my favorite flavor of cupcake. All of them? They’re all wild and wacky and I love them. Everyone seemed to really take to Greg, the brother of my main male character James.
He ordered their drinks, then led the way to their table. Greg was slumped forward. Laurie held a glass of water in one hand and tried to prop his head up with the other.
James plopped into the chair next to her. “You need some help?”
She shoved the glass into his hand. “Have at it. Maybe you’ll have better luck than me.”
He studied his brother’s messy hair. Had he already crossed the line from fun drunk to sloppy drunk?
He put his hand under his brother’s chin and forced it up. “Drink this.” He shoved the water under Greg’s face.
Greg lowered his mouth and slurped from it, like an animal from a trough.
He bit back a laugh. New plan. Was it time to carry Greg to bed? At least then he and Kate would have an excuse to get out of here.
With laser focus, Greg looked to Kate. “You wanna play beirut?”
She gestured to the crowded dance floor. “Sorry, Greg, I’m a little busy now. In a minute, James and I are going to dance some more.”
“Oh yeah, let’s dance!” He grabbed the water glass, stood and charged onto the middle of the dancing crowd.
“Shit.” Laurie popped up and ran after him.
A shattering sound rang through the air and people stopped dancing to flee in all directions, leaving Greg and a large puddle of water. Shards of glass littered the floor around him.
Laurie froze a few feet away, her face bright red.
Then Greg gave a shrug and wandered over to her. “I guess nobody’s dancing anymore.”
Next to him Kate snorted and clapped a hand over her mouth. Her shoulders shook with suppressed laughter.
With a smirk he leaned closer to her. “That is what we, in the Abell family, call inevitable.”
I love this scene! Where can we find your book?
You can visit Kelly at her website to find out about everything, but here are the events for the release of The Wedding Date.
On April 7 Kelly and Megan Ryder are hosting a Snark and Spice Release party where people can enter to win a Kindle Fire.