@AuthorJMKelley and her new release Daddy's Girl #interview

Please welcome my guest today, J.M. Kelly and her woman's fiction release, Daddy's Girl!

1. At any given time do you work on only one story at a time and maybe plot out the next one or are there many ideas racing around your head?

For the most part, I work on one story at a time, though if I get ideas for other stories, I’ll write a portion of story to hold that thought for myself for a later time. As far as ideas, something is always lurking around in the back of my mind. I let the ideas simmer until I decide if they should be filed away for future experimentation, or passed over because it’s a weak or weird concept I will never be able to expand on properly. I have enough attention span issues. I can’t successfully juggle two or more stories at one time. My brain would implode.

2. Is there a genre you haven't written in but would like to? Or wish you could write in?

I’d love to have the patience with myself to focus on a really in-depth fantasy setting. I admire anybody with the vivid imagination to build a creative and unique world. I’m more in tune with developing interpersonal relationships between characters. I’m sure, if I forced myself to truly concentrate, I could write in the fantasy genre, but again, I fear brain implosion would be the end result. I’ll leave that genre to more masterful minds than mine.

3. Say you have unlimited funds: What kind of writing office/cottage would you create for yourself?

Oh, lord, could I have fun with an open budget. I would go for the cottage idea in a heartbeat. Though I love the mountains, I’d have to choose a beach for my dream cottage, mostly because I’ll take mosquitos over spiders any day. I have a very luxurious image of the perfect décor in my brain, though luxury doesn’t mean expense, necessarily. I’m more concerned with fluffy couches than anything else.  Now, since I’m rich beyond my wildest dreams in this scenario, naturally I would have a giant bathroom with rainforest showerhead and a massive Jacuzzi tub. A writer needs a place to relax, after all.

The most important factor, though, is that my cottage by the sea has doors that open up to let the sounds of the surf in. I would love to be able to sit and watch the water as I write every day. The peacefulness would be almost overwhelming, I think.

4. If you could turn your novel into a TV show, which novel or series would you do? Where would it be set? Network TV (ABC, NBC, CBS), Cable (AMC, BBC, Lifetime) or Premium Cable (HBO, Showtime, Starz)?

Is it bad that I watch so little television I can’t really grasp what the difference would be between the choices offered? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those people who think television is a horrible thing. I just don’t focus on it very well. Frankly, I tend to have the Weather Channel playing on a constant loop as background noise. That, or the Discovery Channel. I just forget to listen in, I guess.

As for a show in general, I’m thinking my first novel, Drew in Blue, would make a fun show.  The continuing adventures of Drew Doyle, bungling his way through parenthood, love, and life.  As I wrote the story, I always imagined the town having a Stars Hollow vibe, ala the fabulous Gilmore Girls. Throw in some strange Pennsylvania-style townies, and we’ve got a show, ladies and gents.

5. Finally, tell us about your latest release!

Daddy’s Girl is a work of women’s fiction with strong romantic elements.

Janie McGee, the black sheep of her family, is free-spirited, uninhibited, and never one to stay in the same place for too long. Despite a lifetime of never seeing eye to eye, when Janie learns her father, Joe, is gravely ill, she surprises even herself by returning home to rural Pennsylvania to care for him. 

David Harris sports a pocket protector, collects coins, and is addicted to Antiques Roadshow. Everything about the man rubs Janie the wrong way, from his nerdy wardrobe to his enviable friendship with Joe. And to make matters worse, Janie’s father thinks they’re perfect for each other, proof positive of how little Joe knows his own daughter ... or so Janie thinks.

A shared devotion to the elder McGee begins to close the gulf between Janie and David, but a burgeoning romance opens the door to unexpected consequences neither could foresee. Joe, however, remains steadfast in his resolve to show Janie that Daddy knows what’s best for his little girl after all. Can Janie finally open her heart to David while watching the first man she ever truly loved fade away?

J.M. will be awarding a gift basket of some of the author's favorite things, including a $25 gift card from Amazon and a signed copy of the Foreign Affairs anthology from Turquoise Morning Press to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

 

About J.M.:

After one too many Snowmaggedon shoveling catastrophes, J.M. Kelley, a native of Pennsylvania, loaded her car with all of her belongings and moved to sunny South Carolina. A year later, she finds herself shivering when temperatures dip to fifty degrees, and battles against the slight Southern accent she seems to be developing. When not toiling away at her day job, she can be found huddled over her laptop in a quiet corner of her favorite coffee shop, slurping a caffeine-laden milkshake as she writes.

J.M. Kelley is a proud recipient of a Carrie McCray Memorial Literary Award. Drew in Blue, her debut novel, was nominated for Best Contemporary of 2010 by The Romance Reviews, and is a TRR and Night Owl Reviews Top Pick. Her second novel, Daddy's Girl, will be published in January 2013. Her short story, Siren Song, is included in the anthology Foreign Affairs, from Turquoise Morning Press, available August 8, 2012.

Visit www.jmkelleywrites.com for news and information!

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