Today is a special day here at N. N. Light’s Book Heaven. I had the opportunity to interview a very prolific author, Kara O’Neal. She writes primarily historical romance and historical western romance. I asked her if she would like to sit down with me for an interview. She’s very busy and I wasn’t sure she would have time but she agreed happily. So, grab your favorite beverage and join us. Kara, take it away:
What is your writing process?
I imagine my characters. I give them personalities. With that comes their likes, dislikes, flaws, habits and why someone would fall in love with him or her. After that comes their motivation. Then, I paint. I paint scenes in my head. I throw them together and make them confront their fears. This gets out the emotional parts, which helps. And this tells me how to draft the story. After all that, I start writing.
What book do you wish you could have written?
Oh, gosh. So many. I wish I had written Anne of Green Gables the most.
Just as your books inspire authors, what authors have inspired you?
Jane Austen, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Mary Higgins Clark, Pamela Morsi, Mary Balogh, Linda Howard, Mark Twain, Laura Wilder, and Rudyard Kipling.
If you could cast your characters in the Hollywood adaptation of your book, who would play your characters?
Oh, goody!!! I love this question.
I would want Annette Benning to play Bonnie Davis. Jennifer Morrison and Colin O’Donoghue can play whomever they want as long as they play one of the main couples that fall in love with each other. I would want Phylicia Rashad to play Alletta Williamson. I would want Josh Duhamel to play either Kyle or Conner Lonnigan. I would want Amy Adams to play Jane Lonnigan. (I have too many characters….)
What do you consider to be your best accomplishment?
In writing – it would be putting together a series that spans 15 years of the lives of the main families and managing to keep true to all of the characters and how they developed.
In my personal life – marrying the man I married and raising our amazing children. They are kind, talented, responsible and unafraid to learn from their mistakes.
Have you always liked to write?
No. I never sat still enough. If you asked any of my teachers if they thought I’d be a writer, they would’ve laughed themselves silly.
What writing advice do you have for other aspiring authors?
Write. Keep writing. Even if you feel like it’s bad, keep writing. Get someone to critique and pray that they have the courage to rip the story apart. Then you edit.
What is your best marketing tip?
Be a person, not an advertisement. Be yourself.
What is your least favorite part of the publishing / writing process?
Marketing.
Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? What is it?
Horror. I can’t handle that subject.
Do you have a favorite spot to write? What is it?
My couch in my living room! I’m usually watching some show while I write.
Is this your first book? How many books have you written prior (if any?)
Nope! I have written 21 full-length historical romances, and three novellas that are also historical romances.
What are you working on now? What is your next project?
I am currently writing book 4 in the Gamblers & Gunslingers series. It’s called Olivia’s Treasure. I just finished book 3, titled Cora Lee’s Wager. It should be released by the end of this month.
Have you ever been in trouble with the law?
No. Unless speeding tickets count. I’ve gotten several of those.
Have you ever gotten into a fight?
Yes. With the bully of my third-grade class. He flipped my desk over so I let him have it.
What is your biggest fear?
My biggest fear is that someone I love will go missing. I can’t imagine that pain. I wouldn’t be able to go on with my life.
What literary character is most like you?
Anne Shirley or Jane Bennet.
Where is one place you want to visit that you haven’t been before?
Ireland. My husband is taking me there next summer. I am beyond excited!
Thank you, Kara, for the insightful interview. I loved getting to know you better. Readers, scroll down to read all about Kara’s latest release…
Title: Felicity’s Fortune
Author: Kara O’Neal
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Magnolia Blossom Publishing
Book Blurb:
Felicity Capwell Archer had no idea she'd married a thief and a killer. And even though she's the one who turns him in, people still think she helped her former husband steal and is now hiding the money. To protect herself from the repercussions and attacks, she hires Butch Wilder. Gambler. Gunslinger. And a giant who hides a heart of gold. Butch Wilder grew up on the streets of New Orleans, learning how to fight, how to gamble and how to use a Colt .45 with deadly precision. When Felicity begs him to protect her family, she's too damned pretty and too intriguing to turn down. Determined to avoid any emotional attachments and to keep it purely professional, Butch takes the job. But he finds himself sitting down to nice meals, walking her children to school and being part of a family for the first time. Only by finding and returning the stolen loot can Felicity and her daughters ever truly be safe. Following clues she deciphers from her former husband’s letters, Felicity and Butch travel to the outlaw-infested Hell's Half Acre. It's madness, but Butch will do anything to protect Felicity. Even if it means his life.
Excerpt:
When Butch reached Rickman’s office, he tried to see through the windows to the inside, but the grimy panes allowed for nothing. Cautious but unafraid, he walked in without hesitation.
But when he found who had come calling, he about swallowed his tongue. He stopped short, his hand on the knob, his mind devoid of all thought.
“Are you Mr. Wilder?”
Her honey voice poured through him, grabbing hold of his senses.
She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry to interrupt your work, sir, but I’m looking for Mr. Butch Wilder. Are you he?”
Snap out of it, man! Butch blinked then cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah. Yes. I’m Butch Wilder.” He shut the door.
She looked him over.
He steeled himself against the fear he might see in her eyes due to his size, but when her gaze touched his face, what he found was desperation. Confused and a little nervous, he wrapped his thumbs around his suspenders.
“Do you know who I am?”
Would it upset her if he did? But he couldn’t lie to her. Somehow she’d know if he did. “Yes.”
She twitched her lips as if frustrated by her infamy. He couldn’t blame her.
After letting out a slow exhale, she said, “My home, and by that I really refer to my children, my housekeeper and myself, has been under attack since my former husband was arrested and tried.”
So…she had gotten divorced. Or was it an annulment? He stayed quiet, not knowing what she wanted or if he was allowed to respond.
“We need constant protection until this is settled.” She waved a hand in the air. “Until either the…the hanging or…” She paused, and her gaze went distant.
He narrowed his eyes slightly. What bothered her? The event she hadn’t mentioned or the hanging?
She shook her head. “I apologize. The last weeks have been rather harrowing.”
He could imagine. From the arrest, to the trial, to now…
A portion of what she’d said registered in his mind. “I’m sorry, ma’am. But why are you here? You mentioned…protection?” Hell. Was she going to ask him to…
“Yes. The sheriff’s office can’t provide anyone, so he suggested I hire you.”
Butch’s mind whirled with the implications.
“I will pay you well, plus meals, because I would prefer it if you moved into my home. People come at all times of the day and night. I’m fearful of what has occurred in my absence for the last few hours.” She pressed two fingers to her temple and rubbed. “Not that I can do anything about it,” she muttered. She let out a weary exhale.
While she struggled with exhaustion, he tried to make sense of what she was offering. It was ridiculous. Him? Butch Wilder? Protect her? And her family?
Hell. That was damned laughable.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3MXKUa9
Author Biography:
Award-winning author, Kara O’Neal is a teacher and lives in Texas with her husband and three children She write stories with strong family ties, lots of romance and guaranteed happy endings! Please visit her at www.karaoneal.com.
Social Media Links:
Website – www.karaoneal.com
Barnes and Noble – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/kara+o'neal?_requestid=845025
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/KaraONeal84/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/KaraONealAuthor
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/karaoneal7/
Blog -- http://www.karaoneal.com/blog
Blog – The Story Continues -- http://www.karaoneal.com/the-story-continues