Here is a huge secret to success: never be afraid to ask.
When I said I was hosting this giveaway on social media, KC Klein got in touch and asked if she could participate.
I took a look at her work, which is paranormal romance, and said, “Sure. Why not?”
So whenever you have a little question mark in your mind…make sure it comes out your mouth (or your fingers).
Please help me welcome KC!
About KC Klein
KC Klein has lived most of her life with her head in the clouds and her nose buried in a book. She did stop reading long enough to make a home with a real life hero, her husband, for over sixteen years. A mother of two children, she spends her time slaying dragons, saving princesses, and championing the belief in the happily-ever-after. As the author of Dark Future, Hotter on the Edge and coming soon Texas Wide Open, KC loves to hear from readers and can be found desperately pounding away on her laptop in yoga pants and leopard slippers or more conveniently at kckleinbooks.com.
About Dark Future
Awakened in the middle of the night by a future version of herself, Kris Davenport is given a mission: go forward in time to save the world—and His life. Of course, her future self doesn’t tell her who he is, just sends her into an abyss and straight into an alien invasion.
He turns out to be ConRad Smith, the callous, untrusting Commander of Earth’s army and the world’s last defense. There’s only one way to know for sure if this strange woman is an alien spy—slice her throat. Except, he didn’t anticipate the heat he would feel as he interrogates the hot-tempered, warm-blooded woman. For a man whose sole focus has been survival, she’s more temptation than he can handle. But a world on the brink of destruction leaves no room for love…and time is running out.
The Very Short Interview
When did you know for sure that you were a writer and that writing would be a major energy focus in your life?
I think like most writers I’ve always had a passion for telling stories. I remember reading my first Judy Blume book in second grade and thinking to myself, this is what I want be when I grow up. I’ve always read 1-2 books a week, but it wasn’t until a few years back when I realized I’d rather spend my time on my own stories than someone else’s that I knew I was a real, dedicated writer.
Who has always been behind your writing career and who helped pull you up the ladder of success?
It’s hard for my non-writing family to understand why I prefer to sit alone, in leopard slippers, and pound madly way on my keyboard. I think it’s important for writers to find other writers. Organizations like Romance Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, a mystery writing group, and IndieRomanceInk, a group for indie-published writers, were all key in helping me with my career. I also can’t overstate the importance of having a good critique partner. Mine has held my hand to the fire when I needed it (in a good way), and bailed me out when I needed it (also in a good way).
What is the most frequent comment you hear about your book (or books) from readers? Tell us a little story about the response to your work.
What I find is that people either love my books or hate them, there’s no in between. Which is fine with me, I don’t like to play things safe. I get excited about my writing when I’m riding that edge of what is expected and what isn’t. Here is what one reviewer said about my books:
“I’m a huge fan of Ms. Klein’s universe from Dark Future. One thing I love about her writing is that she’s not afraid to push the limits of what might be “comfortable” to read, and instead explores the very dark side to what is turning out to be a very intriguing dystopian world…It’s a world that is absolutely ripe for revolution, and I’m highly anticipating future installments to the series.” ~ Jess the Romanceaholic
And Now, Your Turn
Now it’s your turn. You remember how this works right?
I ask you a question. You answer in the comments for your chance to win a book each day.
Please just respond once, even if you make a typo. 
Answer in the comments in 50-200 words (no less and no more to qualify to win one of today’s books). Please read the complete rules at least once!
Thanks for participating in the Writer Mama Every-Day-In-May Book Giveaway! I hope to see you here every day this month. Bring your friends!
You haven’t answered the three questions our author mamas are answering, so let’s tackle those.
Who has always been behind your writing career and who helped pull you up the ladder of success?
Ready, set, comment!
Comments on this entry are closed.
My fellow military spouses are my biggest champions. I think they all recognize how bold and hard it is to craft a career for yourself, from scratch, figure out what you need to learn technically and in the industry, and then keep on keeping on even when there’s a lot of uncertainty. And none of them ever makes me feel like I’m not really a writer if I haven’t yet penned a NYT bestseller.
The people behind my writing career are still trying to pull me up the ladder of success. My childhood friend Joan was the first to encourage me. I don’t think anyone knows me better. She lived through the first two decades with me. Even then she wanted me to write my story but it was far from over. While I became a mom she moved on to a successful career in TV and film. I’m her longest lasting project- it’s taken her years to push me into action. Then there’s my husband, who has never waivered in his faith that I will write and publish my six decade saga. He has lived through the last four decades, knows the impact they have had on me, and believes I have something valuable to share. You can’t have better advocates. I have been writing, researching and editing for two years. The next step is mine. I have to ask my questions to move forward.
I would say that honor would go to my husband. Over the years there have been many times when I have wanted to quit when things became a little to challenging trying to juggle teaching, dissertation research, writing and two children – but we really pushed me to continue and now I am in such a better place – personally and professionally. He has also given me the time and the space to be a writer and doesn’t roll his eyes when I once 360 turn arounds in my writing direction. His flexibility and support have been key!
My husband has always been behind my writing career, especially through lean times when getting a j-o-b would have made more sense. Both of us are creative spirits and don’t do well anchored to tedium. He was the one who encouraged me to register for a Community Ed writing workshop. The tuition was $30, an amount I felt was better spent on a bag of groceries. I also spent $2 on lottery tickets…and won $32. I got the message and registered the next day. Taking that workshop launched my career and introduced me to my mentor, who in turn, introduced me to her agent when the time was right. And when my mentor’s health failed, I stepped into her teaching shoes. There are still many rungs to climb on the ladder yet, but my husband is right behind me, giving me a boost.
When I was starting out on my
writing pathway, I read one of the first pieces I wrote to my mother, who was
dying of cancer. Mom had been a mathematician, and I had followed in her
footsteps, picking up a trio of degrees in mathematics, computer engineering,
and computer science. I was feeling some misgivings about this sudden change in
direction, and although I was far past the age when I needed Mom’s approval to
do something, I longed for it. Now I should also add that my mom was an intrinsically
honest person, sometimes to the point of bluntness, and I knew full well that
if she thought I was talentless, or if she thought what I was doing was just a
wee bit odd, she would have said so straight out. So it was with a great deal
of trepidation that I read my story to her. She listened carefully, smiled in
all the right places, and when I finished, she hugged me close and said: “You
have a talent, honey. Nurture it.” And with her blessing, I feel free to write
now, knowing that I am writing for the two of us.
Cara, this almost brought tears to my eyes. I think having a mother’s support is so important. At times mother and daughter relationships can be so complex, in fact, it is one of the themes I re-visit over and over in my writing. I am so glad you have her support.
Cindy, I love this story. I am always surprised when you can look back and see the small step you took that impacted your career so much. I just wish I could figure out which steps will be successful and which ones will put me flat on my behind. Lol! I guess the lesson is, we never know, so just take the step anyways.
Thanks for sharing!
I adore supportive husbands! To me, they are a must. I also couldn’t have launched a writing career without him cheering me on. Krystyann is sounds like you are on your way to success. Way to go!
Hi ML,
Okay, I am truly impressed. A six decade saga?!! WOW! For all the time and energy you have put into this, I really hope you get to the next step of asking your questions. (I am really curious now. I want to know what your story is about. So get it done so I can read it!)
I really hear you about best friends. I have mine, and she is priceless. I am so blessed to have her in my life.
Hi Heidi,
I agree. I think anyone who puts time and energy into creating a story or a research project deserves the title of writer. Funny thing is, I couldn’t wait to call myself a writer, now that it has finally happened most people just give me a weird baffled look. 🙂 I really don’t think non-writing people understand how hard it is to put words on the page everyday.
Hey, don’t give up that dream of being a NYT bestseller–we can rock the list together. LOL!
I owe the success of my PR writing career to my clients. Without them, writing wouldn’t pay the bills. Mike Peak (Peak PR) launched my tech writing career. After he retired, we studied under Novelist, Floyd Salas, whose wife Claire helped me make time for fiction. These days it’s my college-age children who encourage me. Melissa’s got a demanding marketing job and is studying for her MBA. Even with no free time, she still gets excited as NaNoWriMo approaches. Max is a creative writing major at University of Arizona. He’ll be studying at Montpellier, France for a year. What a story he’ll have to tell! And Monica, who says she hates to write, is getting much better at it. I wouldn’t be surprised if her writing gene surfaces soon. When it does, she can use her four years at CU Boulder as fodder for a reality novel. I also have to give some credit to my Muse. Like KC, there are some who don’t understand why I’d rather be alone with my computer than socializing. What they don’t understand is that when I’m with my characters, I AM socializing. They’re like my own personal Facebook.
My wonderful boyfriend Joe has always encouraged
me to write and is a very positive force in my life. Right now I’m at the
bottom of the ladder to success but hope to start climbing it soon. I’d love to
be self employed as a writer and know it’s going to take time for this to
happen. Plus I have a lot of learning to do!
Without fail, my husband and my three children are my cheerleaders, task masters, and idea generators, even when they inadvertently give me tasks that take away from my writing time. Then there is my best friend, Jen, who reads my first drafts without complaint and provides encouragement while I whine about my dreaded revision. Without those five folks and their constant support, my writing wouldn’t be where it is.
My hubby has always been behind my writing career. He keeps us in food, clothing, and shelter when writing doesn’t pay the bills. He takes the kids if I need time to write, and he reads and comments on occasion. He comments on my blog and facebook posts about writing. When I need him, he’s there.
Well, I’d say it’s the big guy (my hubby)–my biggest cheerleader, critic, editor, sounding board, you name it… He’s still a great date after all of these years, too! 🙂 After that, it’s my kiddos who spread “the love.” They well-understood what I did long before they understood what their dad did. They give the final “thumbs up” on articles and essays that often begin with them.
Even though I like to think my husband has always been behind my writing career and has helped pull me up the ladder of success, I remember an instance when he wasn’t. I was so proud of getting a letter to the editor published in The Christian Century as the lead letter several weeks after I submitted it, in the November 11, 1992, issue. He happened to be cleaning kitchen stove burners when I wanted to show it to him, I was so thrilled (bad timing, I know). I thought he would stop what he was doing and read it. Instead he put it on the counter next to the stove. After that I knew for sure that God would always be my biggest supporter and helper.
Barbara, my husband and I have been together since we were 17 — a whopping 40 years! And as much as I love him and always will, for the first 10 years that I was a freelance writer, he asked me when I was going to get a “real job.” To this day, he doesn’t understand what drives me to write.
Ha! I love it. Your own personal FB. I never thought of writing in that way, but it makes sense. And way to go for NaNo I have never been in a position to do that myself, but it looks like loads of fun.
That is the dream, right Shelly. Learning what you need to is all part of the process, heck, it is part of life. So many things I have to learn still. 🙂 Thanks for posting.
Family and friends are key. You are blessed to have such good people in your life.
That is awesome. My hubby doesn’t even have a FB acct so no commenting from him. Sounds like you have a keeper.
I think it’s great you always ck with your kids on articles that reference them. Very smart mothering. 🙂
I do get this. It took many years and a contract before my writing got any respect from my husband. But I have to own the reality that my writing will never be as important to anyone as it is to me.
Wow Mar, you have me beat. We were married when I was 19. (babies I tell you) Now after 17 years we are still bumping along pretty well together. I guess I knew a good thing even back then. 🙂
ML, congrats! You are the winner!