Kim Law's SPINKLES ON TOP Interview

Hi Kim.  Thank you so much for taking time to talk with me.

Thank you so much for inviting me! You know I’m a huge fan of yours, so I’m thrilled to be here!

 

Let's talk about "Sprinkles on Top".  The name sounds like we should be talking about cupcakes, but we aren't.  How did you come up with the name of the book?

I know, right? But I already did cupcakes! The title was a collaborative process between me, my editor, and my agent. Basically, we worked on ideas that fit in with Sugar Springs and Sweet Nothings, books one and two of my Sugar Springs series. I love the word sprinkles. It’s a happy word to me, and it makes me smile. [smile] So I suggested we use it somehow, and after tossing around ideas, we landed on Sprinkles on Top. I think I might have been the one to suggest it. [Big smile]

Reading the book consistently kept me wanting pancakes.  Did you want to eat pancakes all the time while writing it?

LOL. Believe it or not, I didn’t! Though I really want to now. I’ve been working on so many release posts and such that I keep flipping back through the book looking for excerpts. Every time I do, I end up seeing something about pancakes. The Mister and I are taking a short vacation in a few weeks, and I suspect there will be more than one morning started with pancakes. It’s more of a special occasion meal for me than an everyday thing.

I will admit, Zack Winston was NOT my favorite person, when I met him in Sweet Nothings.  You managed to turn him into a really likable guy that you feel for and want to see happy.  How did you manage to do that?

I have this really bad habit of setting up bad circumstances or “bad” people in my books and then having to redeem them, don’t I? I think I like the challenge of that. But as to how I turned Zackie around, first, I gave him a mother who calls him Zackie [wink] But mostly, I simply work hard to make my characters have real problems and real issues. And to show honest reactions to those situations. My husband was adopted as a baby, and we were together when he learned who his real mother was—and set out to meet her. I pulled a lot from my husband’s experiences and gave them to Zack. Zack is real. He’s been hurt. And he’s allowed to have his guard up because of it. But I had to show that even with that protective shield surrounding him, he still has a good heart. He listens to his mother, and he cares. Even when he doesn’t want to.

Was there any part of the book you found hard to write?

All of it. *snort* Really, all of it. But that was mostly because I was trying to write it too fast. It is funny that you asked this question, though, because I had a real struggle with one particular part of the book. The love scenes! (Or maybe it ended up being just one love scene, I can’t remember.) Every time I tried to have these two get together, they balked on whatever I needed them to do. I wrote several scenes that got tossed before publication, and in each of them, Holly and Zack were either going too far or not going far enough. It was frustrating!!!

 

We have now met all of the Dalton/Winston men.  Which one is your favorite and why?

I’m supposed to say Zack, right? [wink] And really, I think Zack was my favorite to write. I love him! He was so tough in the beginning, yet he has such a soft spot for his mom. And I loved watching his and Holly’s friendship form. It felt so organic and real to me. I could also almost reach out and touch his vulnerability throughout the whole book, even when it wasn’t showing on the page (or when he refused to show it to whomever was around). That made me, personally, even closer to him. I was very sad to have to put him to the side and move on to another hero in another book.

 

I know you consistently have ideas in your head.  You're not happy or content, unless you're writing.  So, if you're allowed to talk about it, what are writing now?

You know me well! If the world was such that I could, I believe I’d hide in my little corner office and spend every waking minute moving stories from my head to the computer. Of course, I’d probably also go a wee bit crazy. Best I come out every now and then, I suppose. And as for what I’m working on now, it’s book three in my Davenport series. Caught on Camera and Caught in the Act (to be released Jan 20, 2015) is about my Kennedy-like family. The series feels like my writing (of course), but it isn’t small town in the way that the Sugar Springs stories are. It’s more scandalous with loads of secrets and hotter sex. [smile] Book three will be the oldest son’s story and will be set in Washington DC. I just binge-watched all three seasons on Scandal to get myself in the right frame of mind!

What's up next for you?

Well, I’m working on my next book, I’m working on a proposal for what books I want to write after that, and I’m trying really hard to remember every day to step outside and see the sun. (I spent way too many months the last couple of years forgetting to do that.)

Other than that, I’m readying for book releases! Sprinkles on Top just came out, then I have a story in a cowboy anthology coming out on November 18th (the anthology is titled, Cowboys for Christmas), and then Caught in the Act (The Davenports, book 2) releases January 20th.

 

Thanks Kim for chatting with me.  

And thanks again for having me!!

As a child, award-winning author Kim Law cultivated a love for chocolate, anything purple, and creative writing. She penned her debut work, “The Gigantic Talking Raisin,” in the sixth grade and got hooked on the delights of creating stories. Before settling into the writing life, however, she earned a college degree in mathematics and then worked as a computer programmer—for far too many years. Now she’s pursuing her lifelong dream of writing romance novels. She has won the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart Award, has been a finalist for the prestigious RWA RITA Award, and has served in varied positions for her local RWA chapter. A native of Kentucky, Kim lives with her husband and an assortment of animals in Middle Tennessee.

Places to find Kim Law:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

For Holly Marshall, there’s no such thing as a perfect match. That’s reflected in the unpredictable, fun clothing combos the aspiring artist wears around her hometown of Sugar Springs—and in her inability to fit in anywhere else. But when she sets out to prove to her family that she’s ready to grow up by settling down, could she have found her perfect mismatch in a play-by-the-book guy wearing a business suit?

High-powered attorney Zack Winston is a man who always gets what he wants. While Holly wouldn’t mind sampling what Zack so deliciously has to offer, she needs someone who plans to stick around—and Zack’s disdain of small towns suggests he won’t. But as the camaraderie of Sugar Springs begins to charm, and Zack’s brothers show what family is all about, he and Holly may just get the chance to have it all…if they’re brave enough to reach out and take it.

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