Interview & Giveaway with LOVER'S LEAP author, Kimberly Keyes

Lover’s Leap

by: Kimberly Keyes

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: October 2, 2015

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | Kobo | Goodreads

After finding her fiancé in bed with another woman, Candace, a twenty-something, up-and-coming romance novelist takes off for a friend’s vacation home in Tahoe. The good news? She’ll share the place with fellow house guest, Logan, her best friend Eric’s latest lover. Except...

Logan, the nearly-irresistible-to-women photographer, isn’t Eric’s lover. Not now, not ever. He’s in Tahoe licking his own personal wounds, and before he’s allowed near Candace, he’s sworn off of her. No problem. Except...

There’s something about Candace. She’s not simply beautiful and enticingly off-limits. It’s in the way she doesn’t flirt with him. In the way she treats him like he isn’t a shallow pleasure-seeker. In the way, somehow, she brings peace to his world-weary soul.

Too bad she thinks he’s gay. But even if he can clear that hurdle, can he really entrust Candace’s heart to his own haphazard keeping?

After a while she turned to gaze at Logan’s profile.  One tanned forearm rested easily on the steering wheel, the other settled over the stick shift, just inches from her upper thigh.  Her eyes drifted over his long, denim covered legs, stretched out in front of him in an almost leisurely sprawl. It struck her she couldn’t remember ever feeling so utterly feminine, and so totally safe, in a man’s presence.  Being with Logan felt so…right.

The peace inside her snapped in the face of her inappropriate affection for a man she hardly knew. A man involved with one of her best friends--who also happened to be a man.  She dragged her gaze away, pinching her eyes closed and fisting her hands in her lap.  What in the world was wrong with her?

“Everything all right?” Logan asked, his words piercing the silence.  She shot him a look and saw his eyes flicking over her clenched hands.  Did the man miss nothing?

She forced her hands to unfurl.  “Just thinking.”  Over thinking.  So she enjoyed his company.  That was no crime.  Besides, it was already Wednesday and he’d be leaving some time this weekend. How much trouble could she possibly get herself into?  

Hi Kimberly.  Welcome to Read Your Writes Book Reviews.  How are you?

I’m doing great, enjoying my first book blog tour, enjoying the start of the Christmas season, time with family and friends, and still basking in the pleasure of having my first book published—and my second book contracted. (smiles)

Well, congratulations on your upcoming book.  Tell me about Candace and Logan.  How would you describe them?

They’re both attractive, successful close-to-thirty year olds. Logan’s a highly acclaimed photographer for Rolling Stone Magazine, Candace is on the road to being a best selling author, and neither of them hurts for dates. To look at them prior to the start of their relationship, the world would think they have it all.

Inside, however, both carry deep wounds from their pasts that have wreaked havoc on their love lives. In Candace’s case, her father’s infidelity, and her mother’s unwillingness to address said infidelity, led her down a rabbit hole known as control. Candace protects her heart by refusing to give her heart away.

Logan doesn’t give his heart either—but it’s not because he’s afraid of getting hurt. He’s more concerned about how his action (or inaction) might hurt another. He blames himself for the death of his twin brother, and doesn’t want to risk another’s heart to his own keeping. He’s contented himself with meaningless sexual flings up to now, but it’s gotten old.

Oh wow.  I didn’t think Logan’s past would be so tragic.  And Candace seems to have more going on than I thought.  In Lover's Leap Candace mistakes Logan to be gay.  How did that mistake happen?

Candace and Logan have a mutual friend (Eric), who happens to be gay. Eric offers Candace the use of his lake house after she and her fiancee break-up, and belatedly remembers Logan is already staying there.

When her friend almost rescinds his offer of the house because his “special friend, Logan” is already staying there, Candace wrongfully assumes Logan is Eric’s new lover. Eric is notoriously private about his liaisons so the fact he’s being tight-lipped about Logan is a sure sign to Candace the two are involved.

The truth is, Logan’s tie with Eric is complicated. Logan’s dead twin was the love of Eric’s life. Though it’s been years since Logan’s brother died, both men are still broken hearted over the loss. This is the real reason Eric doesn’t want to discuss Logan with Candace.

Logan realizes Candace thinks he’s gay right away—and he lets her go on thinking so, for his own reasons. You’ll have to read the book to discover what those are. (smiles)

This book just keeps sounding better and better.  Was there anything about the book which surprised you?  If so, what?

LOVER’S LEAP was full of surprises for me, not so much to do with the story itself, but concerning my writing process. It was the first contemporary romance I’d written (I’m currently working on another), but my fourth book to date, and writing it helped me recognize and embrace my own unique writing techniques.

Speaking of which, what’s your writing process like?  Do you have an outline of how you want things to go or do you just see where the characters take you?

I start out with a basic premise. In this case “Mistaken Identity.” Candace thinks Logan’s gay.

I start filling in details, and the skeleton of the story starts coming together. Again using LOVER’S LEAP as an example, I knew Candace and Logan had a mutual friend who lent them his Lake Tahoe house. I knew they would have an instant attraction they must resist because…and BOOM, here’s where outlining meets seat-of-my-pants writing. I had to come up with why the two resist each other, what compelled them to stay apart.

Something about my process that got hammered into me writing LOVER’S LEAP is this. If I work out the how and why, but the scene won’t allow me to write it, I know to STOP, turn around, and make adjustments till the story rings true and the scenes unfold both in my head and on the page. Every time I’ve pushed through when a scene just isn’t wanting to get on the page, I’ve ended up doing a lot of deleting and re-writing.

In the end, I guess it’s all about characters for me, and the ability to show them falling in love. I want my readers to enjoy the experience of falling. The plot is secondary, although I want the story to be believable, and a page-turner, and interesting, and… (smiles)

What do you think Candace and Logan would say about you as their author?

Hmm. Hard question. They would probably say I’m hot and cold. Thousands of words pouring onto the pages for days at a time, then I disappear (to work on another book and let their story germinate in my mind—but don’t tell them that. ) (smiles)

What's your favorite part of the book to write? (The beginning, the first kiss, the conflict or the declaration of love?)

I love writing the scenes where my hero is burning for my heroine but can’t have her. (smiles) I love how these scenes build and come faster and faster leading up to the first powerful love scene.

Kimberly, congratulations on your first published book.  Thank you for taking some time to answer some questions for me.

Thank you, Kim, for having me as a guest , and for your interest in LOVER’S LEAP!

Purchase Lover’s Leap from:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | Kobo | Goodreads

Kimberly Keyes knew before she was old enough to drive, writing was her passion.  Specifically, writing romance. Once she got up the courage to start typing, she never looked back—although some of her earlier works will never get further than underneath her bed!

She writes single title contemporary and historical romance, Victorian era, and is most comfortable working on two books in the two different genres, simultaneously.

The bulk of her time she spends writing, and re-writing, plotting, and dreaming up ways to perplex the characters living inside her head.

She’s lucky to have the unswerving support of her family, and most especially her two faithful companions, Pappillon, a twenty pound rescue puppy from Puerto Rico, and Frank, a.k.a. “President of the Black Dog Club,” also a rescue.  The two are constantly by her side offering love and encouragement, and occasionally demanding chewies.

LOVER’S LEAP, a contemporary romance, is her first published book.  THE TROUBLE WITH TIGERS, a victorian romance will be released soon, too! Both books are published by The Wild Rose Press.

Places to find Kimberly Keyes:

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

You can follow Kimberly’s Lover’s Leap Blog Tour here.

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