Kieran Kramer's Blog, page 4
October 14, 2013
Contest
In my new contemporary romance novel SWEET TALK ME, country music superstar Harrison Gamble loves his MoonPies. He even includes them in a song he wrote. I’d love to share the MoonPie love with you, my readers. So enter the contest to win a retro-designed cigar box of these Southern snacks. I hear they go down well with an RC Cola, but I prefer a tall glass of milk with mine. And don’t forget to check out the recipe for MoonPie trifle I put up at Heroes and Heartbreakers. It’s yummy! Thanks for hanging out here with me and my books, y’all, and have a great time getting ready for Thanksgiving!
Kieran XOXO
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What is LOVING LADY MARCIA about?
Book Trailer: IF YOU GIVE A GIRL A VISCOUNT
Kieran’s interview with the infamous Penelope Brown-Braun!
For Press/Media
USA Today bestselling author Kieran Kramer currently writes fun contemporary romance for St. Martin’s Press. A former CIA employee, journalist, and English teacher, Kieran’s also a game show veteran, karaoke enthusiast, and general adventurer. She lives where she grew up–in the Lowcountry of South Carolina–with her family. Find her on Facebook, Twitter, and at www.kierankramerbooks.com.
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Publicity Information
All requests for interviews, speaking engagements, media appearances, and photographs should be directed to St. Martin’s Press Marketing Department.
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St. Martin’s Press
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October 7, 2013
Guest Author Nan Reinhardt: Let’s Hear It for Love After 50!
I love Nan Reinhardt! She’s such a dynamo. As Rob Reiner’s mother said in that famous scene in the diner in When Harry Met Sally, “I’ll have some of what she’s having!” And we can, ladies, through Nan’s books. Read them yourselves, and share ‘em with women you love!
I’m bugged, so get ready. There’s a chance, if you know me, that this may be a familiar rant. It seems that most romance novels are the bailiwick of characters who are younger than 50. If 40 is the new 30 and 50 is the new 40, then how come romance after 50 isn’t sexy?
Well, folks, I’ve got big news–sexy is timeless. Excuse me, but two words, Pierce Brosnan. Or how about Sean Connery? Jeff Bridges? Denzel Washington, anyone? Richard Gere? And as far as sexy women are concerned–want to talk about Susan Sarandon? Sophia Loren? Goldie Hawn? Helen Mirren? Tina Turner? Me? (Sorry, I couldn’t resist!)
Hollywood is beginning to get it. I thoroughly enjoyed the film Something’s Gotta Give—a love story between two people well over age 50. Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson totally rocked that delightful movie. It’s Complicated showed us Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin as grown-ups in a love story that was fun and sexy. Streep and Stanley Tucci recreated the romance between Julia and Paul Child—an older couple madly in love—in Julie and Julia. And hey how about Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan in Mama Mia?
So what’s up with the world of romance novels? Why is it that if you’re a woman of a certain age, then nobody wants to read about your love life? All of us more mature folks are still falling in love, rediscovering love, renewing love, and by God, we’re still having sex and probably doing it with way more panache. So why are most romance novels about girls in their twenties and early thirties?
A few years ago, Harlequin nailed it with their NEXT imprint, but it didn’t make it, and I’m not sure why. Maybe we weren’t ready then, but I believe we’re ready now. That’s why I’m writing more mature heroines, like Carrie in ONCE MORE FROM THE TOP and Julie in SEX AND THE WIDOW MILES. I’m ready for romance with a dash of maturity, two people involved in a relationship without all the nonsense of youth. I want conversations between grown-ups who are over the drama of coming-of-age and meet on the level playing field of self-knowledge. I’m looking for sensual sexy love scenes written with that irresistible combination of humor, passion, and life experience.
Baby Boomers, as writers and readers, let’s put the romance world on notice—we’re here, we’re in love, we’re making love, and our stories are worth telling. Who’s in? One commenter will win an e-copy of ONCE MORE FROM THE TOP or SEX AND THE WIDOW MILES, winner’s choice.
Carrie Halligan never regretted the choice she made sixteen years ago to raise her son Jack by herself in Willow Bay, Michigan. A successful photographer by day, at night Carrie satisfies her musical passions by playing piano at a hotel bar, maintaining a balance that works for her and Jack. Walking away from Maestro Liam Reilly without telling him she was pregnant with his child may have been the hardest thing she’d ever done, but it was definitely the right thing.
When Liam shows up in town to perform a benefit concert with the local symphony, however, Carrie’s carefully crafted life spins out of control. After sending Jack to summer camp, she realizes she can’t keep Liam in the dark forever. Telling the truth to the man she once loved more than life itself isn’t near as hard as spending time in his presence and realizing that the years haven’t diminished his power over her heart. Will her lie be too much to get past, or will the spark of passion between them overcome everything?
Model-thin, beautiful, and aging gracefully, Julie Miles was looking forward to retirement with her husband, Dr. Charlie Miles, in their idyllic Willow Bay, Michigan home. But when Charlie dies of a heart attack, simply getting out of bed becomes a daily struggle. Desperate for a change of scene, she leaves her home to stay in her friend Carrie’s unoccupied Chicago apartment.
Her handsome and young new neighbor, Will Brody, seems to enjoy his assignment to keep an eye on her, and Jules can’t help but be flattered. She embraces life—and sex—again, until the discovery of a dark secret shatters her world once more. She knows her feelings for Will are more than casual, and he’s made it clear he wants her, but how can she ever trust a man again when her perfect life turned out to be a lie? Determined to get to the bottom of it all, Jules goes in search of the truth and discovers that there’s always a second chance to find real love.
Nan Reinhardt is a writer of romantic fiction for women in their prime. Yeah, women still fall in love and have sex, even after 45! Imagine! She is also a wife, a mom, a mother-in-law, and a grandmother. She’s been an antiques dealer, a bank teller, a stay-at-home mom, a secretary, and for the last 17 years, she’s earned her living as a freelance copyeditor and proofreader.
But writing is Nan’s first and most enduring passion. She can’t remember a time in her life when she wasn’t writing—she wrote her first romance novel at the age of ten, a love story between the most sophisticated person she knew at the time, her older sister (who was in high school and had a driver’s license!) and a member of Herman’s Hermits. If you remember who they are, you are Nan’s audience! She’s still writing romance, but now from the viewpoint of a wiser, slightly rumpled, menopausal woman who believes that love never ages, women only grow more interesting, and everybody needs a little sexy romance.
Her first novel Rule Number One is available at Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble.com. The other two, Once More From the Top and Sex and the Widow Miles — the first novels in the Women of Willow Bay series, are available exclusively at Amazon.
Visit Nan’s website: www.nanreinhardt.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authornanreinhardt
Twitter: @NanReinhardt
Talk to Nan at: nanleigh1@gmail.com
September 10, 2013
Sweet Talk Me
August 27, 2013
SAY YES TO THE DUKE Is Out in the World Today!
Dear Awesome Readers,
Thanks for all you’ve done to help me stay home and write stories for you! My latest rollicking Regency about the middle sister in the Sherwood clan and her hero pitching hay in the stables is available for purchase as of today. It’s SAY YES TO THE DUKE. It’s gotten some really nice reviews from Romantic Times and Booklist:
“Kramer’s gift is her innate ability to tell a story with unerring honesty, deep emotion and humor. Readers will laugh, cry and deeply sigh from beginning to end of this beautifully told, enchanting love story.” —4 1/2 stars RT Book Reviews Top Pick!
“The third book in Kramer’s “House of Brady” series offers everything this author’s fans have come to expect including a sinfully sexy romance between two perfectly matched protagonists, a richly amusing cast of unconventional secondary characters, and a lively plot that doesn’t take itself too seriously.” —Booklist
If you click on this sentence, it it will take you to purchase links from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other bookstores. You should be able to get a print or e-book copy. And if you really like the story, I always appreciate your leaving a one-liner review on Amazon or Barnes & Noble or even GoodReads to help spread the word. Thanks again so much for all your amazing support of my writing!!!
Hugs,
Kieran 
August 25, 2013
A Most Devilish Rogue: 5 Fun Facts with Ashlyn Macnamara
[Kieran intro]
A Most Devilish Rogue
Ballantine Books
August 27, 2013
Years ago, when Isabelle Mears was still a young miss too infatuated to know better, she surrendered her innocence to a dishonorable man. Though ruined and cast out from society, she has worked hard to shelter her illegitimate son, Jack. Having sworn off men in her quiet but dignified life, Isabelle is unprepared for the deep longing that rips through her when a handsome stranger rescues her rambunctious six-year-old from the pounding ocean surf. George Upperton is a man in trouble with debts, women, and a meddling family. He is, by all accounts, the last gentleman on earth Isabelle should be drawn to. But loneliness is a hard mistress, and caution gives way to desire . . . even though Isabelle is convinced that happiness can’t be found in the arms of such a devilish rogue. Only when Jack is kidnapped does Isabelle discover the true depth of George’s devotion—and how far a good man will go to fight for the woman whose love is all that matters.
5 Fun Facts about A MOST DEVILISH ROGUE:
1. I developed a crush on the hero while writing my first book. George is present on page one of my debut A Most Scandalous Proposal as the hero’s best friend, but he really came into his own about the middle of that book. He decided to start stealing scenes with his smart mouth, and I knew I’d have to write a story for him just to shut him up. And yes, I am attracted to smart-mouths.
2. Unlike so many romance novel heroes, George is NOT much of an equestrian. How often do you get a description of the romance hero riding a charger into battle or simply writing his favorite horse through Hyde Park? You won’t find George doing either of those things. In fact, he has trouble handling Buttercup, a placid mare suitable for a child.
3. I borrowed his family name from a Canadian woman bobsledder (Helen Upperton). I got the idea for the first book somewhere in February 2010. I was busily jotting down notes while the winter Olympics played in the background. I heard that last name, wrote it down, and eventually adopted it for George.
4. My hero and heroine invent a game that actually exists. At one point, the hero and heroine invent a version of two-handed whist. The game I have them ‘invent’ really exists, in Quebec anyway, where it’s known as neuf à deux. Kids usually learn to play it before they move on to harder games. I have no idea if it exists in Regency England, so I had my hero and heroine invent it together. (And yes, in the book, they play for forfeits…)
5. When I got my cover art, I added extra description of the hero’s, um, assets. Couldn’t resist, but I’m not sure anyone could.
Ashlyn is giving away a copy of A MOST DEVILISH ROGUE to and I am offering a copy of my book, LOVING LADY MARCIA to one lucky commenter. Leave a comment to enter. Giveaway open to US/CA, ends 8/30. Good luck!
Ashlyn Macnamara writes Regency romances with a dash of wit and a hint of wicked. She considers this writing gig her midlife crisis, but figures it’s less risky than rock climbing or skydiving. When not writing, she looks for other excuses to neglect the housework, among them knitting, reading and wasting time on the internet in the guise of doing research. Despite her insistence on looking toward the past, she can be found on Facebook and Twitter. She also likes to play at being a Duchess from time to time.
