Guest Post: Author K.R. Richards
Hello everyone. I’m K. R. Richards. I write historical romance, historical paranormal romance, historical romance adventure, and contemporary paranormal romance. I would like to thank Mariella for inviting me to her blog!
I have been writing since I was a teen, but didn’t publish until 2012. I have nine ebooks on Amazon and five stories on Kindle Vella. I have two “Book 3’s” of book series in the works that I need to finish and release, and two of my completed Vellas that I plan to get ready to publish in book form.
My first book was Lord of the Abbey, and four more books and a novella followed that to make up the Lords of Avalon (LOA) series. That series needs to be re-edited and someday I’ll get around to doing that. Life, other obligations, and day jobs have proven to be obstacles to that endeavor thus far. But I garnered a loyal fan base with that series and have fans who reread my books often. So, I decided long ago that because it is still being read and enjoyed and all books have over a four-star rating, that I will simply re-edit them for grammar and punctuation and leave them as they were originally written. That series has a lot of sex scenes in it, (Fifty Shades was the rage back then. Lol) But with each book, the sex becomes less and more tasteful. By book four of the LOA series, I was feeling more comfortable with writing. I feel it was from that point that my books really improved. I took some classes and learned over the past years how to self-edit. I have four very loyal Beta readers who let me know when something’s working and when it’s not.
The LOA series serves as the backbone for two other series, the Quest for the Shroud series, which contains some characters from the LOA series, and my new Lords of Avalon: Next Generation series, which I started on Vella and plan to publish.
The LOA Next Generation series focuses on the children of the heroes and heroines of the Lords of Avalon series. I am having a blast writing this new series. I get to figure out what the children of my old characters should look like and what traits (good and bad) they will have. Then I get to give them their own personalities. I get to cameo some of my old heroes and heroines in their middle-aged years, and as parents. That’s a lot of fun.
The LOA and Quest series I consider to be historical romance adventure (with a bit of paranormal thrown in from time to time) as is my Vella-soon-to-be book, Finding Avalon. Finding Happiness has less adventure, there is still some, but I consider it to be more of an emotional romance. The Next Generation stories will each be stand-alone books, however, I may set up a romance or two to be continued in an upcoming story here and there. I plan for the Next Generation series of novels to be published as merely “A Lords of Avalon: Next Generation Novel”, whereas the books in each of the LOA and Quest series are related with the same search or quest ongoing, each with one or two HEA in the romance area per book.
My contemporary paranormal series, The Decker Brothers Trilogy, is also a favorite of fans. It centers around three brothers of Irish lineage, the Flynns of the ancient O’Flynns. The brothers and three women are brought together due to a chance meeting of the hero and heroine in Decker’s Fate, Book One, which brings in an old Irish demon connected to a forgotten O’Flynn family curse. The Deckers meet Irish relatives and learn more about the curse. The brothers and the ladies must learn magic from the Irish O’Flynns in order to protect themselves from the demon. And they must find a way to break the curse. Think Friends theme with magic, action, and demons. Books One and Two are out. Book Three is not completely written yet. Nor is Book Three of The Quest for the Shroud series.
There was not much time for writing during the four years I was a caregiver for my mother before she passed. I started writing Vellas in 2021, as I felt I could manage writing short episodes, and it was something I could do while being a caregiver. I’m so glad I did because writing Vellas has definitely improved my writing skills. I have made many friends in the wonderful Vella community, have widely expanded the genres I read, and in the Vella-verse I have found some fabulous authors whose work I love to read, like Mariella’s.
Now I’m writing Vellas and slowly working on two Book 3’s of the Decker & Quest series. I plan to soon focus on getting my first Vella, The Guardian of Elphinstone published in book form and do the same with my first LOA Next Generation story, Finding Avalon. I plan to also publish Season One and Two of Witchery into book form, but I’ll save that project for next year, so they are ready to be released in Autumn for Halloween. Witchery is a lot of fun to write. I still have a couple of seasons planned for it. Think Downton Abbey but with Scottish Witches. Lots of magic, mayhem, drama, and romance, Victorian style.
Recently, I started back to work with a second part-time job. My writing time has considerably lessened, so I’m only working on two Vellas at a time now. I was about to start the third Season of Witchery when the Vellys contest came along.
I had to use a brand-new story, so I had about fourteen episodes of a project written, The Athena Society Chronicles, that I worked on here and there. That became my Velly submission. The Athena Society is born from a Ladies Literary Society, the members of which help a Duke and two of his friends search for proof that one of the Society’s members, the Duke’s sister was murdered by her husband.
There are a lot of characters in my books and Vellas. I like it that way. Some people may not. But they all have a purpose. I’ve learned how to use my cast of characters without confusing the reader. (I hope) I confess the LOA series has a problem with that. You will also find there are sometimes more than one romance within a book. Sometimes it’s setting up the romances for another book, sometimes there is just more than one romance going on. But it all works with the plot.
I love history, so you will find some history in most of my books. Myth and Legend also weave through most of my stories. And the paranormal. There is more in some books than others and so far, there is no paranormal whatsoever in Finding Happiness.
The Lords of Avalon series begins in Glastonbury, England in the 1830’s. Glastonbury is steeped in myth and legend, and the place has always fascinated me. The whole premise of the series is the hero, heroine, and friends search for some of the lost treasures from Glastonbury Abbey that disappeared during the Dissolution of the Abbeys during Henry VIII’s reign. The locations change throughout the series, from Glastonbury, to Devon, to Cornwall and back to Glastonbury. Myth and legend tie in with the different locations used in this series.
The Quest for the Shroud series is based on the premise that when the Knights Templar were arrested some of them escaped and took much of the Templar treasures, including the shroud of Jesus, to Scotland where they were welcomed by Robert the Bruce who was fighting the war for Scottish Independence. In 1835, the Avalon Society (some members from the LOA series) must search for the shroud, as an unknown enemy is murdering shroud scholars. The Shroud Guardians in the series are my invention, but much of the myth, legend, and history about the Templars, the Shroud, and their connection to Robert the Bruce come from the pages of history books.
In Finding Avalon, my first LOA Next Generation Vella, my characters are searching for the Holy Grail in Glastonbury, where Arthurian and Grail myths and legends abound.
Finding Happiness is about second chances for both the hero and heroine. There is some adventure, but mostly it’s about the hero and heroine and their journeys of change and finding happiness together.
The Guardian of Elphinstone is set in Cornwall. I decided this area full of ancient monuments was the perfect place for a portal between our world and Elphame to exist. My hero in this story is the Guardian and protector of this ancient Fae site. There’s murder, romance, magic and cheeky fairies in this one.
I want to thank Mariella again for giving me the opportunity to tell you about myself and my stories.
K. R. Richards likes to garden, loves history, metaphysical studies, and is a collector of crystals, minerals, and gemstones.
She is a transplant from Arizona to Mississippi. She is mother to two amazing sons, has a beautiful daughter-in-law, and two wonderful grandchildren. She is owned by a mischievous orange tuxedo cat and an active Border Collie mix, both of whom keep her on her toes.
Find her on Facebook, Instagram, Goodreads, and this is her Amazon author page!
