Friday Featured Author: Katie O’Sullivan
Crazy About youThis week’s featured author is one of my personal favorites! I’m so happy to share a bit about Katie O’Sullivan with all of you. Her sweet stories that are full of adventure is just one of the reasons she’s a go-to author for me.
Before we get to the interview and her new release, Crazy About You, here is a bit about Katie.
About Katie:
Katie O’Sullivan lives with her family and big dogs on Cape Cod, drinking way too much coffee and inventing new excuses not to dust. Living next to the Atlantic influences everything she writes, from her Cape Cod romances to her YA series about the mermaids who live near her beach. A recovering English major, she earned her degree at Colgate University and now writes romance and adventure for young adults, and something steamier for the young at heart.
Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon Author Page
The Interview:
Tell us about your latest release.
CRAZY ABOUT YOU is my second romance with The Wild Rose Press that’s set on the shores of Cape Cod. The first was MY KIND OF CRAZY, set in Harwich in the off-season filled with down-to-earth locals. This story is set on the tip of the Cape in Provincetown, during the height of tourist season. Provincetown is a totally unique place, and it was fun to set my story amidst the colorful characters who migrate there in the summer. Here’s the blurb:
Climate scientist Chase Anderson races from one project to the next, unwilling to slow down in his quest to save the world’s oceans. He has no time for family or relationships until he crashes into an impetuous blonde with a quirky sense of humor. One sizzling kiss makes him seriously reevaluate his priorities. And his sanity.
Emma Maguire left her small Cape Cod hometown years ago, seeking the fast pace and anonymity of New York City. She’s not sure what she’s searching for, but when a family crisis brings her home to Provincetown she’s caught in a crazy tangle of half-truths and mistaken identity… and falls for the handsome stranger who broke her cell phone.
Will untangling the web of lies drive them crazy, or lead to something even crazier – like love?
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Totally a pantser, which is unfortunate. I wrote myself into several corners with this book, not knowing why things were happening, just knowing they had to. To unravel the twisted threads, I took a few long walks with my neighbor and our dogs and tried to work it out… the ideas we came up with were a little too outrageous, but it helped open my mind to possibilities. And it was a walk on the beach – always a good idea!
What was the most difficult part of the publishing process for you?
Finding a good small publisher. I’ve been writing and publishing for six years now, and have had a few bad experiences with small presses, either not paying me for my work, or going out of business. Being part of The Wild Rose Press is such a wonderful experience in comparison, and I’m so grateful for the support and camaraderie I’ve found there.
How about the most fun?
Meeting and talking with readers is definitely the best part of being an author. I actually enjoy being at book signings and chatting with people about books because I’m an avid reader myself. I also love getting emails and notes from readers, knowing someone enjoyed what I wrote is such a kick.
What inspired you to write your first book?
I’m one of those authors who always wanted to write. I wrote my first full book the summer before third grade, THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED HOUSE. Original, I know. My aunt printed it for me, doing the illustrations herself, and made 50 copies for me to distribute to friends and family. An old friend recently sent me a photo of her autographed copy that she still has from my very first “book signing.” I was hooked.
The first book I published as an adult came about when my youngest child went off to full-day kindergarten and a friend dragged me to his novel writing class. That class resulted in UNFOLDING THE SHADOWS, which was published by Ellora’s Cave Press in 2009. I recently got the rights returned to me, rewrote the book almost entirely and contracted it with The Wild Rose Press to be published as GHOSTS DON’T LIE. It’s about a reluctant ghost whisperer and her abusive husband, and I just finished the second round of edits this week.
Do you have any writing rituals?
Not really… Well, maybe. Coffee. Lots of coffee. And wine for writing the steamier scenes. And beach walks for working out sticky plot points.
Who is your go-to author?
Besides you, Constance? (I love all your books!) I love Julie James and her smart, sassy heroines, she’s an automatic buy for me. I also love Jennifer Crusie for a fun beach read. She also writes smart, strong women. I recently read the first two Outlander books, and am hooked on Diane Gabaldon. I’ve already purchased book three, but am waiting for my next long plane ride to get started on it.
What projects are you working on at present? Plans for future projects?
I’ve been pretty busy lately. I just re-released the first book of my YA mermaid series with a new publisher, retitled DESCENT from Wicked Whale Publishing. Had a fun launch day last week with 9 other YA authors and a few great library events here on Cape Cod. I’m headed to the pirate museum in Provincetown to promote it next week during Family Week – pirates and mermaids go hand in hand, right? I’m busy rewriting the second book in that series, retitled DEFIANCE, for a December release, and working on book three for next summer.
This spring I wrote a fun novella as part of The Wild Rose Press 2016 Valentine “Candy Hearts” series. My heart was titled “Say Yes” and the story is about a Cape Cod artist and a gallery owner, both looking for second chances in life and love. That’s set to be published in January 2016 as one of the first books in the series. As I mentioned before, I just finished the second round of edits on GHOSTS DON’T LIE, a romantic suspense contracted with The Wild Rose Press. I don’t have a release date yet, but since the book is set in winter, I’m hoping for a winter release date.
Beyond that, I just started a new day job this summer and it’s cutting into my fiction writing time but giving me all sorts of new plot ideas. We’ll see where that leads!
Thanks for having me here today, to celebrate my new release and chat with you! This has been fun!
Crazy About You
Tag Line:
Drawn together by a dead cell phone, it’s the dead body that changes everything.
Blurb:
Climate scientist Chase Anderson races from one project to the next, unwilling to slow down in his quest to save the world’s oceans. He has no time for family or relationships until he crashes into an impetuous blonde with a quirky sense of humor. One sizzling kiss makes him seriously reevaluate his priorities. And his sanity.
Emma Maguire left her small Cape Cod hometown years ago, seeking the fast pace and anonymity of New York City. She’s not sure what she’s searching for, but when a family crisis brings her home to Provincetown she’s caught in a crazy tangle of half-truths and mistaken identity… and falls for the handsome stranger who broke her cell phone.
Will untangling the web of lies drive them crazy, or lead to something even crazier – like love?
Buy Links: AMAZON | THE WILD ROSE PRESS | BARNES & NOBLE |
Look for my review of Crazy About You next week!
An Excerpt from Crazy About You:
A blinding smile lit her face, and she waved with enthusiasm. His heart skipped a few beats as his blood all went lower down.
She beelined to the table, calling his name. “Chase? Chase! It’s so good to see you again! Thanks so much for inviting me to lunch!”
He found himself rising to greet her for the second time inside an hour. Instead of sitting, she came to where he stood and wrapped her arms around his neck. She planted an exaggerated kiss on his cheek, like the one he’d envied Tony for the prior day, those soft red lips wet on his skin. His arms slipped around her waist and his stomach clenched hard, inappropriate thoughts racing through his head at breakneck speed, leaving him dazed. Staring down, he saw similar confusion mirrored in Emma’s eyes, as if she felt it too, that electric current running fast and furious between them at every point where their bodies connected. And she wasn’t letting go.
