Author Interview and Giveaway: Kathryn Freeman

Today's author interview is with Kathryn Freeman, and there is a giveaway of her new book at the end :)

Welcome!

1.Anything new and exciting that has happened in your life? Since you were last on my blog in 2014.

Well, let me see. I reached a milestone birthday – but though the celebration (a weekend in London) was certainly exciting, reaching fifty was not! From a writing perspective I’m thrilled to have my second paperback out this month (Too Charming). I’ve also been writing and editing my third Choc Lit book (Search for Truth).

2.  And tell me about your new book, Too Charming?

It’s a romance, perhaps an unlikely one, between dashing defence lawyer Scott Armstrong, and no nonsense police detective Megan Taylor. Megan’s been hurt in the past by a man who was too handsome and too charming, so she doesn’t have much time for Scott. Her opinion of him isn’t helped by the fact that he spends his days defending the very people she works so hard to imprison. 

Scott’s a confident guy though, and he isn’t too daunted when Megan snubs him. As he sees it, she’ll soon start seeing him not as a lawyer, but as a man. He does make progress (it’s hard for a woman to keep turning down a sexy man, I imagine …) but then he’s caught up in the middle of a case that throws his life into chaos. It also has Megan re-evaluating everything she thought she knew about him.

3. What was the inspiration behind this book?

I’d just written a book where the hero was gorgeous but gruff (Do Opposites Attract, my first paperback) so I was keen to write about someone very different in my next book. That’s how the charming, smoothly handsome Scott was conceived. But I also wanted him to be more than the reader saw on the surface, so I had to find something (and someone) that would rattle him. The rest of the story flowed from there.    

4. Now give me some nice details about our hero Scott? ;) What makes him tick?

He’s a barrister and he practically bristles with self-assurance, at least on the outside. At just over 6ft with dark hair, grey eyes and a dimpled smile, he’s good-looking and a bit of a ladies man. He likes to flirt. He also likes to ride his Harley-Davidson and draw. But what you see with Scott isn’t quite the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth (sorry, it was too hard to resist ). Beneath his easy charm and ready wit is a man not quite as confident as he appears, which is one of the reasons I really enjoyed writing his point of view.

5. Why is this a perfect book to read this summer?

I like to think it has something to please most readers. A feisty heroine, a witty, sexy hero, a bit of mystery and some scenes which I hope will sizzle as much as the summer (and if it’s an English summer, I hope they will sizzle more ).

Thank you so much for interviewing me. It’s such a pleasure to be on your blog.

Thank you!

Giveaway

1 e-copy of Too Charming

1. Open to everyone in the world.

2. Ends June 24th

3. Just comment and you are in.

PS. Remember, if I can't find your details, I can't find you.

Biography

A former pharmacist, I’m now a medical writer who also writes romance. Some days a racing heart is a medical condition, others it’s the reaction to a hunky hero. 

With two teenage boys and a husband who huffs at buying a Valentine’s Day card, any romance is all in my head. Then again, his unstinting support of my career change proves love isn't always about hearts and flowers - and heroes come in many disguises.

Contact details:

Website:   

Facebook:   

Twitter:   

Buying links:

Too Charming is now available in paperback as well as ebook format.

Amazon UK:  

Amazon US: 

Too Charming - Kathryn Freeman

Detective Sergeant Megan Taylor thinks so. She once lost her heart to a man who was too charming and she isn’t about to make the same mistake again – especially not with sexy defence lawyer, Scott Armstrong. Aside from being far too sure of himself for his own good, Scott’s major flaw is that he defends the very people that she works so hard to imprison.

But when Scott wants something he goes for it. And he wants Megan. One day she’ll see him not as a lawyer, but as a man ... and that’s when she’ll fall for him.

Yet just as Scott seems to be making inroads, a case presents itself that’s far too close to home, throwing his life into chaos.

As Megan helps him pick up the pieces, can he persuade her that he isn’t the careless charmer she thinks he is? Isn’t a man innocent until proven guilty? 

My thoughts:

A bit of suspense; a tiny bit, some drama and romance. Two people falling in love, two people being idiots. That good old story,

Megan is a cop. She was hurt by the man she loved, now she thinks pretty men are no good.

Scott is a defense attorney. He has played around...a lot. But when he sees her, he wants her.

First issue: She is a cop, he defends criminals (or well people accused of a crime). Clashes at once. How you can defend that a-hole!? It's my job! You get the point. She thinks like a cop, he like a defense attorney. 

Second issue: She can not trust men. 

Third issue: Her case, his case, clashes. A new case. Oh no!

SO you can see that they have their work cut out for them. I did feel that she was too I do not trust him. I understood her, but at the same time, trust him a bit wont ya! The chip on her shoulder was too big, I would have left long ago. But that proves what a great man Scott was, he did not leave. He stood by, trying to make her trust him. 

So the romance is not really a romance. It's a story about a woman learning to let go. It's also a story about how the past can haunt you, and not just her, him too.

Conclusion:

A romance that builds.

Cover

ok

Paperback, 288 pages
Published June 7th 2015 by Choc Lit (first published September 8th 2013)
Women's fiction /romantic fiction
For review

Author Post: Kathryn Freeman

Do Opposites Attract?: The scenes that nearly didn’t happen… 

Thanks so much for having me on Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell!

Having a great editor can make so much difference to the final product. Do Opposites Attract? is my second novel and my first paperback, so working with an editor is a relatively new experience for me – and I love it. Obviously when I first submitted the manuscript to my publisher I believed it was the best that it could be. But then my editor took a look. One of the phrases that came back on my first round of edits – the substantive edits – really made me smile. She wanted to make my heroine ‘suffer more’.  Instantly I knew what she meant, though. Brianna is rich and beautiful – a combination that made her character hard for readers to empathise with. It also totally put my hero’s back up. Mitch McBride was brought up on the wrong side of the tracks and his life has been full of hardship. Now a doctor with a medical charity, he’s out trying to save lives in a tornado stricken part of South America. The last thing he needs is a visit from the patron’s daughter. But the more she tries to help out at the refugee camp, the more he finds himself drawn to her and the more, hopefully, the readers will warm to her, too. Especially when her efforts aren’t always well received, because though she means well, she’s pretty clueless.

Below is an example of a scene that wasn’t in the original novel I submitted, but which I later included to make Brianna suffer more. To get her out of his hair for a while, Mitch has sent her out to help teach children in a temporary school. He’s given her explicit instructions not to drink any water other than the sealed bottle he’s given her. 

I hope you enjoy it. Remember, my editor made me do it, honest.

..

A couple of hours later he heard a groan from his bed and turned to find her trying to sit up. Her hair was a mess and her face washed out, yet her very vulnerability tugged at him. ‘Welcome back,’ he told her gruffly.

She held out the arm with the drip in it. ‘What’s this doing here? I’m not ill.’

‘It’s replacing the fluids you splattered over my shirt.’

Instantly she clasped her other hand to her mouth in horror. ‘Shit, now I remember. I’m so sorry.’ She hung her head. ‘I can’t believe I puked up all over you. God, and it would have to be you, wouldn’t it?’

‘What do you mean by that?’

‘I mean, you’re ... well ... you’re you.’ She bit her lip. ‘You already think I’m a total moron. Now I’ve thrown up all over you, you’ll hate me even more.’

What the blazes was she going on about? ‘Number one, I don’t hate you, don’t be so ridiculous. Number two, do I look like the type of man who’s bothered by a bit of sick?’

It stopped her in her tracks. At least long enough to study him. He tried not to squirm. ‘No, I guess not. But I expect you are bothered by the fact that I forgot to do as you told me.’ She shook her head. ‘No, that’s not true. I didn’t forget. It’s just the girl who offered me the drink looked so adorable, and I didn’t want to disappoint her.’ He was about to say something, but she wasn’t finished. ‘Instead I disappointed you.’

‘Jesus, Brianna, I’m not disappointed in you.’

‘Then why are you so cross with me?’

‘Cross?’

‘Yes. When I got out of the jeep, you called me a fool. And just now, when I woke up, you looked almost angry.’ 

He was angry, but not with her. With himself, for being so bloody attracted to her. Hell, when Dan had offered to go with her today, he’d been hard pressed not to punch the guy. ‘I’m not cross,’ he told her shortly. ‘I was worried. Do you have any idea how many diseases you can pick up from contaminated water?’

She shook her head, and he sighed and went to feel her forehead. It felt normal. If soft, silk-like skin could be called normal. ‘I think you’ll be fine. Dan went back to the school and the water they used was originally from a bottle, though it wasn’t fresh. I think whatever upset you has probably been flushed out by now.’

‘All over your shirt.’

She sounded so flat, as if she’d had the stuffing knocked out of her, that he almost smiled. He should enjoy this subdued version of Brianna while he could. She was a lot easier to handle. ‘I’ll take the drip out and you can go and rest a while in your own bed.’

He quickly removed the line and helped her to her feet. She looked a little shaky. Like a newborn foal, all large eyes and cute. Yeah, definitely cute. Hastily he dropped his hand to his side. ‘Are you okay to make your own way back?’

She eased her feet into her boots, holding onto his bed to steady herself. ‘Yes, thanks. I’ve caused you enough trouble.’

Okay, now this almost chastened version was beginning to frustrate him. ‘It’s no trouble. Looking after sick people is what I do.’

He received a small smile for that. ‘I know. And you’re pretty good at it.’ Her smile grew wider. ‘Though your bedside manner could do with softening up a bit.’

....

Thank you so much for having me. If you want to find out more about the story, it’s available here: http://amzn.to/1miDL04

Too Charming http://amzn.to/Vqs1TH

Visit my website, tweet me at @KathrynFreeman1 and find me on Facebook. I’d love to hear from you!  

Kathryn Freeman

Kathryn was born in Wallingford, England but has spent most of her life living in a village near Windsor. After studying pharmacy in Brighton she began her working life as a retail pharmacist. She quickly realised that trying to decipher doctors’ handwriting wasn’t for her and left to join the pharmaceutical industry where she spent twenty happy years working in medical communications. In 2011, she left the world of pharmaceutical science to begin life as a self-employed writer, juggling the two disciplines of medical writing and romance. Some days a racing heart is a medical condition, others it’s the reaction to a hunky hero…

With two teenage boys and a husband who asks every Valentine’s Day whether he has to bother buying a card again this year (yes, he does) the romance in her life is all in her head. Then again, her husband’s unstinting support of her career change goes to prove that love isn’t always about hearts and flowers – and heroes can come in many disguises.

Kathryn’s debut digital novel Too Charming was released under Choc Lit Lite and was shortlisted for the 2014 Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Joan Hessayon Award.

Do Opposites attract? 

There’s no such thing as a class divide – until you’re on separate sides. 

Brianna Worthington has beauty, privilege and a very healthy trust fund. The only hardship she’s ever witnessed has been on the television. Yet when she’s invited to see how her mother’s charity, Medic SOS, is dealing with the aftermath of a tornado in South America, even Brianna is surprised when she accepts. 

Mitch McBride, Chief Medical Officer, doesn’t need the patron’s daughter disrupting his work. He’s from the wrong side of the tracks and has led life on the edge, but he’s not about to risk losing his job for a pretty face. 

Poles apart, dynamite together, but can Brianna and Mitch ever bridge the gap separating them?

Do opposites attract? - Kathryn Freeman

There's no such thing as a class divide - until you're on separate sides.

Brianna Worthington has beauty, privilege and a very healthy trust fund. The only hardship she's ever witnessed has been on the television. Yet when she's invited to see how her mother's charity, Medic SOS, is dealing with the aftermath of a tornado in South America, even Brianna is surprised when she accepts.

Mitch McBride, Chief Medical Officer, doesn't need the patron's daughter disrupting his work. He's from the wrong side of the tracks and has led life on the edge, but he's not about to risk losing his job for a pretty face.

Poles apart, dynamite together, but can Brianna and Mitch ever bridge the gap separating them?

My thoughts:

Rich girl meets poor boy and sparks fly.

I liked Brianna, she was rich, nice and wanted more to life than just attending parties and drinking champagne. But she wanted to do something she enjoyed too and when she gets to see what a charity organization is about then she feels like this she could do.

Mitch, honestly he was pretty much an a-hole at times. And only to her, thanks dude! It was cos oh she is rich, then she must be stupid and a snob. So he did say a few things,and of course she took offense. After a while when he started to apologize she shrugged it off. But I would not have given him that many chances. But then she really wanted him. I guess men just can't handle a woman having more money.

Passion brewing in a disaster zone. Back home, will sparks still fly or not? He does not want a relationship with anyone, and being a former street kid he certainly do not see himself worthy of her. But this is a romance and you know it will work out. All thanks to her never giving up.

Cover

ok

Paperback, 336 pages
Expected publication: July 15th 2014 by Choc Lit (first published June 3rd 2014
Romantic fiction
for review