Interview and contest: Robin Kaye with Yours For The Taking

Today I have Robin Kaye over for an interview. And at the bottom of this post there is a contest for her new book Yours For The Taking.

Welcome to Mur-y-Castell!

Tell me something about yourself, so we get a better understanding about the woman behind the author.

RK: That’s a difficult question because I don’t want to come out sounding totally boring. I’m a work-at-home mom of three teenagers. I started writing about 10 years ago because I’d just moved across country with kids between the ages of 3 and 7 and knew no one. I was bored to tears and was slowly losing my mind—writing kept me relatively sane. I’d always written—short stories when I was a kid, songs, really bad poetry, and journals. While researching Jane Austen on line, I discovered a whole new world—Fanfiction. Before I knew it, I began writing a modern-day retelling of Pride and Prejudice with a twist of Persuasion. My story became popular on the Jane Austen boards. One of the other JA Fanfic writers, a professor at Oxford who taught Jane Austen, read my story and told me I should have it published. After I stopped laughing, I guess the idea took root. The thought of working toward publication had never occurred to me. Once I finished my Jane Austen tome (and believe me when I say it was a tome—a 330,000-word behemoth.) I wrote my first book toward publication, Romeo, Romeo, it won the RWA Golden Heart (a contest for unpublished writers) and I was offered a book deal by one of the final judges. The rest is history.

Your newest book is called Yours for the Taking; can you tell us what it is about?

RK: Yours for the Taking is a marriage of convenience book with a modern-day, urban twist.

Ben Walsh has looks, money and charm but if he wants to keep the one property of sentimental value to him, he needs a wife.

Gina Reyez, a crack shot turn-around expert, doesn’t need or want a husband but accepts Ben’s “strictly business “ proposal because the money will solve problems she intends to keep entirely un-marital. By the time the two find that marriage with benefits can never be “strictly business” their lives are entwined and seriously complicated.

Could you also tell me about your other books in the series?

RK: Romeo, Romeo (Domestic Gods #1), Too Hot to Handle (DG#2), and Yours for the Taking (DG#4) are all books with Domestic Gods as heroes. A Domestic God is a man’s man who sees cleaning as a stress reliever, thinks a vacuum is a power tool, and is as good in the kitchen as he is in the bedroom—always a plus. Breakfast in Bed (DG#3) is about the quintessential anti-Domestic God, Rich Ronaldi, who, after getting dumped by a girlfriend asks his reluctant roommate, Rebecca Larsen, to give him Domestic God lessons. Hilarity (and romance) ensues.

How would your perfect Domestic God be?

RK: I married a Domestic God and because of that, I’m never allowed to complain. When I do, all my friends tell me how lucky I am to have him. My husband not only cleans, does the laundry, and takes care of the yard work, but he’s also remodeling the house (we’re talking the entire house—we have a 100 year-old Victorian). He even cooks when I’m away, sick, or on deadline—he’s not a gourmet cook by any stretch of the imagination but as he says, at least he hasn’t killed anyone yet. Now do you see why I get dirty looks when I complain?

I know he’s exceptional—why do you think I picked him? But sheesh, as good as he is, he’s definitely not perfect. If I could give him a tweak, so to speak, I’d make him more romantic. He’s not very romantic at all, although he has shown some improvement in the 21 years we’ve been married. He didn’t even get me a card on our first anniversary. I got him back for it though, I gave him the evil eye and he ended up having the hiccoughs all day—and I thought the evil eye was a joke. Needless to say, he never did that again!  Other than the romantic thing, the only other improvement would be to make him independently wealthy. Well, a girl can dream, can’t she?

Which hero is your favorite from your books?

RK: That’s like asking me which of my kids is my favorite—it depends on who’s in the room when I’m asked. I love all my heroes but I’m a little fickle. I always seem to fall head over heels in love with my next hero. When I was writing Romeo, Romeo, I fell for Dr. Mike Flynn. He was supposed to be a tertiary character and in one telephone conversation, I knew he was going to be my next hero.  While I was writing Too Hot to Handle and madly in love with Dr. Mike, I “met” Ben Walsh (my heroine’s boss). Ben wasn’t the hero in my third book, because I always had a thing for Richie Ronaldi too. Richie was the hero in Breakfast in Bed, but Ben was never far from my thoughts and even made an appearance in Breakfast in Bed. When I finally was able to write Ben’s book—Yours for the Taking, I was true to form—I met and fell in love with Judge Trapper Kincaid and his brothers Hunter and Fisher. Truth be told, I even have a girl crush on Karma (their younger sister.) Told you I’m fickle!  I just finished Hunter’s book, On the Wild Side and I’m currently in revisions. Next up is Trapper’s book…I wonder who I’ll fall for next. Sigh…I adore my job!

I saw that you have lived in Idaho; did that inspire the settings for this book?

RK: Absolutely, I’m homesick. I began visiting Idaho when I was about 7 years old. My dad and a few of his friends bought a farm close to Boise. Our friends moved to the farm and we stayed in the NY area. We’d visit them and ski Bogus Basin (the mountain just up the road from Boise proper). A year or two later, they bought a condo in Sun Valley and we spent every vacation between Sun Valley and the farm. I remember feeling as if it was the one place I belonged. I was on a chairlift with my dad one day on Bogus when I was 7 or 8. I remember telling him that when I grew up, I was going to live in Boise. He said, “What the heck are you going to do in Boise, you’re from Brooklyn?” I don’t know what I my answer was, but from that day forward my goal was to move to Boise. My husband and I honeymooned in Sun Valley and on our way back to Boise to catch our flight home; I said “I don’t want to leave. Why don’t we move here?” He was all for it and we moved to Idaho 8 months later. We lived there for 10 years and can’t wait to get back. I was really itching to write about Idaho because I miss it so much. I even used my favorite bar in Boise in Yours for the Taking. Humpin’ Hannah’s is a real place and the owners were nice enough to give me permission to use their bar and let me play with it in my book. I just went out for a visit in October and am looking forward to going back. I miss the mountains, the people, the weather… everything.

Are you working on something new and exciting right now?

RK: I’m working on revisions to the first book in a connected series called Domestic Gods Gone Wild. I started with Hunter’s book (Hunter Kincaid is a character in Yours for the Taking)— On the Wild Side takes place in the Sawtooth Recreation Area outside of Stanley, Idaho. Next up is Judge Trapper Kincaid’s book . March 1st is my start date and I can hardly wait!

Give us three reasons why your new book would be the perfect book to read in this winter…

RK: 1. It’s a romantic comedy—a great way to chase away the winter blues.
2. It will keep you warm. There are lots of steamy love scenes.
3. It has a wonderful Happily Ever After – which I think is a necessity at any time of the year.

Any advice for aspiring writers?

RK: 1. Write consistently. I don’t mean you have to write every day. Let’s face it, everyone needs a day off, but consistency is important. I have a crazy, hectic life and sometimes as much as I’d love to write every day, that’s just not doable for me. But I can write five or six days a week. 
2. I love my critique group and think part of growing as a writer is finding a group that works for you. It’s so important to get constructive criticism and learn from it. It gives you good practice for when you’re published.
3. Read everything.

Thanks for stopping by! :-)
RK: Thanks so much for having me. I really enjoyed the interview!

Now to the Contest. I have 2 copies of Yours For The Taking to give away.

1. Open to US and Canada

2. Ask Robin a question, comment on the book, or the interview. Tell me how your Domestic God would be like, or just tell me why you wanna read this book, or something else :) Just a bit more than enter me to make it more fun ;)

3. Ends Feb 3rd

YOURS FOR THE TAKING BY ROBIN KAYE – IN STORES JANUARY 2011

He might be too good to be true…

Ben Walsh shouldn’t be single. Handsome and wealthy, Ben is equally at home in Idaho where he grew up and in Manhattan where he’s now an art dealer. Suave and successful with impeccable taste, he normally has women beating down his door. But the one woman he wants can’t be convinced that he’s for real…

She isn’t sure if she has time for fairy tales…

Gina Reyez has fought for every bit of her success, and it’s about time for things to start going her way. So when Ben makes a proposal that will allow her to take care of her family the way she wants to, she agrees. Besides, a guy this perfect would never be interested in her...right? By the time Gina figures out that she’s read Ben all wrong, the arrangements are made, the papers are signed…but what exactly are they getting themselves into?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Robin Kaye is a professional writer and winner of the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart award for her first novel, Romeo, Romeo. Her romantic comedies feature sexy, nurturing heroes and feisty, independent heroines. She lives with her husband and three children in Mt. Airy, Maryland, where she is working on a brand new series for release 2011 and 2012. For more information, please visit www.robinkayewrites.com/.