In a writing group, Kari Holloway and I bumped into each other. She writes across a number of genres. Her new book launched on October 2, 2018 and she talks about it below.
Author Bio
Kari Holloway is an American author with over a dozen published works to her name. Between the twisting tales of romance under weeping willows in the Laughing P series and the high-pace paranormal in her Devil’s Playground series, Kari Holloway prefers to sit poolside enjoying vanilla ice cream or hanging out with friends playing Fluxx. She’s currently working on book 5 in her Devil’s Playground series and toying with a western romance set in the 1800s—both ideas slated for release in 2019.
To find out more about Kari Holloway, check out her website (www.kariholloway.com).
Now for the questions
1. Tell us about yourself.
My name is Kari Holloway. I’m an American writer who dabbles in southern romances filled with iconic components of sexy cowboys and firefighters, explored the unexplained in my paranormal series, found my way to the battlefields of the Civil War, and to love’s first kiss under the weeping willow through various anthologies.
When I’m not writing, I enjoy hanging out with my family, playing games like Fluxx, and enjoying vanilla ice cream.
2. When did you know you wanted to be an author?
I remember writing when I was 8. It was a western inspired by L’amour. I never considered it as a career option until I had my second child and was going stir crazy from being at home with no way to express my creative side.
3. What genres do you like to read? Are these the same genres you write in?
I enjoy most genres minus horror. I love Brent Week’s Night Angel trilogy. Like people I find it hard to stay in one genre.
4. Is your book for adults, young adults or children?
Definity for adults. The cleanest book of mine is Strings Attached while there are things in Cracked But Never Broken, the Howling King, and Mark of Cain that are the darker parts of human nature.
5. What is your current release or project?
Strings Attached is a sweet/clean romance set in Charleston, South Carolina. It released October 2, 2018 on all major retailers.
6. Tell us about the key characters
Kyle is a comic shop owner and Carissa is a music teacher.
7. What is your blurb or synopsis of the book?
Carissa is a high school teacher and an accomplished violinist with lifelong aspirations of joining the orchestra she fell in love with as a child. Single-minded and meticulous in her pursuit, a chance encounter with Kyle makes her question what she really wants out of life.
Kyle’s life is going exactly the way he wants. Well … almost. With the hottest comic book shop in Charleston and a steady group of close friends and family, he’s just waiting for love—and maybe he’s finally found it in Carissa. But Gramps’ shocking deathbed confession may have just thrown a kink in the chain of his dreams with a request that borders on insane.
What begins as legend soon becomes choice as an impossible task and an eternal destiny merge. Can Kyle and Carissa successfully balance their blossoming love amidst the stark contrast of their individual life paths, or will they lose everything—including each other—when dreams meet reality?
8. Share an excerpt (up to 800 words).
Carissa smiled as she walked through her apartment building’s main door and sang the familiar tune that had been building into a sweet melody over the last few weeks, as she climbed the stairs in the dead of night. Out of habit, she checked the hallway before strolling inside her pristine apartment.
She set her keys on the entryway’s table and dropped her bag underneath it. Through the curtains, the city’s lights cut a pale path of light into her home. She fumbled on the wall for the overhead light, and the florescent bulbs turned night into day.
Pretending she was dancing with a prince, she twirled into her room and kicked off her shoes, unruffled about them landing on the floor instead of the closet. She curtsied, imagining her in a dress instead of dusty and dirty jeans.
She stopped in the middle of the room. The music notes floated into place, and she smiled, finally holding the song that had taunted her for months with its half-finished melody.
Her feet glided over the polished floors before her knees hit the edge of the decorative rug, as she searched for her violin and the recorder she used.
Happiness carried on the notes as the bow danced with the strings. She moved through the room to its melody, captivated by its pull and the steady pulse of it encircled her heart. The notes rushed through her, taking her to the highest euphoria before she collapsed on the couch. Her chest heaved under labored breath. Too tired to smile, she closed her eyes and waited while the world spun back to a standstill. Never in her life had a piece of music invaded her body and soul. She looked down at her violin, and her arm muscles quivered.
She looked at the recorder on the counter and wished for the powers of levitation. Excited at the prospects on it, she sluggishly pulled herself off the couch. The button clicked as she pressed the stop button, and the digital recorder’s screen pulsed with the word PLAY.
She took a deep breath, sighing with anticipation and worried that it would be for naught. Yet the feeling in the pit of her stomach said it would be amazing, like the kiss she’d shared with Kyle. Her thumb hovered over the button, indecision weighed against the need for sleep that permeated her body.
A gentle knock on her door took the choice from her.
She set the recorder down and walked slowly to the door, curious who would be knocking so early. Standing on tip-toes, she peered through the peephole and saw her neighbor with the dog.
The chain lock stretched between the door and the jamb. “Yes?” she asked hesitantly.
“Hey. I’m sorry to disturb you, but it’s Sunday night, well Monday morning, and you’re playing a little loud. You set my dog off.”
“Oh, my. I’m so sorry. I … I didn’t … I’m so sorry.” She covered her mouth, mortified that her moment of inspiration had come at a cost.
He ran a hand through it sleep tousled hair. “It’s fine. I just wanted to warn you before you woke the entire complex.” He propped his elbow on the doorframe and leaned his head against his hand. “It’s not every morning I get awakened by a concert of dog howls and—” he peered around her “—violin music.”
She rubbed her hands over her face. “I’m sorry. Really, I am. It won’t happen again.”
He shrugged. “There are worse ways to wake up. Besides, I’m usually up in an hour anyway. Maybe we could get coffee one morning?”
“Oh.” This wasn’t what she had expected when he first knocked on her door.
9. Do you have a favorite scene?
That’s a tough one. I really like the humor found between Kyle and his brother-in-law at the mall.
10. What advice would you give a beginner?
Write the draft first before trying to solve all the issues and asking a million questions. You can fix minor plot issues, but you can’t fix what isn’t there.
Please provide the following:
Social media links:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorkariholloway
Blog link www.kariholloway.com/blog
Purchasing links:
Cracked But Never Broken: books2read.com/LPCracked
Behind the Lens: books2read.com/LPBehind
Never too Late: books2read.com/LPNever
Laughing P Collection 1: books2read.com/LPCollection1
Forgotten: books2read.com/DPForgotten
Cry of Gold: books2read.com/DPCry
Mark of Cain: books2read.com/DPCain
The Howling King: books2read.com/DPHowlingKing
Strings Attached: books2read.com/StringsAttached
A Haunting of Words (features Gunpowder & Wool): books2read.com/AHOW
A Contract of Words (features Catch Up): books2read.com/Cow
Love, Lust, and Scary Monsters (contains Rowboat for Two): mybook.to/LoveMonsters
Beneath Yggdrasil’s Shadow (contains Don’t Go Chasing Waterdrops): mybook.to/WaterDrops