Interview with D'Ann Lindun and Kristina Knight!

Hello and welcome!  Today I am featuring two special guests, D’Ann Lindun, and Kristina Knight, here to share a little about themselves and their debut releases, Wild Horses and What A Texas Girl Wants! I met both these wonderful ladies in my critique group and am proud to have them as friends and guests on my blog. Please join me in welcoming D’Ann and Kristina and enjoy getting to know them better!

I love to hear from my readers so feel free to leave a comment after the post! 

Jennifer: What made you decide to become a writer?

Kristina: It was never a conscious decision on my part – I've always written. In my head, in crayon, in a single-lined spiral notebook the summer of my 6^th grade year. The big decision I made was to quit the day-job (Television News Producer) and take a gamble on myself and my stories. And I'm so glad I did!

D’Ann: Both my cousin and my BFF wanted to write romance novels.  When the chance came to take a class from Superromance author, Margot Early, we jumped at it. 

Jennifer: What is your favorite part of writing?  Your least favorite?

Kristina: It's the same – starting a new story! I love figuring out characters and storylines and character arcs…but it's grueling for me. I can't just dump words on a page and declare, "I'll fix them later." When it comes to getting the characters right I start, it feels wrong, I start over, it still feels off…Until I've gotten that character down, it's very freaky for me.

D’Ann: Creating characters.  I love that.  Least favorite?  There’s nothing I don’t like, including revisions.

Jennifer: What do you think makes a good story?  

Kristina: Conflict, interesting characters and hot chemistry!

D’Ann: A character you can relate to, one that moves you in some way.

Jennifer:  If your book were to be made into a movie, who would you like to see cast as the hero and heroine?  Villain, if you have one? 

Kristina: Oh, gosh…I think Emma Stone as Kathleen and Ryan Gosling as Jackson. Just because I really like those two!

D’Ann: I don’t like to see my characters as real people in any way.  I had a friend who wouldn’t write unless she had the entire case picked from soap opera characters.  I don’t want to see my people as anyone but themselves.  

Jennifer: What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?

Kristina: That edits aren't evil. Seriously. I hate editing and I've always feared getting edits from an actual editor, but it was surprisingly simple – and know exactly what my editor wanted versus what I thought should happen? Heaven!

D’Ann: How much I like the same themes!  LOL  Redemption is a big one.

Jennifer:  What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Kristina: That I outline plot using pen and paper. I can't do it on my computer or iPad. But I have to write on computer/iPad. Can not write using pen and paper. Too slow!!

D’Ann: Nope, you can’t get it out of me.  Not even for cheesecake with raspberries!

Jennifer: What words of wisdom or advice do you have for aspiring authors?

Kristina: If you truly want to write, you'll find the time to do and you'll keep working at it until editors/agents take note. We're all busy, we all have lives and families ad jobs. We all have to make the time for the things that matter, and we all have to keep working at those things…

D’Ann: Learn your craft.  It matters.  Don’t give up and don’t give in.  It took me 20 years and well over 200 rejections before I got the call.

Jennifer: Something fun. Tell us your favorite food, color, and book.

Kristina: Favorite food – anything Mexican. Empanadas are a new favorite of mine! Green is my favorite color – and the color of my eyes. Go figure. Favorite book…well, that changes week to week and sometimes day to day, but one of my favorites is Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie. I just love the way she colors in her characters! 

D’Ann: Fave food is super supreme pizza.  Color is forest green.  Book?  Too many to list, but if I had to pick just one, it would be For My Lady’s Heart by Laura Kinsale.

Blurb from Wild Horses:

Her family ranch outside of Payson, Arizona, is the last place Castaña Castillo thought she’d ever see again. But when her mustang activist brother goes missing, Castaña returns home to lead the search. Years of bad blood between local law enforcement and the Castillo men lead Castaña to believe the local cops won’t put out much effort to locate her brother. Especially since they think he murdered two federal wildlife agents.

Disgraced FBI agent Jake Breton needs to bring in Martin Castillo to redeem himself and resurrect his career. Falling in love with someone related to the suspect is the last thing he can afford to do. The last time he followed his heart, and not his head, it nearly cost him his life.

Danger, adventure, and death push Jake and Castaña together. Will they learn to trust each other and leave their pasts behind?

Meet D’Ann:

Falling in love with romance novels the summer before sixth grade, D’Ann Lindun never thought about writing one until many years later when she took a how-to class at her local college. She was hooked! She began writing and never looked back. Romance appeals to her because there's just something so satisfying about writing a book guaranteed to have a happy ending. 

D’Ann’s particular favorites usually feature cowboys and the women who love them. This is probably because she draws inspiration from the area where she lives, Western Colorado, her husband of twenty-nine years and their daughter. Composites of their small farm, herd of horses, five Australian shepherds, three ducks and cats of every shape and color often show up in her stories! 

http://dlindunauthor.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/DLindunAuthor

Buy Wild Horses:

www.crimsonromance.com
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Horses-ebook/dp/B008195GUQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1336498540&sr=1-1

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/331523527

http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/wild-horses/id523130187?mt=11&ls=1

A Cowboy To Keep:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14933870-a-cowboy-to-keep

http://manicreaders.com/index.cfm?disp=publisherDetail&publisherID=595

Blurb from What A Texas Girl Wants:

Kathleen Witte is a down-to-earth girl. She has to be, with the family ranch on the verge of success. After seven months of keeping it all together by swearing off men, however, Kathleen needs a bit of fun in the sun. Waking up with a husband she can’t remember isn’t how she planned to blow off steam.

The last thing Jackson Taylor wants in his life is a down-to-earth girl. He has four weeks of freedom in which to find his birth mother. He’s done well avoiding commitment until now, so when he wakes up on a Mexican beach with Kathleen his first reaction is curiosity. When he spies the matching wedding rings on their left hands curiosity turns to concern.

Neither Jackson nor Kathleen want to stay married, but when her family shows up, they have no choice. Once back in Texas, however, can they keep this all-business marriage from turning into an all-consuming love?

Meet Kristina:

Once upon a time, Kristina Knight spent her days running from car crash to fire to meetings with local police—no, she wasn't a troublemaker, she was a journalist. When the opportunity to focus a bit of energy on the stories in her head, she jumped at it. And she’s never looked back. Now she writes magazine articles by day and romance novels with spice by night. She lives on Lake Erie with her husband, three-year-old daughter, and twenty-year-old fur-kid. Happily ever after.

Buy What A Texas Girl Wants here:

Crimson Romance - http://www.crimsonromance.com/new-release-romance-ebook/what-a-texas-girls-wants/

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/What-Texas-Girl-Wants-ebook/dp/B008195BIS/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1336496939&sr=1-1

B&N - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/what-a-texas-girl-wants-kristina-knight/1110496096?ean=9781440544637

Thanks for joining us today!  I hope you’ll stop back again to meet another wonderful author and read about their great books!

Have a great day!