December 10, 2010

Spotlight On... KM Daughters


Today I have the incomparable K.M. Daughters with me at the keyboard. Welcome, can you tell us a little about yourself(s)?

We’re sisters who love each other dearly and hardly ever fight like we did when we were little and there was blood – lots of blood.


You’re newest release, ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE AND LAW, releases today. Congratulations and thanks for sharing this day with us. Tell us about ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE AND LAW and where we can find it.

Thank you for inviting us to share this special day in our career. ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE AND LAW is book four in the Sullivan boys romantic suspense series. Books one through three have garnered great reviews and a devoted following of lovely Readers, so we’re very excited about this installment because we think it’s the most electric and interesting so far.

The story involves a brutal murderer, a hotshot defense attorney and a newly appointed police captain:

The enchantress on stage at an amusement park review captivates new Chicago police captain Patrick Sullivan. Stunned to learn she’s the infamous defense attorney, Charlie Demarco, who substituted for her twin at the performance, Pat battles Charlie in and out of the courtroom. With CPD cutbacks and a serial murderer to apprehend, Pat struggles to uphold the law and his reputation, while Charlie seems determined to undermine him. Chained to her job to restore her family’s finances, Charlie has no choice but to defend the criminals Pat wants behind bars. Her biggest battle yet involves defending her heart against Patrick Sullivan.

The book is available in digital formats and paperback online in The Wild Rose Press, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

Online E-book and print book retailers and paperback by order at your local bookstore.


As a writing team, how do you handle the writing process? Do you each select a character to write or divide it by scenes?

We divide it by scenes, alternating chapters. We act as critique partners and “self-editors” for each other’s chapters as we construct the initial first draft. Pat keeps the master document.


How did you start writing? Have you always worked together?

When we each had completed romance manuscripts independently, we aspired to become published authors. So we searched for opportunities to learn all we could about the craft of writing. We attended the Iowa Writers Summer Festival at The University of Iowa, and completed an intense two-week novel writing course. A link on Nora Robert’s website brought us to the Romance Writers of America. RWA is an excellent educational resource for wannabe writers, so we joined and attended RWA national’s conference in Reno, Nevada. Kathie had an idea for a contemporary romance. We tossed plot premises around during early morning walks leading to the “light bulb” moment to team write the novel. Those discussions resulted in PAST, PRESENT AND FOREVER, published by Sapphire Blue Publishing last year in Ebook and soon to be re-released in paperback.


Do you ever disagree on how a scene should play out?

Sure we do. Actually that’s part of the fun in team writing – and an essential ingredient in producing our blended voice.


Why did you choose your genre?

It is entirely possible the genre chose us since story lines and characters seem to materialize in our brains, haunting us until we do something with them. We love to read the sub-genres we write. Plus we always were and will ever be devotees of happy endings.


What has been your highlight of your career(s) to this point?

We just received a 4½ star rating for the first time from RT Book Reviews for ROSE OF THE ADRIATIC, our second inspirational romance. The definition of the rating is, “Fantastic! A keeper.” This book has special personal meaning for us, so this milestone is definitely a career highlight.


Congratulations!  What are three things you wish you’d known before you began your writing career?

1. Book promotion is extremely difficult and humbling.

2. Blurb writing is extremely difficult.

3. Line editing is extremely humbling. i.e. Don’t repeat words, even for emphasis, as we just did with “extremely” three times. As our beloved Editor for the Sullivan Boys books might comment, “What’s the matter girls? Lose your thesaurus?”


What advice would you give to the new/unpublished author?

Learn your craft, tell the stories of your heart, be true to your voice, write what you love, polish to the best of your ability, and have faith.


That's good advice.  Where can we find you on the web?

We love visitors at http://www.kmdaughters.com/


Is there anything you’d like to ask our readers?

No questions, but we would like to convey a message. Thank you to the wonderful readers who purchase our books. We are deeply grateful for you.

Thank you so much, Sarah, for your hospitality.

Thank you both for being with us today.


8 comments:

K.M. Daughters said...

It's release day of book four and it's just as exciting as the very first release day. Thank you for sharing with us!

Marianne Evans said...

Great interview, and best of EVERYTHING for the exciting new release! It sounds great!

Sarah Grimm said...

Whew, I'm finally home! Welcome to the keyboard! I can't wait to read ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND LAW.

Maeve Greyson said...

Fantastic interview and book four sounds great. I admire you both so much. I would think writing as a team would require an extremely delicate balance that not everyone could achieve.

K.M. Daughters said...

Sarah. Were you playing Santa today? You are a special lady. Marianne, you never fail to raise our spirits and bring a smile. Maeve, thank you for visiting today. What a gorgeous name....one of our darlings shares your name...queen of the fairies in Ireland. :-). Hope you enjoy our Sullivan boys.

P.L. Parker said...

Congratulations and more!

LaVerne Clark said...

I am so thrilled for you guys!

Am I allowed to mention I was one of the Prelim readers for your fifth (nah, nah, nah nah nah, everybody!)in this series and it has made me buy the others, in sequence.

Thanks for some great reads and one day I'm going to write as well as you guys : )

Cheryl said...

Wonderful finding this interview through Google today. These ladies are so busy promoting this latest Sullivan Boys book.

Best of luck in all you do.

Cheryl