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I’m so happy to have Kathy Douglass here today as our very special guest. Kathy’s latest book, A BABY BETWEEN FRIENDS, released in e-book & paperback this month, and I’m so very thrilled. She is giving away one signed paperback of A BABY BETWEEN FRIENDS too. Enter the giveaway here. AND you can read an excerpt of A BABY BETWEEN FRIENDS here.

Order your copy today at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple, Google Play, Books a Million, or Harlequin.

Kathy stopped by to chat with me today. Without further ado, let’s get started!

What inspired A BABY BETWEEN FRIENDS?    

Joni and Lex first appeared in HOW TO STEAL THE LAWMAN’S HEART, my first Sweet Briar Sweethearts book. They’ve been in several more since then. I liked each of them individually as people, but I loved them together. They’re good friends and enjoy each other’s company. But there was something special about their relationship that let me know they should be more than friends. They belonged together.

Knowing that didn’t make their story any easier to write. In fact, it made it harder. They were already so close that there was no reason they shouldn’t be together. But a book with no conflict is not a book. At least it isn’t a good one. In order to give them the romance they deserved, I had to come up with a believable conflict that was true to the couple I had grown to know and love. It took many tries before I came up with a story I liked. Hopefully readers will like it, too.

What’s your writing process like?

When I start a book, I like to get to know the characters. If they’ve been mentioned in previous books, I go back and reread scenes that feature them. If they’re new to the series, I interview them so I can get to know them. I have to submit a synopsis to my editor, so I need to figure out the conflict and where the book is going early on. That’s really difficult for me because I don’t know what’s going to happen before I start writing. When I work on my first draft, I often find myself straying from the synopsis, but that’s okay. As long as I have a believable conflict and a satisfying ending, my editor is happy with me.

I usually just type the first draft straight out of my head. I do very little, if any, rewriting at this stage. I just want to get the story down so I can fix it. During this time, I generally listen to smooth jazz on accuradio.com. Over time I have created my own five-star station, so I’m guaranteed to only hear songs that I like. Although I can write in silence, I like the company music provides.

I create a playlist for each book.The words in these songs generally reflect the mood or conflict in the story. I’ll often have songs that reflect where the hero and heroine start in the book, then another song or two that follows the progression of the romance. Then I’ll play that playlist over and over while I work on the second and third drafts. I have added the playlists to my website, kathydouglassbooks.com for people who want to listen to them.

I set a wordcount for each day and try to stick to it. Most days I meet or exceed it. But there are times when I reach a wall and can’t think of a way to move the story forward. If there are a lot of words left to be written, I’ll take a break for a while then come back and try again. If I’m within a hundred or so words, I just quit for the day. When I come back the next day, the wall is usually gone and I know exactly what is going to happen next.

I generally do three drafts before I send it to my editor. Once I had to do four. I can tell right now that the book I’m working on will be a four-draft book.

What is the one thing you’d want readers to take away after reading A BABY BETWEEN FRIENDS?

I want readers to take away a feeling of happiness. I love romance novels because they are so positive and always end with the main characters getting their happily ever after. I want the readers to know that they can also find that certain someone and get to live happily ever after, too.

Coffee or tea? What’s your favorite?

Tea. I drink a mug of green tea every morning.

Any last words for our readers?

I hope you enjoy A BABY BETWEEN FRIENDS as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you’d like to communicate with me, feel free to drop me a line at my website, kathydouglassbooks.com. I love hearing from my readers and answer every message. I’m also on Facebook as Author Kathy Douglass if you’d prefer to reach me that way. Finally, thank you so much for your support. I truly appreciate each and every one of you.

A BABY BETWEEN FRIENDS

They pretended to be lovers.

But there’s nothing make-believe about the baby on the way.

When Joni Danielson recruits her best friend, Sweet Briar mayor Lex Devlin, to be her fake boyfriend for a wedding, it’s a no-brainer. But their staged kisses lead to real passion – and heartbreak when Lex pulls away. Now Joni’s in a bigger bind: she’s pregnant. Can she and Lex once again fake it ’til they make it – to a real relationship?

Order your copy today at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple, Google Play, Books a Million, or Harlequin.

ABOUT KATHY DOUGLASS

Kathy is a born reader who as a child always had her nose in a book. That love of reading grew with her. She often would finish one book and immediately pick up another. She went from reading Bobbsey Twins to long, lush romance novels. One day she stumbled upon the Shining by Stephen King and was hooked. She turned her back on romance and became a serious Stephen King fan, reading every word he wrote. When she caught herself checking under the bed and looking in the closet for monsters or worse, she knew it was time to put down the horror stories and pick up the romance novels.

Her return to romance novels was short lived. She’d started law school and soon her reading was limited to legal opinions. Then one happy day her younger sister handed her a Harlequin romance. They were just what the doctor ordered. The books were short enough to read in a week and still get her required reading done. Best of all she knew there would be a happy ending and she wouldn’t have to search her room before she went to bed each night.

When her first child was born, she stopped practicing law to become a stay at home mom. Her second child followed nineteen months later. With two little ones in the house, reading suddenly became limited to Dr. Seuss and other children’s books. Any free time was spent trying to catch up on sleep or laundry.

All too soon her kids were attending pre-school two hours a day. She spent those few precious hours renewing her relationship with romance novels. After a while she felt the urge to write a book of her own and she began writing the stories she wanted to read. She spent many years writing some really terrible books and learning her craft. In 2016, Kathy sold to Harlequin Special Edition. Her first book, How to Steal the Lawman’s Heart, was released in February, 2017. Since that time, she has released several books with her Harlequin Special Edition with more to come. Sign up for her newsletter here.