I’m happy/sad to introduce today’s guest. I’m happy because she has a new release and I’m thrilled to have her on my blog. I’m sad because she’s a dear friend who moved away from me a few years ago and I miss her terribly! Please help me welcome my friend, Kathy L Wheeler…
Hi. I’m Kathy L Wheeler. I recently migrated from Oklahoma City to the Seattle area. When I say recent, it’s been within the last two years. We love the weather—not too hot, not too cold, no tornadoes, rarely straight-lined winds…. Do I sound like a weather mogul? I’m not. It’s just that in tornado alley, you have to be “weather aware.” I live with my musically talented husband, Al. We brought sweet, neurotic dog, and our “finicky” cat, Carly.
Where did you get the idea for Mail Order Bride: The Counterfeit & Mail Order Bride: The Breakaway?
I tend to be a bit wayward and adventurous, meaning, I stray from the norm. I love history and the different time periods. I can’t remember where my idea came from exactly for this 2 book series. It might have been just a flash. “What if the mother of the heroine was a saloon madame and decided it was time for her daughter to join the family business? What kind of mother does this! She’s a horrible mother, right? But…is she? There are definitely some psychological issues going on here. The second books takes another twist that bring the East and West together. Soooo fun!
What book have you read that you wish you had written?
Charming the Prince by Teresa Medeiros. I love this author. However, she lost her mother a few years ago and has not written anything new. So, I’m left with re-reading everything she’s written over and over and over and over…. (Please Ms. Medeiros, save me by writing something new….)
Do you have another occupation, other than writer? If so, what is it and do you like it?
Well. Currently, I am an Aflac agent, but, well, my husband is insisting that I concentrate on my writing. Yay, me! I have friends whose husbands are not nearly as supportive as mine is. That makes him an excellent hero, don’t you think?
What do you dislike that most people wouldn’t understand?
All of my reading is fiction. That bugs a lot of people. The variety of the stories I read are pretty narrow. I’m picky, picky, picky. I don’t like shallow, telling, head-hopping…blah, blah, blah. When I can’t find something that suits my mood, I re-read. Yes, re-read books because I know they will put me in the right frame of mind.
What was your first job?
I worked at the movie theater in Longmont, Colorado in 1976! One incident, in particular, I remember: I had to work Christmas night (December 25). I had a crush on a guy (all the girls had the same crush). The release of the movie? The Longest Yard with Burt Reynolds. So half the football team showed up at the theater. Well, I had to wait on my crush and could hardly breath. That crush was a huge source of entertainment for my parents, two sisters and two brothers. I was such a dork.
What’s the main thing that you could get rid of in your life that would give you more writing time?
“Aflac”
What’s your favorite book of all time and why? What’s your favorite childhood book?
I have too many favorite books to list only one. I go by authors: Jayne Ann Krentz, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Linda Howard, Teresa Medeiros, etc…etc… My favorite childhood books: age 10, Betsy and Tacey series; Age 13, Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew; Age 14, Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart, Phillip Carr (I could go on forever)
What do you want readers to come away with after they read Mail Order Bride series?
I hope they find a sense of adventure and surprise. I hope they connect to the heroines in both books and I hope they sense the difference in the two heroines personalities. That’s what I hope.
Would you rather have a bad review or no review?
As difficult as it to read a bad review, at least you know someone completed the book. Reading is so subjective, so it’s imperative that the author not take offense to a bad review. So I would rather have a bad review than no review.
What genre have you never written that you’d like to write?
Ha! If you look at my backlist, you would realize how ridiculous a question this is. From contemporary to historical fairy tale, to 1920s, Regency, Civil War, and now Western Historical. The good news is all but one has a happy ending. (What can I say, Cinderella’s stepmother was evil, but at least you learn why!)
What celebrity would you most like to be stranded on an island with?
I don’t care who, just so long as it’s a he and he can hunt and cook. I’ll take care of the rest.
My turn! I’m a huge sports fan. Are you? Who’s your team? Let’s be friendly rivals or excellent cohorts – go Dallas Cowboys and Oklahoma City Thunder!
Alicia Dean, Thanks so much for having me.
It’s my pleasure! Fun interview. Ha, “Aflac” made me laugh.
Readers, tune in next week for a look at Book 2 in the series!
Mail Order Bride: The Counterfeit:
After a disastrous first marriage, Will Jeffers hasn’t the stomach for another emotionally entailed union. All he needs is a wife to cook, nurse his mother, and look after the homestead. But good women are few and far between in Colorado mining country. A mail order bride is the perfect solution.
Amelia Johannasen is running for her life. Her mother has decided it’s time her daughter joined the family business, shattering Amy’s dreams of marrying for love. Imagine her surprise when she is mistaken for Will Jeffers mail order bride. She’ll take it
With a head for numbers and talent for spinning tall-tales but no notion of how to cook or nurse a manipulative old woman how can she reach the heart of a man once burned so badly, he’s sworn off love?
Excerpt: Mail Order Bride: The Counterfeit
“I’m happy to see you made it safe, ma’am. I apologize for being late, but as I mentioned in my letters, my ma, well, with her sick and all. I figured we oughta to start back right after the ceremony.”
She froze still as a statue. “Ceremony?”
“Our nuptials. I’m afraid I can’t leave Ma alone for long. No tellin’ what kind of—” He chuckled, but even to his own ears it sounded forced. “We can, uh, talk about that later. Your nursin’ skills and all.”
Those lovely eyes blinked up at him. And once again, he found himself drowning in bewitching sensations.
She heaved in a deep breath and let it out slow. “We’re to be … m-married? Now?”
He hardened his tone. “Yes’m.” He had no time for cold feet or feminine hysterics. “It’s what we agreed on, ma’am.” He bit out the words, tamping down the surge of irritation…and something he couldn’t define. Panic, that she wouldn’t follow through? It was ridiculous, an outrageous thought. He shook it off and pressed on, determined to see his plans fulfilled. “Er, I don’t get to the Springs all that often. And there ain’t no preacher within twenty miles of Cripple Creek.”
Her plump lips turned down. The sight coiled his insides tighter than a rattler ready to strike. “Cripple Creek? That’s a long way, right?”
Was she trying to renege? He steeled his spine. He’d done wasted enough time and money getting’ her here. More than anything he wanted, no needed, to secure this marriage.
Something banded his chest, squeezing out every square inch of air, at the same time, softened him inside. Desire rippled through him. “I’m working the mines near there,” he said gently. “The homestead isn’t quite that far out.”
The small breath and small nod she gave, released his own held breath.
He cleared his throat. “Yeah, it’s a long way.”
Kathy L Wheeler (a.k.a. Kae Elle Wheeler for her Cinderella Series) has a BA in Management Information Systems from the University of Central Oklahoma that includes over forty credit hours of vocal music. She was a computer programmer for the Hertz Corporation for over fifteen years and utilizes karaoke for her vocal music talents. Other passions include the NFL, the NBA, travel, musical theatre, painting, reading, and writing.
She is a member of several Romance Writers of America chapters: Greater Seattle, Olympia and Eastside chapters, The Beau Monde and Hearts Through History.
Her main sources of inspiration come from a mostly an over-active imagination. She currently resides in the Seattle area with her musically talented husband, Al, and their bossy cat, Carly, and sweet dog, Angel.
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Author Alicia Dean 