Monday, November 2, 2015

Set Free

                                 SET FREE 

AUTHOR: Kelly Collins


GENRE: Contemporary romance with an 18+ warning


One ex-convict, one detective, one ranch, one hell of a ride.




When twenty-four-year-old Mickey Mercer walked out of the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility she had two things on her mind: the friends she left behind and the rough road ahead.
She had a failing ranch, a rundown home, and an angry ex-boyfriend determined to crush her. That was until a stranger appointed himself her personal savior.
Detective McKinley’s job was to protect and serve. His life was consumed by work until he found Mickey walking down a dusty road. She was a mess and in trouble, and t. There was nothing sexier than trouble. Mickey was everything he wanted, but nothing he needed. That was the lie he told himself.

Set Free is a story about love, hope, and redemption. Sometimes,
people aren’t what they seem. Sometimes, they’re better.



I resigned myself to hoofing it up the road. Step by step, I distanced myself from the prison. The farther I got, the better I felt. My meager steps turned into long strides. My rounded shoulders straightened. With each step, the dirt I kicked up buried my past.
Twenty minutes later, the prison faded from view. The road ahead twisted and turned with nothing in sight. Leaving the confines of the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility, I didn’t expect my lack of resources to confine me in a new type of hell.
The sun sat high in the sky and I was well on my way to sunburnt limbs. Leaning against a signpost on the side of the road, my eyes searched for cars leaving the prison. Maybe someone would be kind enough to give me a ride.

The hot breeze rattled the sign above my head. When I looked up, I laughed. It said Correctional facility area. Do not pick up hitchhikers. I continued on the dusty path, knowing that the universe had just flipped me off.


Kelly Collins writes with the intention of keeping the love alive.

Always a romantic, she is inspired by real time events mixed with a dose of fiction. She encourages her readers to reach the happily ever after and bask in the afterglow of the perfectly imperfect love.


Kelly lives in Colorado with her husband of twenty-five years. She loves hockey, shiny objects and has a passion for lemon drop martinis.






Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Interview with Z.A. Maxfield

Zam,

I’ve heard that you are a bit of a celebrity. I’m told that you were a ground-breaking author in the M/M romance genre. I have so many questions.

1.     What was your first book?
My first book was Crossing Borders. I don’t think I broke any ground anywhere. I just felt that a bog-standard romance novel featuring gay protagonist and love interest sounded like fun. I believe when I started to write gay romance, the wave was cresting. I just happened to paddle out in time.

2.     Which book are you most proud of?
I think I like the St. Nacho’s books a lot. In those I created characters that resonated and a town that many people wish was a real place where they could go. St. Nacho’s, Physical Therapy, Jacob’s Ladder, and The Book of Daniel.

3.     What inspires your stories?
My stories are almost all inspired by relationships. People interest me. Tragedy interests me. Resilience, redemption, faith, and family. Little things can change one’s trajectory in so many ways. What if someone gets on the bus? What if they miss it? What if you’re born in Los Angeles? What if you were born in Myanmar? There are a ton of stories, and they all start with the question, “What would happen if?” I guess love stories have always been my favorites, though. They inspire me most of all.

4.     What influenced you to write same sex romance?
To be honest, I think I was inspired by the Yaoi manga I was reading while my kids were going through their Manga and Anime phase. I was bowled over by Yaoi, and I was looking for more book-like stories. I felt like I had those stories in my heart and they just wanted to be told.

5.     I loved the book Hell on Wheels with Nash and Spencer. Do you have a muse for your characters?
I guess all my characters are a mishmash of things that interest me. They go on adventures I’d like to have. Wouldn’t we all love to bump into a movie star and have a fling and fall in love? It’s a pretty fun idea. I’d love a midnight date at Trampoline City, a raid on the snack bar to try disgusting food that’s bad for you. When I created those characters, I thought, here’s an individual who is amazing at repression, and he’s taken in hand by a guy who has NO problem expressing his emotions, whether he’s fighting or f*^k@ng. Oh, Goodie!

6.     We met at a Margie Lawson writing immersion class and I thought you were simply amazing. What did you take from that experience?
The best thing about that was how amazingly supportive we all were for each other. I missed being around you guys every day after I went home. I felt almost bereft. You were amazing too, as were all the Now’s Your Timers! It’s wonderful to be in a group of such dedicated hard working professionals. I’m honored to know you all.

7.     You are a multi-award winning author. How hard is it to come up with fresh ideas?
I should probably state that I’m a multi, Honorable Mention award winner. I don’t think I’ve ever once won first place. But as for fresh ideas, I believe there are no fresh ideas. That takes all of us off the hook, a little. Knocks me down a peg or two if I get pretensions.

Because all I have to do is Google tag lines, and I realize every story I’ve ever written has already been told. But storytelling isn’t always about fresh ideas, instead, it’s using the same ideas to touch the heart in new ways. My daughter the lit major once pointed out that until recent history, it would have been considered odd and a little suspect if a writer tried to tell a “new” story.

Just like “romantic love”, the idea that a story needs to be completely original is a fairly modern concept. Voice yes, an author needs a voice that is her own. Particularly in genre fiction, that is what I believe our readers really want. Someone once described it as “telling the same story, only different.” I agree. I try to be fresh in my approach, but really, I love the story that goes, Boy (or girl or threesome, foursome or moresome) meets boy (or girl et al), something comes between them, and they overcome it. The end.

8.     What are your current projects?
I’m just finish up the final book of the vampire series I started years ago. And I’m starting a new contemporary series that is hush-hush until I make up my mind. I’m re-releasing some older stories, and as always, I’m being called by cowboys, cops, soldiers, and any guy in a uniform (even priests aren’t necessarily safe from me. Ooops. Did I say that? Shocking. I know.)

9.     On to fun and silly stuff. If you were stuck on a remote island and could bring five things in addition to your kindle, what would you bring?
Just five? Goodness, can I bring my four kids and a plane??

10.   The last time we chatted you were going to RuPaul’s Drag convention. Do tell…
Oh, my goodness. I can’t begin to tell you how much fun that was. I saw RuPaul!!! He was wearing his normal guy clothes, gosh darnit, but I got to see some of his gowns. AMAZING. I love couture, this was a feast for the eyes. So many beautiful drag queens and courageous cross-dressers, some with their whole families. There were trans men and women and allies and artists and musicians and just a funky group of caring people. It was a beautiful, non-binary atmosphere of acceptance and love. I will forever be grateful for the experience.

11.  How do we find you?
Here’s what you do. You just remove that little register that your hot air comes out of in winter, and I’ll be inside there…staring at you. Really. Try it. Go ahead, I’m waiting and I’m hungry.

Um… just kidding.

My email address is zamaxfield@zamaxfield.com
I’m @zamaxfield on The Twitter. :D
Zam Maxfield on Facebook, and I also have a fan page you can “like”: