K. Dawn Byrd talks about The Secret of the Love Letters, her first book in The Zoe Mack Mystery Series, which launches on January 17th. She’ll give away a free download. To enter to win, leave your name and email address with a comment.
Welcome, K. Dawn. It seems you've been a lover of mysteries and romance a long time. Tell us about that. I was an avid reader as a child. Nancy Drew was my absolute favorite. I must have read every Nancy Drew book in the school library...twice. Because I love mystery and romance, I signed a three book contract with Desert Breeze for a new romance/mystery series, The Zoe Mack Mystery Series. The Secret of the Love Letters is the first book in the series, with others to follow in June and December.
Why do you write?
I write for the simple joy of placing words on the page. It's more than a hobby, it's a passion. I recommend new writers not write for fortune or fame because it many never come. If you're writing because you love it, you can't go wrong.
My latest book is a young adult romance/mystery. Zoe's cousin Emma thinks she's the recipient of some sick joke when an old boyfriend she thought dead shows up on the internet. Can Zoe solve the mystery that's causing Emma so much pain when her attraction to the town bad boy is so distracting?
When Zoe Mack moves in with her grandparents to start college, she's thrown into more mystery than she bargained for. Her cousin, Emma, is terrorized by a stalker who breaks into her house and leaves a photo-shopped image of Emma hanging from a tree. Nothing is as it seems and Emma soon learns that even the man she thinks she can trust is a suspect.
Zoe can't wait to reunite with Nate, the bad boy who doesn't talk about his feelings much, but the passionate kiss he gave her last summer had to have meant something. When she arrives back in town and discovers that he's in trouble with the law, she must take matters into her own hands in order to clear his name. She has her hands full with a needy Emma, a cop who gives her the creeps, and Nate, the guy she desperately wants to call her own. Can Zoe solve the mystery, clear Nate's name, and make him fall in love with her?
Sounds interesting with lots of twists and turns. What is your writing schedule and where do you write?
I write my novels in thirty days. I plot them out and then map out how many words I'll need a day on a calendar and also where I should be in word count every day. My goal is to write 60,000 words in thirty days. I write on my netbook and since it's portable, I carry it with me wherever I go. I've been known to eat lunch alone in a restaurant while pounding on the keys.
What are you working on right now?
Right now, I'm working on the second book in the Zoe Mack Mystery Series. It's called Fatal Attraction and scheduled to release in June.
It sounds as though you are working on another good mystery. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
My advice for aspiring writers would be first and foremost, don't give up. Second, write something every day. It's important to write every day even if it's only a few hundred words. Third, don't let rejection get you down. You'll become a better writer with every book. You may have to shelve the first few, but that time wasn't wasted as it was a learning tool to help you develop your skill.
What would you be doing if you weren’t writing?
I'd probably be burning up the roads on my Harley if I wasn't writing. I sold my bike to have more time to write and I've not regretted it for a single moment.
Thanks, K. Dawn
BIO:
K. Dawn Byrd is an author of inspirational romance in various genres, such as suspense, historical, mystery, and young adult. She's an avid blogger and gives away several books per week on her blog at http://www.kdawnbyrd.blogspot.com/, most of which are signed by the authors. She's also the moderator of the popular facebook Christian Fiction Gathering group at http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=128209963444.
When not reading or writing, K. Dawn Byrd enjoys spending time with her husband of 16 years while walking their dogs beside a gorgeous lake near her home and plotting the next story waiting to be told.
Comments
Love your book cover, and congrats on this series. Sounds awesome! :)
tscmshupe [at] pemtel [dot] net
Thanks so much for stopping by. It's nice to meet you too!
June: I'm so glad you enjoyed This Time for Keeps. If you have a moment, please post a review on Amazon. I would greatly appreciate it.
Sidney: It would be a good book for a high school senior. There is romance, but it's very clean. My heroine is a Christian and even though she's not very vocal about her faith, she does have excellent morals and values. She's nineteen and getting ready to start college, which I believe makes it easier for older teens to relate to her.
desertrose5173 at gmail dot com
Thanks so much for you kind comments!