Welcome Wednesday - Siobhan Kinkade

This week I'm welcoming Siobhan Kinkade to my blog.


Thank you, Sherri, for being kind enough to host my madness today! It’s lovely to be here. I suppose I should introduce myself now, huh?

Hi, my name is Siobhan Kinkade. And I’m a romance writer.

[Insert Romance Writers Anonymous “Hi, Siobhan” here for effect.]

I write books, and I have this bad habit of writing a lot of them. The characters take on personalities of their own, and the stories take off on their own. I’m just a helpless bystander in this process.

Yeah, silly. I keep telling myself that, but the characters just won’t stop. Because of this, I recently released two books on opposite ends of the romance spectrum. In fact, the books released within just a few days of each other. One is contemporary romance, the other is paranormal romance.

Blog: http://siobhankinkade.wordpress.com
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSiobhanKinkade  
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/#!/siobhankinkade
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/siobhankinkade

1.       Have you always wanted to be a writer? How did you get started writing romance?
Writing is in my blood. It’s what I’ve wanted to do since I first learned how to hold a pencil. As for writing romance…funny story, actually. It started as a dare. When I first started seriously looking at indie publishing, one of my friends dared me to step outside my comfort zone of sci-fi/fantasy and write a romance novel. I did, and it was pretty bad. So I put it on the shelf and wrote another story, which was picked up on first submission. That story was Marked. The first novel, though, I dusted off, polished up, and submitted. Turns out it was better than I thought, and Loki’s Game hit the market early last month.

2.       Tell us about your writing process. Do you outline, or are you more of a seat of your pants type of a writer?
I’m all over the place. With a full-time job and a family, writing is one of those things I have to squish into free spots in my schedule. I do outline to a certain extent, but rarely follow it. The characters always have other ideas and very rarely let me do what I originally plan.

3.       Are there any romance novel cliché that make you cringe when you read them?
I absolutely cannot stand to read any sort of book where the female characters are wilting flowers who pine for men and need to be rescued.  I’m a very strong-willed, opinionated woman so the concept of needing someone for protection or happiness drives me batty. I want my girls to kick butt and take names. I want my ladies to sweep the men off their feet. And I require that they be able to take care of themselves. I want the relationships to be partnerships, not borne of necessity.

4.       What is the hardest scene you’ve had to write, and what made it so difficult?
I always have a hard time writing sex scenes. To me, that’s a very personal moment and if I were my heroine, I wouldn’t want someone watching me do my business with my man. It also has to mean something in the story, otherwise I can’t do it. I’ve read so many books where the authors insert sex just to have another hot scene, but to me those are obvious and they throw me out of the story. I wholeheartedly believe that the characters can and should have their intimate moments, but I don’t think the audience needs to see it unless it’s actually going to move the plot along. It’s because of that I tend to question myself as to the necessity of the scene as I’m writing it.

5.       Which of your heroines would you say is most like you, and why?
Probably Lana Roberts from Blood Doll. She’s a tough, no-nonsense woman, and she isn’t afraid of anything. Her choice of men is very close to what I’d pick were I on the prowl. Plus she exhibits great love – after all, she dives head-first into a life of vampirism to save her sister. If it were one of my brothers in that situation, I wouldn’t hesitate to do the same.

6.       What are you working on now?
Way too many things to count! I’m dipping my toes into the world of contemporary cowboy romance, there’s a steampunk romance novel in the works, and I have an urban fantasy series that has been building for the last year. Focusing seems to be a big issue for me. On top of the books in progress, I’m using this month to do some research on what the romance market actually wants and needs. I’m polling audiences around the internet for more information…and using it as a shameless attempt to make people buy my books.

Audience Participation!

 I’m polling audiences around the internet for information in the form of three questions and a dare. There is free stuff involved, so keep reading.

1. What do you prefer: contemporary or paranormal?

2. Would you rather read novel length or shorter stories?

3. Do you prefer stand-alone books or would you rather read a series?

I’d love for each of you to answer these three questions today. I’ll be back later to check up on you guys! After all, this sort of thing helps me determine where to go next.

 

Now, the dare!

I want you to choose one of these two titles, buy it, and read it. Then I want you to come visit me on Facebook  and tell me what you thought of it. I want honest feedback on plot, cover, price, length, characters… whatever you’re willing to share. Be candid. I have thick skin.

Anyone who participates (as long as I have a name of some sort) gets mentioned in my findings and be entered into a drawing at the end of the month. There will be two winners – one on the contemporary side and one on the paranormal side.