Sunday, June 14, 2015

Author Interview: Kary Rader (A Taylor Made Love)

Phew! It’s been busy, so I haven’t had a author interview in a while. So I am psyched to end my dry spell with an interview with contemporary romance author Kary Rader! Her book A Taylor Made Life won the 2014 RomCon Reader’s Choice Award. A Taylor Made Love is the second book in that series.

Kary’s Taylor Made series was her way of coping with her husband’s cancer diagnoses, making these books all the more poignant. 

Here's the official blurb for A Taylor Made Love:
Twenty-year-old widow and cancer survivor Taylor Smith-Taylor is running her late husband’s billion-dollar gaming business because she’s made a vow to keep TME—and Gavin’s memory—alive. But she’s falling hard for her sexy attorney Brad Richards, and it’s not just their professional connection that has her tied in knots.When Taylor’s new idea takes off, she relies on Brad to help. Using company funds to back the innovative project, they begin a tumultuous affair and a multi-million dollar negotiation that could dominate the market or put the company in jeopardy.As the corporate dealings escalate, their volatile relationship leaves their priorities more tangled than their bed sheets, and a fatal accounting error divides them, putting the company on the brink of bankruptcy. Brad pushes Taylor to embrace her idea, and him, by selling TME—a decision that, for her, goes deeper than money. When she refuses, it seems easier for both to walk away, and only a perspective from the grave can help her realize her future comes down to one choice: the love she’ll lose or the love she’ll make.
And there is a Rafflecopy giveaway at the end of the post, so scroll down!

Tell me about Taylor Made Love.

Seven years ago while I was pregnant with my youngest child, my husband was diagnosed with Stage IV melanoma cancer. He went through surgery, chemo and was pronounced cancer-free two weeks before my son Brady was born. I never dealt with those emotions I experienced while he was sick. There wasn’t time. But three years ago when a friend's daughter was diagnosed with cancer, all of them came flooding back. As a result, I wrote A Taylor-Made Life. A Taylor-Made Love is the continuation of that story.

What do you love about writing romance?  

The intimacy between the characters. Watching them grow and fall in love with each other, seeing them open their hearts and change their minds is a gratifying experience.

What do you find difficult with the genre?  

Finding new and innovative ways to show how love between two people can grow.

You are writing about a very difficult topic—the C Word—what is it about these really tough topics that appeal to readers? 

Every good writer allows their reader to take a journey with their characters, to feel, experience and live. Love and romance are deep emotions, but it’s in the pain and heart break where a reader can experience depth and truth, and perhaps even healing.

The inspiration for the Taylor Made series came from your brush with cancer? How is your husband feeling now? And your friend? How did going through these experiences inform your writing?  

My experiences and by extension those journeys of the ones I love, were critical to the writing of this series. The story is born from the well of emotions never dealt with, and if you read Chapter 20 of the first book, you will experience those emotions with me and the characters.

My husband is cancer free and has been for seven years. And I’m excited to say that the treatment for melanoma has come a long way since his battle with the disease. Thank you for asking.

Now that Taylor Made Love is released, what is next for you?

I have another emotional Romantic Comedy coming this summer. It’s a full-length romance, titled Killing Casanova and is about an executive assistant addicted to romance novels, her playboy boss and his mother who is dying of cancer.

Do you have any writing rituals?

Only Coffee. (Ed. note: I love that it’s only Coffee and with a capital C! Oh me too, girlfriend!

Where is your favorite place to write?

Either in my bedroom or in the living room next to the window.

What inspires you to write? 

Life, death, music, art, words. Sometimes even the grocery story. Part of my essence is to write, so everything is inspiration.

What 5 books are on your bookshelf right now?

Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase
The Other Side of Midnight by Simone St. James
Bridge to Haven by Francine Rivers

What do you recommend people see/read/hear?


Read: If you love romance, Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers 

Hear: Faith comes by hearing. Listen to the beautiful voice of Amy Noelck.

You can connect with Kary on her website, Twitter or Facebook


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