12 Honeymoons by K. L. Brady Creating Characters & Giveaway

BLURB:

Miki Vincent's entire life stalled because she's addicted to the beginnings of things, especially relationships. She relishes in the emotional highs, first hugs, first kisses that new love brings. But sex always ruins it. That's why abstaining during the first three months of a relationship—following the 90-day rule—was supposed to help land her down the aisle with Mr. Right. Miki finds out the hard way, Mr. Wrong can wait that long, especially if his ultimate prize is her inheritance.

One assault charge and depression later, Miki devises the Honeymoon Plan, guaranteeing her a lifetime of firsts and zero heartaches. But following her own rule sends her life into an out of control spiral in which she's sentenced to more than perpetual break-ups. A new pursuit and a string of sexy suitors offer her the opportunity to jumpstart her life and test her new strategy. The only problem? It just might work.

Miki's best friend Pam, a repressed artist, struggles to keep her honeymoon alive but she can no longer ignore the blatant evidence staring her in the face: Her husband is having an affair. A different kind of "honeymoon plan" designed to free her from her troubles, and a chance meeting with a handsome artistic stranger, help reignite her passions. But will they destroy her marriage in the process?

Creating Characters by K. L. Brady:

I love creating new characters and watching the old ones grow. All of my main characters in my romance novels tend to be strong, independent, funny heroines who, at the core of it, have a lesson they need to learn about life and whatever trouble they find themselves in at the moment is the tool life is using to teach them that lesson.

Regardless of the genre, I tend to write character-driven stories that focus on the inner-workings of my characters, their problems, their conflicts, their mistakes, their personal journeys.

I usually start with one main character and, as strange as it may sound; it’s usually a voice I hear in my head talking. When I meet my characters, they are usually in trouble. They are at a life-changing low point in their lives and almost say to me, “Follow me and watch how I get myself out of this one! This is going to be good.”

And they are usually right. I’ve never watched a journey that didn’t lead me to a book.

As we move through the story, I see the secondary characters in her journey, and I pluck out the key ones and name them. Sometimes, I’ll hear the names and sometimes I have to sit down and think about them to find the right ones that fit. In time, they usually reveal their inner character and show me the kind of people they are.

I met Miki, the main character from 12 Honeymoons, four years ago after I finished my third book. I saw her in court, with no attorney at her side,  looking at her bruised up boyfriend, and wondered how in the world did that happen? And how is she going to get herself out of this one? I got six chapters into the story and just stopped. I couldn’t see anymore.

Why?

The reason, I believe, was that in the four years after thinking up those chapters I was supposed to learn something from my own personal journey that I needed to apply to 12 Honeymoons. After waiting that period and experiencing the ups and downs of my life and writing the career, I picked up the story after finishing one of my books in another genre and it just flowed. All of a sudden the roadblocks were gone.

At that time, I realized more than ever that sometimes creating characters meant developing myself since a lot of my stories are loosely based on lessons that I’m learning in my own life.

I think, in this way, I not only create characters that are funny, strong, smart with interesting stories to tell, they are also very relatable, and that helps draw in readers.

EXCERPT:

My Grandma Pearl once told me there are two kinds of men: the ones who will make you count your blessings, and the ones who will make you want to start counting from zero to forget they ever existed.

Mitch Wiggins fell into the latter category. He made me determined to not only start again...but to start better. The end of our disastrous liaison quite literally drove me from love’s hangover straight to Circuit Court... in a brand new S-Class with a dented rear fender. The real shame of this sham was that I had him pegged within days, maybe moments, of meeting him. The red flags went up and flapped like crazy, batted against the winds of Deceiving Bastard, but I convinced myself to ignore the warnings and continue with the charade. And finally, I figured out the real problem.

The Honeymoon.

See, at that time, I still viewed “the honeymoon period” in a relationship as a wonderful pit stop on the yellow brick road to everlasting happiness—and I was wrong. So wrong. The actual truth was concealed behind the blare of my biological clock, which was ticking like an Old & Barren bomb merely seconds from exploding over the remnants of my life.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

K. L. Brady is a D.C. native but spent a number of her formative years in the Ohio Valley. Her writing career started in the pages of diaries when she was 7 or 8 years old. But it wasn’t until her 40th birthday and an Oprah “Live Your Best Life” moment that she finally answered her calling and wrote her first novel–The Bum Magnet. The originally self-published novel was picked up by Simon & Schuster in a two-book deal, and K.L. hasn’t looked back since, penning the follow-up, Got a Right to Be Wrong and self-publishing the first books in two young adult series and a spy thriller series based on her 20+-year career in the U.S. Intelligence Community.

She has a B.A. in Economics, an MBA, and is a member of the Maryland Writer’s Association, Romance Writers of America, Sisters In Crime, and International Thriller Writers. She’s addicted to writing and chocolate—not necessarily in that order—and currently lives in the Washington D.C. area with her son. She is hard at work on several projects, including the next installment of the series.

Website: www.KLBradyAuthor.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/KLBrady

Twitter: www.twitter.com/KarlaB27

Buy Links:

The book will be on sale for $0.99 during the tour.

www.amazon.com/12-Honeymoons-Novel-K-L-Brady-ebook/dp/B00X6TCUPU

http://www.amazon.com/K.L.-Brady/e/B002O15D78/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2?qid=1435439090&sr=1-

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION:

The author will be awarding $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner, and a Kindle Fire HD (International Giveaway) to another randomly drawn winner, both via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn host.

The more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: 

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2015/07/nbtm-tour-12-honeymoons-by-kl-brady.html

a Rafflecopter giveaway