Friday Follies Interview w/Kenzie Michaels

Howdy all! Today we've got Kenzie Michaels visiting. Be sure to give her a warm welcome.

Before we get started, tell us a bit about yourself. Anything about your non-writing life.

Thanks for having me today Layna!  I’m the mother of three, grandmother of one, and ‘Aunt Kenzie’ to the neighbourhood kids.  I’m a karaoke fiend, thanks to my partners-in-shennaigans BC Brown and Melissa Bennett.  We reside in the southwest corner of Indiana, the former capital of the NW territory, and recently adopted a docile pit bull, who was only supposed to stay here ‘one night’.  It’s almost been a month, so he’s ours now!

Summer is just about to conclude here in the Western Hemisphere, so what is the craziest thing you’ve done all summer? Did you camp out in your backyard like I did, with severe weather warnings looming about?

No, our summer was pretty tame.  The only crazy thing we did was while on vacation in Colorado.  We saw rain approaching while at the Go-Kart playland, and instead of herding the kids toward the car, we stayed, hoping it would blow over.  It didn’t, and while the kids made a dash for the go-Kart building, the spouse and I huddled under the bumper boat awning and got soaked from the knees down.  It finally tapered off enough so we could run to join our dry children, lol.

Does your family have any summer tradition, or ritual to break in the season?

I like to attend the Indy 500 the day before Memorial Day; we usually cook burgers, brats, and/or hot dogs when I get back the next day.  Otherwise, the kids just look forward to going to the local pool.

Here’s a scenario for you: Your family is just about to chillax while you’re about to dunk the turkey in the deep fryer. Moments after placing the lid on, you realize the propane tank runs empty, and you don’t have another to replace it with. Oh, and the propane store is closed because it’s a holiday, what do you do?

Plan B:  Put bird in oven and chow down on already cooked items til it’s ready.  Or the hubby just said we’d put charcoal under the fryer and we’re good to go!

Okay, one last what if scenario. You’re at the beach, with your kids/grandkids. Your muse strikes again, only this time you don’t have a pen, only your eyeliner in your purse. You’ve suddenly lost your notepad and all you have is one last napkin. To make this even more interesting, your child/grand-child has got food all over his face. Do you save the napkin to write your idea down, and suggest the kidlet to hop into the water and wash off? Or, do you use the napkin to clean him/her up, and use the eyeliner to write on your hand, arm, or leg? LOL

Weeell, first of all, I don’t use eyeliner!  I’d tell the child to go wash off in the ocean and I’d use lipstick to write something down or go off in search of anyone with a pen.

Summer is one of the seasons where weather can impact everything whereas plans are concerned. What does your family do when you’re rained out?

Go do whatever the next day or if we’re traveling, then make the best of it. 

Tell us about your latest release. 

Off The Clock was inspired by the leader of my local writer’s group.  I’d only been a member for a few weeks when he proposed an anthology, using one place of business as the setting, and we would all take a different character/worker and write what their lives were like after clocking out for the day.  My brain kicked into gear, and over the next week, wrote the first chapter or so.  But when I presented my rough draft the next meeting, he said they had planned on a different restaurant-style place.  I kept working on it, wanting to see where it was going, and the antho never did get off the ground.  So I kept the title and put it away, never dreaming a year later I’d write another story and Austin would ‘insist’ I add him to it!  My stand-alone book suddenly became book #3 in a trilogy.

Blurb: 

Austin Harmon is intrigued by his quiet, efficient new administrative assistant. Why does she have an obsession with her watch, and what does she do after hours?

Cara has put her social life on hold while caring for her elderly mother. But after her boss helps her through a crisis, she can't deny their attraction. Romance and Alzheimer's don't mix... or do they?

Excerpt #1:

“Austin! Where did you find her?” His best friend Ryan clapped him on the back. “She’s fantastic, man! Nothing like Leslie.”

“She answered my ad in the paper. She’s my office assistant.” Austin Harmon took a sip of his drink and followed her with his eyes as she paused to speak with an elderly couple.

“You lucky dog! You banging her or is she taken?” Ryan adjusted his striped tie.

A flash of anger welled up. “Stay away from her,” Austin warned. “Leslie left my office records a mess and Cara finished sorting everything out today. She’s a dream come true.”

“I’ll say. And are you kidding? Andrea would string me up alive if she even caught me looking at another woman. I was just thinking of you, man.” Ryan smiled and held out his hand.

Austin shook it. “After the Leslie fiasco, no more office romances. Harmony House doesn’t need any more visits from the Health Department.”

Buy link:  http://www.freyasbower.com/contemporary-c-7/off-the-clock-p-285.html

ARE:  https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-offtheclock-1216475-340.html

Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/Off-Clock-Anderson-Chronicle-ebook/dp/B00D3D3AQW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1370099172&sr=1-1&keywords=off+the+clock+kenzie+michaels

What can we expect to see from you in the future?

While we were in Colorado, a possible sequel to Wild At Heart arrived in my brain.  I’m only on the 2^nd chapter, so I’ll see where it goes.  I’ve also got ten other partial WIPs, so I need to carve out time to write again.

Thanks for hanging with us today! I hope you had fun, and we’re glad to have had you over.

Thanks again for having me here today!