Kelli’s Quill - Happy Summer 2019

Kelli’s Quill

Happy Summer 2019

Hi everyone,

I hope you’re all enjoying the summer weather. If you’re looking for some great summer reads, why not visit my new website and add a few of my books to your device?

In this issue of the Quill, I’m sharing news about my new website, a new romance release, and more…

Just Released: The Viking’s Witch

Kelli’s latest historical romance, The Viking’s Witch, was released in June 2019. This full-length novel takes place in Celtic Scotland and blends a sensual romance with paranormal elements.

The Viking’s Witch

About to be burned at the stake by her fellow villagers, Odaria does what any betrayed witch facing certain death would do. She calls down a curse. Within seconds, rampaging Norsemen raid the village, capturing everyone except her.

But her reprieve is short-lived, and Odaria lands in the clutches of the Norse leader Rothgar. Can she remain true to herself and fight her growing attraction to this domineering man, or will she fall under his influence and be used for his ambitions?

After Rothgar witnesses Odaria’s powers firsthand, he strikes a bargain with her. The raven-haired beauty will use her magical abilities to help him with his quest in exchange for safe passage off the isle. But can this cunning woman be trusted, or is she using him to exact vengeance on her village?

Together they must fight bloodthirsty villagers, battle a mutinous band of Norsemen, find a missing Norse ship, and learn to trust each other…before time runs out.

Order your copy here:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/%20ebook/dp/B07T15MHSW

Link to all other platforms:  https://books2read.com/u/4EQe0o

New Season, New Site!

In April, Kelli launched her new & improved website. Same url, totally new look. It’s easy to navigate, share, and follow her on social media. Read about her romances, horror stories, and learn more about her non-fiction writing courses. Why not follow her new blog to read all her latest posts? The link is: www.KelliWilkins.com

Celebrating Pride Month all Summer? Don’t miss Kelli’s hot gay romances…

A Secret Match

Killer in Wolf’s Clothing

Four Days with Jack

Read all about them on Kelli’s Amazon Author Page: www.amazon.com/author/kelliwilkins or new site: www.KelliWilkins.com

Kelli’s Guest Blogs

Kelli’s been guest blogging around the web. Catch up on these posts…

Looking for a quick and yummy side dish for your next gathering? Check out Kelli’s recipe for Black Bean & Rice Salad: https://theafterworkcook.blogspot.com/2019/06/perfect-for-summer-black-bean-rice-salad.html

To celebrate Pride Month, Kelli answered FAQ about Writing Gay Romances on this blog: https://celticladysreviews.blogspot.com/2019/06/writing-gay-romances-4-faq-by-romance.html

And then shared an “Inside Look” at the making of her gay romance, A Secret Match here; https://dawnsreadingnook.blogspot.com/2019/05/guest-author-day-with-kelli-wilkins_28.html 

Kelli explored the Writing/Gardening Connection in this post: https://marysbooksblogger.blogspot.com/2019/05/welcome-kelli-wilkins.html

Read about the making of her hot summer romance, A Deceptive Match here: https://nesiesplace.wordpress.com/2019/05/25/guestpost-a-deceptive-match/

Kelli shared a recipe for a yummy pastel cake on this blog: https://theafterworkcook.blogspot.com/2019/04/welcome-kelli-wilkins.html

Summer Romance Rewind

If you’re looking for a few hot summer romances, don’t miss:

Trust with Hearts

A Deceptive Match

Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover

Read more about these books on Kelli’s Amazon Author Page: www.amazon.com/author/kelliwilkins or new site: www.KelliWilkins.com

Recent Release Recap

In March 2019, Kelli published Dangerous Indenture, a historical mystery romance set in Colonial Pennsylvania.

DANGEROUS INDENTURE

Indentured for five years… how long can Shauna resist her master’s son?

Desperate to escape her past in Ireland, Shauna Farrow signs on to become an indentured servant to Joshua Stewart, a wealthy man in Pennsylvania Colony. But a life of servitude quickly turns to drudgery, and Shauna’s hopes for starting over and creating a better life for herself are waning—until she meets her master’s roguish son, Ashton.

Ashton needs to redeem himself in his father’s eyes and earn the respect he has always longed for. Meeting Shauna turns his life around, and he sets out to win her heart. Torn between propriety and passion, Shauna struggles against her growing attraction to Ashton as long as she can.

But amidst their flirting, something dark stirs. Shauna soon discovers why no other servants wanted to work for the strange Stewart family.

Stewart House has an unsavory reputation: a previous servant died there under mysterious circumstances. When another servant goes missing in the middle of the night, Shauna is convinced that a member of the family is responsible.

Shauna’s investigation leads her close to the truth, and yet, she’s not sure who she can trust. Events take a deadly turn when she confronts the murderer and discovers the mystery of the Stewart family.

Will Shauna be rescued before time runs out, or will she meet with the same fate as the other servants?

Order your copy here:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PJVQ7XJ

All other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/3JyROP

Like historical romances? Follow Kelli’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Historical-Romances-by-Kelli-A-Wilkins-1703805359922371/

I hope you enjoyed this summer edition of the Quill. Stay tuned to my site, blog and social media for upcoming release news and other fun posts. I welcome questions and comments from readers and other authors, so feel free to write me via the contact form on my site.

Don’t forget, I’m not just an author, I’m also an amateur photographer. Visit my pages on Shutterstock https://www.shutterstock.com/g/kelli+wilkins and iStock https://www.istockphoto.com/portfolio/kelliwilkins to view my photos.

Enjoy the summer!

Kelli

Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover – A Paranormal Summer Love Story

Hi romance lovers,

Although I write in several romance genres (contemporary, gay, historical, fantasy), I also like to write horror stories. Many people think that’s an odd combination, but I like to say that one half of my brain writes the horror, and the other half writes the romance. So naturally, it was only a matter of time before I combined the two and started writing paranormal romances.

My contemporary paranormal, Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover, is a different type of romance. For starters, the novella is told in the first person from the hero’s point of view. The story also makes use of a setting where you don’t normally find vampires—the beach!

I got the idea for the story while sitting on a nearly deserted beach at the end of the summer season. (I’m not a beach person, but I was there with my husband, a surfer.) As I sat there watching the few people milling around, I wondered: “What if a vampire went to the beach? And what if she fell in love with a surfer?”

I liked the idea of contrasting typical sun-worshipping beachgoers and surfers with a darkness-loving elusive vampire. Besides, what could be more mismatched than a die-hard surfer falling in love with a nocturnal blood-drinker?

I started toying with ideas and knew that although the book is about a vampire, I wanted to keep the central focus on Brian and Anya’s relationship and not on the ‘bloodier’ aspects of vampirism (show her feeding, etc.) There’s a fine line when blending horror and romance into paranormal romance. Too much gore or a “too terrifying” creature can snap the readers (and the characters) out of the romance and into a full-on horror story.

When I wrote the book I made sure that the love scenes were highly sensual and almost surreal. Aside from being a vampire, Anya is a woman with needs, and she makes sure Brian satisfies them. I don’t remember how I was inspired to have the story told by Brian, but it worked. Readers and reviewers like the first-person aspect—it pulls you into a story that would seem unbelievable.

Several people have asked me if it’s hard to write horror and romance. Not really. I enjoy it. Writing horror allows me to change up my writing style, use different settings, and create characters you wouldn’t find in a romance. My horror stories are more psychological/spooky/creepy than gory, and I like to explore darker plots and not always give the characters a happy ending (as I do in my romances).

Here’s the summary:

Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover

The moment Brian spotted Anya sitting on the moonlit beach, he was hooked. Beautiful, smart, and sexy, Anya was the girl of his dreams. She didn’t mind that he spent the hot summer days riding the ocean waves, because once the sun set, he belonged to her—all night long!

Everything is perfect between them—until Brian discovers Anya’s shocking secret. Can Brian give up the sun, sand, and surf to be with the woman he loves?

Read Brian’s first-hand account of their unusual love story in… Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover.

Order Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover here:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Vampires-Lover-Paranormal-Romance-ebook/dp/B01IBYWYCI

All other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/49xp1J

Read more about my romances on my new site: www.kelliwilkins.com

Happy Reading,

Kelli 

Just Released - "The Viking’s Witch" - A Historical/Paranormal Romance

Hi everyone,

Today I’m sharing a look at my latest historical paranormal romance, The Viking’s Witch.

The Viking’s Witch is a traditional historical romance with paranormal elements set in Scotland in 803 A.D. The heroine, Odaria, is what they called a witch back then—nowadays we’d call her a psychic and a healer. Here’s the plot summary:

The Viking’s Witch

About to be burned at the stake by her fellow villagers, Odaria does what any betrayed witch facing certain death would do. She calls down a curse. Within seconds, rampaging Norsemen raid the village, capturing everyone except her.

But her reprieve is short-lived, and Odaria lands in the clutches of the Norse leader Rothgar. Can she remain true to herself and fight her growing attraction to this domineering man, or will she fall under his influence?

After Rothgar witnesses Odaria’s powers firsthand, he strikes a bargain with her. The raven-haired beauty will use her magical abilities to help him with his quest in exchange for safe passage off the isle. But can this cunning woman be trusted, or is she using him to exact vengeance on her village?

Together they must fight bloodthirsty villagers, battle a mutinous band of Norsemen, find a missing Norse ship, and learn to trust each other…before time is up.

***

Interviewers have asked me how I can create such interesting and diverse characters for all of my books. They want to know where Rothgar and Odaria came from. Well, there’s no real way to answer that other than, I just made them up. (Chris Hemsworth from Thor is pretty much what I envisioned Rothgar to look like—even though I wrote the book WAY before the movie came out!)

When I create my heroes and heroines I always give them “baggage” and flaws—along with problems to overcome. This way, they can grow and change over the course of the book. Odaria is a strong-willed “witch” who is tired of being abused and ridiculed by the people in her village. She swears she doesn’t need anyone’s help to get by. Rothgar was once a powerful warrior, but a personal tragedy has softened him and left him broken and unwilling to love anyone again.

When they first meet, they each play off the others’ weaknesses. Odaria has no qualms about standing up to Rothgar and arguing with him, and he respects her willful and fearless behavior. Eventually they realize that they need (and want) to be with each other forever.

Odaria’s “magic” is the catalyst that sets the story in motion. When the book opens, Odaria is about to be burned alive for being a witch. She calls down a spell and curses the villagers while unknowingly invoking a Viking raid. Or so it seems…

Odaria uses her “powers” for self-preservation and to get revenge on the people who hurt her. Rothgar doesn’t believe in her “magic” and thinks she’s merely pretending to be a witch to frighten people. But after a highly-charged interaction with the villain, Brennan, Rothgar gets a taste of what Odaria could really do if she set her mind to it.

I loved showing readers (and Rothgar) Odaria’s powers of clairvoyance, telekinesis, and psychometry. The scenes that included the “magic” elements were a lot of fun to write. I’ve always been interested in psychic phenomena and other New Age/paranormal subjects, so it was easy for me to incorporate what I know into Odaria’s character.

I hope you enjoyed this “inside look” at The Viking’s Witch. I’m happy to say that readers and reviewers fell in love with the characters and the book has received dozens of excellent reviews.

Order The Viking’s Witch here:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/%20ebook/dp/B07T15MHSW

Link to all other platforms:  https://books2read.com/u/4EQe0o

Happy Reading,

Kelli