Friday Author Spotlight: Kendra Leigh Castle

Friday Author SPOTLIGHT! We will feature a Young Adult, New Adult or Adult Author. These post will contain interviews, author posts, book blasts, fill in the blanks, etc... This is just our way to get authors noticed and out there as much as possible. So we hope you enjoy and stay tuned Fridays to see who we have on and what they shared. To see previous posts click here.

Today OUaT is happy to feature Author Kendra Leigh Castle. She is the author of For the Longest Time. For the Longest Time was released July 1st 2014 by Signet.

Author Kendra Leigh Castle 

Kendra Leigh Castle is the author of numerous paranormal romances, including the MacInnes Werewolves trilogy, the RITA award-nominated Renegade Angel, the Dark Dynasties series, and the Hearts of the Fallen series. 2014 will see the release of her first contemporary romance, For the Longest Time, which will be the first in her Harvest Cove series. Kendra lives in Maryland with her husband, children, two Newfs, and one obnoxious cat.

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For Samantha Henry, it took a ten-year absence to appreciate the close-knit New England town with an appeal all its own....

After a perfect storm of events leaves Sam high, dry, and jobless, she has to head home to Harvest Cove to regroup. Growing up, she was the town misfit, and a brief high school romance that resulted in heartbreak made her realize she was never going to fit in. But now with the support of her mother and an unexpected circle of allies, Sam starts to wonder if she’s misjudged the town all these years.

Life’s been good to Jake Smith. He transitioned from popular jock to town veterinarian without any trouble. But Sam’s homecoming makes him question his choices. The sharp-tongued beauty was never a good fit for the small community, but he’s never forgotten her—or how good they were together. While she makes it clear she’s not about to repeat the past, Jake’s determined to convince her to give him—and Harvest Cove—a second chance.

 

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Interview

OUaT: What about your new book (series) screams summer read?

KLC: I think it’s a warm, sweet, funny book that would be an excellent escape on a summer afternoon. And it’s set in the fall, so it might be nice to imagine getting out of the heat and crunching through leaves on a crisp autumn day!

OUaT: For those that are not familiar with Kendra, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your books that have been published?

KLC: Sure! I’m a thirty-seven-year-old Navy wife from a little town in Northern New York, currently living in beautiful Maryland with my busy, loud, amazing, covered-in-pet-hair family. I’ve been published since 2008, and up until now have written paranormal romances. While I enjoyed writing fangs and fur, I’m excited to be kicking off my first contemporary series with For the Longest Time!

OUaT: For the Longest Time is the title of the first book in your new series, The Harvest Cove. Can you tell us about Harvest Cove, does it exists and why that name?

KLC: It exists only in my imagination! I love little New England towns, so it was a lot of fun to create my own. It’s tucked into the coast of Massachusetts, full of history and very picturesque…the sort of place I’d like to visit. I named it Harvest Cove because fall is my favorite season, and that name just conjured visions of colorful leaves and pumpkins and smoke curling from chimneys as the weather cools.

OUaT: For the Longest Time is a book about second chances, was it difficult to write about a subject like that? Or easy and why either way?

KLC: It wasn’t any more difficult than anything else…no book is easy to write, at least not for me. It’s always a challenge to work the hero and heroine through their problems. Very rewarding, though, and I did enjoy that Sam and Jake had some shared history. It’s not something I’ve done before, and I enjoyed working with that element of their relationship.

OUaT: Since this is a new series, will the books have to read in order or will they be able to be read as stand-alones?

KLC: I’d like to think I’m making the books accessible enough that a reader could start anywhere. It’s always nice to start at the beginning of a series just because then you’ll know more of the people wandering through each one, but it isn’t necessary.

OUaT: What your perfect summer reading spot?

KLC: Definitely my screened-in porch, feet up on an ottoman, hopefully with a warm, gentle breeze. My neighborhood is nice and quiet, and surrounded by woods, so when I sit out there it’s very peaceful and I can listen to the birds while I read.

OUaT: Which character was easier or harder to write? Samantha Henry or Jake Smith? Who had the louder voice during the writing process?

KLC: Sam had the louder voice from the start, so she was a bit easier for me. Jake is a more laid-back character, which didn’t make him difficult, but I did have to dig a little deeper to figure out what was going on underneath sometimes.

OUaT: I write because: it’s who I am.

OUaT: Happy ever after is: spending your life with someone you like as much as you love.

OUaT: A super random factoid about me is: I have an extensive collection of ugly pajama pants.

OUaT: Some wise words that I love are: “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” - e.e. cummings