12 Honeymoons by K.L. Brady (VNBtM, guest post, excerpt and GIVEAWAY) GFT

It is my pleasure to have a guest post by author K.L Brady (and my deepest apologies for neglecting to post it on time!) as she answers my question...

ELF:  What do you think is the strongest attraction about the genre(s) you like to write in?

KLB:  I’ve written books in three genres – YA romance, spy thrillers, and adult romantic comedies—and I must say that writing romantic comedy is without question my favorite genre. Hands down. Writing 12 Honeymoons was a huge reminder of that.

They say people who grow up through difficult childhoods and circumstances end up being the funniest people, and I would say that is true about my life. I don’t dwell on the past, but I will say that one thing I’ve learned to do to endure difficult challenges is laugh. Throughout my life, I would write in my journals whenever I had tough times. Then years later, I’d go back and read what I wrote…and what I thought was so incredibly sad at the time, cracked me up laughing when I read them later. Not because I had a morbid sense of humor, but without even realizing it, I’d made all these funny observations about life and my relationships. Writing for me was cathartic and healing. It was cheap therapy. And my deepest wish before I ever had the notion of publishing a book was helping people learn from my mistakes whether that be in my career, familial relationships, or romantic relationships.

I don’t think there’s any better genre to write about your mistakes in a humorous way, than through romantic comedy. Its purpose is to turn mistakes into humor, allow people to laugh at someone's pain without guilt. It is among the most cathartic fictional genres.

These diaries would later serve as the inspiration for my first romantic comedy—The Bum Magnet. Bet you can’t guess what that was about? I’d just broken up with a man whom I wrongly believed to be “the one” as I was sliding into my 40th birthday—a recipe for humor. To date, The Bum Magnet was so real and raw that I think it will always be the funniest thing I’ve ever written. I wrote the follow-up that covers some heavier topics, but it’s still pretty funny.

After meeting with some success, my mother passed away, and I lost all sense of funny. At least I felt as if I had. Losing a parent is an entirely different kind of pain, and it took years for me to come out of that dark place.

12 Honeymoons, my third novel, is the romantic helped me find my funny again. After two years of being in a dark place emotionally, it helped me claw my way back. I’m very excited about the story because it is more classically romantic comedy than anything I’ve written. It centers on a quirky character who does and says outrageous things. And you want to yell at her and scream, “No! Don’t do that.” But she does it, and that’s how hilarity ensues. Going through these situations with her is, of course, a great best friend and love interests who leave you wondering who she’s going to end up with. But, in the end, she finds out about herself, and she finds love. What’s more romantic comedy than that?

For my next trick, I'm writing a novella that is hilarious that would fit more in line with classic Harlequin romances--Her Perfect Catch. It deals with two of my favorite topics: love and football. It's for a book set of sweet romances and it has helped me affirm that my funny is back for good.  

I hope readers enjoy reading my stories as much as I enjoy writing them. May they laugh loud and often.

12 Honeymoons: A Novel

by K.L. Brady

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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?

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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.

Buy Links:

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

Amazon
 

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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

Facebook

Twitter

Amazon author page

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GIVEAWAY

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.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The tour dates can be found here