Guest Authors,  Tule Publishing

Author Spotlight: A Chat with Romance Author Kris Bock

Debra Pruss, you are Kris’s winner! She will be in touch with you! Thanks for stopping and commenting this week! 

Kris Bock writes novels of romance, mystery, and suspense. Her Furrever Friends Sweet Romance series features the employees and customers at a cat café. In the Accidental Detective series, a witty journalist solves mysteries in Arizona. Kris also writes a series with her brother, scriptwriter Douglas J Eboch, who wrote the original screenplay for the movie Sweet Home Alabama. The Felony Melanie series follows the crazy antics of Melanie, Jake, and their friends a decade before the events of the movie. Get a free cat café novella, mystery stories, and more when you sign up for the Kris Bock newsletter.

Kris lives in New Mexico, where she enjoys hiking, watching the sunset from her patio, and hanging out with her husband and their ferrets.

Her new book The Billionaire Cowboy’s Christmas released yesterday–be sure to grab it after you read this interview.

Christmas Cookies at the Cat Café: a Furrever Friends Sweet Christmas Romance by [Kris Bock]Giveaway! Kris is giving away an e-copy of Christmas Cookies at the Cat Café to one lucky commenter. Be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win this fun holiday story! Christmas isn’t the same since Diane’s kids grew up and her husband died – so when her high school sweetheart comes back to town, maybe it’s time for some cozy new holiday traditions.

N: Welcome to the blog, Kris. I’m so delighted to have you back today. When did you decide to be a writer?

A: I first studied photography, but I quickly learned I didn’t want to be a professional photographer and switched to writing. Originally I wrote for children under the name Chris Eboch. I have over 100 books published, though many of those are educational publishing titles under five thousand words.

N: How do you develop your plot and characters?

A: For mysteries, I like to have more of a plot ahead of time, to make sure the pieces fit together and there’s enough action. Romance is more character driven, so I only need to know what the main characters want and need, and why they can’t easily get it. I still usually brainstorm some ideas, often using index cards, so I can then shuffle them around into a reasonable order. It’s easier to get right to writing every day if I know what happens next.

N: Your new book with Tule Publishing is part of their Texas Born imprint. The Billionaire Cowboy’s Christmas released yesterday—that’s so exciting! Was this your first time to write cowboys?

A: Yes. I’d had the idea for a ranching family that won the lottery, but didn’t pursue it until I heard that Tule wanted more cowboy books. My editor was excited about the concept and I wound up with a five-book series.

N: Talk to us about writing a family series. Was it fun to create the family connections in your Accidental Billionaire Cowboys books?

A: Series like this are fun, because you can preview who’s going to be in the next book. On the other hand, that means keeping track of everyone when you might have overlapping timelines. In addition, with four brothers, they have to be different enough that they don’t feel like the same person. I enjoyed figuring out how brothers with different personalities might have developed in the same situation.

N: How much of you is in your character Carly Garza?

A: Carly is a lawyer with city polish, so not much! We both do have a soft spot for sweet men though, and we want to make the world a better place.

N: Give me three words to describe your hero, Josh Tomlinson.

A: hard-working, loyal, brooding

N: Are you working on anything at the present you would like to tell your readers about?

A: I’m still working on the later books in this series, and also on my mystery series for Tule. In the Accidental Detective series, a witty journalist solves mysteries in Arizona and tackles the challenges of turning fifty. It begins with Something Shady at Sunshine Haven: When patients are dying at an Alzheimer’s unit, a former war correspondent must use her journalism skills to uncover the killer and save her mother. Kate has followed the most dangerous news stories around the world, but can she survive going home?

N: What was your dream job when you were younger?

A: I don’t remember wanting to be something in particular when I was little. I never imagine being an author, possibly because I didn’t quite realize that writing books could be an actual job.

N: Share something your readers wouldn’t know about you.

A: My newsletter readers know I have ferrets, because I share cute pictures, but ferrets haven’t shown up in my books – yet. (They are coming in a future billionaire cowboy book!) I love animals of all kinds, but ferrets are the ones that have worked out for us to keep.

N: What’s your favorite place to visit and what makes it so special?

A: I traveled around the world when I was younger. Now I’m happy to go camping in New Mexico or drive to visit my Mom in Arizona. There’s plenty to see close to home, and I love hiking.

N: And let’s revisit my signature question from our last chat, just in case there are three other people, living or dead, you would like to invite to a dinner party. Who would they be and why?

A: Hmm, I have dear friends who are no longer with us, but since you wouldn’t know them, that’s not terribly interesting. It would be fun to join the Detection Club, started in 1930 by British mystery writers, including Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, and G. K. Chesterton.

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The Billionaire Cowboy’s Christmas

He has everything this Christmas, but all he wants is the quiet ranch life he’s losing…

When Josh Tomlinson’s Texas ranching family wins a fortune in the lottery, the formerly tight-knit family is suddenly on edge. Seeking advice, Josh reluctantly contacts family friend and now attorney, Carly Garza. His business is serious, yet he can’t believe Carly’s morphed from a long-legged colt of a girl to a sophisticated woman. Besides, he knows the intelligent Carly has no interest in a quiet, rugged cowboy like him.

Carly’s crushed on Josh for years, and she plans to ask him out now that she’s back in Last Stand. She’s hoping he’ll finally see her as someone other than his younger brother’s middle school girlfriend. But when Josh needs advice on how to handle his family’s lottery win, his client and billionaire statuses put him firmly out of reach. If only her heart could ignore the sparks that flare between them.

They’re already keeping the family’s lottery win a secret from the town. Can they also hide their budding romance during the most magical time of year?

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