INTERVIEW with KELLY DAWSON

 

I want to first thank Kelly Dawson for this interview!

BIO:

Kelly Dawson is a USA Today bestselling author who pens naughty novels from her home in southern New Zealand.

Rural NZ provides plenty of inspiration for romantic stories, and this is where most of Kelly's books are set.

Inside the pages, sparks will fly, and spanks will fall as her sexy alpha heroes tame the strong, independent women who love them. Throw in some drama and angst, and you have the makings of a Kelly Dawson romance. She thoroughly enjoys bringing 'all the feels' to life on the page.

When she's not writing, Kelly devotes her time to her 4 children and her very own romance novel hero - her husband.

When and how did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve wanted to be a writer forever. Well, since I could hold a pen, anyway. When I was a kid I would pen stories with my sparkly crayons in the inside covers of colouring books.

As a teen I dabbled in poetry (those poems now make me cringe) but it was always my dream to be a romance writer. Never any other genre, only romance.

 

Did you have any influencing writers growing up?

Honestly, there were so many. I have always been a bookworm and I read so widely growing up that I couldn’t pinpoint any authors in particular. But my Grandma had an entire bookshelf full of spicy Mills & Boons that I used to love to read, which probably sparked my love for spicy romance. Virginia Andrews was a favourite, as was Danielle Steel. I don’t read either of those authors much anymore, but when I was a teen, I read everything I could find of theirs.

When I was really young, it was Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl and Paul Jennings. When I was 10, I wrote a letter to Paul Jennings and he wrote back! I still have that letter somewhere, because I think it was that letter that made me realise authors are actually humans, and I could totally be one if I wanted to be.

But it was probably only when I read my first Rural Romance in my 20s that I knew I had found my *thing*. My favourite writers in that genre are Therese Creed, Rachael Treasure, and fellow Kiwi writer Holly Ford.

 

Are any of your characters based on people in real life?

Well probably not “based” as such, but they’re definitely influenced by real people. For example, all of my main female characters have a little bit of me in them, somewhere. Bianca, in Daddy Takes the Reins is probably more like me than any other character, because she has Tourette’s, and her experiences with Tourette’s are based on my experiences, exactly.

My other characters are inspired from anyone really …. A character on a TV show or movie, or the tiniest spark in someone I meet, and then mish-mashed together.

Josh, one of the characters in High Country Daddies is inspired by a helicopter pilot from a High Country Station I met while working in a petrol station. He came in every week to fill a big tank on a trailer, and while it filled I would sit on the trailer with him and chat to him between customers, and Josh was born.

Davo, another character in High Country Daddies, was actually inspired by an old boyfriend.

I’ve spent my entire life living and working rurally, and in the racehorse industry, and I’ve met so many people that have all inspired characters in my stories. Clay, another character in Daddy Takes the Reins was inspired partly by a stable hand I used to work with.

Basically, if you cross my path, beware: something about you might stick in my memory and become a character in a book!

Where do you draw your book inspirations from?

Everywhere! TV shows, movies, real life….. Sometimes part of something that happens to me will make its way into a book and when it does, I like to share that with my readers.

The old 50s TV show Rawhide inspired my Trail Drive series – Mr Jordan in The Ways of the West and The Code of the West was inspired by Mr Favor from Rawhide.

One of the mechanics at the petrol station where I worked inspired a scene in High Country Daddies – I jumped over the workshop pit one day instead of walking around it (Health & Safety rules) and he threatened to slap my butt. He didn’t actually do it, of course, but that made its way into a book.

A couple of my books have horse races in them where the horse wins against all odds – these were inspired by actual horse races I watched, where my friends were jockeys. I’m not a jockey, but I have friends who are, so I was able to make the riding part of the races pretty realistic.

Is it possible to be a writer and *not* draw inspiration from daily life?

 

Do you use have a basic outline when starting a new story or do you let the characters lead the way?

My characters lead the way. I’m not a plotter at all. The few times I’ve tried, the characters have taken the story in a totally different direction, so I’ve learned to just roll with it and go where they want to take me.

 

When you are picturing the characters in your book, do you have a cheater photo for inspiration?

Sometimes, but not always. Sometimes it’s a whole lot of people all merged together – I sometimes use a Pinterest board for this. But sometimes the characters are just in my head.

 

Many people read as a form of escape and relaxation.  What is your favorite way to sit back and relax?

A nice hot bubble bath with a good book and a cup of Milo (hot chocolate).

 

Who are your favorite current authors to read?

I have so many! Right now, it’s probably Jodi Picoult. I love the way she tackles the most controversial topics and inspires me to think and question everything I know.

 

What are your favorite books by others?

Again, I have so many! I very rarely read a book twice, but I’m currently re-reading one by Loki Renard for about the third time – Savage’s Recruit.

Therese Creed’s Redstone Station is another favourite.

Another book I’ve read multiple times is The Measure of Katie Calloway by Serena B. Miller.

 

Do the locations in the stories have any meaning to you?

Absolutely!! Most of my stories are set in New Zealand, which is where I live. I try really hard to make my stories authentically Kiwi, and to bring my country and culture to life on the page.

One of my books – Daddy’s Belt – was set on a (fictional) farm where I grew up. While the place is real, the farm in the book is very different to the actual farm that is in that spot. My farm is better J I shared photos that I took there, with my readers. It’s probably the setting that I’m the most passionate about, because I spent the first 14 years of my life there, both my parents were born there, my great-grandfather was one of the first settlers there, and my mum grew up there.

Another book – Obeying Daddy – is set in Auckland, New Zealand, where I lived and worked for two years.

All of my books that are set here in New Zealand are set in places that I know well, and are important to me in some way.

 

Do you write in single or multiple POV?

I try to write from the POV of each main character in my story, although my focus is usually the heroine.

 

What do you find to be your best research tool?

Life! Real, lived experience trumps everything else, so I talk to people who have personal experience of what I’m writing about, if I can.

 

Do you write under a pen name?  Also, do you write under more than one name?

I do J

Kelly Dawson is my main pen name, but I have another one that has 2 books out, and I just submitted to Harlequin under a different name again. I’m not sharing them though, because I want to keep them all separate.

 

What genre do you write and why is this your preference?

Kinky, spanky, contemporary romance, generally with a Daddy-dom hero and a rural bent.

Why? Because these are the characters in my head. I’ve always inserted spankings into the stories I’m reading, for as long as I can remember, so when I got old enough, I wrote my own.

 

Tell me something about yourself outside of writing.  Jobs, accomplishments, family, quirky trait...what led to you being you?

I’m a married mum of 4 and I live at the bottom of the world, in Southland, New Zealand.

My books and my children are my main accomplishments and I’m immensely proud of them all J

My love of horses and rodeos should be pretty clear by my books.

My husband and I own an antique shop in our small town, which keeps us pretty busy.

Quirky traits? Well I have Tourette’s. I don’t know if “quirky” is the best way to describe it, but it certainly makes life umm….. interesting. My main tics are facial movements now, but I’ve had the whole gamut at various times, from coprolalia (random swearing that the movies are particularly fond of mocking) to echolalia (repeating sounds, words and phrases), random vocal tics (snorts, mostly. And sniffing, which isn’t ideal in the current covid climate) and crazy urges to eat inedible things (raspberry shampoo does not taste like raspberries, just as an FYI).

 

If you are a duo writing team, how do you share the writing process?

Kelly Dawson is just me. But I did co-write a book with fellow Kiwi author Loki Renard and it was so much fun! Once I stopped fan-girling it was, anyway.

We just wrote the book chronologically, 1500 words or so each, and emailed the updated book back and forth. It was great reading what Loki had written, then adding my bit on and sending it back.

What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?

Keep writing and don’t give up!

 

How do you deal and process negative book reviews?

These days, I honestly don’t mind them so much. At first, they really hurt, and I’d call the reviewer all sorts of names in my head. Because how could anyone not like my book? How dare *anyone* rate it as anything less than perfect?!? I took it as a personal insult, even though it clearly wasn’t.

Now, I just accept it as one person’s opinion, and if there’s nothing in there that I can use to improve my craft, I just ignore it. I mean, I have reviews one after the other that say the exact opposite things. Which one is right? Opinions are subjective. Some people love what someone else hates. Hopefully, the negative reviews will help the right readers find my book, and the wrong readers to ignore it.

But some of them definitely speak for themselves, and those ones still make me laugh today. Like one reviewer on one of my books insisted I know nothing about horses (despite my lifetime of experience) yet he/she proudly declared in their review that they rode a horse once. Once! At a summer camp. I spent six months working as a horse trek guide, taking people like that into the mountains on horseback. My experience with horses is literally what kept them safe. The only possible thing to do with reviews like that is ignore them.

But definitely, if there is something helpful in there – and there often is – I will make a mental note of it and use it to improve. I love getting feedback on my writing, and as long as negative feedback is helpful and not just one word: “Dumb” (an actual review I’ve gotten) I don’t mind it at all.

What is the most difficult part of your writing process?

Right now, it’s actually finding the time and the inspiration to write. If I’m on a roll, my characters are talking to me and the words are flowing, it’s easy and I love it. But when that’s not happening, it doesn’t work so well. Me and self-discipline are not good friends, which is the biggest hindrance to me.

What do you need in your writer’s space to keep you focused?

Peace and quiet!! I actually get quite a bit of writing done by shutting myself in the loo and typing on my phone. It’s the one place in the house where I’m not disturbed!!

One of my favourite places to write is actually in our antique shop. I have a chair in the back corner, and a lamp, and a side table, and I write in between customers. Of course people sometimes buy the furniture I’m using as my “office” so I have to replace it, but it’s a good place to write, no matter the furniture available to me. It’s peaceful, and surrounded by old things, which adds to the atmosphere and gets me in the right mood.

What is your naughty indulgence as you are writing?

Coffee and chocolate. Cadbury Caramilk, preferably. If you’re not familiar with that, it’s the most yummiest caramelized white chocolate.

Hot chocolate (or Milo) if I’m writing late at night, and something sweet to snack on. Tim Tams, usually.

If you could spend a day with another popular author, whom would you choose?  And why?

That’s an absolutely impossible question to answer! There are so many popular authors I would love to meet and hang out with and picking just one would be impossible. But if I had to pick, maybe Jodi Picoult. I would love to talk to her and see how her mind works.

What is your schedule like when you are writing?  Do you have a favorite writing snack or drink?

I don’t really have a writing schedule, because I have a family which means I can be interrupted at the drop of a hat. But I always have a coffee on my desk beside me.

Do you listen to music when you write – what kind of music is your favorite?

Sometimes I do, but often I find it distracting and just want silence instead.

I have an eclectic taste in music, and I also have three teenagers, so I listen to whatever is being pumped through the speakers. Recently, my 17 year old daughter introduced me to “Under the Sun” by LAB which I quite like.

If I’m writing in our antique shop I listen to oldies stuff – because that’s what’s playing on the radio. It seems fitting for our shop.

Mostly, I’ll use music to get me in the right mood for what I’m writing. If I need to write a sad/heavy emotional scene I’ll listen to something sad. If I’m writing something happy and fast-paced I’ll listen to something upbeat.

Have pets ever gotten in the way of your writing?

Not really. The only pets we have now are cats, and while they like to curl up on my lap while I’m writing, they don’t disturb anything.

What is your kryptonite as a writer?  What totally puts you off your game?

Stress. Sad but true.

Have you ever killed off a character that your readers loved?

Not yet…. But never say never!

How do you celebrate after typing THE END?

Generally, that happens late at night and I’m tired so I go to bed! I celebrate new releases more than I celebrate getting to the end. I celebrate by treating myself to something small.

 

I hope you enjoyed this interview!

Make sure to give Kelly Dawson a shout-out and FOLLOW her on all her social media!

CONNECT W/ KELLY:

Website:
https://kellydawsonauthor.blogspot.com/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/KellyDawsonAuthor

Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/711004016172216

Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Kelly-Dawson/e/B00SUXKNAQ

GoodReads:
https://www.goodreads.com/kellydawson

BookBub:
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kelly-dawson

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/kellydawsonauthor/

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/KELLYDAWSONauth

Newsletter Sign-Up:
https://kellydawsonauthor.blogspot.com/p/free-books.html