Ack! 40! Good God that's old!

Well, if you think on it, not really. And I don't feel 40. In fact, most of the time I feel...ummm...24, no, more like 27. Ahhh...27 was a good age. And for the most part since I'm usually buried in my heroine's POV, I have the mindset of a 27 year old. Of course I'm living in medieval times for the most part. Then there are days that I'm in the mind set of a 30ish year old hero. And can I just say that my hero's tend to have a wicked lot on their minds. Mostly sex. They think about it all the time. There are days I can't get their heads out of the trenches. ;-)

I had goals in life and for the most part I have exceeded my aspirations. I'm a published author! How many people can say that they wrote a book and got it published? That is certainly something to be proud of and I am. I don't live in a castle, or have gold tucked away in my coffers, but I'm happy. And when life gets to be too much to handle, then I set myself back in time and tuck reality under the rug for a while.

So, I will accept for the nonce that I am 40 today, but I have the mind of a 27 year old!

5/5 STARS for HIGHLAND DRAGON

The reviews for Highland Dragon are starting to trickle in and I can't tell you how thrilled I am that this book is receiving praise. Highland Dragon is the book of my heart and most likely always will be, and I'm so very happy Calin and Akira gave this reviewer so much to boast about.
Enough from me...I'll let the reviewer tell you about it:

5 STARS - LOVED IT! COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN (if I could give it 10 stars you bet your bippy I would!)

[Laird Calin MacLeod], oh I so adore him, although a brute he is a brute with a heart, and his soul belongs to Akira as he defends his love and his clan to find a peace inside his heart from all the vengeance and hatred that has been living inside him for eighteen years. You want to root for him throughout every page! They are both cunning and cleaver, fiercely loyal, insecure with their emotions at times and yet both Calin and Akira have this magnetic power by the grace of Kimberly Killion's words to time-warp you back to 1502 and experience their struggle for love and peace, as well as their grief at times. I was truly enthralled and taken away!
—Book Junkie READ THE FULL REVIEW...

RWA National conference in D.C.

I'm still waiting for the rush from the RWA national conference to settlebut it seems to continue on and on and on... With a packed schedule we barely had time for anything, but we squeezed in some siteseeing. My room mate, bff, critique partner and favored travel pal, Megan Kelly, went to the Smithsonian, the Washington Monument, the Reflecting pool, the Walls, both Vietnam and Korean, and the Lincoln Memorial, and there might have even been a few other monuments in the there, but it's a bit of a blur now.

On Wednesday I registered for the conference and attended the Presidents' retreat and took promo items (bookmarks, CDs, coverflats) to the librarian/booksellers event afterwhich I had to cart them to the goodie room. Whew!...Then there was the Literacy Booksigning...

Followed by the Booksellers' Best Awards banquet. This was probably the highlight of my week since I WON both the Best First Book category as well as Best Long Historical. I cried! My dear friend, Delilah Marvelle, who was up against me cried as well. I love her! ;-) That's Kathrynn Dennis in the middle and I'm not certain what that goophy look is on my face since this was right before the announcement.

That brought us to Thursday which was the Kensington party. Below you'll see me with the absolutely georgeous Allegra Gray. The pic below that you'll find Carrie Lofty and Delilah Marvelle having a drink on Kensington. They had a nice room full of authors and appetizers, but I could only stay for an hour as I had to rush off to the National Readers' Choice Awards. I was up for Best Historical with fellow Kensy author, Jackie Ivie, but niether of us took home the trophy. But I didn't care since I was still flying high from the BSB double win.

That brings us to Friday when I actually got to attend a few workshops and go to the Avon book signing. Can you say Regency? That's what they were giving away. Nearly every book was a regency. Hmmm....maybe I should write a regency...

Now, Saturday, I gave my workshop, "The Road So Far: the First Year After the Call" with the awesome Megan Kelly and it was a hit. At least I think we presented it with level heads. ;-) After a few more workshops, dinner, I had to get ready for the big Gala, but not before the hotel was evacuated due to a fire alarm. There were even some people who had to come out of workshops.

Now...the night of all nights...the Golden Heart and RITA awards ceremony. This was an amazing time for me. It doesn't get bigger than the RITAs and being up for Best First Book was truly an experience I will never forget. I didn't win, but I enjoyed my week as a princess and I will be forever grateful to have been recognized by the RWA.

^^ Megan Kelly and me!

^^^Anthea Lawson and me!

^^^Hilary Sares drove down from NY to attend the ceremony and then drove back with her daughter. It was a really honor to have her there with me!

^^^Fellow Kensy sister, Marilyn Brant and me!

^^^My agent, the fabulous Meredith Bernstein, who brainstormed a new 4-book series with me right before the ceremony!!!

^^^And this is me again with the flowers my Scottish writing group sent me.

So you see...conference is not only a place to learn about craft and publishing and get in on all the gossip, it's also a place to meet up with old friends and make new ones. Thank you RWA for making D.C. the bomb. ;-)

Nathan Kamp on burgers and squirrels

Ever wonder how those hot hunky cover models live? Well, Nathan Kamp has a new website. Check out "Nathan's Live to Eat" series at http://www.nathanlivestoeat.com/
Here's hoping they do a bit that lands Nathan in a kilt. Now that would go viral...

From YOUTUBE:

On a busy afternoon Ford Models' Nathan Kamp grabs a bite to eat at Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. Welcome to Nathan's New York.

The Marga-RITA award

A couple Saturday's past, I attended (and hosted) my local chapter, Missouri Romance Writers of America, 25th anniversary celebration. We gave away gobs of door prizes, baskets upon baskets of book and baubles. We dined, we laughed, we cried...

As the President, I was presented with a proclamation from the governor of Missouri. But what was the most heart-felt moment of the day was when I was surprised with an unexpected award: The Marga-RITA. My sister author, Karyn Witmer (also the recipient of the Silver Rose) presented me with the award shown in the picture. Imagine the look on my husband's face when he saw this award positioned in the middle of the mantle. And that's where it is going to stay because my Marga-RITA award represents not only my acheivements as an author, but it represents the bond I have with my sisters.


So I humbly thank the women of MORWA for their support, their friendship, and their encouragement.

OMG! I'm finished...

Those are the words every author loves to say, but how long do you bask in the glory of "OMG! I'm finished"?

Well, I've been basking in it for about a half-day and I'm already looking at the calendar wondering when I can finish another one. Really, that's bad. I need to let my creative juices replenish the well that is bone dry. I need to play a little. Visit a few blogs. Socialize on my networking communities. Prepare for conference. Well, really what I need to do is get ready for the launch of my next book, but that's an entirely different blog...

I should probably go back through it. Right? I should consider writing an epilogue. Right? At what point can I let them go and accept that my characters really are living their HEA? This feeling of closure isn't comfortable to me right now. I don't want to let go. I like them. I like where they ended up and I want to stay and play a while. Let's face it, we went through Hell to get to the HEA, why can't we play there awhile?

As you can see from the brevity of this post...I'm all out of words...

So help me out here...At what point do you start brainstorming another book? Or are you one of those authors who has stacks of ideas filed away in your head?

Romance Authors Around the Clock

To help spread the word about my Summer Sizzler contest RomanceNovelTV is helping us celebrate with a new guest author every 45 minutes from 9 am to 7 pm (EST) starting with me. The schedule is below and it includes tons of great new historical authors, including two RITA nominees as well as an RT nominee. Hope you can stop by...

9:00 Kimberly Killion
9:45 Delilah Marvelle
10:30 Diana Cosby
11:15 Sarah Parr
12 Kit Donner
12:45 Kris Kennedy
1:30 Carrie Lofty
2:15 Anthea Laswon
3:00 Alix Rickloff
3:45 Elaine Levine
4:30 Allegra Gray
5:15 Christie Kelley
6:00 Vanessa Kelly
6:45 Pearl Wolf

Save the School of Gallantry Series!!

by Delilah Marvelle!

Mistress of Pleasure Book 1 - N.O.R's Best Historical Romance of the Year award and RT Reviewer's Choice Award Nominee

"What a spectacular debut novel!" ~AEMELIA, NIGHT OWL ROMANCE, 5 out of 5 hearts




On Aug 4th my dear friend Delilah Marvelle's second book will be coming out = LORD OF PLEASURE. This is the second book in the School of Gallantry series. The first book MISTRESS OF PLEASURE got many great reviews and won contests. Including N.O.R's Best Historical Romance of the Year award and was a RT Reviewer's Choice Award Nominee.

MISTRESS OF PLEASURE has sold out its first run. Very good news for us all, but Kensington is citing that they are going to discontinue the series for lack of sales. Your probably going huhhhhh right now. How can something that's sold out be discontinued for lack of sales? Well I'm not sure...but I'm very sure I want this series to fully be published.

So let us readers speak. Let the publishing world know that we want this series to continue. We don't want to be left in the dark. We want more sensual lessons from the School of Gallantry.

To support our cause please PRE-ORDER LORD OF PLEASURE by DELILAH MARVELLE. In the fun of things Delilah is also giving away 3 - $50 Gift Cards via her website. To find out how you can enter visit: Delilah Marvelle

Pre-Order now via these links (and great news, it's only $4.99!):

B&N

Amazon

Katy Budget Books - Indie Store

Powell's

Dear Author Interview

If you want to learn more about me and my recent RITA nomination, hop over to DearAuthor.com. They are running a series of interviews with the nominees in the First Book category. Alyson conducted the interviews and did a great job, but asked some really off the wall questions.

SUMMER SIZZLER Contest

Welcome to June and what I consider the beginning of summer or at least it's the beginning of my next contest, and it is Giiiiii-NORMOUS!

I'm featuring a basket of "New to You Authors" which will include 16 of my ZEBRA sisters' autographed books + a $25 B&N giftcard.

Don't delay, go HERE to sign up for the giveaway.
The winner of the SUMMER SIZZLER will be announced on September 1.

HOLT Medallion

HER ONE DESIRE made it into the top five in the Best First Book category of the HOLT Medallion contest!!!

The HOLT Medallion is presented annually by Virginia Chapter of RWA® as a mark of excellence in published romantic fiction. Winners will be announced June 13th.

A bald hero?

Over the holiday weekend I attended the Greater St. Louis Renaissance Fair. I love these sort of people watching events. I’m always looking for facial expressions and subtleties, but at the Ren Fair I got to observe people in period costume. There was great food, e.i. kettle corn, cinnamon-sugar coated pecans, turkey legs, funnels cakes…oh yeah, but there was also lots of vendors selling their wares. The jewelry caught my fancy (several pieces) but I also picked up a new blade—a clawed scabbard with a griffin etched into the hilt.

Now there is more to the Ren Fair than fare and wares, there are “acts”. There’s a trio of trollops who sing these sweet little ditties with hidden lyrics. There are elves, fairies, and a guy who delivers the entire play of Hamlet in under fifteen minutes. What I enjoy the most about the Ren Fair is an all male singing group called the Musical Blades. Not only do these drunken seamen have the voices of angels, they really put on a show. The main rake of this production goes by the name of Capt Patch. He’s bald. But it’s a good bald, ya know. He’s not like balding. From the best I can tell this Capt Patch purposely shaves his head.

PHOTOS from Musical Blades website

Now way back, men who sailed the seas shaved to prevent all manner of infestation and other such disease, but that’s not the case these days. I think something that helps the bald man with his look is that little tuft of hair he grows beneath his bottom lip. Now "my man", Capt Patch, didn’t have this from what I could tell, but if I were to model a character after him, he would. :) Another trait that I found interesting about Capt Patch was his veins. That’s right…his veins. You know when you are reading a story and the hero gets so angry a veins starts to pulse in his neck? Well I’d never really put a lot of thought into those lines until I saw Capt Patch hit an octave that might have been just out of his range. Those veins in his neck bulged I tell you—big, blue, thick, hulk-like veins.

Now I don’t want to diminish from the other blokes in this musical ensemble. There was another I watched with avid interest. I believe they called him Cookie. He was a real showman and the perfect secondary character—full beard, pronounced facial expression, loaded with humor. I love a man with wit and this guy was oozing with it. For me, Cookie stole the show from Capt Patch on more than one occasion.

Back to the topic at hand…I once wrote a hero with a full beard and my critique partner told me she wouldn’t read a romance with a bearded hero, so I shaved him immediately. My questions for you are…Do the beards bother you? Have you ever read a romance where the hero was bald?

I’m still up in the air on this one…

Regardless how you feel about that subject, you have to check out the Musical Blades' tunage:

Booksellers Best Awards

Her One Desire
is a finalist in both the Historical and
Best First Book categories of the
BOOKSELLERS BEST AWARD
Showcasing the shining excellence of published
authors in novel-length romantic fiction.

Sponsored by the Greater Detroit Chapter of RWA®

**********************************
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE FINALISTS!

The Greater Detroit RWA wishes to congratulate the finalists in the 2009 Booksellers Best Award Contest. The winners will be announced at the RWA National Conference Wednesday, July 15th at 8:00 p.m. in the Delaware Room of the Wardman Mariott.
Patti Shenberger/BBA Chair

In no particular order…
* up for Best First Book

Long Contemporary
On My Terms – Shirley Hailstock
A Perfect Stranger – Terry McLaughlin
The Ranchers Surprise Marriage – Susan Crosby
The Wedding Heiress – Pamela Ford
Last Night’s Kiss – Shirley Hailstock

Paranormal/Time Travel/Futuristic
Gone With The Witch – Annette Blair
The House on Tradd Street – Karen White
A Match Made In Hell – Terri Garey
The Bleeding Dusk – Colleen Gleason
All I Want For Christmas – Kerrelyn Sparks

Short Historical
Maverick Wild – Stacey Kayne
To Taste Temptation – Elizabeth Hoyt
The Dragon Earl – Jade Lee
What A Pirate Desires – Michelle Beattie *
The Naked Gentleman – Sally MacKenzie

Inspirational
Leaving November – Deborah Raney
Courting Miss Adelaide – Janet Dean *
Anathema – Colleen Coble
Bayou Judgement – Robin Caroll
Lonestar Sanctuary – Colleen Coble

Erotic
She’s On Top – Susan Lyons
Unleashed – Lori Borrill
The Art of Desire – Cherie Feather
Lyon, The Lords of Satyr – Elizabeth Amber
Raine, The Lords of Satyr – Elizabeth Amber

Romantic Suspense
Thread of Fear – Laura Griffin
Trust Me – Brenda Novak
Silent Guardian – Mallory Kane
Wyoming Manhunt – Ann Voss Peterson
Phantom in the Night – Diana Love Snell

Long Historical
Mistress of Pleasure – Delilah Marvelle *
The Legacy – TJ Bennett *
His Woman – Diana Cosby
Shadow Rider – Kathryn Dennis
Her One Desire – Kimberly Killion *

Single Title
The Memory of Water – Karen White
Tall Tales and Wedding Veils – Jane Graves
Sweet Talk – Susan Mallery
Hot – Julia Harper
Once Smitten, Twice Shy – Lori Wilde

Short Contemporary
The Cowboy and the Angel – Marin Thomas
The Surgeon Boss’s Bride – Melanie Milburne
Their Secret Child – Mary J Forbes
Do Not Disturb Until Christmas – Charlene Sands
Once Upon A Christmas – Holly Jacobs

Traditional
Christmas Wishes, Mistletoe Kisses – Fiona Harper
Her Millionaire, His Miracle - Myrna Mackenzie
The Italian’s Cinderella Bride – Lucy Gordon
Newlyweds of Convenience – Jessica Hart
The Convenient Groom – Denise Hunter

More News from the Contest Front...

I just found out Her One Desire is a finalist in the Best First Book category of the 2009 Desert Rose Golden Quill Awards for Excellence in Romance Fiction. This contest is sponsored by the Phoenix Desert Rose Chapter of RWA® and is judged by romance readers. I'm completely stunned by the overwhelming success of this book. But I'm nonetheless pleased to be able to share Broc and Lizzy's story with so many people.

Hooray, hooray, it's the first of May...

Are you one of those author types who will get up this morning and check all your promo loops to see where you can pimp your book? Or are you on that fancy promo loop that reminds you daily where you can pimp your book, how often, and what the rules are?

I’m that person. Or at least I used to be, but I’m starting to wonder about all those yahoo groups. I’m on a few…ok…57. *blush* But in the past few weeks I have started going no mail on a lot of them. A girl’s got to wonder how many books are you really selling to other authors? This whole promo thing has me mind-boggled. Speaking to other authors, how many books do you read a month? I wish I could give you a number that was double-digits, but I’m lucky to read one book a month.

So who is on all these promo loops and blogs? Is it other authors (who may or may not be buying books) or is it truly the beloved readers? I know what you’re going to say “Writers are readers, too”. Aren’t you just a little curious as to how many of those 2,464 members on Romance Junkies Readers are really readers and how many are writers?

So what’s your opinion? Are we all just a group of writers pimping our books to each other and no one is really buying?

Here is a list of “some” of the groups I belong too.
CataNetwork-Authors
CataNetwork-Readers
CataNetwork-Writers
Chatting_with_Joyfully_Revi...
cupidslibraryreviews
dangerouswomen
heathersromancebookclub
HHRWGen
HRCRomance
karenfindoutaboutnewbooks
LoversofRomance
novelsisterhood
PromoOnly
Promotion_Loop_Schedule
RomanceCafe
romancedivas
romanceexcerptsonly
RomanceJunkiesReaders
romancingthepast
RosesColoredGlasses
RWRpirates
SeducedByHistory
The_Haunt_at_PNR
theromanceroom
welcometotemptation
writerspromotips

Thanks for reading!
Kim

____________________________________________________
Kimberly Killion
HER ONE DESIRE ~
RITA Finalist - Best First Book
National Readers Choice Awards Finalist - Historical Category
HIGHLAND DRAGON ~ October 2009/Zebra Books
http://www.kimberlykillion.com/

National Readers Choice Awards

This month just keeps getting better and better. I received word today that HER ONE DESIRE is a finalist in the National Readers Choice Awards for Best Historical!!!!!!!

Go here to view a list of the finalists.

Excuse me while I squeeeeal!!!!!!

The postman brought me a lovely surprise today...





I love this cover! Love! Love! Love! I mean really what's not to love...look at Calin...look at those kissable lips...and look at Akira. She is beautiful! I was surprised by the blue, but love it and am so verra, verra glad there are no dragons on the cover...well, except for Akira. :)
Here's the back cover copy:

A love born of fire…

A desire that defies all limits…
and a love that was meant to be…

Scotland 1502. Akira Neish has been raised as a peasant, her belly often empty and her family subject to the cruel whims of her clan's laird. To the clan’s children, the horned shaped birthmark she bears means she is a witch. But she is neither peasant nor witch—and now the man who knows the truth has returned to claim her for his own.

Calin MacLeod has kept Akira's secrets and to avenge his father, the sensual young laird must marry her. He is more than a match for the fiery nature of the woman he adores. Yet the passion they share—and truths that can no longer remain hidden—could rip all of Scotland apart...

"Fascinating…well-crafted romance. The appeal of Killion's
characters comes from their honor, intelligence and humanity."
–Romantic Times, 4-star review

It's Hunt-the-Gowk Day...be wary...

In Scotland April Fools' Day is actually celebrated for two days and is known as "Hunting the gowk". The second day is devoted to pranks involving the posterior region of the body. It is called Taily Day. The origin of the "kick me" sign can be traced to this observance.

Hunt-the-Gowk day falls on the week of April 1 when bairns of all ages play pranks on others then shout "April Fool" at their victim. In this more sophisticated age the practice seems to be dying out but it does remind us that in the past Kings and Nobles all had their Jester or Fool. One of the most famous in Scotland was Aberdeenshire's Jamie Fleeman, the Laird of Udny's Fool. He lived in the eighteenth century and was well known for his wit.

The history of April Fools' Day, sometimes called All Fools' Day, is not clear. There is no first "April Fools' Day" that can be pinpointed on the calendar, although it is known to date back at least to the sixteenth century. Most historians believe that April Fool’s Day originated in continental northern Europe and then spread to Britain.

More about April Fools' Day around the world...

• France - French children fool their friends by taping a paper fish to their backs. When the young victim discovers this trick, the prankster yells "Poisson d'Avril!" (April Fish!)

• England - Tricks can be played only in the morning. If a trick is played on you, you are a "noodle".

• Mexico – the counterpart of April Fools' Day is observed on December 28. Originally, the day was a sad remembrance of the slaughter of the innocent children by King Herod. It eventually evolved into a lighter commemoration involving pranks and trickery.

• Portugal - April Fools' is celebrated on the Sunday and Monday before Lent. The traditional trick there is to throw flour at your friends.

So be wary on this day. If someone calls, claiming to be giving birth, you might want to think on it before calling 911. My son lost a tooth last night and is playing to take the fake blood from Halloween to school to play a little prank on his teacher. I hope she has a sense of humor...

28 hours of awesome chaos

What does it feel like to be nominated for a RITA?

Do you remember the feeling you got when you were a kid and someone bigger than you picked you up and spun you around by your arms? Well, that's what it feels like. Only I've been spinning for 28 hours. :) I have so many supporters. Within the last 28 hours I have received over 300 emails and wanted to share a few bits and pieces...

• OMG, I am just jumping up and down for you, girl! Way to go on your RITA nomination for "Her One Desire." WOWOWWOWOWOWOWOW!!!! I am thrilled for you!!!
• Woo Hoo for you! I bet you almost peed your pants when you found out. I'm so excited for you.
• Happy dancing for you! Good luck, hon!!!
  
• Now breathe and decide what you're going to wear
• Wow. Fabulous. Couldn't happen to a nicer person. And no, I'm not flattering you ... I really mean it!
  
• Squeee!"
• This is so. flipping cool!!!!!!!! I can't wait to cheer you hoarse in D.C.!!!
  
• That is fantastic. Truly. (and I am so frickin' jealous and you so suck right now).
• Woo-hoo! Woo-hoo! Woo-hoo! Yes, I'm living vicariously through you right now, LOL. I was thrilled to see your name/title listed.

Thank you all for being great cheerleaders. :)

2009 RITA nominee

I am thrilled to announced that HER ONE DESIRE has been nominated for a RITA in the Best First Book category.

The RITA Award is Romance Writers of America's® highest award of distinction. The awards are presented annually to the best published romance novels of the year. The award itself is a golden statuette named after RWA's first president, Rita Clay Estrada, and has become the symbol for the best in published romance fiction.

Up to 1,200 romance novels from 12 different categories are entered each year in the RITA competition. Novels can be entered either by their authors or by the books' publisher. After the first round of judging by fellow published romance authors, the competition narrows to approximately 100 finalists.

Winners of the awards will be announced July 18th at the RITA and Golden Heart Awards Ceremony to be held at RWA’s 29th Annual National Conference in Washington, D.C.

For a complete list of all the finalist, go to the RWA website.