K R Hall Interview Published on: 04, Aug 2020
While growing up, which was your favorite place to be - the east coast or the west coast?
I grew up on both coastlines as my dad was in the Navy. I loved the west coast because there was no snow.
Where did you meet the love of your life and soul mate Tom in the early 2000s?Tom and I met on Yahoo personals. We chatted for about six weeks before we first met in person.
What do you love the most about writing paranormal romances with happy endings?I’ve recently written a mystery and a contemporary romance which made me love paranormal romance because I can make it all up. The others I had to research and make things realistic. Things happen faster in a paranormal romance.
How did you get addicted to dark and milk chocolate?I’ve always loved milk chocolate as a child. I wasn’t introduced to dark chocolate until I was an adult. I like the richness of the dark chocolate. When Hershey introduced their Milky Way Dark, I was hooked. I also love Dove chocolates.
What challenges did you face while writing the final book in the Black Bears of Independence series, "Black Bears of Independence: Benjamin"?The biggest challenge was how to wrap it all up and make sure I didn’t leave any questions unanswered. I felt that Pickens needed to have an ending that would satisfy all of my readers.
It was also different to me writing a couple that were already mated. I decided to make their mating incomplete causing Ben and Sabrina to have to figure out why.
Who inspired the character of Arthur Johnson in "The Ladies Man"?Jerry Lewis’ movie The Ladies Man is one of my favorites of his. It came out in the 1960s. The basic idea came from the movie. I tried to insert some of the movie ideas into the book.
How much did you research about strigoi while writing your book, Strigoi Redemption?Oh, my goodness, there was a lot of research! Strigoi Redemption is based on a dream I had about a man who could make himself invisible as well as change into different creatures. So, the first thing I had to do was try to figure out what creature could so that. Strigoi are older than vampires. The Romanian folklore and legends are what inspired Bram Stoker to write Dracula.
I learned that Moldavia is a region in Romania while Moldova is a country. Moldavia is a historical region and former principality in Central and Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. Founded in 1359 dissolved in 1859. The western half of Moldavia is now part of Romania, the eastern side belongs to the Republic of Moldova, and the northern and southeastern parts are territories of Ukraine.
How did you begin writing the Black Bears of Independence series?I had an idea to write a story for a couple of years, but never acted on it until I had a few “signs” that I should write. My first sign was talking to my friend Corbin who told me his ranch hands were named Cade and Jase. I joked that those were romance novel names. Then I was driving home and was detoured from my normal route and saw a senior living apartment called Corbin Manor. A story began slowly develop as I continued driving. When I arrived home, I talked to Corbin and asked him if I could write a story based on him and his ranch hands. The series was initially to have been about doctors who lived on a ranch. As I began plotting the story, they changed to black bear shifters who owned a dude ranch in the Colorado Mountains.
Once I changed the characters away from doctors, the rest of the story flowed. It took six revisions to get the version that is published.
What do you think most characterizes your writing?Stories with happy endings.
If you could describe your journey as an author in one word, what would it be?Rollercoaster
When you're running low on ideas, what do you do, or who do you talk to for inspiration?When my mom lived with me, I would talk to her for ideas. Sometimes I read or I pull up a different book to work on. I have also asked my followers in my reader group for suggestions.
What are the names of your two chihuahua mix fur babies?My first baby is Jake. He’s an eight-year-old chihuahua mixed with min-pin and was adopted from a local shelter in Dec 2012. Six months later, my hubby and I adopted Sammie. She’s a nine-year-old chihuahua mixed with papillon.
Your latest Instagram post rightly says that the absolute best way to support your authors is to leave a review for them. Do you often leave book reviews for your author friends?I was told that once I became an author, I couldn’t leave reviews on Amazon. I found out about a year later that, that was not true. Sometimes I leave a one line review.
If I am in love with a book, I will leave a longer review. I understand how important reviews are to author rankings on Amazon.
Which is the next book you are working on? When is it due for release?I’m finishing up The Ladies Man, which is due out September 25 th . If I finish edits earlier, I will release the book earlier.
I’m also writing the first book in the spin-off for the Black Bears of Independence series. Dylan and Caleb is my first M/M book and it should be released the end of December.
What’s the best way to market your books? How were you introduced to AllAuthor?A friend of mine had a cover in the AllAuthor Cover of the Month contest. I created a reader account so I could vote. Earlier this year, a fellow author talked to me about creating an author account and listing my books on AllAuthor. So, I created an author account and signed up for the one-year pro account.
I have my books on AllAuthor, GoodReads, Twitter, Instagram, BookBub, Facebook, and my webpage on Wix.
