K.L. Brady & '12 Honeymoons' @KarlaB27 @GoddessFish #RomCom #AfricanAmerican

Today we have author K.L. Brady visiting. Welcome!

What would you like to tell readers about yourself?

* 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.

Today K.L. Brady will be talking about how she became a writer and what inspired her in regard to the story she's promoting.
* I’ve been writing since I was 7 or 8. My mother told me I was an early reader and she bought me diaries with locks on them to encourage my writing. My personal journey into publishing came on the heels of a major break up and right before turning the big 4-0. After a "What am I going to do with the rest of my life?" moment, I dug deep down and finally decided to explore this gift.
* I never thought I could be a published author.
* To me, authors were like gods on Mt. Olympus that worked a special brand of magic unavailable to mere mortals to write my favorite books. They didn't sit down and grind every day and type. Oh, what a rude, but happy, awakening it was when I realized how wrong I'd been. This is definitely something that everyone can do, but you have to work really hard to do it well, and consistently well, through every book. I wrote my first book in four months, published it a year later—and it was eventually picked up by Simon & Schuster. The rest, as they say, is history. That was six years ago, this year (2015), and I'm eight books in now. Pretty incredible journey.
* 12 Honeymoons: A Novel came from a thought I had about finding one’s true purpose.
* Some people are born knowing exactly who they want to be. From young ages the show some talent or predilection for something and they spend their lives fostering and honing their gifts to fulfill that purpose, which may involve making a boat load of money.
* Some people don't have a clue about who they want to be. Zero. They drift from the thing of the moment to the next thing of the moment and find their purpose from a process of elimination.
* The people in my group, the third group, are born knowing is exactly what their callings are from a very young age, but they don't trust it. They doubt their calling, they doubt their ability to achieve it. So they wander through life, from the thing of the moment to the next thing of the moment, trying to figure out what they've known all along.
* That's the story at the heart of 12 Honeymoons--the search for the true calling, wrapped in a story about finding true love. Who are we kidding? Both have very similar processes--just change "thing of the moment" to "boyfriend of the moment." Sometimes we know "the one" at first sight. Other times, it's a process of elimination. And yet other times, we know but we have to go through a process of elimination to figure out what we've known all long.
* Miki, the main character, is so enamored with the beginnings of things (the honeymoon phase) that she never lets life go beyond the honeymoon period. So she can't get past herself to find what it is (or who it is) that really makes her tick.
* 12 Honeymoons is mostly about Miki's journey to figure it all out. But there's other good stuff in there too.
* Pam, her best friend, lies in the opposite end of the spectrum. She's known from a very young age that her calling is to paint. But under the weight of adult responsibilities and a shaky marriage, her dreams of being an artist got buried--that is until she meets a man who helps release the inner artist bottled up within. The problem is he's not her husband--and she's going to have a lot of choices to make about how to keep her dream alive...and whether or not to save her marriage.
* I hope the readers enjoy this new story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
A look into...

~ 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?
~ Excerpt ~ * I spent my time trolling Facebook and shopping Tiffany & Co. for engagement rings, looking back on those dizzying, emotional highs between day 1 and day 89 after you meet someone new, wondering why I couldn’t put them on Groundhog Day repeat. I wanted to relive each first touch, first hug, first kiss, and first roll in the proverbial hay during The Honeymoon Phase—those heavenly moments at the beginning of a relationship during which sublime happiness could not be contained, when you agreed to everything and fought about nothing. And the butterflies. Oh, the butterflies. How they flapped around in your stomach as you lie giddy with anticipation waiting for the phone or the doorbell to ring. The mere thought of you compelled him to acknowledge your presence on earth and in his life. And don’t even start on the lovemaking. It was so delicious and frequent you could produce enough serotonin and dopamine between the two of you to fuel a medium-sized Chinese village in the Shanghai Province. I convinced myself that this vision of perfection, excitement and passion was how we all should experience love, not just in the first ninety days, but always.
Buy 12 Honeymoons here...
The book will be on sale for $0.99 during the tour. Amazon Find K.L. Brady here... Facebook | Twitter | Website | Amazon Author Page Thank you for joining us here today, K.L. Brady! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your story.

ANNOUNCEMENT! K.L. Brady is giving away a $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! So be sure to leave a comment AND use the Rafflecopter below. Also, visit the other tour stops for a greater chance of winning!

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