Interview + Giveaway with Shannon Stacey

Today we are so lucky to have one of my newly discovered and favorite contemporary authors, Shannon Stacey. Her Kowalski Series books, published by Carina Press, are fun and sexy, all centering around a tight knit and fun family. Her writing style pulled me in and had me falling in love.

 

Shannon’s newest release, Yours to Keep, releases TODAY and features yet another sexy Kowalski hero. Check back later this afternoon for MinnChica and Has’ joint review on this FABULOUS read!  And for those of you who are hoping to see the Kowalski’s in print, have no fear, Harlequin HQN will be publishing these books in 2012!

 

Thanks again Shannon for being here today!

 

Book Pushers: Can you tell us what’s in store for Yours to Keep?

Shannon: Thank you so much for inviting me! Yours To Keep is about Sean Kowalski, who’s cousin to the guys in Exclusively Yours and Undeniably Yours. Fresh out of the Army, he’s planning to live in the apartment over Jaspers Bar & Grille until he figures out what do with the rest of his life. Emma Shaw’s been pretending to have a fiancé to put her grandmother’s mind at ease and, being BFFs with Lisa Kowalski, she kind of threw Sean’s name out there. Now her grandmother’s coming to visit and she needs him to move in and pretend to be madly in love with her…for a month. There’s only one problem—they’ve never actually met. When he agrees to be her fake fiancé for a month, romance and hi-jinks ensue, Kowalski-style!

 

Book Pushers: What other books do you have planned for the Kowalski series? Or do you have any other projects lined up?

Shannon: There are more Kowalskis coming, but the series is moving to Maine. Sean, the hero of Yours To Keep, was born and raised at the Northern Star Lodge, which caters to snowmobilers, and the next three books in the series follow Sean’s siblings as they come home to help out when the youngest brother breaks his leg. I’ll also have a stand-alone Christmas novella in December, as well as getting the fourth book in my Devlin Group series fit in there…somewhere.

 

Book Pushers: Out of the series, which has been your favourite book and character?

Shannon: I have such a soft spot for Exclusively Yours. I really, really love that book and it’s always going to be one of my favorites. And I’m not sure about a specific character (okay, Kevin), but Sean and Emma might be favorite couple. Emma might be my favorite of all the heroines I’ve written so far, actually.

 

Book Pushers: Where did the inspirations for the Kowalski family come from? Your own crazy family antics?

Shannon: My family’s a little more scattered than the Kowalskis, but we’re still close. And we’re fairly funny people. But the Kowalskis started with me writing a story just for fun, filled with stuff I enjoyed. Four-wheelers and mud and DEET jokes and crazy kids. I didn’t think anybody else would be interested, so I was writing it for me. Then, when Carina announced itself, I started thinking that maybe if I liked roaming raccoons and s’mores in my books, others would, too. Essentially, the Kowalskis came about because I was writing the book I wanted to read.

 

Book Pushers: What was your reaction to finding out that Harlequin’s HQN line wanted to put your stories in print?

Shannon: I’m ecstatic! Everybody at Carina Press has given 100% to this series so, beyond my personal crazy-awesome-joy at having my name share a cover with the HQN logo, I’m thrilled about this opportunity to showcase the awesome work the Carina team has done to a broader readership. Also, my mom’s not a digital reader and she’s the kind of mom who’ll accost strangers in the book aisle at Wal-Mart and tell them, “My daughter wrote this!”. Now she’ll be able to do that, which made us both cry a little.

 

Book Pushers: You and your family seem to be active outdoor lovers. What’s your favorite summer and winter outdoor activity? Do you have big camping outings like the Kowalski’s?

Shannon: Confession time—I’m not an outdoors lover. There are gouges in the door frame my fingernails made as my husband tried to drag me out to work in the garden. The only thing I like to do outside is ride my four-wheeler, so that would be my favorite outdoor activity. My husband’s a snowmobiler, but my winter sport is reading. As for camping, we have a camper parked in a campground, and it has a TV with cable and a microwave. There’s a pool. An air-conditioned store that has ice cream and—this year—wi-fi! That’s about as outdoorsy as we get. We’re hotel people, really, but we needed a place in northern New Hampshire to ATV from.

 

Book Pushers: What draws you to the contemporary romance genre? Any plans to venture out to historical or paranormal or science fiction or another genre?

Shannon: I love contemporary romance because it’s like the real world, only funnier and sexier and more dramatic and, quite often, more romantic. It’s larger than life. But my backlist does have an erotic futuristic (light), a ghost romance, a paranormal shifter, and two westerns so I’ve dipped my toes in other genres. Except for another western, though, I’ll be focusing on contemporary romances going forward—both straight contemporary romance like the Kowalski series and action-adventure romances for my Devlin Group series.

 

Book Pushers: Have you ever thought about collaborating with another author? If so, who would you want to work with?

Shannon: I’ve never seriously considered a collaboration. Sadly, I neither share nor play well with others. I’m also a little bit of a control freak and could see myself yelling, “But I don’t want them to have sex in the shower! I want them to have sex on the kitchen table!” Should Nora ever want to collaborate with me, however, I would totally let her be the boss of sex.

 

Book Pushers: According to Twitter you are a HUGE football fan, specifically the NE Patriots. (MinnChica – BOO Always have been and always will be a Vikings fan!)  Would you ever want to write books about sport stars?

Shannon: I’m not sure why I haven’t written a sports hero. And I don’t read as many as one might expect, either, though I loved Jill Shalvis’s Santa Barbara Heat books (baseball) and The Perfect Play by Jaci Burton (football). I think, considering how grueling their schedules are and how much focus and determination it takes to be a top athlete, I have a hard time buying the romantic fantasy. And yet I’ll fall for a multi-gazllionaire who marries the mousy secretary who becomes a supermodel when she takes her glasses off and the scrunchy out of her hair. Makes no sense. Also, how much more embarrassing would it be if I got the sports wrong? But you never know… (Spoiler alert: In the football book I may never write, the Vikings lose. Sorry.)

Book Pushers: Will you be writing anymore westerns? (Really really enjoyed them and hope you do more -Has) And if so, do you have any characters in mind?

Shannon: I do have at least one more western I really want to write. Like Taming Eliza Jane and Becoming Miss Becky, it’ll be set in Gardiner, Texas, and I know the title, the heroine’s name and the first line, but I don’t really have a grasp on the story or characters yet. I loved writing those westerns, so I’m determined to get that one written soon.

 

Book Pushers: Family is a huge theme in your books especially with the Kowalski series –  Since the Kowalski’s are pretty competitive what famous or infamous family (they could be real or fictional) would they would like to compete with?

Shannon: The Kowalskis would love to challenge the “Modern Family” family to a race through an ATV obstacle course of DOOM! I can imagine Gloria bouncing (literally) over the rocks. Cam getting roosted with mud. Claire stressed because they’re not doing it right and Manny using his pocket square to wipe his goggles, while Luke’s still trying to figure out how to start his ATV. The Kowalskis could totally take the Pritchetts and Dunphys!

 

Book Pushers: Who is your all time favourite hero and heroine?

Shannon: That’s a very hard question. I think my all-time favourite heroine is Eve Dallas. And sometimes my favourite hero is Roarke. Sometimes it’s Tucker Longstreet. Sometimes it’s Jamie Frasier. Or Phineas T. Tucker.

 

Book Pushers: The Kowalski men: are they boxers, briefs, or commando kind of guys?

Shannon: Boxer briefs! Actually, all of my heroes have been boxer brief guys, with the exception of my two western heroes and my sole paranormal hero (who spent the entire novella naked because I couldn’t figure out how a raven was carrying clothes around with him for those awkward changing-into-human-form moments).

 

Book Pushers: Thank you so much Shannon for being here today!!

 

Shannon has graciously offered a $25 gift card to an ebookstore of the winners choice!  Just leave a comment or question for Shannon below to be entered before Friday June 17th. Open Internationally. Winner will be announced on Saturday the 18th. Good luck!

 

46 thoughts on “Interview + Giveaway with Shannon Stacey”

  1. I’ve just finished Yours to Keep my first Shannon Stacey book and I really loved it. I hope to read about all the others in the Kowalski family. So Shannon do you already have the next story ready? Who will be the hero?

  2. Pingback: Come run amok with me! | Shannon Stacey

  3. First off, I really enjoyed the interview! I’ve been doing a lot of blog hopping, checking out interviews and have found that the questions have a ‘canned’ feel to them – very generic and not specific to the author or the book – so, Nice Job!!

    Shannon Stacey is a new-to-me author and I will be checking out her website for more info.

    Thanks for the chance to win!

  4. I haven’t heard of this series before today, but everybody seems to be raving about it! Thanks for bringing it to my attention, I hope to read it soon. 🙂

  5. So Shannon do you already have the next story ready? Who will be the hero?

    It’s not ready as in written, but it’s in the works. The series is going to move to Maine (though we’ll see the NH branch of the family occasionally, I’m sure) and the next three books will be about Sean’s brothers. First Mitch, then Ryan and then Josh. Mitch is a bit of a ladies’ man, so writing his story should be interesting.

    Thanks, everybody, for your comments! I hope, if you pick up Yours To Keep, that you enjoy it.

    (ETA: My little picture over there is a wacky Viking Christmas tree, which cracks me up because I’m writing a Christmas-themed novella right now. *g*)

  6. Alexandrea Ward

    I’ve only been able to get books from library lately because finances aren’t what they used to be. But I love your books so far! I hope to buy one or two in the near future.

  7. Thanks, Alexandrea! If your library doesn’t do digital lending, the three Kowalski books will be releasing in mass market paperback form HQN in Jan, Feb and March, so maybe your library can grab them or can ILL them for you! (I love libraries!)

  8. Really excited to read this book. I read the first Kowalski book on my laptop (less than ideal) because I was so desperate to read it, but I just got a Kindle to celebrate my graduation so I’m going over there to load the next Kowalski book on my device right now. 🙂

  9. A new Kindle! Yay! I love my Kindle so very much. And thank you for reading the first on your laptop. That’s definitely a less than ideal way to read a book!

  10. Pingback: Joint Review – Yours to Keep by Shannon Stacey | The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

  11. I loved Exclusively Yours and the Kowalski family in general. I can’t wait to read the others!

  12. I don’t think I’ve ever dated a boxer guy. And I’m not sure what my husband’s preference is. I do the shopping, so he’s a boxer brief guy. 🙂

  13. i just finished this book and loved it. Laughed my butt off. I have not read the other yet though and i look forward to reading them.

    Happy release day Shannon!

    Lisa B
    modokker at yahoo dot com

  14. I read Exclusively Yours and Undeniably Yours back-to-back and loved them! (Although, hubs did look at me sideways after I started mumbling “eat the chocolate cake already”, lol)

    I can’t wait to read Yours to Keep and glad to hear there’s more Kowalski stories in the future!

  15. Fab interview Shannon!

    I haven’t read any of your books yet, but have been recommended so many times that I’m super-duper excited that there’re so many choices to choose from 🙂

    Sean and Emma’s story sounds like a fantastic place to start and race backwards!!

    Thanks for the giveaway. Do count me in. judimello AT gmail DOT com

  16. So are the Kowalskis modeled on a family you know or just a family you would like to know?

  17. The Kowalski series sounds really good.Adding that to my TBR list.Great interview.

  18. I just bought the 1st two books in the Kowalski Series and I can’t wait to read them. I’ve heard nothing but great things about this series.

  19. So are the Kowalskis modeled on a family you know or just a family you would like to know?

    I think they’re bits and pieces of a lot of families I know. I have three and a half younger sisters and a younger brother, but we’re a little spread out, both in age and geographically. But we’re close and we laugh a lot and there’s a little bit of Kowalski in us. (I know you’re wondering why I have half a sister. She was placed, as a foster child, with my stepmom as a wee baby and now she’s a cheeky preschooler. The adoption process is ongoing, so I’m reluctant to risk jinxing anything by declaring I have four sisters. If you follow me on Twitter, though, you may have seen me refer to her as WeeBS. Wee Baby Sis.) My stepmom also recently pulled a Brady Bunch and I have two new stepsisters and three stepbrothers. We’re kind of a messy, sprawling family whereas the Kowalskis are more nuclear with neat branches in the family tree, but the heart and soul underneath almost certainly comes from having the awesome family I’ve got. 🙂

  20. Congratulations on the release of Yours To Keep Shannon! I’ve read so many great reviews of this book. I haven’t started the Kowalski series yet but I will soon.

    I’m so glad you will be writing another western! I enjoy romances with a western theme.

  21. Congrats on the new release! And all the great buzz you’re getting 🙂

    I have to say, I really love the covers for this series, they are so happy and cheerful 🙂

    Looking forward to this one!

  22. wow this book sounds fantastic. I can’t wait to read this one. And your idea of camping is fantastic. I could do that camping myself.

  23. I have Exclusively Yours & Undeniably Yours waiting to be read on my kindle. Congrats on the new release. : ) I’ve been reading a lot of reviews on Yours to Keep and everyone is giving it rave reviews. I can’t wait to read the whole series.

    Thanks for the giveaway

    jcross719 at yahoo dot com

  24. I just read Exclusively Yours and loved it! I think I liked it so much because all the characters had real problems. I really liked reading about Terry and her husband with their lack of spontaneity. It just makes you feel like you actually know the characters.

  25. Shannon – best wishes on the new release. I love the Kowalskis because they are such a “normal” family with normal relationships with each other. It’s a great break from all of the books that feature damaged lead characters that had a horrible family life growing up. I’m looking forward to reading Yours to Keep.

  26. Have heard great things about “Yours to Keep”!

    Just added “Exclusively Yours” and “Undeniably Yours” to my wishlist!

    Love the book covers!

  27. Maria S (pronounced Mariah)

    I haven’t read anything by this author yet…but these sound like great reads!

    Thanks for the chance!
    mmafsmith at gmail dot com

  28. I love the idea of a tight-knit family and a romance to boot! Makes the characters more”real” and story all the more heart-warming for me. I’m really looking forward to reading Yours to Keep. I keep noticing this book everywhere, so it’s time to check it out soon.

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