LIFE’S WHAT HAPPENS; Where have you gone Michael Keaton?

Our award winning book is finishing a promo run on Amazon and is looking to move on to the BIG screen!

 

Here’s the chapters and the music play list posted on Twitter, GOOGLE +  and Face Book for the last week.

Prologue “Try To Remember [The Kind Of September]” – The Sandpipers

Chapter One “It’s Your Thing” – The Isley Brothers

Chapter Two “Dizzy” – Tommy Roe

Chapter Three “I Got You Babe” – Sonny & Cher

Chapter Four “Mighty Quinn” – Manfred Mann

Chapter Five “Midnight Confessions” – The Grass Roots

Chapter Six “The Monkees Theme” – The Monkees

Chapter Seven “Tired Of Waiting” – The Kinks

Chapter Eight “Those Were The Days” – Mary Hopkin

Chapter Nine “Catch The Wind” – Donovan

Chapter Ten “My Way” – Frank Sinatra

Chapter Eleven “Come Together” – The Beatles

Chapter Twelve “Time of the Season” – The Zombies

Chapter Thirteen “Leaving on a Jet Plane” – Peter, Paul and Mary

Chapter Fourteen “Everybody’s Talkin’” – Nilsson

Chapter Fifteen “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” – Neil Sedaka

Chapter Sixteen “Day Tripper” – The Beatles

Chapter Seventeen “It Takes Two” – Kim Weston

Chapter Eighteen “Bottle of Wine” – The Fireballs

Chapter Nineteen “Bad Moon Rising” – Creedance Clearwater Revival

Chapter Twenty “Kind of a Drag” – The Buckinghams

Chapter Twenty-One “Jumping Jack Flash” – The Rolling Stones

Chapter Twenty-Two “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” – Marvin Gaye

Chapter Twenty-Three “Red Rubber Ball” – The Cyrkle

Chapter Twenty-Four “Always You” – The Sundowners

Chapter Twenty-Five “Na Na Hey Hey [Kiss Him Goodbye]” – Steam

Chapter Twenty-Six “Is That All There Is?” – Peggy Lee

Chapter Twenty-Seven “1-2-3 . . .” – Len Barry

Chapter Twenty-Eight “The Cat In The Window [The Bird In The Sky]” Petula Clark

Chapter Twenty-Nine “We Got To Get Out Of This Place” – The Animals

Chapter Thirty “This Magic Moment” – Jay and the Americans

Chapter Thirty-One “You’ve Got Your Troubles” – The Fortunes

Chapter Thirty-Two “P.S. I Love You” – The Beatles

Chapter Thirty-Three “It’s My Party” – Lesley Gore

Chapter Thirty-Four “Both Sides Now” – Judy Collins

Chapter Thirty-Five “Yesterday’s Gone” – Chad & Jeremy

Chapter Thirty-Six “Worst That Could Happen” – Brooklyn Bridge

Chapter Thirty-Seven “Reflections Of My Life” – The Marmalade

Chapter Thirty-Eight “The Fool On The Hill” – The Beatles

Chapter Thirty-Nine “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” – The Hollies

Chapter Forty “For What It’s Worth (Stop, Hey What’s That Sound)” – Buffalo Springfield

Chapter Forty-One “Good Vibrations” – The Beach Boys

Chapter Forty-Two “98.6” – Keith

Chapter Forty-Three “Up-Up And Away” – The 5th Dimension

Chapter Forty-Four “Easy Come, Easy Go” – Bobby Sherman

Chapter Forty-Five “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” – The Beach Boys

Chapter Forty-Six “Subterranean Homesick Blues” – Bob Dylan

Chapter Forty-Seven “Bridge Over Troubled Water” – Simon and Garfunkel

Chapter Forty-Eight “Something’s Burning” – Kenny Rogers and the First  Edition

Chapter Forty-Nine “One Tin Soldier” – The Original Caste

Chapter Fifty “Last Train to Clarksville” – The Monkees

Chapter Fifty-One “The Beat Goes On” – Sonny & Cher

Chapter Fifty-Two “When I Die” – Motherlode

Chapter Fifty-Three “Things We Said Today” – The Beatles

 

 

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PINTEREST:   http://www.pinterest.com/BobKat1993/

WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathy_Clark_(American_author)

KILLER DATE and the FREE ARC

When I began my writing career in the last half of the last century I followed a different path.  Oh sure I adhered to the conventions of romance fiction — one man, one woman, happy ending. Blah Blah Blah.

But I found editors and publishers who would help me break the mold by featuring independent women who weren’t simpering virgins waiting for their rich prince to sweep them off their feet.  They were set in America rather than in the old-world Europe of traditional romances and my women had real jobs and careers and they handled real world problems…more often than not better than the man in the story.  It drove over 3.5 million in sales globally in over a dozen languages and when Bob and I started our SCANDALS New Adult Suspense series we set out to break the mold there too.

I hope in August you’ll take the plunge into SCANDALS if you haven’t already read book #1, DUE DATES and then KILLER DATE. It releases  August 14th.

 

FREE ARCS are being sent the first week in August to series fans and readers in exchange for an honest review!  Write Kathy at Kathy@nightwriter93.com

 

SCANDALS series books are NOT Young Adult book with sex and cursing thrown in.  SCANDALS does NOT feature two brooding, damaged souls with damaged pasts like their entire families have tragically died or they grew up in abusive homes.  Our characters are NOT suffering from manic depression or panic attacks.  Do sparks fly and is there dram a about real life situations?  Uh…yeah.  And our book titles NEVER will contain words like “Damaged” or “Broken” or “Smashed with a Sledgehammer” as I wrote about in an early blog.  Are the characters in interesting and dangerous occupations?  Absolutely!

On to our August release of KILLER DATE.    

 

An inheritance brought him more than he ever could have imagined…

Reno Marks, one of the new owners of the Scandals Investigation Agency, is first on the case to help Jennifer Caldwell find her missing sister, Angie.  It’s not that he’s anxious to help so much as it is that he is attracted to Jenny.  A little research shows that Angie has run off for a quickie vacation with her new boyfriend.  Reno and Jenny’s romantic evening is cut short when that new boyfriend, who just happens to be the son of a powerful drug lord, arrives on Jenny’s doorstep with near-fatal gunshot wounds and evidence that Angie has been taken hostage by a rival Mexican drug cartel.

With the help of a rogue DEA agent, Reno and Jenny set off to infiltrate the cartel’s desert compound and bring Angie home.  Their mission quickly gets out of control as they are discovered and chased through a tunnel system that threatens to bury them alive.  Even when they think they’re safe, they’re actually trespassing in an even more dangerous place where everyone wants them dead.

During their intense time together, Reno’s feelings for Jenny have grown, but even if they are able to survive, is it possible for these two lost souls to have a future together?

Reno, whose last job had been as a magician in Vegas, doesn’t have enough tricks up his sleeve to save them…or to convince Jenny to stay.

Killer Date is the second book in the Scandals New Adult series of romantic suspense.  Each book of the series will focus on one of the offspring of Roger Elliott, a famous musician who left them with a legacy they weren’t expecting.  This book is about Reno Marks who …… Worse Date Ever, the third book in this series will be released in Winter, 2015 and will tell Tulsa’s story.

Rationale on Re-Covering and Re-Launching an Award Winning Novel

What a difference a generation makes?

Life’s What Happens explores life on a college campus where the clash of college life and coming of age during the tumultuous times of the most unpopular war of the last century happened daily and served as the perfect storm to drive relationships, rights, rituals and regret.  

When Bob sat down and wrote the first draft of Life’s What Happens it was from the perspective of how the Vietnam War was conducted in 1969 – 1970 and the way the government went about replacing the 1,000s of men and women who were killed on a regular basis.  Every night you could see the bodies of the dead and wounded parade across American’s TV screen on their way to often times very private funerals.  Returning veterans often kept quiet because the war was not a welcome topic outside the walls of veterans clubs. The Viet vet became a scapegoat for our country’s involvement in an unpopular war and the military frequently faced rejection and verbal, sometimes physical assault. That’s why many veterans quickly discarded their uniforms after returning home; it was easier than facing humiliation in public places.  This feeling lingers to the 21st century as many book reviewers refused to read this novel because of the memories that it unearthed for them.

Life’s What Happens looks at the college culture surrounding the end of the Vietnam war as it relates to the first military draft since WWII.  It is told in flashback so the long term impacts of the decisions made can be seen first hand by the reader.  It is a romantic drama in the new adult genre.

He is too young to drink (legally) but not too young to die. Don Williams is a senior at Kent State University and lives in an off-campus fraternity house. He and his girlfriend Lisa are making plans for their future after graduation when suddenly, it’s all taken away. His career, his freedom of choice and even his frat brothers who have become his family.

Life’s What Happens when you mix the hormone-fueled emotions of youth who have left home to experience the mind, mood and physical freedoms of college life with the cultural and political changes of the late 1960’s. For the brothers of Phi Psi Kappa fraternity their biggest worries should have been how to pass their classes with the least amount of studying and the greatest amount of partying and girls. Instead, they are faced with the life-and-death decision of whether they should face their fates head-on, change their plans or just run away.

It is about the year they turned from boys to men, and where their choices took them.

Life’s What Happens was voted a finalist in the 2013 Best Indie Book competition and today we’ve re-launched it under Kathy Clark’s name due to the adult nature of the story and the college relationships that occurred.

Here’s the new cover all book seller sites should be up to date within a few days.

Next Romantic Suspense in the Scandals Series – Tramp Stamp

Hello all and welcome to the post-Christmas  / pre-New Years post about my next Romantic Suspense, aimed at the 18 to 30 year old new adult crowd.  I put book #1, BABY DADDY on sale this weekend for everyone.

So you know about the 18 to 30 year old crowd a little better I have been doing research in the US and UK abut new adults.  Over the past few weeks I have focused on my new adult romantic suspense series with blogs about a number of new adult related realities of the world…

* What do the Eagles, New Adults and Facebook have in common?

* A Novel about Generation X, Generation Y, Millennials, Net Generation, Generation Next, Echo Boomers, Peter Pan Generation, and The Lost Generation.

* Friends, Debt and Tattoos; New Adults, the Educated Homeless

* A mental basis for The New Adult Fiction

The top ten book sellers is Baby Daddy  Book #1 in the Scandals Romantic Suspense series and that link to the Amazon version is in this post.

The second book in the series is underway and tonight’s blog is a convenient way to avoid finishing chapter eight I guess.  Book #2 is titled Tramp Stamp and the title comes from the female client that walked in the door of Austin’s Scandals Investigations at the end of book #1.  The SCANDALS Series is the story of five brothers and sisters who inherited their biological father’s very successful PI agency in Austin, Texas.  By this time in their decision to take over the ownership and operation of the agency they have taken on multiple cases but the one that Tramp Stamp follows is of personal interest to Reno…not the town but the one son of Roger Eliot, former musician who had spent too many years as a bad boy on the road.

I hope you’ll come back and when I’m a little closer to the release in February…they’ll be free copies of the ARC [Advance Review Copy] available in exchange for your honest opinion.

http://www.amazon.com/BABY-DADDY-SCANDALS-Kathy-Clark-ebook/dp/B00GQC1S3O/

About me check out the Wikipedia link at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathy_Clark_(American_author)

My website is http://www.nightwriter93.com and the purchase links for BABY DADDY can be found on the page http://www.nightwriter93.com/SCANDALS.html

New Adult Romantic Suspense Book Series Is New To Austin, Texas (Press Release) – Dec. 2, 2013 – AUSTIN, Texas —

New York Times Best Selling Author Kathy Clark’s 3rd series is a NEW ADULT Romantic Suspense called SCANDALS. Book #1, titled BABY DADDY, follows the lives of five 18 to 26 year old men and women who soon learn their lives are not what they thought.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 Baby Daddy is a first person story told from the point of view of Killeen Ames.  “Originally I thought the first person would be restrictive but the opposite turned out to be true,” author Kathy Clark stated at the book’s release party in late November.  “This was a chance to really understand the nature of the character and her needs for support during a very difficult time in her life.”

The eBook and Paperback is available everywhere through all the usual book sellers like Amazon,Barnes and Noble, GOOGLE Play, and a dozen others.  The book is about a 19 year old college student and an unexpected inheritance that brought her more than she ever could have imagine

Killeen Ames has it all…beauty, brains, a college softball scholarship and a rich and handsome boyfriend who has helped to stretch her college funds and fill her social calendar.  He is the only boy she ever allowed past second base and now he’s her baby daddy.  However, being a father was not in his short-range plans.  He graduates, then he splits, leaving Killeen to decide what she wants to do about the pregnancy…and to worry about how she’s going to keep her scholarship.  With no marketable skills, no job, no home and medical bills for her and the baby on the horizon, she knows she must move forward.  A knock at the door of her boyfriend’s apartment changes the game forever when an attorney gives her the news of an inheritance from an unknown dead relative.

After traveling to Austin, Killeen walks into the meeting and is surprised to find out that the relative was actually her birth father, and he had been a popular music star who recently died of an overdose.  Even more shocking are the four strangers who share the same absentee dad.  He has left them a highly successful private investigation agency, Scandals.  The catch is…they have to make the commitment to work there.

Their introduction to the P.I. business almost gets them killed when a bomb goes off in the warehouse that sends Killeen to the hospital.  She has kept the secret of her pregnancy from everyone, including Christopher, the totally irresistible manager of Scandals.  Their hot night of wild sex in the office was a one-time thing…right?  She chalks up her attraction to him as just raging hormones.  They have no chance of a future together.  He’s gorgeous, intelligent and successful.  He would never want anyone with so much baggage.

Christopher has a secret of his own.  He’s been investigation the possibility that, despite popular opinion, their father’s death hadn’t been an accidental overdose.  He thinks it was murder.

Even though the five siblings still haven’t accepted the fact that they have a father who made no attempt to be a part of their lives, they join together to discover the truth about his death.  The search throws Killeen and Christopher together and their passion grows hotter.  As her feelings for him slowly become more serious, she knows she must tell him about the baby.

After a fun day in the sun, an event happens that outs Killeen’s secret.  Christopher, as expected, doesn’t take the news well.  But they must continue to work together to track down a killer, especially since the killer has now focused on them.

Someone doesn’t want them to stay and take over the business.  In fact, someone wants them all dead and now the decision on whether or not to be a part of the agency seems very unimportant compared to the job of trying to stop from being killed.

They set up a trap that goes terribly wrong.  Suddenly, Killeen must make a big decision.  Who should she save?  Her baby?  Christopher?  Her new brothers and sisters?  Their lives are in her hands.

Kathy said “Baby Daddy is the first book in the Scandals New Adult series of romantic suspense and each book of the series will focus on one of the offspring of Roger Elliott, a famous musician who left them with a legacy they weren’t expecting.  This book is about Killeen Ames who must deal with an unexpected pregnancy, an absentee baby daddy, an irresistible attraction to a hot new guy and four new half-brothers and sisters.  Tramp Stamp, the second book in this series will be released in winter of 2014 and will tell Reno’s story. This will be a fun book to research and write because of the skills and personality Reno brings with him from an upbringing in Las Vegas.”

ABOUT KATHY CLARK, aka Bob Kat

Kathy Clark’s 23 women’s fiction (romance) novels have sold over 3 million copies in more than 10 languages and have been on the New York Times’ bestsellers’ list and won her numerous awards.

In September 2012 she broke away from the romance genre and launched a new suspense series,Denver After Dark that is centered on three brothers, one a cop, one a firefighter and one a paramedic. The first book, After Midnight was named as the Best Indie Suspense of 2013 and won a prestigious Readers’ Favorite Suspense Award in 2013.  Book #2 in this series, Cries in the Night was released in October, 2013.  Graveyard Shift, Book #3, will be released in September, 2014.

Also in 2012 Kathy teamed up with her husband Bob Wernly to write a Young Adult Time Travel Mystery/Romance series called CUL8R (See You Later) under the pen name of Bob Kat.  Book #1OMG (Oh My God), when they go back to 1966 to save a girl’s life,was released in October, 2012 and was named as the Best Indie Young Adult Suspense of 2013 and was a Beverly Hills Book Awards finalist.  Book #2 BRB (Be Right Back), when they travel back to 1980, recently won a Readers’ Favorite Young Adult Award in 2013.  Book #3 BION (Believe It Or Not), when they go back to 1927 and join a circus to save a boy, was released in July, 2013.  All three books in this series have received rave reviews and 4 and 5 star ratings.  Book #4 RIP (Rest in Peace), a ghost story set at the famous Stanley Hotel will be released in January, 2014.  Also, under the Bob Kat pen name, Kathy and Bob wrote a fictionalized version of his fraternity days at Kent State University in 1970 that mixes the drama of senior year with the first military draft lottery, the Vietnam war and the Kent State shootings.  This novel was named as a finalist in the Best Indie Mainstream Book of 2013 Awards.

Kathy is currently a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Romance Writers of America and Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and was on the board of directors of national RWA and Colorado Romance Writers for several years.  Her books and screenplays have won numerous awards, including top honors from Romantic Times, Colorado Romance Writer of the Year, two RITAs and several film festival screenwriting competitions.

Add Your Voice to the Reviews for the New Adult Suspense series Scandals

The NEW ADULT genre has been added to with the release of BABY DADDY, book #1 in Kathy Clark’s NEW ADULT romantic suspense series, SCANDALS.

BABY DADDY is the first book in the series and is told from Killeen Ames’ point of view.  Killeen has it all…beauty, brains, a college scholarship and a rich and handsome boyfriend…until she finds out she is pregnant.  The boyfriend disappears and the scholarship is in jeopardy.  When an attorney arrives at her door with an offer she can’t refuse, she has nothing to lose.

She travels to Austin and is surprised to find that her birth father was a popular music star who is now dead.  He has left her a generous inheritance that includes a highly successful P.I. agency, Scandals…and four half-brothers and sisters.

The catch is, they must work together at the agency.  Are they willing to leave their old jobs, schools and lives for a father’s dream…a father they never knew?  Killeen’s decision is further complicated when she and Christopher, the totally irresistible manager of Scandals, share a hot night of passion.  She knows they have no future.  He is not her baby daddy and would never want to be. 

New evidence indicates that their father had been murdered, and they must focus on finding the killer…who also wants them dead.  When Killeen is faced with the decision to save her baby, her lover or her new brothers and sisters…who will she choose?

You get a sense of Killeen’s starting point on her journey with the opening of the book.

He left me with two broken DVD cases, a pair of worn-out Nikes and a plus sign on my pee stick.

I was sitting on the floor, leaning against the couch with my legs stretched forward under the coffee table.  Sunlight filtered through the crack where the drapes didn’t quite meet, which told me it was morning… the morning after the worst night of my life.

A banner saying “Congratulations Graduate” strung between the light fixture and the curtain rod.  A dozen maroon and gold balloons that had been bouncing on the ceiling last night now lay sadly on the floor, no longer buoyant.  I knew exactly how they felt…deflated and totally used.  Their short, happy lives were over.  Just like mine.

Bottles, beer cans, red Solo cups and other trash covered every surface imaginable.  Somebody was going to have to clean all this shit up.  That somebody was not going to be me.

Fuck Brandon!  I thought we were going to be together forever.  Well, apparently, he had a different definition of forever than I did.  Last night was supposed to have been really special.  His graduation party and our pregnancy.  I’m just glad I was smart enough not to announce it at the party.  No, I waited until everyone had left to tell him.  I wasn’t sure what his reaction would be, but I hadn’t thought he would have a meltdown.

I knew it would be a surprise.  It had been for me.  A baby was the absolute last thing I needed in my life right now.  Brandon was the only guy I’d ever gone past second base with in my life.  Imagine that!  I was an eighteen-year-old virgin two years ago when we met.  That’s like finding a unicorn in a used car lot.

 

Find BABY DADDY on line at several retailers…

Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/BABY-DADDY-SCANDALS-Kathy-Clark-ebook/dp/B00GQC1S3O/

Barnes & Noble –  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/baby-daddy-kathy-clark-aka-bob-kat/1117448913?ean=2940149013364&itm=1&usri=2940149013364

Kobo – http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/Search/Query?query=9780988343672&fcmedia=Book

All Romance – https://www.omnilit.com/product-babydaddy-1360180-149.html

And while you’re at it please add your voice to the reviews, currently at 4.7 stars.   

Good Romantic Suspense Novel with Likable Heroine 

Great fun, irresistible story…

“He never could resist a girl with a tramp stamp.”

Good Suspense Novel with Erotic Flair

Great Romantic Suspense!

Nail Biting

Scandalously Good

Scandalously Sexy

Well written, like I was really there

Entertaining read

Masterfully written

Solid

This is good!

Intense, suspenseful and passionate, the perfect combination!

Hello readers of suspense, romantic suspense and New Adult fiction fans…

The “New Adult“ genre name in fiction really covers the age from 19 to 26.  Blogs, book blurbs and redefining what it means to grow up has been taking over the books and the news about the books over the past year or two..

Kathy Clark’s 30th book, BABY DADDY fits the New Adult genre checklist perfectly.

Here’s the blurb followed by the comparison of the book to the new adult genre checklist that readers, bloggers and editors often apply.

THE BLURB

An inheritance brought her more than she ever could have imagined.

Killeen Ames had it all…beauty, brains, a college scholarship, a rich and handsome boyfriend.  Then she found out she was pregnant and the boyfriend disappeared and the scholarship is in jeopardy.  A stranger arrives at her door with the news that a father she had never known had died and she was his heir.

But not his only heir.  She and four half-siblings meet for the first time and learn the shocking details of a popular music star who had been their father and Scandals, the private investigation agency he has left them.

Killeen’s decision is further complicated when she meets the totally irresistible manager of Scandals.  Her attraction to him is immediate and volatile, but she knows they have no future.  She has a secret she can’t share.

Someone doesn’t want them to stay and take over the business.  In fact, someone wants them all dead.  Their lives depend on whether or not they can figure out who he is and how to stop him before he succeeds.

 

In spite of the fact that the five protagonists range from age 19 to 26, their lives are turned up side down with a knock on their door and meeting a few weeks later about a man they didn’t even know existed

All the essential New Adult story elements are there:  

* College life – Some are, one was and one hasn’t been

* Moving out of your parents’ house and living alone for the first time – One did, three had and one moved out on a regualr basis

* First jobs – One serious and four never seriously

* Deciding who you want to be, career-wise, and in general. Identity issues. Existential issues. – One’s hit their career ceiling, one’s on a path to no where and the others are in transition yet they are all tied together by their mother”s past.

* First serious relationships, finding love – The opening line of the book foreshadows one character’s future but does not force a conclusion.  “He left me with two broken DVD cases, a pair of worn-out Nikes and a plus sign on my pee stick.”

* Sex – It’s less important that it be a “first time” as it is in YA. But the character should still be figuring stuff out. Since our readers can watch R rated movies, we can also be a little more explicit here without as much controversy. – No comment.

* Experimentation – Sex, drugs, alcohol. Of course, not all new adults engage in experimentation, but the phrase, “I experimented with “x” in college,” is a phrase for a reason. – No comment

*  A struggle to “find yourself” – While struggling to stay alive and figure out what’s true from their past they work toward figuring out who they are

* Change – Moving out, going to college, finding a job…it’s a lot of transition. – Everyone has the same opportunity but is starting from a very different starting point in their life.  Yet their lines are intertwined.

* Money challenges –  Sometimes having too many options can be overwhelming.

 

BABY DADDY is coming of age with people you want to know better.

 

 

NEW ADULT Book Release SCANDALS Series; BABY DADDY

NEW ADULT SERIES Releasing November 20th…SCANDALS Series Book #1 – BABY DADDY

 

An excerpt…where Christopher and Killeen visit one of Christopher’s ex girlfriends trying to solve a murder. 

 

“Would you all want something to drink?” she offered.  “Water, coffee, soft drinks?”

“Not for me, thanks,” I said and a similar response came from Christopher.

“So how have you been?” the pretty doctor asked Christopher.

“Outside of Roger’s death…pretty good.”

“I still can’t get over that.  I thought he had given all that up.”

“Well, that’s why we’re here.  We don’t think it was an accident.”  Christopher leaned for back in his chair, but I could see he was watching her reactions.  “You might not have heard, but our building got bombed a few days ago.  I’m thinking the killer is close.”

“Bombed?”

“Our offices…kaboom,” Christopher spread his hands apart in an exploding pattern.  “One of Roger’s other kids, Liberty, was in the hospital for three days…almost killed her.”

“I had no idea.  Wow!  Any idea who might have done this?”

“We have a few suspects.”

Janet interrupted.  “Is that why you’re here?  On business?”  She smiled and crossed her legs and letting her skirt slide up her thighs.  “I was hoping it was because you missed me.”

I suddenly felt like they had forgotten I was in the room.  And it kind of pissed me off.

“I thought you were engaged.”

She held up her left hand so he…and I…could clearly see there was no ring on that finger.  “I realized he wasn’t the one.  So, I’m back on the market.”

Subtle.  Real subtle.  She was definitely not going to get my business.

“Good to know,” Christopher said.  “But today, I need to find your father.  Do you have any idea where he is?”

Janet’s body language changed as she crossed her arms across her chest as if she had suddenly felt a chill.  “You mean the man who screwed my mother, then walked away?”

That sounded familiar.  Completely against my will, I had a hint of empathy for her.

“Have you talked to him recently?”

“Recently?”  Janet thought for a moment before speaking.  “The Thanksgiving after the election Stephanie and I still hadn’t heard from him, so we hired Murray to track him down and see if he wanted to come home…you know extend him an olive branch kind of thing.”

“You hired Murray the frog!” Christopher exclaimed.

“He creeps me out too, but he fits in with the homeless scene,” Janet said with a little half-shrug.  “Anyway, Murray came back the week after Thanksgiving with a present from our dad but no contact information.”

“A present…?”

“It was a beaten-up old shoebox with dog shit wrapped in newspapers.  That’s the last we’ve heard from or about him.”

I could see that in spite of her tough-girl attitude, she had tears in her eyes.  I tried to lighten the mood.  “And I thought my Thanksgivings were weird.”

Neither Christopher nor Janet so much as glanced my way.

“So, no idea where he might be?”

Janet shook her head.  “Anywhere where there’s free food or a bar, I’d guess.  If we could do it over again…we wouldn’t.  When Steph and I were growing up we fantasized about who our father could be.  We were better off not knowing.”

After a prolonged awkward moment of silence Christopher spoke, “He’s an asshole.”  Christopher stood.  “Well, it’s been great seeing you again Janet…say hi to your equally gorgeous sister for me, would you?  We need to double date some time, maybe tear it up on Sixth?”

“I’d love that…you have my number.”

Fuck, even I had her number, I thought with a snort.  I must have actually snorted because both of them turned to look at me.

She held her arms out, and he gave her a hug.  A professional yet personal lip-on-lip kiss happened, and I could see Janet’s arms pull him closer to her.

“It was nice to meet you Janet,” I spoke up in order to shorten Christopher’s time in her grip.

Janet looked over and smiled as she released him.  “Yes…of course. It was great to meet you, Kiley.”

“It’s Killeen,” I corrected her with an equally insincere smile.

“Thanks, Janet.  I’ll let you know what we find out…bye.”  Christopher waved as we headed out the door.

  Once in the car, I couldn’t get the body language and familiarity between Christopher and Janet out of mind.  It wasn’t any of my business, but I just had to ask as Christopher sped along the interstate heading back to the office.  “How long did you and Janet date?  I mean, was it serious?”

Christopher’s eyes darted toward me, then back on the road as he cleared his throat.  “Date?  We went out a couple of times…”

“After the case was over?”

He hesitated.  “Technically, no.  I know…I know…conflict of interest.  She was hot…I was young.  Okay?”

What else could I say without seeming like I was jealous?  Which, I was surprised to realize, I was.

“Today was the first time I’ve seen her in years…she still looks the same, though.”

“So, are you going to call her?”  Oh God, had I said that out loud?  I need to re-adjust my filters.

The car quickly sped up as we exited the interstate and Christopher took the U-turn lane to reverse direction on the interstate.  He looked in the mirror and exhaled deeply.

THE BLURB

An inheritance brought her more than she ever could have imagined…

Killeen Ames had it all…beauty, brains, a college scholarship, a rich and handsome boyfriend.  Then she found out she was pregnant and the boyfriend disappeared and the scholarship is in jeopardy.  A stranger arrives at her door with the news that a father she had never known had died and she was his heir.

But not his only heir.  She and four half-siblings meet for the first time and learn the shocking details of a popular music star who had been their father and Scandals, the private investigation agency he has left them.

Killeen’s decision is further complicated when she meets the totally irresistible manager of Scandals.  Her attraction to him is immediate and volatile, but she knows they have no future.  She has a secret she can’t share.

Someone doesn’t want them to stay and take over the business.  In fact, someone wants them all dead.  Their lives depend on whether or not they can figure out who he is and how to stop him before he succeeds.

THE AUTHOR

Kathy Clark has 23 women’s fiction/romance novels with sales over 3 million copies in more than 10 languages and have been on the New York Times’ bestsellers’ list and won her numerous awards.

In September 2012 she went Indie and launched a new suspense series, Denver After Dark.  Book #1, After Midnight.  Voted The Best Indie Suspense of 2013 and won a prestigious Readers’ Favorite Suspense Award in 2013, book #2, Cries in the Night followed in October, 2013.

Also in 2012 Kathy teamed up with her husband Bob Wernly to write a Young Adult Time Travel Mystery/Romance series called CUL8R (See You Later) under the pen name of Bob Kat.  Book #1 OMG (Oh My God), when they go back to 1966 to save a girl’s life, was released in October, 2012 and was named as the Best Indie Young Adult Suspense of 2013 and was a Beverly Hills Book Awards finalist.  Book #2 BRB (Be Right Back), when they travel back to 1980, recently won a Readers’ Favorite Young Adult Award in 2013.  Book #3 BION (Believe It Or Not), when they go back to 1927 and join a circus to save a boy, was released in July, 2013.  They also teamed and wrote a fictionalized version of Bob’s fraternity days at Kent State University in 1970.  The mixture drama of senior year, military draft lottery to supply the Vietnam war and the Kent State shootings.  This novel was named as a finalist in the Best Indie Mainstream Book of 2013 Awards.

Their New Adult series Scandals, kicks off the book #1, Baby Daddy in November, 2013.

Almost Time for BABY DADDY! It can be FREE you know…

Hello fellow Authors, Readers and Fans,

I’m getting close to the end of the writing process for my newest book, #30 in my career and it is titled BABY DADDY.  It will be book #1 in my New Adult Romantic Suspense Series, SCANDALS.  It is a first person book which has been a lot of fun to write and a welcome change.  And if you were at the Texas Writers’ League panel a week or so ago this also had the benefit of Bob.  But I digress.  I thought it would be a little limiting, the first person not Bob that is, but I found what you lose in the scope of a scene you more than make up for in the depth of the character throughout the story.

Being a new adult genre there are several touchstones that the story must have.  I don’t want to spoil the experience but trust me it does touch several of them in such plot points and story lines like college life, sex, music, the consequences of making one decision over another, moving out of your parents’ house for the first time, for some of the main characters their first serious first jobs, deciding who you want to be “when you grow up”, a person’s first serious relationships, and even some major money decisions.

How do you pack all this it one story?  Simple.  You’ve got to set up the series in book one and while book one’s main character is all about one Killeen Ames, the others have a voice that must be heard.

So here’s the back cover blurb and the current working cover.  All comments are welcome and I’m starting to look for willing volunteers who are interested in receiving an ARC in another few weeks in exchange for a pre-release review.  Drop me your email address at Kathy@nightwriter93.com. The ARC is FREE of course.

The story takes place in Austin in current day.

THE BACK COVER…

Killeen Ames had it all…beauty, brains, a college scholarship, a rich and handsome boyfriend.  She found out she is pregnant…now the boyfriend has disappeared and the scholarship is in jeopardy.  An attorney arrives at her door with an offer she can’t refuse.

She walks into the meeting and is surprised to find out that her real father had been a popular music star who is now dead.  Even more shocking is the four strangers who share the same absentee dad.  He has left them a highly successful private investigation agency, Scandals.  The catch is…they have to make the commitment to work there.

It’s a difficult choice for them to make…leave their old jobs, schools and lives and run the agency.  Killeen’s decision is further complicated when she meets the totally irresistible manager of Scandals.  Her attraction to him is immediate and volatile, but she knows they have no future.  She has a secret she can’t share.

But there is a darker side to their dilemma.  Someone is determined that they not get their inheritance.  In fact, someone wants them all dead.  Should they run back to their safe lives or should they stay and try to stop a killer…before he kills them?

And here’s the cover…

Thanks in advance for your input!  It is invaluable!

What number are you? What did you do because of it?

Hello lovers of the new adult genres…here’s the romance that helps define the genre of contemporary new adult romance  It is not set in current day but in 1969 when the decisions made my 20 somethings thousands of times resulted in life and death.  The events were true, the characters based on combinations of real people and the ramifications of the decisions they made still live today.  If you have a dad or grand father born between 1940 and 1950, this is a great Sunday dinner topic.  Chances are it impacted the lives of twenty something’s today!  Don’t buy it?  Read on.

HERE ARE THE TWO QUESTIONS:

Ask any man born in the U.S. between 1940 and 1950:

1. What number were you in the military draft?
2. If their “number” was over or under the magical number for that year what decisions would they have made differently in their life between 1968 and 1973?

Studies show over 80% of men know the answer.

John Lennon can be credited with the title for LIFE’S WHAT HAPPENS but the events on the campus of Kent State University make the novel.  If a coming of age in the 20-teen is of interest…the new adult genre can be defined by this novel!

New Adult fiction is still about the obvious –

• Boys and girls transforming into men and women, ages 21 to 23 years old
• College life
• Drugs, sex and rock and roll
• Consequences of making one decision over another

And here’s the highlights of how “Life’s What Happens” fits the NA criteria:

• College life – Life’s What Happens is told in flashback and the flashback is 100% the senior year for nine fraternity brothers and  their friends.  It’s all college all the time.

• Moving out of your parents’ house and living alone for the first time – Most of  the characters in the Life’s What Happens story live on campus or in town and not at home and all for the first time.  What’s interesting is the character arc of those that maintain a weekend tie to their families and those that are immersed into the on-campus life.

• First jobs – By senior year they have studied and majored in the classes necessary for their first real job as an adult.  This criteria is part of the angst that some of the characters go through. What happens if you’re not allowed to start your career?  What will you do about it?

• Deciding who you want to be, career-wise, and in general. Identity issues. Existential issues. – By senior year they have made these decisions and are actively trying to make their decisions come true.

• First serious relationships, finding love – Anyone who has gone through college knows that it was very rare that anyone retained any opposite sex relationships by the time they reached their senior year.  In Life’s What Happens one of the nine fraternity brothers set out in their senior year to accomplish this.

• Sex – It’s less important that it be a “first time” as it is in YA. But the character should still be figuring stuff out. Since our readers can watch R rated movies, we can also be a little more explicit here without as much controversy. –  Because this is all about New Adults in 1969 and 1970 and despite the publicity or history of the sex in the sixties, sex then was different than sex in the 21st century especially compared to the beliefs and actions of the millennial generation, the target market to a degree of the New Adult genre.

• Experimentation – Sex, drugs, alcohol. Of course, not all new adults engage in experimentation, but the phrase, “I experimented with “x” in college,” is a phrase for a reason. –  Drugs were relatively segregated to some of the class of 1970 but wine, beer and hard liquor were center stage.  Even states were confused back then with the application of blue laws and 3.2 beer.  Fake IDs were a cottage industry for one purpose and that wasn’t to outsmart and outwit the TSA.

• Isolation – Living alone for the first time can be difficult –  Most of the characters in Life’s What Happens lived in the fraternity house where living there was more difficult to living alone.

• Single life – New adults often do not have life partners and families yet, so their main relationships may be with friends and boyfriends/girlfriends. –  Many stories centered around the characters living their life with their brothers and girlfriends on campus and no longer at home with family.

• A struggle to “find yourself” – This was the mantra of the 1960’s.  No further comment needed.  Yes there is actually.  The major plot point in the book is what happens when everyone finally is on the path to fining themselves and someone totally blocks the path.

• Change – Moving out, going to college, finding a job…it’s a lot of transition. –  Triple check and then add the draft road block thrown at them with a last minute Thanksgiving Eve congressional vote.   You never can say enough about Nixon.

• Money challenges –  Working your way through school was almost a guarantee of a paycheck coming from Uncle Sam and no school instead.  In some cases in the story a temporary shortage of money and the decisions made can lead to a life time change in goals.

Life’s What Happens is a New Adult Romance for ages 18 to 25 and beyond.

Find the book on several retail sites or on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/LIFES-WHAT-HAPPENS-ebook/dp/B00A14STPS/

 It was a finalist in the Best Indie Book of 2013 and reviewers say—

“For reference, the authors placed a chart with the names and faces of the characters in the front of the book.”

Woodsusa  |  2 reviewers made a similar statement

“ This is a story of a generation, and tells the forgotten story of the lives of these men. ”

Mark  |  1 reviewer made a similar statement

Find out more about Kathy Clark, a.k.a. Bob Kat and her 29 novels at this point published worldwide at her website http://www.nightwriter93.com