Before I begin to tell you about me, I’d like to thank Cynthia for inviting me here today. It’s an amazing opportunity to be surrounded by all of her followers. I hope something I say here today piques your curiosity enough that you’ll stop by my website at http://carolynhughey.com, or click on one of the links to purchase one of my books.

Tell us about yourself:

I’ve been writing since 2005. My introduction to writing was more about writing for therapy. Yep, you read that right. I was having some personal problems and I needed to straighten them out in my own mind. When one of my friends read what I’d written, she begged me to finish the story. While flattered, I didn’t pick the story up again for a very long time because I didn’t think anyone would be interested in what I had to say.

Shortly after, my husband and I went on a cruise and I met another writer. I shared the conversation I’d had with my friend and she encouraged me to continue. She and I kept in contact with one another over the course of the next two years with every one of her emails filled with encouragement to continue. And then one day, I decided to bite the bullet and join RWA, the national organization, and a local chapter. Little did I know that my life was about to change for the better!

Was your road to publication difficult or a walk in the park?

After finishing that first story, I submitted it to a publisher for the sole purpose of being labeled a ‘pro’ in RWA. After a year of not hearing anything, I figured the publisher threw my manuscript away because they couldn’t find enough words to tell me how awful my writing was. But on the thirteen month, something magical happened! I received a phone call from Avalon Books in New York asking me if Cupid’s Web was still available. Needless to say, I was stuttering and tripping over my words in disbelief. So one year later, the story was published and I was certain I was on my way to stardom. Wrong! Although I’d received the contract on my first try, it took another four years to obtain a second contract.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I’m definitely a plotter, but I didn’t start out that way. My first book was written off the top of my head and it was easy, but that’s because it was mostly about me with a positive spin on the story. It wasn’t until I tried to write my first mystery that I realized I needed to plot because having a humorous voice in a serious mystery just doesn’t work.

How likely are people you meet to end up in your next book?

I love this question because it happens often, but only if the person is uniquely different. For example, in Magnetic Attraction written under my pen name, K. T. Roberts, I have a character named Mags who’s Goth—a different psychedelic hair color every week, but what’s so unique about Mags is that her sneakers always match the color of her hair.

During one of my many vocations—the first being a hair stylist, I’d met a flamboyant classmate who always made me laugh. Mags is modeled after him.

In Shut Up and Kiss Me, the aunt Nan Soranno is modeled after a very dear friend of mine with the same name. Nan’s uniqueness was her son and my daughter. Nan and I are both Italian, and she would have liked nothing better than to have our two offspring marry one another. Well, it didn’t work out that way, but even after they were married to other people, every time we’d talk, she’d say, “Jon should have married your daughter. The storyline is very much Nan.

Do you write under a pen name?

As mentioned above, I do write under the pen name of K. T. Roberts. I never planned to have a pen name, but because my contemporaries are sweet romances, I wanted my fans to know that if they picked up one of my mysteries, it was going to be a bit edgier than my contemporaries.

How did you choose your pen name?

I’ve always loved the name Katie. It reminds me of a tomboy, so rather than spell out Katie, I chose the initials. My husband’s name is Robert, so I’m Robert’s K. T.

How has your experience been with self-publishing?

In one word, FANTASTIC! I currently have four self-published books, The Last Witness and Elusive Justice are my Kensington-Gerard Detective Series and they’re both best sellers on Amazon in the top 100. Magnetic Attraction and Educating Daphne, which are humorous contemporary novels, contain a bit of vanilla spice, and all written under K. T.
I must also tell you that my experience with traditional publishing has been wonderful as well. As mentioned earlier, the beginning of my writing career was with Avalon Books who sold to Montlake Romance over a year ago. Ever since that time, I can’t tell you how thrilled I’ve been to be part of the Amazon forward-thinking family and the Montlake imprint. Recently, I was solicited by Amazon to write in their Kindle Worlds. To date, I’ve written two fan fiction stories about the popular television series, Gossip Girl. The first of which is Gossip Girl, Lovers, Liars and Thou, and my recent release, Gossip Girl: Murder & Mayhem, a serial. For a $1.99, you pay the fee just once, and every week, the next episode is automatically delivered to your Kindle. How neat is that? In this serial, I have eight episodes, each consisting of 8,000 or more words.

How many books have you written?

As of yesterday, I have twelve books published. Eight are traditionally published and four are Indie books. The line up is as follows: Cupid’s Web, Shut Up and Kiss Me, Dishing Up Romance, One Menu at a Time, Catering To Love, Christmas Magic-Insanity Claus, an anthology written by me and Gina Ardito, Gossip Girl: Lovers, Liars and Thou, Gossip Girl: Murder & Mayhem, The Last Witness, Elusive Justice, Magnetic Attraction and Educating Daphne. My latest release being Catering to Love.

What was the hardest thing you’ve found in the process of self-publishing? What was the easiest part of self-publishing?

Aside from the initial learning curve that goes with formatting and uploading your files, and book cover onto CreateSpace, I’d say the hardest part is making time for promotion. When you have one or two books, it’s not a big deal, but as your books accumulate, time is at a premium. Then of course, there’s always the age-old question of how much advertising is too much, how much is not enough? It’s a double-edged sword. But what I have found since the very beginning was, if I don’t advertise, I don’t sell as many books.

The easiest part by far is writing the book.

What is your least favorite part of writing?

Writing a catchy pitch! I am the world’s worst pitcher. Seriously, I’m not kidding! I go on and on and when I see the eyes of the people I’m pitching to glaze over, I know I’ve said too much. The good news though is I’m taking two courses, not one, but two, to get this simple process under my belt. Then look out! I’ll be pitching to everyone I come into contact with. 

What genre do you write in and why?

As mentioned above, I was writing humorous contemporary until my publisher asked me to write a romance with recipes. I currently have three books in that series. In between, I wrote two contemporaries with vanilla spice because everyone told me ‘sex’ sells. Now that I’ve written all those, my absolute love is writing mystery/suspense with a little bit of romance, the romance being secondary. And it’s my mysteries that sell really well. The Last Witness, Elusive Justice, Gossip Girl: Lovers, Liars and Thou and Gossip Girl: Murder & Mayhem are all ranked in the top 100 in sales on Amazon, and still going strong. That’s all due to my loyal fan base and I couldn’t be more thankful for their support.
What’s next?

I have one more episode of my fan fiction to write. My initial plan when the Gossip Girl serial was finished, was to finish a cozy mystery I will be submitting to my publisher, but I’ve been getting such good reviews for my two mysteries and my fans are asking for more, so I’ll be writing Deadly Obsession next, and hope to have it released by December 2013.

I also have nine stories already outlined and will be writing those as well. There’s just not enough hours in the day! Six are cozy mysteries—the Cape May Capers series, but they’re not the typical Aunt Maddie’s Tea House type cozies with cats as the main focus. Mine are serious mysteries with triplet sleuths whom the police find extremely annoying, but they always help solve the case, and of course, give their police department the credit. The others are romantic suspense, again, the romance being secondary between the two partners.

If you haven’t already guessed, I’m self-motivated, never sit idle without doing something else at the same time, and I’m always looking forward to the future. My personality summed up into three words? I love life!

In closing, I’m offering three prizes to three lucky people who leave a comment for me. The winners will be chosen at random and will have their choice of a digital copy of The Last Witness, Elusive Justice or Gossip Girl: Murder & Mayhem. Thank you for stopping by.
Cynthia, thank you so much for your generous offer to join you today!

Biography
Multi-published author, Carolyn Hughey, who writes humorous contemporaries with a side dish of romance, and her alter ego of K. T. Roberts, who writes mysteries with a twist, lives in Arizona.
Originally a Jersey Girl, Carolyn is an author under Amazon’s Montlake Romance imprint. All of Carolyn’s books are available in paperback and digital formats. Cupid’s Web and Shut Up and Kiss Me were her first two releases. As a former chef, Carolyn was commissioned by her publisher to write a cooking series, Romancing the Chef’s Toque. Books One and Two, Dishing Up Romance and One Menu at a Time and Catering to Love are all available. All include recipes.

If you like to cook, if you like to eat, and if you’d like to find out some of the hilarious things that happen in restaurant kitchens, then these books are for you.

In October 2012, Carolyn released a Christmas anthology entitled Mistletoe and Magic, her contribution being Insanity Claus

In June of 2013, Kindle Worlds released Carolyn’s first young adult fiction, Gossip Girl: Lover’s, Liars and Thou, and a more recently released serial, Gossip Girl: Murder & Mayhem.

K.T. Roberts currently has two mysteries available, The Last Witness and Elusive Justice, with a cozy mystery series currently in the works. Also written by this alter ego are Magnetic Attraction and Educating Daphne, both slightly spicy contemporary romances.

Visit Carolyn and K.T.’s website at http://carolynhughey.com, her blog at http://carolyn-hughey.blogspot.com, and her author page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carolyn-HugheyK-T-Roberts/380274958712901

Link to Catering to Love is: http://amzn.com/B00E6DBXA8

Link to GG: Murder & Mayhem is: http://amzn.com/B00FDWCMBU