In Which KK Interviews Herself For A Blog But She’s Not Sure
Which One…
Interviewer KK: Congratulations on your new book, KK!
Regular KK: Thank you!
Interviewer KK: So, a twelve book series? Are you crazy?
Regular KK: Apparently.
Interviewer KK: Wow. Good luck with that.
Regular KK: Gee, thanks.
Interviewer KK: Where did you get the idea for COME BACK TO
TEXAS from? Was it a dream? Were you drunk? Did it really happen? Or did
someone give you the idea and you wrote it and now you’re going to split the profits?
Regular KK: Well, there are a few different parts of the
story, and they all came to me at different times. While I was awake. And
sober. From my own imagination J
The first part of the story that came to me was Nate and Hayley’s story, and
that was inspired by Bowling For Soup’s song Come Back To Texas. (HEYYYY… WAIT
A SECOND.) I loved the idea of a guy using everything but himself to entice a
girl to come back to him, and I loved that it was Texas, because Texas. And as
usual, the idea kind of started spiraling… and then Nate and Hayley talking ice
cream showed up, and there was that. The series concept came while I was
watching the Sing-Off. I love a cappella, and I’ve always wanted to write about
an a cappella group. When everything clicked into place…. Well, let’s just say
I happy danced so much I probably traumatized my neighbors.
Interviewer KK: So, did you have the Bowling For Soup song
stuck in your head the whole time?
Regular KK: Not the *whole* time, but a fair amount of it. I
listened to a lot of a cappella music and country music while writing CBTT, so
some of those songs got stuck in my head. There are worse things that could
happen J
Interviewer KK: Country music? Really?
Regular KK: I actively like country music. And when I find
country a cappella music, my head about explodes with happiness. I’ve been
listening to country music for quite some time, so getting to drop different
song references throughout the book was a lot of fun.
Interviewer KK: It’s all just trucks and cows and your girl
leaving you, isn’t it?
Regular KK: Nope. Well, there are some songs like that, but
not all of them. There’s quite a range of music within country music. And even
more of a range in a cappella music. J
Interviewer KK: Well, I’m glad you had a good playlist for
this book. I know those are important to you. What was your favorite scene?
Regular KK: WHY MUST YOU ASK HARD QUESTIONS???
Interviewer KK: I *could* have asked you what your favorite
book is. You’re lucky I’m asking you easy questions.
Regular KK: Geez. I hate you.
Interviewer KK: That’s professional of you, dear.
Regular KK: Phoof.
Interviewer KK: You didn’t answer the question.
Regular KK: Fine. I don’t have only one though, I have a
few. The period scene, the work study scene, and the end. I’m really fond of
the end J
Interviewer KK: Okay, real talk—are we going to cry while
reading CBTT?
Regular KK: Maybe? I actually cried while editing it. Not
while writing it, but editing. And I didn’t cry while writing or editing HEART
BREATHS or ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG, so I don’t know what that means.
Interviewer KK: So, what’s up next with you?
Regular KK: More books! And vacation in which I will write
all the words!
Interviewer KK: Well, that does sound fun.
Regular KK: It will be!
Interviewer KK: Well, thanks for answering all my questions,
KK!
Regular KK: Anytime, Interviewer KK!
COME BACK TO TEXAS EXCERPT:
(A flashback to the first time Hayley
and Nate met)
He turned around, and his eyes
connected to mine. “Hey!” he called. “You!”
My eyes widened. “Me?” I pointed to
myself.
“Yeah.” He was far enough away that
he was calling. “What’s your name?”
Why was he talking to me? Was this
some kind of joke? I glanced nervously at Josh, trying to see if this was for
real. I couldn’t tell.
“Hayley,” I said quietly- loud enough
for him to hear if he was listening close enough, but quiet enough that I could
deny I was talking to him if I needed to.
“Hayley!” he called back, grinning.
“What’s your stance on ice cream? Positive or negative?”
“Why?”
“For science.”
“What kind of science?”
“Does it matter?”
“Well, if it’s for curing cancer or
something, I’ll tell you the truth. If it’s for something else, I might not.”
“You would lie to science?”
“You can’t lie to science,” I said.
“Science isn’t a person.”
“Yeah, it is,” Josh said. “Science is
the skeleton in the lab.”
“I thought his name was Fred.”
“His full name is Fred Skeleton
Montgomery FisherHell the Twelfth,” Harrison said. “But I wasn’t actually
talking about him. C’mon, Hayley. How do you feel about ice cream?”
“If I tell you, will you let me do my
homework?”
“Deal.”
“I feel positive about ice cream.”
“Yes!” crowed Harrison. “One more
question.”
“No.” I tried to bury my grin as I
bent my head down to concentrate on my English assignment.
“Pleeeeeease, Hayley.”
“You said you’d let me do my homework
after the ice cream question.”
“But science!”
“No.”
“You’re a tough one,” he said,
standing up. Wait. What was going on? Where was he going?
The next thing I knew, he was
standing above me, blocking the sunlight completely. “You’re blocking my sun,”
I said, not looking up from my homework.
“What is science going to do without
your answer?” he said, leaning down toward me. “It’s going to cry itself to
sleep tonight because you don’t care enough to answer the question.”
“You’re crazy, you know,” I said,
trying not to giggle. “Maybe you should talk to science about your feelings.”
“If I’m that crazy, talking to
science would only make things worse.”
Huh. That actually made sense.
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, science’s
best friend. What’s the second question?”
“How do you feel about Rocky Road ice
cream?”
“I like it.”
“A lot or a little?”
“What does it matter?”
“Well, those morons over there claim
loving Rocky Road is unnatural.”
“You should find new friends,” I
said.
Come Back To Texas by K.K. Hendin
(Twelve Beats In A Bar #1)
Publication date: August 18th 2014
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult
Synopsis:
Everyone thought we’d be the ones who made it through high school. The ones who’d get married and stay married forever. The example of how young love can work.
We thought so, too.
Too bad life had other plans.
It’s been three years since Hayley and Nate broke each other’s hearts. Three years, and a lot has changed. Hayley’s a freshman in Bushwick University, and the only things keeping her sane are stress baking, and her a cappella group, Twelve Beats in a Bar.
Nate’s a Marine, stationed in Afghanistan. The only thing that’s keeping him sane is the last picture he has of him and Hayley, and the hope that maybe when the hell of deployment is over, he can find her again and apologize.
One explosion will change everything.
When a bomb kills all of Nate’s unit, leaving him missing a leg and eyesight in one eye, he’s sent back home to Texas. Texas, where he loved Hayley more than he could possibly imagine ever loving anyone else.
With seemingly endless amounts of free time and needing something to distract himself, Nate starts making YouTube videos, imploring Hayley to come back to him, and come back to Texas.
Hayley’s life is wrapped around the Beats, making sure she doesn’t flunk out of biology class, and babysitting Ohio’s smallest monster, Brandon. She doesn’t want to admit it, but she misses Nate more than anything.
It’s too bad she doesn’t know just how much he misses her, too…
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22694662-come-back-to-texas?ac=1
Purchase:
(No author photo)
KK Hendin's real life ambition is to become a pink fluffy unicorn who dances with rainbows. But the schooling for that is all sorts of complicated, so until that gets sorted out, she'll just write. Preferably things with angst and love. And things that require chocolate.
She spends way too much time on Twitter (@kkhendin), and rambles on occasion over at www.kkhendinwrites.blogspot.com.
Author links:
GIVEAWAY
Three winners, each one gets their choice of any two signed copies of K.K. Hendin's books (Heart Breaths, Only The Good Die Young, Come Back To Texas) and a guarantee of an ARC of the second book in the TBIAB series when it's available.
Open US only; ends September 1st
a Rafflecopter giveaway
