LET'S WELCOME KADIE SCOTT AUTHOR OF: TAMING THE TROUBLEMAKER

LET’S

WELCOME

KADIE

SCOTT

AUTHOR OF:

Rad-Reader:  The way you have Beth and Autry meet up in the truck was that something you came up with or a story you heard?  (Back in the ’60s some GM cars would start with other GM car keys)

Kadie:  It actually happened to me. Someone had left their car unlocked, and I got in (because it looked like mine and I thought I’d unlocked it with my keyfob). When I realized it wasn’t, I got out and used the button on the door to lock their car. Then realized I’d locked my purse inside. I still shake my head at myself every time I think about it (and it was about 10 years ago). 

Rad-Reader:  Was there any reason you chose Autry and a teacher Beth to get together or just worked for the story?

Kadie:  I wanted this to be an opposite attract story, to begin with. Since Autry was already established as a fun loving playboy in previous books, I needed Beth to be the good girl. However, I also wanted these characters to be real. Beth might be the good girl, but she’s full of fire and sass and is more than a match for Autry. And he might be up for a good time, but the man is good down to his boots—loyal, protective, and positive.

Rad-Reader:  The fight scene between Autry and Dan was that scene always in your story or did you add it later?

Kadie:  I always knew there would be a conflict with her jerky neighbor and that Autry would be arrested by his brother (the Sheriff) because of it. But when I got to writing that scene, I honestly just couldn’t resist adding insult to injury by making him have to duke it out, in his boxers, after getting sprayed by a skunk. Just couldn’t resist. 😉

Rad-Reader:  Did you think about what type of animal would be in the cage before writing the scene or do you just let it flow to where it needs to be?

Kadie:  We had just dealt with a skunk incident at home. It was comically terrible. I knew it would be a skunk. Much of the silliest parts of my stories are based on my real life. 😊

Rad-Reader:  Was it me or did Autry’s family only look at him as a trouble maker?  But she saw something more in him.

Kadie:  They don’t really. It’s more a “your family sees all your faults and all your strengths and loves you anyway” but with tough love in this situation. I find that to be realistic. I love my family to pieces and believe in them with all my heart. But that doesn’t mean I don’t worry for them or butt in when I see bad decisions.

That said, I also always love it when the hero/heroine see the best parts of the person they love, so that was in there too.

Rad-Reader:  What made you decide to use that character as someone to work on changing Autry?

Kadie:  I don’t see Beth as changing Autry. I see Autry as already on the cusp of moving on from his rowdy ways and turning all that energy to something more positive. Beth and Dylan are the catalysts may be, or the something positive he decides to focus that energy on.

Rad-Reader:  Even with all that Autry had been doing I still felt his family hadn’t changed their view about him.  Well, his brothers that your intention?

Kadie:  In a way. People don’t change overnight. And it’s my experience (both personally and watching those around me) that siblings are the people who will both love you and criticize you the hardest. But woe to anyone else who criticizes you. As we get into future stories, and Autry stays steady and true like he always would have, they’ll settle down. 😉

Rad-Reader:  Beth never thought she had a chance with Autry.  Was that just to protect her own feelings?

Kadie:  I can still remember guys from high school who seemed to have it all—fun, flirty, good looking, smart, talented, athletic. Every once in a while, I wonder if older, smarter me would have a chance if I went back knowing what I know now. I think that’s normal for most of us. To wonder that about someone else. 

Rad-Reader:  Autry tells Beth that he is attracted to her.  Does she think that it will be for a short time or is it just her?

Kadie:  She thinks that he’s being honest, and that, given his track record, it’s not serious.

Rad-Reader:  Was it always your plan for something to happen with Dylan to force people’s hand?

Kadie:  He was always going to be a catalyst of some sort, because, in my opinion, children should always come first. How it happened just sort of wrote itself into the story though. 

Rad-Reader:  Did you always have them breaking up the way they did or did you have other ways at first?

Kadie:  So…I did have them break up a little differently in my first draft. There was more of a fight to it, Beth was angrier. But in the end, it didn’t fit who they’d become on the page, which is why it came out like it did in the final book.

Rad-Reader:  Having Autry respond the way he does.  How did you decide who and when to explain it to him?

Kadie:  The lovely thing about small-town romances is that many characters could’ve sat him down. But in the end, I chose the characters whose opinions would mean the most and influence him the most. 

Rad-Reader:  I did not know that they still do classes for foster care.  My wife and I did those back in the 1980s before we adopted our three children.  Did you have anyone that went to the classes or did you just look this up?

Kadie:  I didn’t know you had adopted! What a wonderful thing for both you and your kids. I can just imagine the love in your home. 😊

I did quite a bit of research on the fostering and adoption programs in Texas to make sure I got the details as accurate as I could. I may have fudged a few things, but the classes and hours required are still very much done. In fact, I’d hazard a guess that they’ve added some since the 80s.

Rad-Reader:  I liked how you showed throughout the story that Beth saw good in Autry even when his family did not.  Was that hard to do?

Kadie:  Walking the edge with his family was a little tricky because they needed to be both firm and loving. But Beth was always going to see through him—not just the good, but the BS as well. That actually made her a lot of fun to write. 😉

Rad-Reader:  Does writing stories with children make the stories easier or harder to write?

Kadie:  A bit of both. In romances, the story is so centralized on the couple, it can be easy to forget there’s a kid too (I see this on television as well). But I have kids, and so I tend to write my children into the characters (little quirks and things) and that makes it fun. 

Rad-Reader:  If your book was made into a movie who would you want to play…

Beth:  Kristen Bell (younger)

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/612911830515186069/

Autry:  Aaron Taylor Johnson

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/222928250279499642/

Kadie: Oooh! I love your casting. 

When I used Pinterest, my picks a while back, I went with:

Beth: Would absolutely be Lili Reinhart (from Riverdale)—sweet but spunky. 
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/17803361013535896/

Autry:  Would be Sam Claflin—You can see in his eyes that he’s kind.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/350084571017299768/

Rad-Reader:  What song or songs best describes your two main characters or your book as a whole?

“What Happens in a Small Town – Brantley Gilbert, Lindsay Ell”

https://youtu.be/u6BTbjFsW-w

“You Make It Easy – Jason Alden”

https://youtu.be/Bs2g8ZQQcPg

Kadie:  This one I didn’t have a playlist really, but looking over some of my favorite songs, I’d say:

Raise ‘Em Up by Keith Urban: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31KOGb1MU4g

Vice by Miranda Lambert: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTlaRu_Wsl4

Give In To Me from Country Strong:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcapsSWIEa0

Rad-Reader:  How long did it take you to write this book?

Kadie:  This was one that flew onto the page. I could see this couple so clearly. I finished the first draft in about 5 weeks and spent another 2 or 3 on personal edits before sending to my editor. 

Rad-Reader:  How do you go about writing do you do a lot of research first then write or research, outline, and then write?

Kadie:  I do a very basic outline of some key plot points and character development. I research as I write, basically pausing any time I run up against something I don’t know.

Rad-Reader:  How hard was it for you to break into the writing world?

Kadie:  Into the writing world? No. Everyone (for the most part) in this industry is welcoming, generous, and kind. I’ve found my tribe.

Into the “I sell enough to justify doing this for a living” world? Absolutely. Still working on that, though each year gets better. 😊

Rad-Reader:  What would you tell a young Kadie if you go back and give yourself a pep talk?

Kadie:  You can finish a book no problem. Get moving on this sooner. ( I didn’t finish my first book until I was 31.) It’s all about confidence and believing you can.

Rad-Reader:  What are three things you can’t leave home without?

Kadie:  My phone (mostly so my husband can reach me) and my computer. It goes everywhere.

Rad-Reader:  Name three things you love to eat?

Kadie: 

1.)  chocolate

2.)  enchiladas suizas

3.)  chocolate

Rad-Reader:  What is your next project and when is it de out?

Kadie:  For my cowboy romance lovers out there, I’m in the process of wrapping up my Hills of Texas series. Book 4—Claiming the Cowboy (for Christmas) is done and releases in October. And book 5 (tentatively titled Loving the Lawyer) is my current WIP. I should have it to my editor in June and will be crossing my fingers for an early 2020 release. That will be the last book in the series (at least for now).

Rad-Reader:  Where can our readers buy, you’re your books? Links

Kadie:  They are available on all ebook retailers. To see a full list and links for each book go here: 

https://kadie-scott.com/books/

Rad-Reader:  Where can our reader find you on the Web?  Links

Kadie:  

Newsletter:

http://eepurl.com/czjrKn

Website & Blog:

http://www.kadie-scott.com

BookBub: 

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kadie-scott

Facebook: 

http://www.facebook.com/Abigail.Owen.Books

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/AOwenBooks

Pinterest:

http://www.pinterest.com/abbyowen/

GoodReads: 

http://www.goodreads.com/kadiescott

Kadie,

No matter what you have always been there for us when we have asked you to do an interview.  After one of us has read one of your many books.  We so thank you for that.  The interviews are always fresh and new as if we have never spoken before giving our readers the best you have to know you, your characters and your book.   Readers will see your characters the way we hope we do, in the light they were meant to be seen.  As we try to find the right questions to bring out it all out for them.  So, thank you for that.  Thanks for your time and your books,
Pat & Char