Giveaway: Favorable Conditions by Kathleen Kole

When Samantha at Chick Lit Plus blog tours asked me if I wanted to participate in some blog tours she was setting up, I said definitely. What a great way to read works that I may have never read before. And I have met some pretty cool people. One of those is the lovely and talented, Kathleen Kole. I have participated in two blog tours for Kathleen already, "Breaking Even" and "Dollars to Donuts". Kathleen has released her third novel, "Favorable Conditions", which I will be reviewing the end of March. But in the meantime, Kathleen has agreed to a giveaway, my first for my Book Nook blog!



A little about Favorable Conditions:

Can you imagine being forty-five, your last child has moved on to college and the time is ripe for you to blaze a new trail into your future? Pat Keegan can. Well, except for the tiny detail that all her preconceived notions about how that future was going to shape up are completely out the window.

Pat was under the impression that once her child rearing years were complete she and her husband would walk hand in hand toward a rose colored future. Fat chance. Before their daughter had even been accepted by a College, he was blathering about needing space to rediscover himself and made quick strides to the nearest exit.

Suddenly, Pat is divorced, rattling around her large house and asking the empty rooms, “What now?” She knows she has to carve out new dreams - after all, forty-five is a far cry from the end of the line - But how?

Join Pat as she jumps feet first back into the world outside her door, takes on a new business venture, is pursued by a much younger man and has to muddle her way through more emotions than she knew she had - all to finally attain her goal of rediscovering who she is and what she wants from the next phase of her life.

Kathleen did a little q&a with me over the weekend as well, which will show you what a fun lady she is!

What inspired you to write Favorable Conditions and is there any part of you in Pat Keegan?

Pat's story came to me soon after my last dog passed away. It truly just arrived in my thoughts and, upon reflection, I feel her story of change and new beginnings resonated with me and my life at that time. As for any connection between myself and Pat, I would have to say that we both have a weakness for animals and also share a let's get to it/can do attitude.

You have a really busy writing schedule. What do you do for relaxation? (Other than fabulous mimosa Sundays, that is!)

Ha! Yes, I do appreciate Mimosa Sunday! Otherwise, as a former jazz dancer, I do love to crank up the tunes and dance; or take the dog for a walk; read; as well as relax in front of the TV with my husband and son (gotta love The Big Bang Theory!)

Is there a genre you haven't written in that you would love to tackle?

I think it would be a lovely experience to write children's fiction. Unfortunately, an illustrator I am not. So, taking that into consideration, I'll just continue to enjoy that genre by buying it for the small children in my friend's lives.

If you weren't a writer you would be a...(I vote for herbalist! You know cures for everything!)

Haha! You're not far off with Herbalist. I did seriously consider, when my son was a toddler, training to be a Homeopath. I even went so far as to take some introductory courses. However, at the time, my life was just too busy to further that pursuit as a formal career; thus, I satisfied that healing desire by continuing my "education" in my own time. (Hence the reason I have so much natural healing info under my belt!)

What does a typical writing day in your life entail?

You know, I don't truly think I have a typical day. I seem to be a famine or feast sort of writer. When I'm not writing (taking a break), I'm away from my computer completely. When I am writing, I'm there every chance I have and feeling pained when I have to go and do other life related things. It seems to be working fine. I get the job done, the books written and life hasn't come crashing down around my ears.

If you could get your hand on one fictional character and write something, who would it be?

Oh dear, this is a difficult one. I have loved/appreciated so many characters, I don't think I'd be comfortable writing their "voices". I'll choose the easy way out and pick one of my own. Thomas MacLeod. I truly enjoyed writing this Scotsman and I assure you I'll be writing for him again in future.

What is your guilty pleasure song?

A good question! As I said, I have over a decade of jazz dancing under my belt, so I'm rather taken with music. That being said, I don't think I have one guilty pleasure song. My husband teases me and says my guilty pleasure song is whatever is playing in the moment and I'd have to say, more often that not, he's probably spot on. Music, for me, is all about self expression, so if it has a good beat and I can dance to it I'd probably give it an 8. (Oh, wait... I think I just channeled American Bandstand...)

If you could sit down with one author, past or present, who would it be and what would you want to discuss?

I think I'd really enjoy sitting down with Fannie Flagg. I love her writing and I think it would be fun to find out her inspirations for creating such interesting characters.

Thank you, Kathleen! I have two paperback copies of "Favorable Conditions" up for grabs. All you have to do is leave a comment below (make sure you include an email address if I don't know how to reach you already) and on March 12th, we will draw two random winners!

Good luck!!