Today I am so pleased to welcome Kim Fielding to Joyfully Jay. Kim is here as part of the GRL Blog Tour to talk to us about her latest release, Rattlesnake. She has also brought along some goodies to give away! Please join me in giving Kim a big welcome!
Hi! I’m Kim Fielding and I’m so happy to be visiting today with Joyfully Jay and all of you!
I have a confession to make: I love some of my children more than others. Now, I’m not talking about my daughters. I love them equally—the quirky, temperamental 7th grader and the quieter 11th grader who’s so much like me.
I mean my imaginary children. My characters.
I love all the people I write about. The minor characters such as friends and family and coworkers, the exes, even—maybe even especially—the villains.
But of course I am particularly enamored of the protagonists, those guys who have to suffer through all the trials I hand out until I allow them a happy ending. They feel very real to me, so much so that I’m guilt-ridden when I do terrible things to them (I’m sorry, Jack!) and I miss them when the story’s over.
But although I love every one of my guys, I love some best. I don’t know why. They’re not my funniest men or my most handsome; they’re not the most accomplished or the most noble either. They tend to be the characters who’ve been kicked around the most by life and who need love the most fiercely. So when they do get their HEA, it’s a special triumph.
The two protagonists in Rattlesnake, my newest novel, have found their way to my favorites list. Jimmy Dorsett is in his forties, a lifelong drifter who’s never mattered to anyone and who simply picks up and leaves whenever things get too difficult. He doesn’t always tell the truth—especially to himself. He’s a good man, though, and God, he needs someone, somewhere, far more than he realizes. Shane Little, on the other hand, has a large and loving family. He’s never traveled far from his little hometown in the Sierra foothills. He loved being a cowboy until a terrible accident broke his body, wounded his mind, and changed his prospects forever. He’s proud and stubborn and, deep inside, a natural optimist.
How could I not fall for these guys?
One of the most fulfilling things to me as a writer is when my readers end up deeply in love with my favorite characters too. I hope you’ll give Rattlesnake a try and that you’ll end up as head-over-heels as I am.
As a reader, do you fall especially hard for certain characters? Why them in particular, do you think? Comment below with your answers. We’ll randomly choose one commenter to win an e-copy of my novel Astounding! and a $10 Dreamspinner gift certificate.
Rattlesnake is available now from Dreamspinner Press.
Blurb
A drifter since his teens, Jimmy Dorsett has no home and no hope. What he does have is a duffel bag, a lot of stories, and a junker car. Then one cold desert night he picks up a hitchhiker and ends up with something more: a letter from a dying man to the son he hasn’t seen in years.
On a quest to deliver the letter, Jimmy travels to Rattlesnake, a small town nestled in the foothills of the California Sierras. The centerpiece of the town is the Rattlesnake Inn, where the bartender is handsome former cowboy Shane Little. Sparks fly, and when Jimmy’s car gives up the ghost, Shane gets him a job as handyman at the inn.
Both within the community of Rattlesnake and in Shane’s arms, Jimmy finds an unaccustomed peace. But it can’t be a lasting thing. The open road continues to call, and surely Shane—a strong, proud man with a painful past and a difficult present—deserves better than a lying vagabond who can’t stay put for long.
Bio
Find out more about Kim Fielding and her books and download some free reads at http://kfieldingwrites.com
You can also follow her on FB: http://facebook.com/KFieldingWrites
And Twitter: @KFieldingWrites
Giveaway
Kim has brought a copy of Astounding! and a $10 Dreamspinner gift certificate to give away to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter. The contest ends on Friday, September 11th at 11:59 pm EST.
- By entering the giveaway, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
- Winners will be selected by random number. No purchase necessary to win. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
- If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner may be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay.
- Winners may be announced on the blog following the contest. By entering the contest you are agreeing to allow your name to be posted and promoted as the contest winner by Joyfully Jay.
- Prizes will be distributed following the giveaway either by Joyfully Jay or the person/organization donating the prize.
- All book prizes are in electronic format unless otherwise specified.
- By entering you are agreeing to hold Joyfully Jay harmless if the prize or giveaway in some way negatively impacts the winner.
- Readers may only enter once for each contest. Duplicate entries for the same giveaway will be ignored. In the event of technical problems with the blog during the contest, every effort will be made to extend the contest deadline to allow for additional entries.
- Void where prohibited by law.
Hi Kim.
Haven’t read Astounding! But have just bought Rattlesnake today which sounds great. I have read and enjoyed a number of your books, so looking for to Rattlesnake.
Oh boy. I fall for the broken characters. The snarly, angry ones who just need someone to stick around and take a look at who they really are underneath the prickly outside shell. They get me every single time.
Congrats on the new release and I love the cover!
I’ve enjoyed so many of Kim’s stories, but have somehow missed these both so far!
Thanks for a fun post. Do I fall for some characters? Definitely. Why is harder to answer. I like to see a character who has challenges such as Eve in J. D. Robb’s … in Death series who had a brutal childhood or Lord Ian Mackenzie in Jennifer Ashley’s book who would probably be said today to have Aspergers. I enjoy seeing how they deal with their issues, live their lives and find their partners.
I usually fall harder for the less perfect characters. I like it if they do or say the wrong things, if they are generally not nice or in the slightest hero-like – not all of the time, I don’t want a complete a**h**e, but often enough to remind me that they are (like) real people, and I’m a firm believer most real life people have both good and bad sides to their personality, some of us are just lucky/unlucky tohave one side we show more often for various reasons. I also have thing for the insecure or shy character. Maybe I just like anti-heroes and underdogs – yes, that’s it!
Thanks for the post! Similar to you, I usually fall for the characters who have been kicked around or had/have challenges/obstacles to overcome. Or characters who have been misunderstood. And I love reading about them meeting someone who clicks with them.
I love a helpless character and a nurturer.
I have seen this book over on GR. I love the cover and the characters sound very interesting. I hope to read this soon.
Tortured heroes are a weakness of mine. I know what it is to not trust and to consider yourself damaged goods. Thankfully I also know what it is to find that person who sees all of your demons and doesn’t run away, who holds your hand in order to face them down together.
This definitely has my interest!!!
Congratulations on your new release the book is in my TBR pile and it’s had some amazing reviews too. I’ve fallen for so many characters especially those who have had to struggle and haven’t had an easy life but when they get their HEA it makes me so happy.
I love hurt/comfort type stories. I’ve read the Flux series & enjoyed it a lot. Rattlesnake is on my wishlist. Thanks for the post & giveaway!
I like different kinds of characters and one of my favorites is the downtrodden character who perseveres and grows in dignity/ confidence.
I have seen this book on other blogs. It looks fantastic. thanks!
Sounds wonderful. I already feel like I want to take care of Shane, and I want Jimmy to find his “home”. Thanks. 🙂
I’ve seen a few really good post about this book!!! Now on my TBR!!! Thanks for the review and giveaway!
Looking forward to reading more of your wonderful stories, but now you have me wondering who else is among your favorites! Thank you for sharing with us!
Congrats on the new release! Great post! I hope you have fun at GRL!
Thanks for the great post! I definitely fall for characters, and different kinds for different reasons. Some I wish could sweep me off my feet, some I wish could be my best friend and some I just want to hug because they seem like they could use it. But I return to the books over and other to read about my favorite characters.
This sounds great. I love a story about someone that grows.
I’m a fan of a fun smartypants! I also love a conflicted hero, and the strong, silent type…
I normally fall for twisted characters who happen to have a soft side, the grumpier and crankier the better. I also fall for difficult stories, those where you really cannot see the happy end ahead because “How could it happen?” and when the HEA arrives it is much more satisfactory…
The book sounds great, Kim. Already in my TBR list 😉
Congratulations on the new release! Looking forward to reading it! Got it yesterday but haven’t started it yet.
I do fall for characters. When i read a book i have to feel something for at least one of the main characters because otherwise the book just doesn’t do it for me. Thankfully there are a lot of great characters in m/m land 🙂 I love Charlie from the Red Dirt Heart serie by NR Walker and i also love Julian Capeletti from A Better Man by Jaime Reese and also Weber from Frog by Mary Calmes. Looking at my examples i think i have a thing for the strong silent type 😉 Thanks for this post and congrats on your latest release “Rattlesnake” , i liked the blurb and put it on my TBR list.
Please count me in. Thanks.
I definitely fall harder for characters who I can relate to, who are a bit nerdy say, or share interests of mine. But I also fall harder for characters who feel really strongly – someone above said “broken” characters, and that’s not it, because when a backstory is too harsh I often find it hard to understand where a character is coming from – but characters who are really invested in their own stories, whether in a mystery or in figuring out their own kinks or what. But I don’t fall as hard when it goes over the top – I can suspend disbelief about fantasy, or sci-fi, or what have you, but details that are supposed to fit into the real world and just don’t always put distance between me and the story.
I finished Rattlesnake yesterday and loved it. My first book by Kim Fielding and I’m hooked. Besides Shane and Jimmy, I fell in love with the Littles, aunt Belinda and the town.
The more broken they are, the harder I fall. I think it’s because you’re cheering and hoping and praying so hard, that you just can’t help it.