Authors To Watch: Kathleen Shaputis Author of HIS KILT DROPPED HERE: A MAGICAL REALISM SCOTTISH ROMANC #authorstowatch

 

 

Kathleen Shaputis, author/ghostwriter, lives in the glorious Pacific Northwest with her husband, Bob, a clowder of cats, two pompously protective Pomeranians with little social aptitude, Brugh and Miss Jazzy, and an overgrown adolescent blue tick coon hound, Juno.

If not writing during her lifestyle in an acre of forest, she keeps busy reading from her never-ending, to-be-read pile and watching romantic comedies. Her hygge in the woods.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

Website:  http://www.kathleenshaputis.com

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/NWAuthor

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/KathleenShaputisAuthor

 

Title: HIS KILT DROPPED HERE: A MAGICAL REALISM SCOTTISH ROMANCE
Author: Kathleen Shaputis
Publisher: Clutter Fairy Publishing
Pages: 170
Genre: Magic Realism Scottish Romance

BOOK BLURB:

Rogue Bruce enjoys running a Scottish castle turned bed-and-breakfast with her Aunt Baillie from America. They specialize in hosting romantic Elizabethan-themed weddings, complete with resident ghost, Lord Kai. But love is something Rogue is not the least bit interested in. Content with her work, she requires no male accompaniment for happiness.

A new delivery service brings Bruce MacKenzie, a Thor look-alike in plaid and denim, fetching more than the usual number of groceries from town, while Jonathan Olson, a snobbish, dark, Rhett Butler type, arrives at the castle to administer a writing seminar for aspiring authors. With two men after the heart she’d thought safely locked away, Rogue is flattered and confused. But when things start to take a sinister turn, danger befalls Rogue and those dear to her. The musical soundtrack of Rogue’s life flares from complacent, to dizzyingly romantic, to heart-thumping scary in this sizzling triangle.

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We welcome you to My Bookish Pleasures! Can you tell us how you got started writing fiction?

My passion for writing goes back to the first grade. I loved reading books and creating stories. I found myself writing plays to produce in the backyard with the neighborhood kids and their parents as the audience. I was a big fan of the black and white Little Rascal re-runs. The plots and characters of my plays varied depending on what I was reading at the time. It could include Japanese cherry trees or medieval town criers. I was hooked on the applause.

Describe your writing process. Do you plot or write by the seat of your pants? When and where do you write?

Over the years I’ve accumulated stacks of paper notebooks in various drawers in my office. And you’ll always find a couple in my purse. I tend to jot ideas and bits of dialogue down on paper first. I’m old school in I love the feeling of scratching a pencil or pen across the blank pages. I am more of a by the seat of your pants style writer. Though I am a graduate and adoring fan of The Bubble Method by Eva Shaw. She has written articles and produced a wonderful DVD (I’m the red head in the audience) on the concept of mind mapping or webbing. A process that “helps shape and tame ideas while zeroing in on creative content perhaps barely explored.”

Can you tell us about your most recent release?

His Kilt Dropped Here in a romantic comedy set in magical realism. An unlikely heiress suddenly courted by two gorgeous men, finds herself in danger and chaos. The story was originally published by Crimson Romance, an imprint of Simon and Schuster. I asked for the rights back after a few years as I felt the title and cover design were rather lackluster and not apropos of the story itself. My books are like my children and want them presented to the world at their best. So I’ve self-published the book with a new catchy title and a wonderful cover layout by Novak Illustrations.

How did you get the idea for the book?

Back in 2012 I pampered myself with an excursion to Hever Castle in England where I attended a writers conference held at the castle. I found on Facebook a group called Abroad Writers Conferences and one of their trips detailed staying at a castle in England. During the evenings, back in my room, I talked with my husband about whatever had happened that day. He came up with the idea of writing an Agatha Christie style novel where each of the attendees were killed one by one at the castle. That’s a little too dark for my taste. But I did like the idea of a tribute to the idea of conferences. I think they are fabulous events for writers. Well, using the Bubble Method, I found side characters and a triangle love story blossoming forth. And no, none of the people in the book resemble any of my fellow writers from England. Lol. I’m still in touch with a few on them on Facebook.

What was the most challenging aspect of writing your book?

There is a strange, heart-breaking twist during the journey of this book. (Taking a deep breath, and exhaling slowly.) One I haven’t really explained before. On February 14, 2015, I submitted a query letter to Crimson Romance. As the author of Her Ghost Wears Kilts, I wanted to propose a seasonal sequel, yet stand-alone story. The short blurb was:

“‘Twas just weeks before Christmas and all through the haunted castle,” Rogue mumbled hanging the last ornament on the last tree. Her drafty, palatial bed and breakfast was ready. Instead of focusing on the group of writers coming for a week-long retreat with a best-selling novelist, her thoughts strayed to the local luscious Bruce Mackenzie from town. Maybe she should order more mistletoe.
Romance and murder tangle in this story. Rogue’s cavalry of ragtag sleuths include her Aunt Baillie, the resident ghost Lord Kai and Gillian Nation in tow with the Diva Squad who flaunt sequins and glitter wherever they go.

My first Christmas romance book would need to be completed and edited by August. Now during the same time I sent this email, I was anticipating the birth of my first great grandson. Could life be any sweeter than to have a new book contract and a delightful little bundle of love all happening in February. I don’t think so. My little Jellybean showed up on February 26^th and I fell in love. That love colored the pages of my writings. Life was just about perfect.

Now Jellybean’s parents were young teenagers. His father was my grandson. They had been runaways, spent months living on the streets, and the birth mother was pregnant when I moved them into my home. After the baby was born, this arrangement continued until late April, when the birth mother moved back to her mother’s and the concepts of visitation and such were worked out.

By the end of May, the baby was gone from this world through tragic, destroying events. And I couldn’t even fathom having to work on a romantic comedy while in the worst emotional pain of my existence. I needed to delay the publication of the book. Scraping my life back into some semblance of normal, the timeline in the book switched from December to spring. Major rewrites and edits later, sometime in 2016 – the book was first published.

Okay, I’m exhausted. Next question, please.

What projects are you currently working on?

Next up is a women’s fiction, Twinkies and Tranquilizers, set in the sizzling Seventies. A time of disco and the ERA, Equal Rights Amendment. A single mother believes she’s living the good life until she’s changes positions in the company and is smacked down by a chauvinist pig of a boss.

What advice would you offer to new or aspiring fiction authors?

Once this COVID-19 quarantine opens up, I hope the world of writers conferences will again flourish. There is something exhilarating, the energy level is off the roof when you put a group of writers together. Literary agents tend to find new clients among the attendees and you have the chance to pitch your story face to face with them. It’s a very worthwhile investment in yourself.