Kilby Blades newest release, Spooning Leads to Forking, is out now. We chatted with Kilby recently to find out more about her and her books.

Hi Kilby, thank you for taking some time to talk with the SmexyReaders today.

KB: Thank you for having me!  

First, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

KB: I really like the outdoors. And wine. And food. And movies. And traveling. My books are chock full of the places I’ve been and the kinds of experiences I’ve had. I spent the first half of my career in the business world, but I also had a side career as a freelance food, wine and travel writer and, later, as an entertainment writer. I put a lot of myself in my books.  

How’d you get started reading and writing romance?

KB: I’m a huge television junkie. I started writing romance pretty consistently after I discovered fanfiction. It was an outlet for me to write my own alternate endings to elements I disliked in my favorite shows. I used to write Joey/Pacey romance in the Dawson’s Creek fandom because I couldn’t stand Dawson; I wrote Sam/Josh romance in The West Wing fandom because they were never going to put a lead character gay romance on network television at that time (this is the early 2000’s) and there was so much subtext in that relationship; I wrote Bella/Carlisle romance in the Twilight fandom when I was frustrated with Edward. I moved on to original fiction after I took a big break while my kids were really little. When I started reading again, so many fanfic authors from my cohort were publishing original fic that I decided to take a stab at it myself. 

What’s been keeping you busy during the quarantine?

KB: Well, for one, I had COVID, so that kept me busy. It’s really wiped me out. I had it bad a month ago and even though I’m “recovered,” I’m still really tired. Mr. Blades had it and we’re pretty sure one of my kids had it. Right now, I’m just feeling lucky and blessed that we are healing and I’m feeling unspeakably thankful for neighbors and friends who delivered us groceries and stuff for our kids to do. I don’t know what we would have done without them.

Smexy- Kilby, we are so glad to hear you and your family are on the mend.

I see you just started watching Veronica Mars. How is that going for you? Team Logan or Team Piz?

KB: So far, I’m Team Logan because I haven’t gotten to the part yet where she gets together with Piz. I was actually Team Duncan and I’m still kind of reeling from him moving south of the border with his baby (like, really?!) I don’t know what Piz’s deal is, but I think it’s hard to compete with bonds formed with people who were with you during really important times in your life. 

You recently came in second place in the Long Contemporary Romance category in the New England Romance Readers’ Choice Awards with your novel, The Secret Ingredient. Congrats. That is the book that precedes your latest release Spooning Leads to Forking. Can you tell us about this series? Is it an interconnected series? 

KB: Yes! Readers really connected with The Secret Ingredient. That one is set in a beachfront town—the hero is a sexy doctor and the heroine is a famous television chef and he agrees to be her kitchen assistant while she writes her next cookbook. It’s less angsty than Spooning Leads to Forking and it kicks off the series. called Hot in the Kitchen. The books don’t need to be read in order. They also don’t seem to be interconnected, but they are. The final book will bring all the couples together in the same setting around a fifth and final couple. If you’ve read the other books, it will be particularly entertaining because you’ll know the backstory and quirks of all the characters. 

Tell us more about Spooning Leads to Forking

It’s a small-town culinary romance. I know that sounds very Hallmark, but it’s actually quite gritty. There’s a mystery that’s a big part of the action of the story and the Colorado town it’s set in is kind of a crunchy, eccentric place. The mayor conducts business out of her yurt; there’s a guy who only wears 80s track suits and walks down the main street with his macaw on his shoulder. The heroine, Shea, drives a black cherry Mustang and her eyeglass frames always match her nails.

But Shea isn’t in a good place to start a new relationship. She’s extricating herself from a bad marriage, which she had to steal money from her husband to do. Said husband is obsessed with her and she doesn’t want him to find her while their attorneys are busy hashing out the divorce. So she tries on a new persona in Sapling, Colorado. It’s supposed to be a way station for her to ride out her divorce. Things get really complicated when the super-hot grocer she’s been flirting with (and lying to) for two months turns out to be the acting sheriff. 

What is the heat level in this book?

The trope in the book is forbidden romance. The heroine (Shea) and hero (Dev) each have their own reasons for resisting their attraction to one another. When it finally happens between them, it really happens, and it all happens on the page. But, to set proper expectations, the heat comes later in the book and it’s not them falling right into bed with one another.

Anything else you’d like to share with the Smexy Readers?

You will love this book if you love books with: 1) Small towns and quirky townspeople, 2) Forbidden love, 3) Sexy mountain men, 4) A good mystery, 5) Horrible exes who get their comeuppance and 6) starting over at a turning point in your life. Overall, this is a well-rounded story about people finding their path to true love at the same time as getting the rest of their lives on the right track. 

It was a pleasure chatting with you Kilby, thank you!

About the Book

Leaving her name—and her job as a top food critic—behind in New York, Shea Summers seeks respite in Sapling. Her borrowed mountain getaway seems perfect for writing her opus. It’s also perfect for riding out a messy divorce and hiding the roomful of cash she kind-of-sort-of stole from her ex.

Too bad Sapling is a remote, three-restaurant town with food that leaves much to be desired. Sexy grocer, Dev Kingston, may be Shea’s saving grace. The way he looks at her with his aspen-green eyes shows her everything her marriage was missing, and he can special-order every delicacy she craves.

But Shea’s not the only one who isn’t what she seems. Dev moonlights as a sheriff’s deputy, a fact she finds out too late; a string of suspicious crimes finds newcomers under scrutiny; and her ex is going to extremes to find out where she is. 

Taking the money and living under an assumed name might be on the right side of wrong, but dating Dev is a dangerous game. She’s still running and he’s still the law.

BUY LINKS

About Kilby

Kilby Blades is a 45-time-award-winning author of Romance and Women’s Fiction. Her debut novel, Snapdragon, was a HOLT Medallion finalist, a Publisher’s Weekly Book Life Prize Semi-Finalist, and an IPPY Award medalist. Kilby was honored with an RSJ Emma Award for Best Debut Author in 2018 and has been lauded by critics for “easing feminism and equality into her novels” (IndieReader) and “writing characters who complement each other like a fine wine does a good meal” (Publisher’s Weekly).

When she’s not writing, Kilby goes to movie matinees alone, where she eats Chocolate Pocky and buttered popcorn and usually smuggles in not-a-little-bit of red wine. She procrastinates from the difficult process of writing by oversharing on Facebook and Instagram and giving away cool stuff related to her fiction novels to her newsletter subscribers.

Where can we find you online?

• https://www.facebook.com/groups/kilbyskorner/ (FB Reader Group)
• http://www.kilbyblades.com/subscribe (Newsletter)
• https://www.goodreads.com/kilbyblades (Goodreads)
• https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kilby-blades (BookBub)
• http://www.instagram.com/kilbyblades (Instagram)
• http://www.twitter.com/kilbyblades (Twitter)
• http://www.facebook.com/kilbybladesauthor (FB Official Author Page)
• https://www.kilbyblades.com/ (Website)