Today’s author interview is with RITA Award-winning romance author Kait Nolan. Kait’s small-town contemporary romance novels are bingeworthy and always devoured by her adoring readers. We were honored to have the opportunity to interview Kait and to learn more about her writing process and what her path to becoming an author looked like.

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HG: How would you describe yourself to somebody who isn’t familiar with your writing yet?

KN: I write sassy, small-town, oh-so-Southern stories with strong women, lots of heart, occasional tears, and plenty of feel good along the way.

HG: Lovely! Tell us about your path to becoming an author. Was it always your dream job?

KN: I mean, after I decided against astronaut and found out I have zero skill as an artist (my art teacher once kindly said that my style was reminiscent of Picasso rather than telling eight-year-old me that my sense of perspective is whacked)…yeah it was always writing for me. I had an aptitude for it when I was young, had all my teachers comment on it. But when I declared to my parents I wanted to be a writer, I essentially got patted on the head and told, “That’s nice, honey. Now go get a real job.” So I did. I decided in my last year of graduate school that nothing but writing was ever going to make me happy, so I started treating writing like my job alongside my career as a research psychologist. My five-year plan to full-time writing has turned into more like sixteen, but the end goal is in sight!

HG: That’s awesome! Good for you. As you mentioned, your romance novels are set in small towns. Where do you get your inspiration for characters, setting, storyline, etc?

KN: Everywhere. Snatches of conversation. Scenes from books or movies where I think, “Oh, I’d have done it this way.” I’m Mississippi born and bred, so I’ve lived my whole life in the Deep South, surrounded by small towns. It’s familiar and comforting. So much of romance is dominated by stories that are very hero-centric. I love reading those as much as the next gal, but I am myself an incredibly independent, strong woman, and so are most of my closest friends, so my inspiration for sheroes comes from them.

HG: I love that. Tell us a little bit about your writing process. Has it changed since the pandemic? Where and when do you write?

KN: I have an office/library in my house. It used to be that it was mostly just for writing. Since the pandemic, I’ve been teleworking from home for the day job, so now it’s where I spend the lion’s share of my days. My husband and college freshman daughter have also been home this past year, so it’s been a challenge to write around more interruptions. It means I’m up at 5 to work before anyone else is awake (sometimes including me!). In the evenings, I spend a couple hours writing out a detailed scene sketch by hand of what’s coming next, which then essentially becomes my zero draft. During those dark and early writing blocks, I convert that zero draft into proper prose. All the togetherness has made me pull the trigger on ordering a she shed of my very own, and I have hopes it will be delivered in the next few weeks!

HG: A she-shed! Yes!!! That’s awesome. Do you have any interesting writing quirks?

KN: I’m a little OCD about weird things. Like…for me a scene can’t be less than 1,000 words. And since I write from both the hero and shero’s perspectives, I tend to flop POV every other scene. I have a HARD time breaking that, even when it makes the most sense for the narrative.

HG: Made For Loving You is available for pre-order and releases on March 19, 2021. What can you tell us about this story? What kind of readers would enjoy this book? 

KN: This was the book I thought would never get written. The last of my RESCUE MY HEART trilogy, it’s been nearly two years since Book 2, What I Like About You, released. I went through four potential sheroes and SEVEN outlines before I finally settled on the right story for Ty. Who better to pair with a guy who doesn’t believe he deserves love than the first love he left behind who is a romance novelist, with the biggest, gooshiest romantic heart and a totally adorkable dog? Second chance romance is my favorite trope, and I loved these two together, and they set the page on fire, so heat warning for the sensitive.

A wounded warrior

After the catastrophic loss of his best friend in battle, Army Ranger Tyson Brooks trades in his fatigues for a badge, moving to Eden’s Ridge, Tennessee to rebuild his life and find a way to live in a world without Garrett. But no amount of protecting and serving the citizens of Stone County is enough to override the guilt that he simply didn’t do enough.

An incurable romantic

Romance author Paisley Parish has spent her whole career chasing the perfect hero and finding all the real-life options lacking. Until she runs into her high school sweetheart—the one who left her for the Army. The old spark is definitely still alive, but the man carries far more scars than the boy.

A second chance to save each other

When Paisley becomes the target of malicious harassment, the police have no suspects, no leads, no way to make her feel safe. As her stalker escalates, she turns to the one guy she knows can protect her. Ty’s determined to put a stop to the harassment, even if it means moving in with the woman who’s so much more than the girl he used to love. He just has to remember to guard his own heart in the process.

HG: Ahh, all the feels. For someone new to your writing, which book do you recommend they start with and why?

KN: I have multiple series. If you’re into feel-good, funny, town-as-character, everybody-knows-your-name kind of stuff, then start with the Wishful Romance series (complete and bingeable), which begins with To Get Me To You.

If you’re into light romantic suspense, I have a spinoff series from Wishful, Wishing For A Hero (also complete and bingeable), which starts with Make You Feel My Love.

If you prefer a more family-centric sort of series, The Misfit Inn (complete and bingeable) is all about the family you make, about four adopted sisters who come back together on the death of their mother and find love along the way. That starts with When You Got A Good Thing, which is currently free.

I recently started another spinoff series about the guys who were the foster children who went through The Misfit Inn. Men of the Misfit Inn begins with Let It Be Me, which will satisfy those who love empty-nest, friends-to-lovers, neighbor-romance with the hot, younger firefighter next door.

In the same world as The Misfit Inn, I’ve got a band of brothers trilogy about three former Army Rangers who navigate civilian life and find love along the way. My upcoming release Made For Loving You is the final book in this series. It begins with Baby, It’s Cold Outside, which is also currently free.

If you prefer complete standalone, you can try my RITA® Award Winning novel, Second Chance Summer.

HG: Ahhh, my to-read list just got a whole lot longer! What are you working on next? What can you tell us about those projects?

KN: Next up is the second book in my Men of the Misfit Inn series, Our Kind of Love. For anybody who read Book 1, Let It Be Me, this is the book where you finally find out what happened with Kyle and Abbey. I’m taking great delight in putting on the Evil-Author-Is-Evil hat for this book.

One of Nashville’s fastest rising stars, Kyle Keenan has it all—fame, fans, and a chance at fortune. But the dream he’s busted his tail for means nothing without the woman who holds his heart. With her sassy smile and pull-no-punches attitude, Abbey Whittaker is his greatest love—and his greatest regret. When he’s confronted in a live TV interview about alleged involvement with a country music starlet, Kyle blurts out he’s already engaged…to Abbey.

Abbey has come a long way from the starry-eyed six-year-old who made a marriage pact with her best friend. With a thriving business, a loving family, and a tight-knit group of friends, she’s put away childish things. She long ago banished Kyle from her life, so the last thing she expects is him walking through her door or the blistering kiss that follows.

Kyle is desperate to convince Abbey that a fake engagement is the best way to get the media off her back—and his. And it just might give him a chance to fix what he destroyed. Even as these two frenemies remember all the reasons they wanted to be lovers, another blast from Kyle’s past returns, threatening to expose the secret he’s spent his entire career hiding.

When truths come to light, will love conquer all or will Kyle lose everything?

HG: Sounds fantastic. Switching gears, what do you like to do when not writing?

KN: I don’t understand the question…what is this “not writing” you speak of?  LOL Seriously though, since I work a full-time job, there’s not a lot of downtime that isn’t spent writing, but what there is I do a lot of cooking (we’re a food-allergy household), hanging with my family, walking my pups, and reading.

HG: Sounds like you have a good balance. Lastly, if you could ask your author idol one question about their writing, writing process, or books, what would it be?

KN: It’s sweet that you think I’ll be capable of speech if I ever actually get to meet Nora Roberts. I will be lucky to get out “Could you sign my book?” [which would totally be a copy of Montana Sky, which is the first ever romance I read and what set me on this path to begin with].

HG: LOL. Too funny. Alright Kait, for readers that want to find out more about your stories and future projects, where should they go to connect or learn more?

A full list of my books and audiobooks is available at my website. You can also find a list of Books by Trope, timelines for both Wishful and Eden’s Ridge, and a handy-dandy chart showing how all my books are connected (because I’m that kind of writer).

The best way to keep up with book news is to sign up for my newsletter.

You can find me on Facebook, Goodreads, Bookbub, Amazon, and occasionally Instagram (where I mostly post pictures of my dogs).

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