Guest Blog: Kathy Lane: Love Means Never Missing When You Shoot to Kill

Hitting what you aim for isn’t always easy. Despite what certain college professors want you to believe, writing a best-seller is not a science. Yes, there is a measure of technical know-how involved. Yes, the ability to use paragraphs, semi-colons, and dialogue tags make for an easier read. But writing a good book, one aimed at your target audience, takes a combination of heart, mind, and imagination, coupled with long hours of hard work. Even then, hitting your target the first time isn’t always possible. That’s what re-writes are for.

What’s that? Did I hear someone groan?

Oh, wait, that was me. *sigh*

Yes, I absolutely hate to re-write a story I’ve invested myself in. Who doesn’t? But one thing I’ve learned is that listening to your beta readers is vitally important. If their feedback indicates your story has somehow missed its mark, you have to be able to step back and view it dispassionately in order to find a way around the problem. Sometimes this might mean chunking a portion of your carefully crafted words. Painful, but I’ve learned missing with that first shot is not the end of the world.

My new romantic suspense, Sniper Shots, didn’t start out as the contemporary special ops tale it is today. Oh, no. My three previously published books are paranormals, as are most of my works-in-progress. Even the story line was a little different. But after two beta readers came back with, “This is good, but it doesn’t read quite like a paranormal.” and “Sounds like Amy is a spy. Can you make her a spy?”, I knew I had problems.

After some major moaning, groaning, and soul-searching, I tweaked the story (cut almost half of it out and re-wrote) and re-submitted to my readers. Bulls-eye!!!! Now Sniper Shots is coming out tomorrow, available from my favorite publisher, The Wild Rose Press. With great pleasure, I cordially invite you to visit my world of snipers, traitors, and hot romance tucked into a valley of the North Carolina Mountains. And if paranormal is more of what’s in your crosshairs, be sure to check out my award-winning Bloodsworn series. Book I: Bound by Magic, Book II: Linked by Blood, and the novella, Reborn in Amber.

BLURB:
Amy Sheridan left her special ops unit after a blown mission, swearing she'd never kill again. But when SO unit leader, Joshua Colby, shows up to protect her from an assassin, she's quickly put into a position of either keeping her vow, or keeping Joshua, a man she's learned to care for, alive.

Joshua knows from experience that he'll have no chance at love as long as he remains in the dangerous world of special ops. But once he discovers Amy's hidden secret, he's more than ready to risk his heart again. Now all he has to do is convince the woman who has him in her crosshairs to pull the trigger and give love a second chance. After all, once a sniper, always a sniper. Right?

BIO:
I first started writing for fun when I was still in school, entertaining my friends with wild tales and fantasies. It was only six years ago that I picked up my pen…uh, computer…and began to write seriously. Now, by day I’m a mild-mannered accountant, crunching numbers and analyzing cost trends. At night, I’m a wild-child with a laptop, creating worlds populated by sexy macho men, beautiful strong-willed women, and a cast of characters bent on either helping them, or destroying them utterly.