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A freckle-faced redhead born and raised in Hawaii, Kele Moon has always been a bit of a sore thumb and has come to enjoy the novelty of it. She thrives on pushing the envelope and finding ways to make the impossible work in her story telling. With a mad passion for romance, she adores the art of falling in love. The only rules she believes in is that, in love, there are no rules and true love knows no bounds.
So obsessed is she with the beauty of romance and the novelty of creating it, she’s lost in her own wonder world most of the time. Thankfully she married her own dark, handsome, brooding hero who has infinite patience for her airy ways and attempts to keep her grounded. When she leaves her keys in the refrigerator or her cell phone in the oven, he’s usually there to save her from herself. The two of them now reside in Florida with their three beautiful children, who make their lives both fun and challenging in equal parts—they wouldn’t have it any other way.
Links: Goodreads Kele Moon Twitter Facebook
Interview:
1. Your Battered Hearts series is really good, I absolutely love the modern day Romeo and Juliet story in Star Crossed. Was it fun writing this one with all it's similarities?
It was a lot of fun! I have this thing for tying old and new stories/concepts together. . . I did it in a way with Beyond Eden too and the comparisons to the Garden of Eden. I have a few other stories on my hard drive where I’ve done the same thing. Not sure why I love it, but I do!
And with Star Crossed. . . I was shocked at how the pieces began fitting together, both large and small, when I started working on it. For example I had picked the named Moretti for Romeo’s brothers because I was looking for a certain feel and sound to it knowing both Tino and Nova would have their own books. And Jules’s last name of Conner was also just on a whim as I hadn’t decided the Romeo and Juliet theme until the end of writing Defying the Odds.
It wasn’t until later I realized the connection between Jules being Jules Conner (Juliet Capulet) and Romeo’s side of the family being Moretti (Montague). The connection of them having last names that started with the same first letter didn’t occur to me until almost the end of the book and I was so thrilled when I put it together and it was so cool that it happened by accident. . . Of course, no one noticed, LOL! But it entertained me nonetheless.
2. When will we be getting the delicious third book in the series? I have a feeling this one will be angsty, I am so excited.
I’m hoping by summer some time. . . I’ll admit to this novel being a challenge for a number of different reasons mainly because so much of the story takes place when they are younger. A lot of what makes Wyatt and Tabitha who they are not just as people, but as a couple is because of their youth and trying to get the pacing right on this one as an erotic romance is harder than most. I’ve never believed in sacrificing the true story for the sake of sex. I believe erotic romance is an amazing genre because it allows us to tell the whole story. To show what happens when the door closes, but it’s still a section of the romance market where beautiful love stories can unfold. It’s not supposed to be sex for sex’s sake. . . So their story is important to me. I want it to be told right and I don’t want to sacrifice the important scenes so the reader doesn’t have to wait as long for the sex. . . but, I understand it is a genre with certain expectations and so finding that fine line is taking me a little more time.
And yes. . . It’s angsty. Their story is very sad to me. They have a very rare connection, a very pure connection in a lot of ways, yet life ripped them apart and neither of them were able to move on from the loss.
3. Beyond Eden was one of the most beautiful and heartwrenching stories I read in 2012. It seemed everyone was talking about it. What did you think about your readers responses?
Beyond Eden was my first book. I hadn’t originally intended for it to be as controversial as it ended up being. The characters just sort of took over and wrote themselves. I remember when I wrote the scene with Danny and Paul on the driveway and I realized what a truly dark relationship the two of them had. I had this moment where I thought. . . Do I go there? Do I toss the idea of mainstream aside and just write this story the way it’s supposed to be?
So needless to say. . . I went there. . . I let the characters tell the story they needed to tell and I’m glad I did. Love isn’t always pretty and sweet. It doesn’t always fit into the box society wants it to fit into and writing that was important to me. I’m very proud of Beyond Eden. Even if the dark nature of the book does draw a certain amount of negative feedback, the positive support far outweighed it and I’m so thrilled and honored by that. Writing books that touch people is the very best part of this job!
4. Danny Boy is a favorite book boyfriend of mine, I love Paul Guy too, but something about Danny Boy rang more true to me, he seemed more real. In your head who do you visualize as Danny Boy?
A lot of Danny was based on my husband. LOL! So he was easy to write personality wise.
As far as visual, I never had a certain actor in my head, but I do see him a lot, particularly in those very intense ads for designer clothing lines like Versace and Calvin Klein. He’s very classically beautiful. Tall, cut, with a strong jaw and a dark, intense gaze. He could’ve easily been a model. . . I actually find Paul much harder to place. I’m always looking for him. LOL!
5. Evie Girl’s art was written so well it seemed so vivid to me, like you were describing it from a real painting. I wanted all of them. Have you had any fans send you drawings of their interpretations of her art? Or have you had a go yourself?
I haven’t had anyone send me drawings. . . I would probably freak out if they did because I would love to see a real life version of them. If I could draw them myself I probably wouldn’t leave the house.
6. Where is the strangest place you have lost or misplaced something?
I left a matching shoe at home once. I walked out of the house with two different shoes. One of mine and one of my husband’s and they were vastly different shoes. I was going to the library for a book sale and I was so excited I never noticed until my husband looked down and was like, “Oh wow! You need to walk quietly out of the library and don’t make eye contact with anyone. I’ll pay for your books.” I laughed the whole way to the car. That was pretty bad even for me!
7. What music do you listen to when you write?
I make playlists that match the book I’m writing. For example the Eden books have very dark music like Nine Inch Nails’ Closer to God.
The Battered Hearts books have all sorts of different music because I’d listen to different things depending on the characters. Scenes with Tino would be bouncy club music. Scenes with Romeo would be songs like Gym Class Heroes’ Fighter. Where as Jules would have girl power songs like Bitch by Meredith Brooks. One of Clay’s main songs is Pumped Up Kicks and Wyatt always tends to go more country even though it’s not my favorite genre. Though I will say Golden Slumbers by the Beatles is one of my Wyatt and Tabitha theme songs. So is P!nk’s Just Give Me A Reason.
LOL! Making play lists is a very intense and serious thing to me. So much so, when a certain song plays I’ll associate to a certain character so much it makes me want to run and write them. Which does help when I have to pick up a manuscript after a long time. It kicks me right into that mindset.
8. What book are you most looking forward to reading this year?
Hands down. . . The next Heroes of Olympus book, The House of Hades. I’ve been dying for it since I turned the last page on The Mark of Athena.
Books:
Battered Hearts Series
When struggling waitress Melody Dylan gives a handsome, lonely stranger a simple gift she has no clue her life is about to take a drastic turn.
The stranger ends up being Clay Powers, a famous UFC heavyweight fighter. Clay’s large build and dangerous fists have always intimidated. People in his hometown keep their distance and Clay is fine with that. Everything changes when a new waitress at the local diner buys him a piece of pie on thanksgiving. Touched by the gesture when it’s obvious she can barely afford to survive, her warm smile and lush body churn up powerful feelings that leave Clay wanting more from her than pie.
Melody is running from her past and the small, country town of Garnet is the perfect hiding place. With an ex-husband after her and scars from her abusive marriage etched deep, the last thing she expects is to fall for a man who makes a living with his fists, but she can’t resist Clay or the tender connection they share.
Finding love in the most unlikely of places, the passion is undeniable, but Clay and Melody know their haunted pasts and unpredictable futures leave the odds stacked against them.
Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual situations, graphic language, and material that some readers may find objectionable: violence.
Heavyweight MMA fighter, Romeo Wellings comes from the hard streets of New York where his family ties to the mafia cause him nothing but pain. His life takes a surprising detour when he crosses paths with the twin sister of his long time enemy. After a steamy one-night stand, he faces the fight of his life, but it’s not in the cage. The secret relationship that blooms between Romeo and his real life Juliet has him battling his family and a dark past rather than let her go.
The only lawyer in her hometown of Garnet, Jules Conner is also a volunteer Sheriff’s deputy and co-owner of a successful MMA training center. Strong and dependable, Jules is always there for those who need her. Until one forbidden night in Las Vegas with Romeo leaves her feeling so alive she can’t stop reaching out to the sexy, bad boy of MMA, even knowing the forbidden love affair could jeopardize everything.
As the tide rises against them and the people they love work at keeping them apart, Romeo and Jules hold onto a dream for a better life together and vow to go down fighting rather than accept a tragic ending.
Eden Series:
Three lifelong friends find themselves tangled in a web of love, pain and dangerous secrets in this erotic Garden of Eden tale.
Tall, dark and handsome Danny Carlow has always gotten whatever he wants except for the two he wants more than anything-his best friends, lovers Paul and Eve. Determined, he waits like a snake in the grass, poised for the right moment to offer them a temptation too delicious to resist.
Artist Eve Everton makes the painful decision to leave her true love Paul for the siren call of New York City. Ten years later, with her life in shambles, she returns. When Paul's waiting arms aren't available, Eve falls for Danny's charm and finds herself a willing accomplice in the dangerous games Danny plays.
Former college football star Paul Mattling is now a successful attorney with a bright future ahead of him. But behind those brilliant blue eyes are secret desires for a taste of the forbidden. Will he play it safe or give in to Danny and Eve and bite the apple?
Reader Advisory: Not for the faint of heart, the pain in this story is vivid and real, the emotions even more so. Haunting and poignant, Beyond Eden presents a darker side of BDSM. You might gasp. You might cry. You might find yourself reading it again and again
Book two in the Eden series. Handsome, angry and spoiled, Danny Carlow struggles to find his place in the world when his hatred for authority makes survival difficult. The only thing keeping him from completely giving up and turning to a life of crime is his friendship with clean-cut Paul Mattling. More than his conscience and best friend, Paul's also the one Danny secretly pines for with every ounce of his being. Paul is a natural over-achiever with a football scholarship and straight A's to boast about. Yet he's haunted by an abusive childhood that's left him more scarred than anyone realizes. Looking for an escape from his demons, Paul has his own deviant secrets, ones he doesn't want anyone, especially Danny, to know about. When dark desires are accidentally revealed, Danny and Paul end up coming together in a clash of wild passion more tumultuous than either of them could have anticipated. Tasting the forbidden is sweet, but it turns the tables on their relationship, putting everything, even their lifelong friendship, in jeopardy. Reader Advisory: This story visits the dark side of BDSM, where the only thing more intense than the scenes the characters participate in, is the love they have for one another. Please note there is a very brief F/F encounter.
Stand Alone:
Dark and brooding firefighter Brad Archer has spent months denying his attraction to his roommate, Police Officer Gavin Connolly. Gavin is just the kind of guy he likes, tall, tough and buff enough to actually handle Brad’s big size and rough nature.
To hide his real feelings Brad holds the handsome, seemingly straight cop at arms length until a shooting at work leaves Gavin a little too vulnerable to ignore. What starts out as a simple attempt to comfort his roommate blows up into something wild, sexual and wholly unexpected when Gavin wants more from Brad than a strong, firefighter’s shoulder to lean.
The sexual magnetism drawing the two of them together forces secrets to be revealed and though the sex is mind-blowing it may not be worth weathering the storms their relationship could stir up. In order to protect him Brad realizes he loves Gavin enough to let him go. The problem is—The stubborn cop may not let him.
On the island where they first met two lovers from opposite sides of the tracks are reunited. Now jaded and broken, Alex and Matt still can’t deny their sizzling connection or the memories of one perfect, uninhibited year together.
At twenty-two, Matt Tarrington is rich, good-looking and destined to be powerful, but behind that confident exterior lurks a man who resents the life his family thrust upon him. Desperate for an escape, Matt heads to Mirabella Island off the coast of Florida for a year of relaxation and some wild nights with vacationing party-girls.
Matt never expected to find real passion in the arms of Alex Hunter, a handsome, laid-back local.
Alex is gay, but closeted. Matt should be completely off limits, but Alex finds the deeply in denial rich boy too tempting to ignore. Especially when a bet has them working together, fighting the heat in the rundown, beachside cafe where Alex sweats for every dollar.
Their love felt inevitable until youth left them vulnerable to hatred and greed. Now after six years of hating the lies they live, Alex and Matt will have to risk it all for the second chance they both desperately need.
Dr. Clara Evans' life has taken a turn for the worse. With a failed marriage behind her, Clara has only a bottle of wine and a romance novel for company on New Year's Eve while waiting for the dreadful year to end.Her lonely celebration is disrupted when her best friend Jackson Philips shows up and she couldn't be more delighted. Tall, muscular and handsome, what's not to love about the bighearted firefighter?It's not until she steals a desperately needed kiss for luck at midnight that secret desires and hidden heartaches rise to the surface, igniting an inferno of passion that burns hot enough to overwhelm even the most seasoned firefighter.
Despite wanting her forever, Dray has vowed to protect Mercy, even from himself. Then his mating heat is triggered, leaving only two choices—fuck or die. And luscious Mercy is suitably equipped—and determined—to save him.
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