Meet
the Character Day: Chatting with Curtis Taylor from Trust with Hearts
By Kelli A.
Wilkins
This “Meet the
Character Day” blog is part of a series examining my romance novels. In each
“Behind the Scenes” blog, I talk about why I wrote the book, share my thoughts
on the plot and/or characters, and reveal what I loved most (or least) about
writing the book. The “Meet the Character Day” blogs are fun chats with the
heroes and heroines from my romances. Warning: blogs may contain spoilers.
Hello
romance lovers! Today we’re chatting with Curtis
Taylor, the hero from Trust with Hearts by Kelli A.
Wilkins. Let’s see what’s on his mind…
Greetings, Curtis. Trust with Hearts is a
contemporary summer romance. Can you tell us a bit more about the book?
Sure,
I’d be glad to. The basic premise is: Sherrie moves in with her cousin Dave,
and I’m already staying there. So we’re sorta thrown together and forced to get
along. Or not. Sherrie is a city girl and hates country music, and I’m a
country boy who just happens to make his living in country music, so you can
imagine there’s lots of opportunity for conflict. But once we get past all
that, Sherrie and I start a tenuous, yet passionate, summer romance. Readers
will be intrigued and hooked right away.
In a good romance,
the relationship between the hero and the heroine usually gets off to a rocky
start. Tell us about your first meet with Sherrie. What attracted you to her?
Well…
nothing. (Laughs) I met Sherrie early one morning—before she even knew I was
staying with Dave. And she was a bit grouchy. She said a “banjo boy” kept her
up all night playing music… Well, I didn’t take the insult too kindly, and I told
her so. And off we went, right on page 1, we started fussin’ and feudin’. I
liked teasing her, and I thought she was pretty (and had great legs) but she
needed to tone down her attitude.
Sherrie came from
the city and you’re a country boy at heart. How do you make that work in a
relationship?
For
the first few chapters, we fought like cats and dogs. Sherrie would insult country
music (or me), and I’d tell her she didn’t know what she was talking about.
After a few weeks of being forced together, (Dave conveniently left us alone a
lot. It was his way of playing matchmaker.) I saw her vulnerable side and
opened up to her. In time, we realized we both had been hurt in previous
relationships and had serious trust issues. Once we dropped our defenses, we
got along just fine.
Most
romance readers know Kelli likes to torment her main characters. She tends to
put them through the emotional wringer. When Kelli wrote the book, she gave you
and Sherrie a lot of baggage, trust issues, and conflict. Tell us how she made
your life miserable.
For most of the book I’m hiding a big secret from
Sherrie, and when she finds out the truth it nearly ends our relationship.
Kelli said the “bombshell” scene where Sherrie learns my secret was one of her
favorites to write—but it put us through hell.
Sherrie already had a hard time trusting people, so learning
I’d lied to her about something major shattered her trust in me and destroyed our
relationship. At the same time, I’d just gotten horrible news, and I was in no
mood to be questioned or to deal with a royally pissed-off girlfriend. I didn’t
behave in the best way, and shut Sherrie out. (Thanks Kelli.) It took Sherrie a
long while to come around, and for a time, I was certain we were finished. But
in the end, we have a happy-ever-after.
But I’ll give Kelli credit, she wrote several
amazing love scenes. And I certainly can’t complain about those. Sherrie and I
weren’t incompatible in the bedroom, by any means! (Laughs)
Describe yourself in four words.
Stubborn, complex, sexy, talented.
Do readers need to
be country music fans to enjoy Trust with
Hearts?
Not
at all. The book uses country music as a backdrop and setting for the main
romance. If anything, country music fans might find Sherrie’s loathing and lack
of understanding about the genre amusing. Readers who don’t like country music
will probably agree when Sherrie calls country music “sad songs in denim.”
There’s a rumor
that once upon a time the book had an entirely different ending. Is it true?
Yes.
When Kelli originally wrote the book, Sherrie and I were in a horrible car
accident and I nearly died. Sherrie risked her life to pull me out of a burning
car. Kelli deleted those scenes from the current edition of the book, and wrote
a new epilogue to tie up everything.
Will there be a sequel
to Trust with Hearts?
After
Trust
with Hearts came out, Kelli was going to write a sequel, but other
books got in the way and it never happened. Her idea was to have Dave fall in
love with my girl cousin. (She seeks refuge with Dave the same way Sherrie
did.) Kelli has shelved the project, but she did say if enough readers want a sequel, she might be persuaded
to write a novella-length version of the idea. (Readers: Let her know your
thoughts about this on social media.)
Anything else you want to add?
Thanks
for letting me share my thoughts with readers and talk about this great book. Trust
with Hearts is a summer romance with interesting characters, an unusual
storyline, and plenty of sizzling love scenes. It will make you laugh, cry, and
root for love. I hope you’ll add it to your summer reading list.
Kelli has
written romances in all genres—historical, paranormal, contemporary, gay, and
straight—but they all have two things in common—they’re all unique stories, and
they’re anything but boring! I invite readers to catch up on all of Kelli’s
romances and visit her on social media. If you missed any blog in this series,
you can catch up here: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/blog
TRUST WITH HEARTS
After a bitter breakup, Sherrie Parker
seeks refuge at her cousin Dave’s house in rural West Virginia. Early one
morning, she runs into Dave’s other houseguest, a singer named Curtis Taylor.
The last thing Sherrie wants is to share living quarters with a country music
crooner – even if he is sexy, in a cowboy sort of way.
Thrown together by circumstances, Sherrie
and Curtis get off to a rocky start, but soon discover they have more in common
than they ever imagined. Unable to fight their growing attraction, they give in
to their desires and start a sizzling summer romance.
Everything is perfect between them until
Sherrie discovers that Curtis is keeping secrets from her – and his biggest
secret of all will change everything. Can their newfound love survive, or will
destiny keep them apart forever?
Order your copy
here:
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074422FHY
All
other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/mgrK7R
Read reviews here:
https://www.kelliwilkins.com/trust-with-hearts
Kelli created a
Facebook page for her contemporary romances. Visit it here:
https://www.facebook.com/Contemporary-Romances-by-Kelli-A-Wilkins-1965702023664339/
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kelli A. Wilkins is an award-winning
author who has published more than 100 short stories, 20 romance novels, 7
non-fiction books, and 3 horror ebooks. Her romances span many genres and
settings, and she likes to scare readers with her horror stories.
She released Journaling Every Week: 52 Topics to
Get You Writing in
early 2021. This fun and innovative guide to journaling is filled with
hundreds of thought-provoking prompts designed to get you writing about your
feelings and emotions.
In
2020 Kelli published Love, Lies & Redemption, a western romance set in 1877
Nebraska. This novel blends a sensual love story with mystery and danger.
Kelli posts on her Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins and Twitter: www.Twitter.com/KWilkinsauthor.
Visit her website/blog www.KelliWilkins.com for a full title list and to find all her social media
links.
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