Each time I interview an author on the blog, I feel like I get a glimpse into the world beyond the page. In Kelly Siskind’s case, I discovered that she shares my obsession with cheese—so much so that she and her husband opened their own cheese shop. (And if I ever make it to northern Ontario, you can darn well bet I’m going to pay them a visit.) Kelly’s new novel, LICKS, just hit the shelves. It’s a second-chance romance—one of my favorite tropes—and the third book in her ONE WILD WISH series. Join us as we chat about Kelly’s deepest writerly fear, her greatest dream, and her ideal wine and cheese pairing. Welcome to the blog, Kelly!

Your brand-new second-chance romance, LICKS, just came out—congratulations! What’s it all about, and what inspired you to write it?

LICKS was inspired by a news article I read where a woman’s lost luggage was returned from an airline after having been missing for twenty years. The story itself was pretty wild, and it got my writer brain working. I loved the idea of someone’s history popping up unexpectedly. I imagined that my heroine didn’t know who her father was, and her mother had just died without giving her any clues…but then her mother’s luggage turns up from when she was conceived.

And the start of LICKS was imagined!

What follows is a wild scavenger hunt for Gwen’s father with August, the man she used to love, who she sorta-kinda screwed over nine years prior.

LICKS is set over the course of a 36-hour period. What were the challenges—and the fun parts—of writing a book structured this way?

It’s hard to write a romance where the couple has an obstacle to overcome, then they fall in love, then they fall apart, then find their way back together in a finite period of time. The only way I saw it working was to give the couple a strong history together. The deep bond that Gwen and August had shared is what makes the book work. It’s what makes the prologue, I hope, heartbreaking, and sets the tone for their angsty relationship.

You’ve written two series and one stand-alone book . . . LICKS is the third in your ONE WILD WISH series. What do all of the books in the OWW series have in common?

The One Wild Wish series revolves around three women who met the night they turned twenty-one. They all happen to have the same birthday and found themselves out partying and drinking at the same bar. They forged a friendship that strengthened and carried on from there.

The series begins on the eve of their twenty-seventh birthdays. They decide to make big wishes that year. Resolution-type changes in their lives. The three books in these interconnected standalones follow each girl as she fulfills her wish.

And what advice do you have for authors who want to write series?

My advice would be to keep each as a standalone. Allow the books to be read start to finish without the need to read the other novels. It’s fun for fans to meet up with the characters from the other books, but marketing each book fresh to new readers is important for marketing today.

This isn’t a bookish question, but . . . As a self-admitted cheese addict, I was awed (and a little jealous) to read that you and your husband opened a cheese shop in Northern Ontario. How did that happen—and do you still have the shop? Also, favorite wine and cheese pairing . . . go!

Yes, we still run our business! I used to be a chef and have always been involved in the food industry. When my obsession with cheese began, I started visiting cheese shops and reading books and making my own cheese notes. We eventually moved out of the city and couldn’t buy the cheeses we liked, so we opened our own store!

I adore a bold, creamy blue like Blue 61 from Italy. That gem is soaked in Port and topped with cranberries, and is divine paired with a bold Super Tuscan.

What’s your biggest fear as a writer . . . and have you faced it yet? Your greatest dream?

Fear: That I’ll forget how to write. Each time I start a new book, I worry I’ve forgotten how to make the words flow.

Dream: To make a living doing this writing thing. I don’t need to earn my letters or see my book in some fancy book store display. I would love to earn an income that reflects the hours I invest in these stories I adore so much.

LICKS

36 hours is a short spell when racing the clock.
2,160 minutes is an eternity for old friends to fall in love…

August Cruz is the only man I’ve ever loved. 
He’s the one who got away. 
He’s the one I totally screwed over. 

Now he’s standing on my doorstep, nine years later, but he’s not the only thing that turns up. My mother’s lost diary is in my hands, and it might lead me to my father. A possibility I wished for one year ago, at my last birthday. 

I have 36 hours to fulfill that wish. 
I have 36 hours to drag August on a wild scavenger hunt. 
I have 36 hours to protect my heart before I lose him again...because there's something he's not telling me.

Praise for LICKS:

"Kelly has blended a mystery into this compelling love story in a way that keeps the reader flipping pages. I couldn't put it down!" ~ USA Today Bestselling Author Ellis Leigh

"Be sure you're sitting down when you read Licks, because the chemistry between August & Gwen will knock you off your feet." ~ USA Today Bestselling Author Christi Barth

"If you love an emotional rollercoaster, with sexy highs and what-will-happen-next lows, then LICKS is for you. It's got the perfect mix of romance, friendship, self-discovery and mystery." ~ USA Today Bestselling Author Stefanie London

BIO

A small-town girl at heart, Kelly moved from the city to open a cheese shop with her husband in northern Ontario. When she’s not neck deep in cheese or out hiking, you can find her, notepad in hand, scribbling down one of the many plot bunnies bouncing around in her head. She laughs at her own jokes and has been known to eat her feelings—gummy bears heal all. She’s also an incurable romantic, devouring romance novels into the wee hours of the morning.

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