Make-Believe Mondays With Kelly McDonough

Today our guest on Make-Believe Mondays is Kelly McDonough.

Kelly, first, tell us a little bit about the manuscript you’re working on now.

Kelly: Well the working title is IT Girl. It’s about the owner and publisher of a wildly and worldly successful men’s magazine (not Playboy, think GQ). He happens to look at some photos his ace photographer shot for one of their clients in their amusement park. While looking at the photographs, he sees HER. He zeroes in on this incredibly beautiful woman in the background of the shot. It’s a totally candid shot and he’s amazed by her natural beauty and smile that would put Julia Roberts’ smile to shame. That’s when he decides he has to have her as his August IT Girl. It’s a feature the magazine runs every month. He hand selects each girl, but at the end of the year, the male readers get to pick the IT Girl of the Year. That girl gets to travel with him and his photographer from Paris to Hawaii. He takes out a full-page ad with the photo in America Today hoping for her to “turn herself in,” or a friend to do the same.

The heroine could care less though her interest is peaked. She’s too busy running Naughty & Nice Clothes for him and for clubbing – extremely successful among the famous models and actresses. And she’s engaged to an extremely wealthy developer that she doesn’t truly love. It’s her best friend who turns her in to what she considers an absolutely knock-out guy with a heart to match. Perfect for her best friend….I have to leave the rest to your imagination or I’ll give away the whole story! Let’s just say it’s a fun and sexy romp without being erotic. It’s an extremely sensual read that probes the characters deeply and has them living all sorts of lives that most people only dream of.

Debra: Love at first sight stories are among my favorites. I love this scene you've painted of him seeing her for the first time and just knowing she's the one.

Is there a point when your characters begin to come alive and you can see and hear them?

Kelly: Absolutely. The book I’m working right now is completely controlled by the characters – not me! I always say whatever I write, it’s just the angels beneath my fingertips. Most of the time, I don’t know where the characters are going to take me. But, in this book I’m working on now? I know exactly where I’m going. Just a little funny aside: While working on Love’s Magic Spell, that crazy, unconventional, wise-cracking fairy-godmother kept talking to me in my sleep and waking me up. Finally, I said to myself, I have to get this down on paper so she’ll leave me alone already! I’m very fortunate in that all of my stories came to me very easily. Writing each was fun not work.

Debra: And you know you're on the right path when work is fun. It's the most wonderful feeling.

As a child did any particular book or author pull you into their imaginary world?

Kelly: Oh, God, there were so many authors I loved in childhood including Dr. Seuss. But, I have to say it was Janet Daily that made me want to write romance. I was only eleven and even then knew what I wanted to do with part of my life. I say part because I knew there were too many other things out there to do. And I’ve done them all including raising a family.

Debra: I still love Dr. Seuss. LOL The utter playfulness in his work. Around the time my best friend and I were devouring the Nancy Drew books I dreamed of being a writer. But then I married straight out of high school and had babies right away. So I know exactly what you mean about there being so many other things to do.

Is there anything else you would like to add about the role of imagination, and dreams in creating fiction? Any other message for our readers?

Kelly: I’d just like my readers to know that I hope to take them away to a different world than their own so they can revel in the fantasies that actually could come true for some! Even if they only come true for them for a couple of hours… I’m a believer in happy endings. I’m also a realist and know the real world is tough which is why I’ve chosen to write happily-ever-afters.

You can check out my website at kellymcdonough.com Feel free to leave me a note on my Vistor’s Page or enter my contests…I’m always running one! Thank you all for reading this and to Debra who has been most gracious enough to include me in her Make-Believe Mondays.

Debra: Thank you, Kelly. It has been a pleasure.

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Debra's news/Debra is watching:

This week I'm making arrangements to attend the Heartland Writers Guild Writing Conference in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, June 7th, which also happens to fall on my birthday. So I'm doubly looking forward to that and to spending it with friends.

And I'm anxiously watching the Samhain Publishing website for my book cover to post because once it does, I'll be able to share it with you.

In the meantime it's back to work on the revisions of my second novel and getting those proposals ready.

One of the things I love about spring is all the colorful flowers. The plus side of all this rain we've been having is that everything will be lush and green and vivid with blooms. I have some beautiful pink roses on my kitchen table for Mothers Day and they are just starting to open. They smell so good.

Enjoy the beautiful spring day!