And The Plot Thickens!

By Robin 'Red Hot' Kaye

I spent all day yesterday sitting at Starbucks with my critique partners, Laura Becraft and Deborah Villegas plotting my next book. I’m so thankful for these two women—they’re my best friends, they're the closest of sisters who adopted me and made me one of them, they're my support group, my bullsh*t meters, and a veritable laugh factory. They are also talented writers and fabulous plotting and critique partners.  I’ve written my last five novels and one novella with their help, and I can’t imagine how I managed to write the first three books without them.

Deborah and Laura at one of our favorite New York haunts--the St. Andrews Restaurant and Bar. 

Yesterday they took my blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year, and made it one filled with joy and laughter. My blue Monday was especially blue because my college boy flew the coop that morning and winged his way back to Boise State for classes tomorrow. Somehow they still managed to make me laugh so hard I was thankful I always do my Kegel exercises—as were the Starbucks employees, I’m sure!

Yes, Laura, Deborah, and I are those weird women cackling at the window table in Starbucks. It is ‘our’ table, and thanks to my Deborah—the shy and reserved one—we were able to get the nice man who was using it to move. I offered to pay him off in coffee, but he kindly refused and said he’d seen us there so often, always at our table, he wouldn’t dream of messing with our mojo. And mojo is exactly what we have. When we work together we feed each other more than just coffee and iced tea lemonades. We call each other on taking the easy way out—and yes, we’ve all been known to try to get away with it, we force each other to dig deeper, to write fresher, work harder, and we help each other finish our books.

Yesterday we plotted an incredible story for my third Bad Boys of Red Hook book and now all I have to do is write the synopsis—a thing that puts the fear of God into most writers—and do it justice. I’m not worried—believe me, they’ll tell me if I don’t make the grade.

Preparing For Frankenstorm

By Robin 'Red Hot' Kaye

I’m no stranger to bad weather. Hell, I spent over ten years living in Florida and lived through countless tornados and hurricanes. I rode out a hurricane on Long Island—I think it might have been Gloria. We were in the Hamptons and then moved inland when we were evacuated. The house on the ocean was fine but the roof of the hotel we stayed in blew off.

In Maryland we’ve been through blizzards (several), ice storms, hurricane Irene, and spent many weeks becoming one with our generator (as well as becoming good friends with our neighbors without power). I’ve shopped before storms—I’ve seen Costco with empty shelves, witnessed fist-fights over batteries, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything that can compare with the insanity of the people readying themselves for Frankenstorm. I swear there’s not a gallon of milk, water, or a roll of toilet paper to be had in the tri-state area. My friend who works at a liquor store told me they did more business on Saturday than they usually did the Saturday before New Year’s. I guess if you have to be stuck in a house without power, it’s good to have booze.

If you’re wondering what I do to prepare for the storm of the century, I’d have to say, not much other than cook. What else are you going to do when you have two teenagers under the same roof and just enough power to run the microwave and the freezer except eat? Now, if we didn’t have the teenagers, I’m sure my husband and I would find plenty to do—which, come to think of it, is probably why we have teenagers. <grin>

So yesterday I made slow-cooked chicken with lentils for dinner and then I turned the leftovers into soup. I got up early this morning and, while my husband moved our wicker porch furniture into the shed and made sure the generator was in working order, I threw together a 20-quart pot of spaghetti sauce with sausage and meatballs before going to my critique meeting. See, I do plan ahead. I even thought to put the blog up early, just in case we’re without internet access tomorrow. So, if you don’t see me comment on the blog, know I’m hunkered down riding out the storm of the century and will come out of it just fine, though I’ll probably gain a few pounds.

So, what do you do to get ready for storms? 

My Own Private Idaho

By Robin 'Red Hot' Kaye

My husband and I came out to Idaho for Parents Weekend at Boise State to see our son, Tony

We went to see the Broncos trounce Fresno 20-10 in the stadium my husband built--okay, so he only built part of it, but it was still a lot of fun to be there.

I'm also using this as a research trip. After all, my Domestic Gods Gone Wild books are set in Boise and Stanley, Idaho. Here's a panoramic picture of Red Fish Lake--you might remember it from my book WILD THING and since I'm going to be writing A LITTLE ON THE WILD SIDE--Trapper's book next, I thought getting back to Stanley would give me some much-needed inspiration. 

We drove from Boise to Stanley over Galena Summit

The weather was a little iffy, some rain, but I didn't let it stop me. My husband and I were the only ones around--okay, except for one other couple... but I really didn't mind sharing with them.

The fall colors were incredible!

After we left Stanley, we headed toward Sun Valley--That's Baldy Mountain in the background.

We're staying the night at The Sun Valley Inn

After we checked into our hotel, we went to Ketchum, and walked around downtown. Whenever I'm in Ketchum, I never know what I'll find, but it usually makes me smile. Check out this dog protecting his truck--from top to bottom.

And the sign honoring Ernest Hemingway--it's it gorgeous?

We ate at The Pioneer~ one of my favorite restaurants.

Check out our dinner companions...

Right now, I have Sun Valley Serenade on the TV while I'm writing this blog. It's always fun to watch, and they have it running on a continuous loop 24-7.

Tomorrow, we're going to hang around Sun Valley for a while. Have breakfast at the Kneadery...

And then head back to Boise to say goodbye to our son before flying back home. It's been a great little vacation!

So, what's your favorite place to vacation? I guess you know mine is Idaho...

The Best Day Ever...

By Robin 'Red Hot' Kaye

If you’ve read my books—or my blogs for that matter, you probably know I’m a bit of a foodie. Okay, a total foodie. I love to cook almost as much as I love to eat, and food usually plays a special role in all my books.

I’m working on a book right now, the second in the Bad Boys of Red Hook series—YOUR THE ONE, and my heroine is a chef. I thought it would be easy because I’m a total food snob. So off I go, writing away, and I realized that although I’ve worked in restaurants, I never spent much time in the kitchens except to walk through them in expensive clothes and four-inch heels—not a fun thing. In other words, I had to do research—a lot of it.

I got on google, checked out executive chefs, sous chefs, line cooks—you know, the normal stuff, but I had no idea how many cooks a kitchen needs for a 70-seat restaurant. I didn’t know how often they order food, hell, I didn’t even know what kind of equipment you need in a kitchen for that size restaurant.

I was discussing my problem with a friend of mine, Jenny, and she lit up. It turns out she is friends with Chef Jeff Eng—the executive chef from Clyde’s Tower Oaks Lodge—a brilliant, beautiful, five-hundred seat restaurant that looks like a hunting lodge on steroids, and has the best food I’ve eaten in the state of Maryland. I’ve been here twelve years so that’s saying something!

 Chef Jeff Eng

Chef Jeff has been on Chopped, he won Hop Chef—basically, he’s amazing and a really good sport since he invited me to hang with him and his crew in the kitchen for a day. I jumped at the chance. 

I showed up a little after ten in the morning and met Chef Jeff—an Asian man in his early forties, dressed in chef’s whites and wearing a baseball cap covering his foot-tall orangey-yellow mohawk. I’d googled him and saw pictures—it seems the mohawk changes color on a weekly basis.

I liked Jeff immediately. I watched as the wait-staff arrive, all of whom either shook Jeff’s hand or gave him a hug. The kitchen and wait-staff seemed like one big happy family. Jeff introduced me to his sous chef, Enrique, his pastry chef, Maura Radmanes, and a plethora of others—all were friendly, and answered every question I had.

I was chatting with the Maura when Jeff grabbed me and invited me to the ‘Specials Class’ where he showed off the day’s specials. My mouth watered as he described how each one was prepared, whether or not they were gluten-free, and what the ingredients were. He added little bits of information—such as a history of Gin which I learned is made from juniper berries, and the Brits had gone to Holland to extend the family line by marrying one of the monarchs, and came back with much more than a bride, they’d taken the secret to making Gin. Who knew?

Fifteen minutes later we were back to the kitchen and things started getting busy.

I had expected controlled chaos. What I hadn’t expected was a well-oiled machine. I watched the entire lunch rush and only saw one mistake—a server had taken a bowl of seafood stew that wasn’t meant for him, and no fewer than five people noticed it.  I watched how they handled allergy orders—someone was allergic to onions and Chef Jeff followed the dish from the time it was empty to the time the order was up to make sure it never came into contact with an onion, and then personally handed it off to a special person for an allergy carry. Yeah, it wasn’t even served with the rest of the food. Chef oversaw everything while running back and forth to a huge pot of sauce he was making with veal stock and hoisin sauce—it was so rich, it was cooking down for hours and completely coated the ladle. 

When things started to slow down, Chef Jeff invited me to sit and chat. We went to the dining room, sat down, and I pulled out my notebook with a plethora of questions. When I looked up Jeff was smiling. “Are you hungry?”

“I could eat.” I was shocked I hadn’t spent the entire time drooling. Then I realized I’d spent hours in the kitchen and never smelled food. It was odd, their ventilation system was so good, I didn’t get a whiff of anything, which for me, was kind of disappointing. I really love to smell the food.

A server appeared and Jeff asked me what I liked. I’m not a picky eater—I answered with my usual, anything but liver and lima beans. He quirked a brow and ordered. Ten minutes later I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. He’d ordered The Local Butcher Board, which had Italian ham, Capicola, Duck Confit, homemade pickles, incredible breads, Teriyaki Red Pepper Jerky, mustard, and the best fig jam known to man served on a butcher board. I tried everything and it was all fabulous.

Then came the oysters on the half-shell—several different kinds flown in from all over. We slurped oysters for a while. I really love oysters and the different kinds were surprisingly very different tasting, I’d never noticed before because I’d always had one kind or the other, never several side-by-side.

I was still deciding if I should lick the fig jam off the butcher board (oh yeah, it was really that good) when our entrees were delivered. Jeff said I just had to try his crab cakes. I thought, sure, why not, but frankly, crab cakes have never blown my skirt up. I mean I like them, but they’re not something I dream about. And yes, I dream about food. Let me tell you, I’ll be dreaming about Jeff’s crab cakes. He wasn’t blowing smoke when he said he made the best. The crab cake I ate was, by far, the best I’ve ever tasted. I totally ignored the potatoes and green beans and never bothered to use the cocktail sauce—it was totally unnecessary.  No wonder Jeff told me I had to try it.

Then Maura—the pastry chef joined us. She came out of the kitchen carrying the most orgasmic dessert I ever imagined. It was a Valrhona Chocolate Marquise, which is dark chocolate mousse and chocolate cake with ganache, Nutella bombe and local blackberry compote. Jeff and I shared, though he only had a few bites. I was so stuffed from the rich food, I told him he had to eat more. When he declined, he said that was okay, I could just leave it. IMPOSSIBLE! I couldn’t leave it—it’s against my religion to let amazing dark chocolate go uneaten. I made the major sacrifice and took one for the team. I hope you appreciate what I do for my art.

By the time I left, I had a full stomach, a bunch of menu ideas for the book—Jeff gave me a full five-course meal and a tasting menu—and I knew all the particulars about staff and equipment. It was the best day ever!

Oh, and then when I got home, grumbling about having to work instead of napping, I opened my email and saw the cover for my novella—HOMETOWN GIRL coming out in ebook on December 3rd. It was perfect, just like the rest of my day!

Let me know what you think of the cover, and tell me, are you a foodie? Do you dream of food? And do you enjoy foodie novels?

A Weekend Away...

By Robin "Red Hot" Kaye

My youngest daughter, Mini-me and I took a mini vacation to Colonial Williamsburg this weekend—just the two of us. It isn’t often we get away together. It seems as if for the last five years I’ve been on deadline as I am now. So why, you may ask, am I romping around Colonial Williamsburg when my book is due in 16 days? My only answer is: Because, maternal guilt is a very powerful motivator.

As usual, this is all my husband’s fault. He took our other two kids out backpacking for five days over Fourth of July weekend leaving Mini-me and me at home with the dogs. Not that there is anything wrong with the dogs. They’re cute, cuddly, and you know, loyal. But it’s not as if Mini-me and I got to do anything fun.

Now, between you, me, and the doorknob, Mini-me and I don’t think backpacking is much fun—after all it involves bugs, a hell of a lot of walking, poison ivy, going to the bathroom in the woods, and eating freeze-dried food, but that’s not the point. The point is that they got to do something they thought was fun and we didn’t.

When my husband and the kids came home, I told them that Mini-me and I were going away just the two of us to do something fun which would not involve woods (we’re allergic), too much walking, bad food (we’re food snobs), bugs (that darn allergy thing again) and questionable toilet facilities (just because we know how to shit in the woods, doesn’t mean we want to). I had no idea what we were going to do, but I had a strong feeling it would involve someplace with 24-hour room service.

Luckily I found a great deal through Travel Zoo, signed up, and even paid for it. Two nights in Colonial Williamsburg was ours any Sunday through Thursday, the only catch was that it had to be used by September 27th. No problem. After all we had the whole summer. September was months away.

Isn’t it amazing how time flies while you’re not having fun? Well, we had some fun. After all, if you’ve followed the blog you’ve read allabout my trip to Idaho.

Right after I killed myself to make my deadline for Back To You: Bad Boys of Red Hook, my editor asked if I could write a novella, Hometown Girl, to introduce the new series. I said, sure, no problem. I whipped that puppy out, had a fabulous time writing it, sent it in (a few days early in fact—a first for me) and went back to my contracts to see when my next book was due...Imagine my surprise when I realized it You're The One: Bad Boys of Red Hook was due October 1!

Now mind you, this was mid-August and I hadn’t even written the synopsis for You're The One. Any sane person would have gone into apoplectic shock. It’s a good thing I’m not sane. I just thought I’d hunker down and write like the wind. No problem.

Then my husband went missing. (See above—it’s all my husband’s fault) Okay, so he wasn’t missing in a literal sense. If you read my last blog here at Killer Fiction you’d know that for the last few months he’s been working 16 – 20 hour days, seven days a week. Now that I think about it, the last weekend he had off was when he and the kids went hiking.

So instead of hunkering down and writing like the wind, I spent the majority of time not only in deadline hell, but in deadline hell without my domestic god to do laundry, cleaning, and at least the partial feeding of kids and dogs. Yeah, I was on my own, rediscovering how much I dislike housework, laundry, and taking care of teenagers on my own. Every time something came up, my work got put down and when school started and things got really crazy. It was then it occurred to me that I still had a promise to keep. I had to take Mini-me to Williamsburg and I had to do it on a holiday—Mini-me couldn’t afford to miss more than one day of school.

Thank God for Rosh Hashannah! So here I am, running all over Williamsburg with Mini-me and having a great time.

See... I got to put Mini-me in the stocks to show her what happened in the olden days when teenagers didn’t listen to their mothers.

We enjoyed looking at the dresses women wore, but Mini-me decided that if she had lived back in the colonial days, it would have been “way better to be a dude.”

We ate at the King’s Arms Tavern—twice. Yeah, it was really that good...

We shopped...

And did our share of flirting with the men in uniform.

There is really something to be said for men in tight breeches. 

I can't wait until we see what trouble we can get into tomorrow morning before we leave. I have a feeling it's going to involve a candy store and the world's longest Gummy Worm...

So? What have you done in the name of maternal guilt, or if that’s not a problem for you, what was the last time you went out and did something fun, even if it wasn’t at all convenient?

Call Me Wild Is Taking Reviewers By Storm

By Robin 'Red Hot' Kaye

Call Me Wild

She doesn't know a single thing about relationships...

Unemployed sportswriter Jessie James plans to make a killing writing a bestselling romance novel. She's never read one, but really, how hard can it be? Moving cross-country to a borrowed house in Idaho, Jessie starts her research with the first gorgeous guy she runs into...

Luckily, he knows everything...

Sports doctor Fisher Kincaid notices Jessie right away--the transplanted Easterner sticks out like a sore thumb in the small town. When he discovers she's researching attraction and romance, he graciously offers himself as a test subject. That's when everything starts to go wrong, and they both find out how much they need a few good lessons in love...

Robin Kaye created a world with this series that I didn't want to leave and that I love returning to with each new book. Call Me Wild was a great addition and makes me want to reread the while also looking forward to the next book. This is definitely in my keeper pile and is a definite reread!! BEST OF THE BEST rating!!! 

Belle's Book Bag

I’m going to start this review by being blunt, if you are a Robin Kaye fan and you are up to date with her books, read this review and then RUN to your favorite online bookseller and download this one immediately. If you are not up to date, get up to date…then repeat the steps above. If you have not read Robin Kaye, what are you waiting for? Go immediately to your online bookseller and download everything she’s written. Start with Romeo, Romeo and progress from there but I’ll warn you she’s addicting and her latest, Call Me Wild is one smart, funny, sexy and fantastic book! (Note from DiDi – you could read Call Me Wild as a stand alone and then you will want to buy the entire series)

I love it when a writer whom I’ve read frequently can continue to surprise me with fresh plot lines

and characters that so real you want to meet them and have dinner. Robin manages that over and over again and it’s why I never tire of reading her work. 

~Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews by Slick Reads

Robin Kaye has been a favorite author of mine for quite a while now and reading her latest Call Me Wild reminds me of why I enjoy her books so much. I’ve never been much for romance novels but Robin’s characters are so awesome and her stories are so fun that I find myself losing track of all time reading them and that pretty much explains why I keep going back for more and will continue to as long as she keeps writing.

~ Darlene at Peeking Between The Pages

So call me cupid but I love seeing these two, from opposite ends of the stick making a go for each other.  Wouldn’t you? As the pages turn, you can see how the plot sizzles and  the explosive chemistry between the characters will make you roll over laughing. Though this is my first time reading a book by author Robin Kaye, Ms. Kaye was able hook me in right at the first chapter. Call Me Wild is riveting and wickedly funny, the comedic quirks the author included kept me laughing from the beginning to end. Especially at the way Fisher was being rejected by Jessie. Overall, this is definitely the best romantic comedy I have read all year. 

~ Bitten By Love Reviews

Robin Kaye’s Call Me Wild is a sweet, sexy and all around fun read…. Robin Kaye’s engaging writing style and unique storyline keep Call Me Wild moving at a fast pace. It is a captivating read with appealing protagonists and entertaining, witty dialogue. The supporting cast of characters is delightful and equally well drawn. 

~Book Reviews & More by Kathy

CALL ME WILD is a suitable title because this novel is wildly entertaining! The next installment in Robin Kaye's Wild Thing series is a winner!

People who have already heard of Robin Kaye probably know what kind of excitement to expect from her stories. I'll admit this was my first novel by Ms Kaye and I can easily understand all the commotion. CALL ME WILD takes you a on a great romantic journey...one that has high points and low points for the characters, to make reading it that much more enjoyable. There were a combination of things that I loved about this novel, but the intimacy between the characters definitely stands out. It just proves you can't go wrong when reading books written by Robin Kaye. Also, don't be scared to start this novel in the middle of a series. You won't be left behind, but you will want to get to know the other characters a little better by the end. So like me, I'm sure you'll be eyeing her backlist for your ‘to be read' pile! 

Robin Kaye has a great series in her hands because she's fused together a family of characters that are simply unique and humorous. They complement each other in the best way and keep you looking forward to the next story. It's one thing to read it for the sexy romance, but it's another to stay because you have fallen in love with the characters. The story is light, the romance is breathtaking and the mood is humorous...making it an enjoyable read from the first page to the last. 

~ Lisa Jo The Romance Reviews

If you didn't know, I'm a big fan of Robin Kaye's books & this series. And once more she has written another great book that I fell in love with. With every new book in the series, I'm thinking "This is my most favourite!", and once again that happened.

I love the Kincaid family - they're all great characters, really fun & charming, and yeah - hilarious, you gotta love them all. And this book was just so funny, I laughed out loud again & again, yeah I'm laughing right now thinking about some of the scenes - hilarious.

…the biggest reason I love Robin Kaye's books are the relationships between family & friends. The way she makes you connect to the characters & love them & care for them - that's the best part, that's why Robin Kaye is one of my 2 most favourite adult contemporary romance authors…. 

~Aleksandra's Corner

I'm giving away two copies of Call Me Wild. To enter the drawing, just comment and be sure to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win. You might want to write it out like RobinKayeWrites (at) google (dot) com so that spammers don't inundate your email with offers for Viagra and the like.