A Day in the Life of… Kristan Higgins (& Giveaway)

 

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A Day in the Life of.....

This is where us bloggers & fans get a glimpse inside the days of our favourite authors!

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I live in a small Connecticut town with a beautiful library, a great agricultural fair, nice people and not much else. I have two lovely, entertaining children and a brave firefighter for a husband, who is, perhaps more importantly, a fantastic cook. Digger from Fools Rush In is inspired my very own Digger, our cheerful Lab mutt. We also have two cats and grieve for an occasional, short-lived beta fish.

I worked as a copywriter until I had kids and started writing fiction when my children graced my life with simultaneous afternoon naps. Writing, I surmised, was infinitely more satisfying than folding laundry, and so I started my first novel. Before long, I had finished Stalking Joe, whose title was later changed to Fools Rush In. Catch of the Day followed, winning the 2008 Romance Writers of America's RITA© award, which just thrilled me to my toes. Then came Just One of the Guys (August 08), Too Good To Be True (Feb 09), The Next Best Thing (Feb 10), and All I Ever Wanted, summer 2010. More books are in the pipeline.

I love to write books about relationships, since the search for love and security is one of the driving forces of life. And I try to focus on an aspect that’s common, if not universal, hence the “stalking” in Fools Rush In and the crush on the unattainable man in Catch of the Day. People ask if I’ve ever stalked a guy. Of course not! Jeez! Come on! It’s fiction! They also ask if I’ve ever had a crush on a priest. Of course not! Jeez! Come on! It’s fiction! As far as being crazy about one of my brother's friends, which is the plot of Just One of the Guys, well, yes to that one. But I'm not naming names. Dating a fictional man, like Grace does in Too Good To Be True? Um...can I take the fifth on that one? Whether it's my own experience or not, I try to find something we can all relate to.

When I’m not writing, I like to be with my kids, goof around with my husband, read, watch baseball, ride my bike and bake. I suffer from chronic bedhead and an unhealthy (and completely understandable) obsession with Derek Jeter, shortstop for the New York Yankees. Like Millie Barnes, I run, which provides the neighbors with some real entertainment.

We spend as much time as possible at our family home on Cape Cod, swimming in the Atlantic, shivering on the beach, swatting horseflies and watching fish evade my lure at Higgins Pond. It’s as close to heaven as it gets.

A Day in the Life of Kristan Higgins

5:30: Alarm goes off. I stumble into the great room and gratefully accept coffee from McIrish, my sainted husband. Watch the news or read until it’s time to make Princess Daughter and Dearest Son breakfast, pack their lunches, draw a cartoon on PD’s napkin (DS too cool). Walk DS down to the bus stop, wave, call out reminders and love, go back home. Drive PD to school, return home, make a smoothie, post something to Facebook, check email, check calendar, get butt to office, which is just down the street. No wifi there, which makes me more productive than I am when bouncing back and forth from Google.

8:30-2:15: Work. This constitutes talking aloud, typing at least 10 pages of new material, editing, making notes on past or future scenes. Sometimes it includes lying on the floor with the dog, wondering what I need to do to fix an aspect of the job. Sometimes it involves taking a walk, because that frees up my brain pretty effectively. Of course, the neighbors are used to me talking to myself by now and just leave me alone.

2:30-5:30: Kid stuff. Cross country meets, library runs, dentist appointments, whatever they need. When possible, I bring my laptop and do stuff like write blogs, answer fan male, work on an article or speech. But I try not to be too obsessed with work when I’m with the kids, because of course, they matter more than anything else I’ll ever do. Plus, I really love them.

5:30-6:30: Dinner with family. Every night. J Unless, of course, I’m traveling or once or twice a month when I go out with my pals or McIrish himself.

6:30-8:30: Work again. This is when I research things in my manuscript where there are holes (everything from insider trading fraud to the sport of curling). More emailing and the like.

And then I watch baseball or a movie with McIrish or read till beddy-bye.

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GIVEAWAY

One lucky commenter is going to win a copy of Kristan’s book
UNTIL THERE WAS YOU!

This is open to US residents only.

Must be 18 or older.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment for Kristan, along with your email address!

emailaddress (at) gmail (dot) com

Giveaway will be open until October 23rd, 2012 (midnight EST)

Winner will be randomly selected and contacted by email.