Kelly Wyre Spotlight!

Howdy! Kelly Wyre (rhymes with) here today on Crystal's Many Reviewers site to talk about shoes and ships and sealing wax, books and MMA fighting rings! I'm ever-so-grateful to Crystal for hosting my humble chaos, and am thankful for you, too, for stopping by.

Now then, if everyone will take a seat, we'll begin what I like to call, "Cheater's Q&A" wherein I talk and answer myself. So... SELF... Hit me!

Hi, Kelly, how are you?
I am peaches and cream, today, thanks for asking.

Those plans to start a new religious cult in homage to the lower half of the male body going well, then, I guess?
Well, not exactly. Turns out there's a waiting list to get cult status. BUT! I AM celebrating a new book coming out from Loose Id.

Dude! Awesome. What's it about?
I'm so glad you asked. Nate? Fury? Take 'er away!

*FLOURISH AND BOW*

Bravo! Way to capitalize on Hollywood and gaming trends!
Why would anyone do it any other way?

So true, so true. But if we can step away from the visual world for a moment and move into the aural: could you talk a little bit about your editing process? I hear there's something slightly different about it.
Well, I'm not sure how different it is from anybody else, but I do believe in the power of the beta listener as opposed to the beta reader.

Oh?
Mmhm. When I'm working on a book, I tend to read chapters or chunks of it at a time to a select group of individuals. I've even been known to read *entire* books to one of my Listeners at a time, which results in one heck of a sore throat, let me just say. I stock plenty of tea.

But it is an excellent way to catch mistakes, typos, or places where the flow just doesn't work. If I'm working on a particularly long project, I tend to print out hard copies, too, and edit them old-school with a red pen. And then I will read the story/book to a Listener once that edit pass is done.

So you make multiple editing passes before you ever shop it out?
I do. I tend to write the first and second drafts sort of simultaneously. Then it's me editing. Then I beta read. Then it's off to the professionals. The beta reading stage, though, is invaluable. It's also how I started doing Reading Parties on Skype for small groups of people. I read stories, they mute their mics and listen, and we all have a grand old time making a drinking game out of the story.

Drinking games?
Sure. For every time I say "Hard" or "Sweetheart" or, if we really want to get plastered, "kiss" or "thrust" it's one sip. Makes for a delightful Saturday night. *laughing*

I can only imagine. Thank you for taking the time to tell us a little about your process, and congrats on your new release. Now, what's this I hear about a contest?
Oh yes! I'm running a contest to celebrate the new release over on my blog. I'm giving away three ebook copies of the book, and those winners will also receive a free MP3 file of me reading one of the juicer bits of my novel, (and don't worry; I've got years of experience reading erotica and doing my very best When Harry Met Sally routine). And one other lucky winner will be eligible for the  
GRAND PRIZE: the ebook, the audio file, and the Lego versions of Fury and Nathan featured in that video up above. All details are over on my site.

So comment here to enter to win, dear readers! And don't forget to include your email info so Kelly can let you know if you've won. Now for the last and all-important question: Where can we buy a copy of FIGHT?
You can get your copy RIGHT HERE! And here's a little more about the book and me, myself, and the hoarse-but-happy I.

Fight by Kelly Wyre - The truth is worth anything and everything you've got.

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Fight
To Nathan Hunt, honesty is anything but the best policy. Telling the truth has gotten him nothing but heartache and pain; so lying about who he is and what he wants seems to be the only path to job security and friends. Hell, it even brings him a hollow kind of happiness.

Except, that's not much of a life for any man. Especially one with Nathan's passion. Desperate to cure his self-made misery, Nathan agrees to go along with a con that will score cash for Nathan to start over. There's just one problem: lying is getting harder by the day. And a con who can't lie, is a con who gets caught.

Nathan's attempts to distract himself from his moral quandary lead him to a mysterious, intoxicating man named Fury. The Mixed Martial Arts fighter knows a thing or two about lies and pasts better left buried. He and Nathan have something else in common – they both want to be with someone who lets them be themselves.

Together, they undertake a journey that proves honesty is more dangerous and more difficult than either of them could have imagined. And as they combat addiction, thugs, guns, and their own inner demons, Nathan and Fury can only hope that their battle to be together will be worth the bitter fight.

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Excerpt:
Nathan registered the look of dulled shock in Duke’s eyes, and a presence manifested next to them. Nathan shoved Duke away but didn’t do anything else. He was too busy staring up at Fury and fighting for control.

Fury leveled a gaze on Nathan but didn’t say a word or lift a hand. He had on jeans, a checkered shirt, and a long coat that was stretched taut across his shoulders.

“Oh, hey…hey, Fury.” Duke straightened his clothing, but he was the rabbit cornered in the hunt. “Didn’t… Man, I didn’t see you.”

Fury swiveled his head and glowered. Duke backed up, smart enough to read a cold trail. “We cool, man. We all cool, here. Nate? You know where to find me if you need me, right?”

Nathan struggled to make his vision stop bleeding red and didn’t answer.

“Cool. It’s cool.” Duke smacked his lips and jogged off in the other direction.

Nathan would have sighed in relief and slumped against the wall, but Fury returned his focus to Nathan, who suddenly had sympathy for those insects pinned to boards for display.

“Ah…” Nathan cleared his throat. He wiped his palms on his jeans and tried to think straight. “Um…hey.”

Fury still said nothing, and Nathan tensed so he wouldn’t squirm. “You had a great fight. Earlier, I mean. Inside…in the…not out… Right.”

Fury blinked. Slowly. His eyelashes were so dark and thick, it looked like the guy wore mascara. He wasn’t exactly an attractive man in the traditional sense. Too much forehead, eyes too close together, big, crooked nose…

“Duke’s an asshole,” Nathan babbled. “Harmless, usually. Just fucked up tonight.” Nathan had no idea why on God’s green earth he was defending Duke. Or maybe he was defending himself. Trying to be smooth after a tweaked-out piece of shit cornered him in a parking lot, and Nathan had to tamp down the urge to kill Duke with his bare hands? Christ, what was wrong with him? Nathan took anger out on himself, not others.

“He sells some decent weed, if that’s your thing,” Nathan tried to joke, laughing feebly. Fury only had three inches of height on Nathan, but Fury might as well be the size of skyscrapers.

“It’s not,” Fury said in his characteristic growl. “My thing.”

“Oh.” Nathan coughed. Of course, he would try to push weed on a teetotaler. That was Nathan’s style, right there. Smooth. “Well. Sure. Not with what you do for a living, right? Can’t be good for the—”

“I got other things.”

Nathan shut his mouth with an audible clack of teeth. Fury still studied Nathan, hands loose at his sides, shoulders at ease, expression neutral. If the fighting thing ever failed, Fury had a bright future in poker. “That right?” Nathan asked.

Fury nodded, and again, it was slow. “Yeah.” Fury looked Nathan up and down, just like he had after Nathan had spotted him on the weight bench. Must be trying to place him. No way was it anything else.

“You were at the gym,” Fury said at last.

With the threads of recognition in Fury’s tone, Nathan’s logic died, and he got sucker punched by hope. Stupid, untimely, insipid, teenager-with-a-crush hope. “I…uh, yeah, I was. I think.”

“You think?” Fury asked with what might have been amusement.

“I do. Think,” Nathan replied with more assurance. It was easier to come by when he told himself this conversation wasn’t really happening.

Fury finally quit inspecting Nathan and glanced around the parking lot. “You headin’ back inside?”

“I…I don’t think so.”

Fury stared at something far away. “You interested in some more action?”

“Always.” The answer flew from Nathan’s lips before he could catch it. The symptoms of the panic returned, but they hurt a little less. “What you got?”

Fury shoved his hands into his pockets. “I got somewhere to be.” He took a few steps toward the row of cars, and he paused, raising his eyebrows at Nathan. “You comin’?”

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Do all you do in and for love. Many thanks!
Kelly Wyre enjoys reading and writing all manner of fiction, ranging from horror to romance. She used to work in advertising but is now happily chained to her writing desk. Kelly relishes the soft and cuddly and the sharp and bloody with equal amounts of enthusiasm. She's a coffee addict, a workaholic, a chronic night owl, and loves a good thunderstorm. Currently Kelly resides in the southeastern United States.
Kelly Wyre's Website ♠ Kelly's Blog ♠ Kelly's Twitter
Kelly's Facebook ♠ Kelly's Tumblr (NSFW!) ♠ Kelly on Goodreads

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And if you like FIGHT, try the New Amsterdam Series!