Debut Author Kandy Shepherd in the Lair!

by Anna Campbell

I'm utterly delighted to introduce one of my dearest friends, Kandy Shepherd, to the lair. Kandy and I met through the Turramurra Romance Writers' Group in Sydney many years ago and I've never ceased to be in awe of her talent, her work ethic and her wonderful sense of humor.

LOVE IS A FOUR-LEGGED WORD, her debut romantic comedy from Berkley, hits the shelves on 7th July. LOVE IS A FOUR-LEGGED WORD is a sparkling tale of a millionaire mutt and the two lovely people he brings together to find true love. You'll absolutely adore it!

You can find out more about Kandy and her books at her website:

http://www.kandyshepherd.com/

Kandy, huge congratulations on the release of LOVE IS A FOUR-LEGGED WORD. Can you tell us about this story?

Hi, Anna. Thank you for inviting me to the lair. Set in San Francisco, LOVE IS A FOUR-LEGGED WORD is a humorous romance about Brutus, a little mutt who inherits a big fortune, and the people he brings together – quirky chef Maddy Cartwright who, much to her surprise, is appointed guardian of the mutt and his millions, and ambitious lawyer Tom O'Brien who suspects her of being a gold digger. You’ve read the book, Anna, and said it reminds you of those screwball romantic comedy movies of the 1930s and 40s. I take that as a big compliment. The book was such fun to write.

Oh, it's definitely got a touch of that Capra magic, Kandy. Your writing journey is so inspiring and spells persistence, persistence, persistence. Can you please tell us about your road to publication?

I had beginner’s luck when the first short story I ever submitted was accepted and published in a teen magazine. Several more short stories were published in women’s magazines but then I got a rejection and gave up. The writer’s ego is notoriously fragile and I took that as a sign that I didn’t have a future as a writer.

Luckily, I had another love to follow – working first as a journalist and then an editor on women’s magazines. A fantastic career followed. But that creative urge never went away. I realized that although I loved every minute of my magazine life, the need to write was like an addiction and it wouldn’t be satisfied with non-fiction feature stories. I started to write again in the time I could snatch between the “day job” and the joys and duties of family life (that was mainly very late at night). More short stories were published, which gave my confidence a real boost, and then a category length romance with a now-defunct Australian publisher. Then nothing for several years except rejection after rejection.

There was a lot of soul searching where I wondered if I was wasting my time. But I honestly don’t think a story-teller can give up, even when it would be so much easier to do so. And I was lucky to have my good romance writer friends – including you! – who would not let me stop submitting.

Hey, we knew that you were something special, my friend! Here in the lair, we love call stories. Can you give us yours?

I could not get an agent interested in LOVE IS A FOUR-LEGGED WORD so I bravely sent it off myself to Berkley (you know what they say about the odds of being picked up from the “slush pile” of a major New York publisher). Nearly 18 months later I got “the call” (well, it was actually an email). I had been away for the weekend. On Sunday evening when I got home I checked my email. There was an email from Allison Brandau at Berkley making me an offer of publication. I was jumping around the room with my teenage daughter, so excited I was scarcely coherent. However, when Allison called in the morning I managed to have a sensible conversation with her!

LOVE IS A FOUR-LEGGED WORD features a couple of really strong animal personalities (no, not just the bad guy Jerome), especially Brutus the Millionaire Mutt. Can you tell us about your own animal companions?

I adore animals and they sneak their way into everything I write. Currently we have in the family one dog, three cats, four horses, nine hens and two miniature bulls who are the cutest things. Visit the pet gallery on my website to “meet” them all. Until last week I had four cats but I lost my darling Kira after eighteen years and am still devastated. She always sat on my lap when I wrote and I miss her terribly. I had a lot of fun writing Brutus who has characteristics of many dogs I have known over the years. He is a purely fictional dog but I borrowed his name from my neighbor’s dog, a feisty little terrier. My dream dog is a border collie but up until now we haven’t had the room for such an energetic breed.

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear about Kira, Kandy. We love our animal companions so much, don't we?

Maddy, the heroine, is a wannabe TV chef and food plays a major part in the story. What are some of your favorite recipes?

I plead guilty to a very sweet tooth. Although I have many savory dishes in my repertoire I love baking the most – cakes, cookies, pies, muffins. I am putting the recipes featured in LOVE IS A FOUR-LEGGED WORD on my website. Maddy’s Triple Chocolate Brownie is a real favorite in my family and the recipe is on the website now. (Don’t even think about the calorie count!) If you’re going to be at the RWA convention in Washington DC please visit me at the literacy signing – I’ll be giving away samples of those totally decadent treats!

If you have a dog, check out the recipe for Brutus’s favorite pupcakes. In the book, Maddy makes healthy gourmet treats for dogs. Of course I, as the author, had to create the recipe to put on the website! The pupcakes were a real hit with the dogs who “taste tested” them for me.

You run a critique service for writers with Harlequin author Cathleen Ross. (Queries to Kandy at kandy@kandyshepherd.com)
I’d be really interested to know some common problems in manuscripts you receive.

I spoke to Cathleen and we agreed that the most common problem we see is lack of strong, believable conflict, enough to keep a hero and heroine apart for the length of a book. We see that over and over again. Another problem we encounter is viewpoint. Some people have trouble making it clear which character’s head they are in. But didn’t we all have problems of some kind or another when we were starting out? I cringe when I think of some of my early efforts!

Thanks, Kandy. That's really interesting. What’s next for Kandy Shepherd, author extraordinaire?

I am working on my next book for Berkley. Its working title is HOME IS WHERE THE BARK IS and it takes up the story of Serena, Maddy’s best friend in LOVE IS A FOUR-LEGGED WORD. I have created a wonderful hero for Serena in this book and am really enjoying writing their story. Brutus, the millionaire mutt, makes a reappearance in this book along with some other endearing canine characters.

Kandy, I can't wait for HOME IS WHERE THE BARK IS. By the way, I adore your titles! Is there anything you'd like to ask the Banditas and Bandita Buddies to get the conversation rolling?

Brutus is as important a character in my novel as the humans. I love books or movies with animals in them. A book with a dog or cat on the cover is an automatic buy! (I bought SAVE THE CAT for the cover, not even realizing what kind of (invaluable!) book it was. My favorite movie when I was a kid was OLD YELLER, “the best doggone dog in the west”. I still remember the intense grief I felt the first time I saw it, but that didn’t stop me watching OLD YELLER every time it came on TV.

Is there an animal character who sticks in your mind, from a book, movie, TV show?

Kandy has very generously offered a signed copy of LOVE IS A FOUR-LEGGED WORD to one lucky commenter today. Good luck!