Chatting with Kelly Bowen at #RWA18

The best part of RWA’s annual conference is, for us, getting to talk with authors we love so natch we enjoyed catching up with Kelly Bowen. (Ms. Bowen has received seven DIK reviews from AAR.)

Dabney: What are you working on now?

Kelly: I just finished the last book in the Devils of Dover series. I’m next going to write a series set in WWII. I’m a big WWII buff and I’m doing a lot of research. It’s a big challenge.

Dabney: Which of your books was the hardest to write? The most fun?

Kelly: The hardest was probably A Duke in the Night. I did some pretty heavy edits for it. It was a slightly different book for me—it has less action in it than in some of my other works. The heroine was based on Harriot Kezia Hunt—she was a fascinating woman.

The most fun I had was with Between Devil and the Duke. I really liked my hero. He was sort of inspired by a good friend of mine and that was fun. I also enjoyed the heroine’s journey. She starts out unsure of herself and by the end, she owns herself. I don’t write heroes or heroines that “fix” each other or that need “fixing.” My leads support each other.

Dabney: What’s your prediction for the next big thing/s in romance?

Kelly: I’d like to see more diverse stories. Diversity in voices, in life stories, more places, more countries, more cultures.

Dabney: What’s a word you love to use in your work? One you never use?

Kelly: Fierce.

Never put in? Passive.

Kelly’s latest book is A Duke in the Night which got not one but two DIK reviews from AAR.