Mind If I Come In is as funny and interesting as I had hoped it would be from the description. (The cover is cute too!) It’s almost impossible to spoil the story, because there is a lot going on that the reader won’t find out about until later in the series, but I’ll do my best to explain what I understand so far.
This story follows the life of Kat Parker, a woman who goes to Vegas one weekend, and while there, finds herself in a yet-to-be-revealed catastrophic situation.
When she comes home, she has to learn to adjust to a new reality with very limited knowledge of what happened. But what we do know is this:
- Kat met a guy and married him, only to have him die soon after.
- She picked up a confused vampire on the way.
- She now has the ability to communicate with people in comas.
Fans of the Sookie Stackhouse novels will probably really enjoy this book. Kat is a very likeable character, as are most of the people we encounter throughout the story. There is an immediate issue that is resolved in this first instalment, which should provide enough closure for readers – but don’t expect to find out everything just yet!
My one very tiny issue with this story was that we are kept in the dark a lot. I don’t mind not knowing some details in a story, but I get frustrated if I feel the characters are aware of that information and are purposely withholding it. I want to know what Kat knows – even if that’s not very much!
I have already started reading the second book in the series, so I suppose the author’s gamble to make me wait paid off. And it’s just as addictive as the first!
Highly recommend.
Author Interview with KL Phelps
1. Tell us a little about yourself.
Me? Really? Im not interesting at all, really! Well from a young age I always knew I wanted to be a writer. Seriously, it really was all I wanted to do. I fell in love with books from an early age, have fond memories of my second grade teacher reading The Happy Hollister series during class (The Happy Hollisters were a middle-class family [5 kids, a cat, a dog, and if I remember correctly there might even have been a donkey] instead of doing things normal families did, they solved mysteries), and it was around that time I started to write my own stories. So naturally, I became a nurse. After 17 years I was completely burnt out on medicine and decided I should finally get back to pursuing my dream. So now I’m struggling at this writing thing. If it’s not already painfully obvious to you yet, I’ll let you in on a little secret, I have no clue what I’m doing!!
2. What is your latest book about? What inspired it?
My latest book is Sins of the Father. It’s the 6th book my Kat Parker series. It’s a story I always knew I would tell, that I even hinted at in the first Kat Parker book. (Or rather my subconscious hinted at it and then later filled me in on it.) The book explores the relationship between Damian, Kat’s kinda sorta boyfriend, and his father. It also deals with a very serious issue that no one in the media seems to want to address. The growing number of turtles struggling with gambling addiction!
3. Who would you cast in the movie version of your book?
It’s kind of weird that I don’t have an immediate answer to this because a number of people have told that my books read like movies. Not sure what that means, but I’ve always taken that as a compliment. If that’s not the way it was intended, please don’t tell me. Ignorance is bliss after all. When I first wrote Kat, I envisioned her as a young Sandra Bullock. If I had to pick from people available today, I’d want Jennifer Lawrence to play her, because well she’s Jennifer Lawrence! Chris Hemsworth might make a good Jonny, and I’d have The Rock play Damian, even though he looks nothing like the character I wrote. Why? Because I think The Rock might actually may be a giant and because he’s The Rock and that would almost guarantee the movie to be a hit!
4. What songs make up the soundtrack for your book?
I wouldn’t know where to begin. Sometimes I write in silence but often times I have music playing. However, once I get lost in the story, in the zone so to speak, it all completely fades away and I don’t even hear it until I stop typing. I know some people will play different music to set the mood for a scene, but I’ve never done that, no consciously anyway. Now if someone were going to score my books I’d want it to be John Williams because … well it’s freaking John Williams! If I recall correctly, when I wrote this book (and several others) I think I was listening to Pink, Train, and Owl City. But considering my taste in music is very much like my taste in books, i.e. I liken to everything, I could just as easily have been listening to Metallica, Eminem, The Spice Girls, or the soundtrack to The Little Mermaid.
5. Tell us about your writing process.
I’m supposed to have a process? Now you tell me! I’m a total pantser. Very rarely do I know what is going to happen in a book. A random idea will hit me and I will just start throwing down words. I know many people plot things out, and I’m kind of jealous of them. Often times the characters will just take over. I almost never know what is going to happen. The second book in the Kat Parker series, Talking with the Dead, is a great example. I knew there would be a dead person and a funeral scene early on. I had no preconceived notion of who the mourners would be. I think I was probably more shocked than anyone who ended up graveside. And I think I was about halfway to 2/3 of the way through the book before I finally understood the connection between all the characters. I have little doubt my subconscious mind had it all worked out, but my subconscious and I tend to be on a need to known basis, and more often than not my subconscious seems to feel that I don’t need to know until the last minute. (So many examples I could give.)
6. Favourite authors / books?
Stephen King. I started reading him at a very early age. The guy is just a natural story teller. Sure at times he had issues with figuring out how to end a book, but he hits the mark more often than he misses. My favorites include: Bag of Bones, The Stand, and of course the entire Dark Tower Series. The Drawing of the Three may just be my favorite of that series. There is just something about that book. I can still recall the first time I read it, sat down in the morning and didn’t get up until I was done. It’s rare for me to read any book in a single sitting.
Janet Evanovich. I’ve had several people tell me that my Kat Parker books remind them of her Stephanie Plum books, which is of course flattering to me but which might be insulting to her! Regardless, those books definitely influenced me. She’s one of the few writers out there who manages to make me truly laugh out loud while I’m reading.
Patrick Rothfuss. I’ve only read two of his books, The Name of the Wind and A Wise Man’s Fear, but I have read them over and over and over. I used to read a lot of fantasy when I was younger, but then for some reason I stopped. He rekindled my childhood love of fantasy novels. I just wish he wrote faster! Seriously! I’ve been waiting for the 3rd book in his Kingkiller Chronicles series since 2011!)
There are so many great books and I feel bad for not listing more, but I think my favorite book might be Robert McCammon’s Boy’s Life. Something about that book resonated with me the first time I read it. There is just something completely magical about it to me.
7. What’s next for you?
Hard to say. As you can tell from my list of favorite authors/books, I read in almost all genres, and unlike many writers out there I don’t have a strong desire to stick to a single genre. I have ideas for almost every/any genre you can name. The way I see it, if actors can tackle roles across a vast spectrum of genres, why can’t writers? Sci-fi, fantasy, even the ever elusive post-apocalyptic dystopian self-help book! I want to take a crack at them all. I seriously think, without the slightest bit of hyperbole, I can safely say that outside of erotica and regency romance there isn’t a genre that I haven’t scribbled down a few story ideas for.
8. Where can we get your books?
You can find my books here on Amazon Kindle.