The Cover for Improbably Yours is Here!!!

Cover Reveal

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Cover Reveal 〰️

I am super excited about this cover — and my launch plans for Improbably Yours! We are going to have so much fun (think treasure hunt!) plus, I really hope you’ll love the book!

“Get ready for your treasure hunting vacation on whimsical Vinland, brimming with quirky characters, mysterious letters, and a treasure map. Kerry Anne King’s charming novel will warm your heart as you follow the clues to where X marks the spot. I flew through Improbably Yours faster than a talking raven!”

— ~Amy Reichert, author of The Kindred Spirits Supper ClubQuote Source

Blythe Harmon is on the fast track to a life she never wanted. On her thirtieth birthday, just as she’s about to lock herself into a high-powered job and accept a marriage proposal to match, an unusual bequest from her beloved late grandmother, Nomi, offers an escape and an invitation to adventure.

Equipped with a funereal urn and a treasure map, Blythe sets off for a small island in the San Juans where she rents the mysterious and unsettling Improbable House. Clue by cryptic clue, secret by secret, she pursues a quest which is complicated by her powerful attraction to an enigmatic islander and his recently orphaned niece, both of whom are inexorably tied to the old house.

Just when Blythe thinks she’s on the verge of unraveling the mystery her quest takes an unexpected turn and she discovers that the treasure she’s really seeking is something that could never be buried in the ground.

“This book has it all—a quirky island, a hot Viking, even ghosts!—but most of all, it’s got soul. I was charmed and moved by this lovely story that reminds us sometimes we have to dig up the past to remember who we are in the present. A real gem. ”

— Colleen Oakley, author of The Invisible Husband of Frick Island

Stay tuned for all the launch fun (and maybe make sure you’re signed up for my newsletter to make sure you don’t miss anything!)

A Chat with Barbara Josselsohn, Author of The Lily Garden

I had such a delightful conversation with Barbara Josselsohn live on Tell Me Your Secrets. Of course, we talked about her new summer romance, The Lily Garden, and she read a selection for us. But we also discussed gardening, and I discovered maybe she’s not quite as much of a master gardener as I had assumed. (Lesson: never assume!) Barbara also revealed her secret former career as a mattress expert. If you want to know what that’s all about, you’re just going to have to watch! Here’s the video for your pleasure.

The Magic of Found Objects with Authors Kerry Anne King and Maddie Dawson

Last week, I got to sit down for a good chat with bestselling author Maddie Dawson about her fantastic, feel good new novel, THE MAGIC OF FOUND OBJECTS. I adore this book, as I do everything Maddie, and it's available EARLY for you to read on First Reads if you're a Prime Reads subscriber. We also talked about Law of Attraction, gnomes, real life magic, and how Maddie came to marry a much younger man.

Real Life Meets Magic: Women's Fiction with Magical Elements

On women’s fiction day, I got together with Barbara Davis, Willa Reece, Maddie Dawson, and Kim Neville, all fabulous authors who write books about strong women on growth journeys—with a little magic along the way. We discussed our books and why we chose to include elements of magic, plus our thoughts about the difference between women’s fiction and fantasy and so much more. I seriously want to be able to meet with these women once a week for dinner and drinks. They are all so amazing and fun!

Everything You Are Goodreads Giveaway!

“…a fresh, imaginative story about the power of dreams and our hunger to be who we really are.” ~Barbara O’Neal, bestselling author of When We Believed in Mermaids

EVERYTHING YOU ARE is set to release October 1st - and as of today there are 100 kindle copies up for giveaway over on Goodreads! Before I give you the link to that, let me introduce you to the characters.

PHEE: when Phee's luthier grandfather died and left her his luthier business, she thought she'd get to spend the rest of her life building and repairing violins and cellos, but the position came with a few interesting complications. Like a cello with a soul, and the responsibility to make sure its owner plays it and treats it right. She's never quite sure whether she REALLY believes in the curse that will fall if she fails, but she's rapidly getting convinced.

BRADEN: once a brilliant cellist, Braden is the owner and man responsible for Phee's special cello. But eleven years ago he injured his hands and has been unable to play. Everything has fallen apart for him since then. He's an alcoholic, estranged from his wife and two children and has nothing in his life worth living for. Until the accident that kills his wife and son, and the realization that his teenage daughter, Allie, needs him.

ALLIE: Allie feels like she was born with music running through her veins, but she blames the music -- and particularly the cello -- for the death of her mother and brother. Angry at her father for abandoning her, caught in a spiral of grief and guilt and rage, Allie is on a fast track to a disaster of her own.

THE CELLO: The cello wants to be played. She has a special and unbreakable bond with Braden. She is the link that brings Phee, Braden, and Allie together on a trajectory that could end either in disaster -- or in hope -- if only Braden can find his way back to the music.

You can preorder here.

And you can enter the Goodreads giveaway here.

Let's create a story - together - on Facebook Live

I had this wild and crazy idea. Full emphasis on crazy.

As you’ve probably noticed, I’m a writer. And I also have this belief that all of us are creative, whether we believe we are or not.

As I was pondering the question of what might be a fun thing to do for readers - and for me, because I’m selfish like that - the crazy idea popped right into my head. I thought:

What if I invited everybody in my world to hop over to my Facebook author page for a live story building session? How fun would that be?

Now, if a lovely group of people shows up, then this idea is really fairly sane and has the potential to actually be a super fun time. There’s not much that makes me happier than brainstorming a new story, and I’d love to bring you into that particular writer play space with me.

The crazy part is that if nobody else thinks it sounds like a fun idea, I could easily end up talking to myself, which is really a normal part of my usual creative day, but with the added pressure of talking to myself LIVE on Facebook.

But hey, now that I had the idea it’s a happening thing!

Come on over and play with me on Friday August 16th at 11 am PT (noon MT, 1 pm CT, and 2 pm ET). Put it in your calendar now so you remember.

Let’s see what we can create together!

Extra incentive

I have a copy of Fall of Poppies, signed by authors Heather Webb and Hazel Gaynor, that I’ll give to somebody who really gets into this story creation process.

Author Hangout with Christine Nolfi

I had this idea that it would be super fun to get Christine in a zoom room and then stream our conversation life to Facebook. It was a brilliant idea (I still believe this.) But then Tech glitches happened. We were way late by the time zoom decided to stream. Some of our loyal and devoted fans never did get to join us, but Christine and I still had a blast with our Facebook Live author hang out, and now you can be in on it too, after the fact! I hope you enjoy! We got into some interesting territory around tapping into the collective unconscious, whether we manifest life events by what we write in books, and where ideas come from.

I’d love it if you’d share your reactions and tell us what you think!

Check out Christine’s new release - The Road She Left Behind.

Crushed by guilt over the car accident that killed her father and sister, and torn apart by her mother’s resentment, Darcy Goodridge fled her family estate eight years ago and hasn’t looked back. Now an unexpected phone call threatens to upend what little serenity she’s found. Her nephew, Emerson, who was just a baby when his mother died, has gone missing. Darcy must return home and face her past in order to save him.

Once back in Ohio, Darcy realizes there’s more to Emerson’s disappearance—and to the sudden retirement of her mother, Rosalind—than meets the eye. As she works to make inroads with Rosalind, Darcy begins to unravel a decades-old secret that devastated her family and forced a wedge between her and Michael Varano, the man she left heartbroken when she vanished after the funeral. After carrying the scars of that fateful night for almost a decade, Darcy is determined to find closure, healing, and maybe even love where she lost them all in the first place—right back home where she belongs.

Listen to the Whisper Me This Original Song

Brandon Schafer and Keadrin Cain

I'm deeply happy to be able to share the recording of Whisper Me This with you.

This song was born of a creative collaboration between me, my son Brandon, a lovely cellist named Keadrin, and one of those magical moments I live for as a writer. You can read more about that here.

My thanks to Brandon Schafer, Keadrin Cain, Amplified Wax studios, and also to the lyrics of this song for showing up pretty much out of the blue.

Happy listening!

Copyright Kerry and Brandon Schafer. Lyrics, Kerry Schafer. Guitar and vocals, Brandon Schafer. Cello and backup vocals, Keadrin Cain. Recording by Amplified Wax

A Whisper of an Idea

Whisper Me This was born out of one of many conversations with my Viking about life, the universe, and everything.

We were soaking luxuriously in our hot tub (which is out on the back deck of our little house in the big woods) listening to the wind in the trees and reveling in the awesome life we are lucky to live up here.

And then the Viking started talking about this woman he knows who is not so lucky. She's trapped in a domestic violence situation--a bright, beautiful woman who struggles to see that there could be another way for her.

And then he asked this question:

"What does it take for a woman to get free of something like that? Or for anybody to make a total life change? Do you just wake up one morning and realize you've had enough? Is there one moment in time that changes everything, or is it a gradual process?"

And then he looked at me and said, "You should write about that."

So I did. 

This is a topic that resonates deeply with me. I am an extremely fortunate woman. I was raised without any shadow of fear by a father who was an awesome human being who respected women. My brother is the same kind of human being, and when I went out looking for relationships I found men who were like them.

But I've been a counselor and I've listened to so many of my clients, both women and men, trying to get past a legacy of verbal, physical, and sexual abuse. I've heard my friends talk about the situations they are in, or have gotten free of. Not to mention what I see on the internet on a daily basis.

I have talked to humans who have been incredibly impacted by abuse and don't yet realize that what is happening to them is wrong. Their whole experience has been such that they believe these toxic relationships are normal. 

So in this story I delved into the stories of characters who have all been affected, one way or another, by domestic violence. And while I wrote I was always looking to answer that question - "What would it take to get free?"

And because this topic matters to me, deeply, I'm extraordinarily excited that this book has been chosen by my publisher as a Readers First pick this month on Amazon. I hope that it might make some small difference out there in the world, even if it just opens up some dialogue around this complex and pervasive issue.

And of course, being an author, I also hope readers love the characters and the story!