NBTM + #Giveaway: The Bridesmaid's Checklist by K.T. Castle @KTCastle_author @GoddessFish

The Bridesmaid's Checklist

by K.T. Castle

GENRE:   Contemporary (New Adult) Romance

BLURB:

Kassandra is a single, independent woman who prides herself on her own success. But when she’s asked by her best friend Laura to be the Maid of Honor in her wedding, Kassandra finds herself questioning her lifestyle. Helping Laura plan the wedding is no problem—she’s done it before for all their other friends. The first time was a blast, the second super fun, but doing it without receiving any help from the rest of the girls gets old really fast. 

The whole event kicks off with the worst kind of surprise when Kassandra discovers who her friend's fiancé really is, and she's torn between supporting Laura's future happiness and hiding the deeply buried, intimate past she shares with the groom-to-be. Struggling to be the bigger person and do all the hard work on her own, Kassandra finds surprising comfort in Josh, the best man in the wedding and someone she's been avoiding for years. He's charming, thoughtful, handsome, and the worst kind of womanizer, but she just can't seem to stay away. All the while, Kassandra can't help wondering if the wedding could be any more cliché—until she finds unexpected ways to change things up a bit.

Excerpt:

Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. I’d heard that saying more than once now. And I was about to hear it once again.

“Kassie! Kassie, wake up! I’m getting married,” a high-pitched voice squealed at me at 3:00 a.m.

Who the hell is this? I had picked up the phone without even looking at the caller ID. Oh, Laura. Great.

“Kassandra, are you listening? I’m engaged!” Laura screamed from the other side of the phone.

“Yeah, wow,” I said. “Congratulations.”

“I can’t believe you, Kassie. You should be more excited. You’ll get to be my bridesmaid!” The volume of her voice kept rising.

“I’m happy for you, Laura.” I really didn’t know at the moment how I felt. I was trying to look around to see exactly where I was. “Believe me. It’s just…it’s three o’clock, and I was sleeping.”

After looking at my surroundings, I remembered I was in my own house. I had a minor headache, probably from all the drinking the night before, and my body ached a bit. I looked beside me and found the reason for my hurt.

Next to me I found the silhouette of a beautiful man. The memories of the few hours before my abrupt awakening came back at me:

A bar. A blond. My home. Some sex...in that order.

“I know it’s late, but I had to give you the good news.”

“And news it is.” She was the last of my best friends who was single; not so long ago we roamed all the bars in town together, looking for men to hook up with, and suddenly she was engaged.

Interview with K.T. Castle

What inspired you to write The Bridesmaid's Checklist?

Romance is a genre that I’ve always enjoyed. I had been doing some writing when I found that Avon had a summon to write a bridesmaid's romance and I decided to go for it.

At the beginning I struggled with coming up of ideas to make a bridesmaid’s story different, I didn’t want to write a book that readers had read before. I wanted to write a bridesmaid’s book that dealt with those cliches we expect on romance and weddings, but somehow approach them from a different perspective. I decided to go to my friends for help. We brainstormed together about all the wedding cliches we could think of:

●    The bride has to go completely bridezilla

●    The bridesmaid always ends up with the best man

●    The maid of honor has to have an affair with the groom…

And then there was the phrase that glue it all together “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride.”

It was my friends who inspired me to write a different kind of bridesmaid romance that eventually became my first published book.

Can you tell us a little bit about the next books in The Bridesmaid's series or what you have planned for the future?

The BCL series so far has two published books: Laura’s Wedding and Marisol’s Wedding.

The story is told from the maid of honor POV, her name is Kassandra. Kassie suddenly realizes she’s the last single friend when Laura announces her wedding, and begins questioning her lifestyle and choices.

In the first book, Laura’s Wedding, we learn about everything that happens around Laura’s wedding announcement, engagement party, bachelorette and wedding ceremony. Laura isn’t the easiest bride-to-be, she’s high maintenance and spoiled. But everything is even more complicated because the man she’s marrying is someone from Kassie’s past, a past that she rather not remember.

On the second book of the series, Marisol’s Wedding, we revisit the past and learn about the present. Marisol married before Laura did, and she has a beautiful family that she adores. Her husband is a wonderful man and she has the cutest little baby boy. Now that her son is ready for school, she can restart her professional life… or so she thought. Marisol’s Wedding is mainly told from Kassie’s POV but unlike it Laura’s Wedding, this one has three storylines. One is the past, as the girls remember Marisol’s Wedding some years back and the difficulties that presented to them then due to Marisol and her husband’s cultural differences. The other two storylines happen in the present, Marisol and her family's current situation and Kassie’s life after Laura’s wedding. I love this book, it was so much fun to write and I believe that it’s the most enjoyable out of the two so far.

There will be more books to this series, Natalie’s Wedding is the one that follows. It should be published in early 2018. Then I still have Denise and Kassandra’s weddings to write.

I also have many other projects and ideas, some in contemporary romance, others in new adult and paranormal romance. 

Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Laura’s Wedding?

This book is a romance at heart, but it isn’t only about brides, grooms and their relationship. I consider it to be more about friendship than anything else. Kassandra has the most interesting group of friends.

First there’s Laura. She is Kassie’s self-proclaimed best friend. She is a handful of a lady. Laura is difficult and self-centered, a complete coincide package… but she’s also loyal and fierce when it comes to her friends. No one can mess with the girls without getting an earful from her.

Marisol is a strong and intelligent woman. She comes from a mix of cultures, her parents are both Mexican and Sol is Mexican-American. She’s always proving herself to herself. And even if Sol seems like the most secure woman in her group of friends, she has some self-doubt hidden deep inside of her.

Natalie is the sweetest person you'll ever meet. She’s the one you can trust with all your secrets. She’s charismatic and dependable. Nat will always be there for you when you need someone to lean on, but who does she lean on when she needs a shoulder to cry? You’ll find out in her book.

Denise is an active, energetic woman who’s a hard worker. She’s the one that married the earliest and skipped college to marry her highschool sweetheart. She’s the one that’s always there even when you don’t see her. D is the ultimate cheerleader, telling her friends how wonderful they all are… or at least she used to be that way when they were younger.

Finally there’s Kassandra. She’s the best friend anyone could have, she’s reliable and always willing to help. She’ll do about anything to see her friends happy, even if that means putting herself at last. She’s a perfectionist and her friends like making fun of her OCD tendencies. Kassie coincides with many of her friends’ qualities: Laura’s fierceness, Marisol’s cultural diversity (she’s Russian-American), Natalie’s dependability, and Denises work-a-holic tendencies. She’s probably the main reason all her friends stayed together throughout the years, even if she wasn’t there through it all.

You know I think we all have a favorite author. Who is your favorite author and why?

I have many author I admire and thousands of books that I like, as for favorites… if I had to choose one I would say Jay Crownover.

Jay is one of the most honest, down to earth people I’ve ever known. Her books speak to me in a way no others have. Her characters are real people that I can totally relate to. The Marked Men and The Saints of Denver series are the ones I read again and again. She inspires me to become a better author and to be real to myself.

I’m always recommending her books to my friends, they’re all great reads.

If you could time-travel would you travel to the future or the past? Where would you like to go and why would you like to visit this particular time period?

That’s a very difficult question to answer, because there’s things I’d like to have lived, but at the same time I know I’ll miss things that I have in the present.

I’ve always dreamed about living in the court of Louis XVI, imagine having all those beautiful dresses and attending his elegant parties. But then just thinking about the commodities I’d leave behind makes me rethink my decision.

By commodities I’m thinking of telephones, plumbing, internet, travelling, etc. all those things that make our life easier and comfortable.

Then there’s the 1950s, there are many commodities of the “modern world” that I wouldn't miss. I love the architecture they had, the fashion styles and a much simpler life. When I see that time period in movies and TV series I always wonder what it would be like to live then.

Do you have any little fuzzy friends? Like a dog or a cat? Or any pets?

I’m a big fan of fuzzy friends and pets. I think I’ve always had one with me. They bring such joy to our lives that is difficult not to keep them close, even if it’s difficult when they grow old and we have to let them go.

Right now I only have one daughter. She’s a little schnauzer who’s funny, friendly and naughty. Her name is Raven, and we received her in our family two years ago.

Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to visit with us today.

Thank you for having me over, Nancy. I enjoyed visiting the Avid Reader today and hope I can come back soon. It’s been a real pleasure!

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

K.T.  Castle  is  an  author/artist  on  a  quest  to  find  the  words,  forms,  and  colors  to materialize    the    worlds    and    people    of    her imagination.    She    never    saw    herself    as    an incurable romantic, but lately, that's what she finds herself musing about.  Love  is  found  everywhere, regardless  if  it  comes  from  a  nice  person,  an ass — mundane or even vampire. When  she's  not  busy with  work,  in  front  of  a computer  placing  many  thoughts  in  order,  she makes her best to be creative or relax with a good book and a snack. Some of her favorite characters are Sookie, Rule and Shaw, Bella, Edward, Clary, Jace, Wrath, Hollywood, Blaire, Woods, Ethan, the Sleeping Beauty, and Ariel.

Get to know her more on her social media pages.

Facebook ~ Instagram ~ Google+ ~ Twitter ~ Pinterest ~ Website ~ Blog

The Bridesmaid's Checklist is on sale for only $0.99.

The Bridesmaid’s Checklist Series

Laura’s Wedding

Amazon → U.S.A.  ~ U.K. ~ Canada ~ Australia ~ Mexico

Marisol’s Wedding

Amazon → U.S.A.  ~ U.K. ~ Canada ~ Australia ~ Mexico

Giveaway:

• Paperback copies of The Bridesmaid's Checklist Series and a $10 Amazon GC (US/Mexico only) 

• Digital copies of The Bridesmaid's Checklist Series and a $10 Amazon GC (international)

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