1000 + Books to Read: Guest Post: Kristen James

I’m thrilled to be guest blogging here at 1000 + Books to Read, and I hope to give you an inside look at the writer’s life. Well, at least my life as a writer! Writing has been my passion since about the fourth grade, and now I work full time as an author, ghostwriter and publisher. I help business people put their ideas and expertise into book form and even help with other genres like novels or memoirs. I’ve co-written two projects as well. One has a mystical element to it while the other is a spy novel set in Kauai. It’s so exciting to see projects come together from an outline, ideas and notes into an engaging story. Working with others on a book has its own special energy too. Sometimes I help with publishing so I see the project grow from just an idea to a published book.

Working from home, at a job I created and love, is perfect for my lifestyle. I can be here when the kids come home from school or when they’re sick, or I can even rearrange my schedule to go fishing or to meetings during the day. It’s nice to manage projects and my time, so I don’t have to spend “dead time” at work with nothing to do. If I finish my freelance work for the day, I write on my project or run errands. Being a freelance writer does entail a lot of bidding, but more and more, people are coming to me with book projects. It’s also allowed me to continually sharpen my writing skills, learn about a wide variety of interesting topics and tie my work in with my fiction writing.

Outside of writing, I love the outdoors, hiking, camping, canoeing, cycling and foraging for wild berries and mushrooms. I love trying new things and going to new places, but I also love my home state of Oregon. You’ll clearly see this in all my novels! I have several published romance novels, Native American fiction and general fiction works. I’ll share a few of my romance books with you, which happen to be 99 cent Kindle deals.

A Cowboy For Christmas ~ My bestselling novel year-round beside the holiday theme. This novel is in the top 500 in Kindle.

When her estranged brother passes, Missy is suddenly an unwanted co-owner to Ocean View Stables by Florence, Oregon. Missy wants to start over somewhere new after her old boss burned her. She’s jobless and has a wrongly ruined reputation, so this works out perfectly . . . until she meets the cowboy running the place. Brent built his dream with determination and his two hands; he’s responsible for everything that happens there. Secretly, he feels responsible that his former partner died. He also doesn’t hide his belief that Missy won’t stick around. Women tend to take off on him so why would she be any different? They both have a past that can ruin their future. Can he trust her to stay? Can she trust him with her heart?

More Than Memories

Can she love him if she can’t remember him? Molly Anderson returns “home” to a town she doesn’t remember, hoping it will spark a memory. She runs into Trent Williams, an off duty police officer, and something else definitely sparks. He wants to know why she left town, with her parents, but without a word to anyone. She doesn’t remember that life. She can only tell him she knew her parents briefly before they died . . . or were murdered, she’s not sure. She hopes regaining her memory will help answer that question.

Trent has his own secrets, but they have a mystery to solve. As they work together and Molly meets their old friends, she realizes their relationship went deeper than memories. In fact, she grew up in Ridge City, even though her parents had said they lived there just a few years. How could she have forgotten her lifelong friend and love? Can she love him again if she doesn’t remember him? There’s also the possibility that she did something awful — and maybe that’s why she’s afraid to remember her old life. Molly knows she wants him now, but the truth might destroy their love.

Embers of Hope, Flickers of Passion

Savanna dreaded telling her family and friends about her failed marriage so much that she hid it while living in another state. But she can’t stay away when her best friend Cassie loses her husband, who dies on duty as a firefighter. Savanna quickly returns home to help, longing to find herself again and make a home for her daughter. She meets Mike’s best friend, Jason, the man who talked him into staying with the department just before the fatal fire. He’s also the man who once saved Savanna’s life. Though hurting herself, something deep inside her won’t let her walk away. Jason needs her but she’s off limits on so many levels. She’s falling for this handsome firefighter but he confuses her to no end, and she could lose her best friend over him.

The River People – This one is a bit different but still has romance. Sometimes an idea hits me and I want to write it, even if it’s not a part of my “branding.”

River-Song’s father, Chief Sits-and-Thinks, is growing old and sick, but he trusts in her to lead their people. Her best friend has become her rival as they compete to marry the big chief’s son. But as River-Song proves herself to him, she begins to see he isn’t the man she thought. Then she must use her gift of words when a wandering band of braves seek a new home with them. They speak her mother’s language so she can understand them. River-Song feels pulled to their leader but confused about her place in the tribe. Can this young girl hold her tribe together as the new braves join them, and again when hostile warriors attack their valley?

The Fairy and her Giant – Sometimes size does matter! This is my work-in-progress novella that should be out in November. There’s pirates, danger and of course a big dose of romance.