Interview with K.M. Daughters, Authors of Beyond the Code of Conduct

K.M. Daughters is the multi-published writing team of sisters Pat Casiello and Kathie Clare. Their pen name is dedicated to their parents Katherine and Michael, the "K" and "M" in K.M. Daughters. Their author career began in January 2008 with contracts from The Wild Rose Press for an inspirational romance, Jewel of the Adriatic, and a romantic suspense novel, Against Doctors Orders, Book #1 in The Sullivan Boys Series. Beyond The Code of Conduct, Book 2 in the series, is rated 4-stars, compelling, page turner, by Donna M. Brown, Reviewer for Romantic Times Book Reviews (June 2009 Issue #304). A contemporary romance, Past, Present and Forever is available in E-book from Sapphire Blue Publishing. Residing in Illinois and New Jersey, the sisters continue to work on The Sullivan Boys Series. Book #3 will release later this year and two additional books are anticipated to complete the series. You can visit their website at www.kmdaughters.com. Follow them at www.twitter.com/kmdaughters.

Thank you for this interview, K.M. Can you tell us briefly what your latest book, Beyond the Code of Conduct, is all about?

FBI Agency brass and Sullivan family connections force Special Agent Bobbie Leighton into an undercover operation with inactive Homicide Detective Joe Sullivan. Posing as a cattleman and his arm-candy wife the couple is assigned to infiltrate Bradley Sterling´s illegal operation. Suspected of human trafficking, Sterling may be connected with Jimmy Sullivan´s murder. Bobbie and Joe struggle to adhere to their professional code of conduct living under the same roof. Sweet memories of their personal history collide with their bogus roles and the conflict smolders, smokes and bursts into flames.

Can you tell us who or what was the inspiration behind your book?

Bobbie and Joe were secondary characters in Book 1 of The Sullivan Boys Series. The Henna Housewife Killer attacked Bobbie, live-in caregiver for the heroine´s little girl. Detective Joe Sullivan, the hero´s brother, was gravely injured saving Bobbie´s life. Their budding romance ended after the attack. Bobbie compelled us to write her story. Did she find a satisfying career after a long string of odd jobs? Did she ever get over Joe Sullivan? How did Joe deal with a desk job after his injury? Did he ever get over Bobbie? We had to find out the answers.

Is this your first published book and if so, can you tell us your experiences in finding a publisher for it?

No, this is our fourth published book, three out of four with The Wild Rose Press. TWRP is the publisher of our first book, an inspirational romance. That book features Marian apparitions and roses are strongly associated with these occurrences. We sought publication with The Wild Rose Press because of its name. A few weeks after we submitted the inspirational, a dear friend finished reading the romantic suspense manuscript and raved about it. Her reaction inspired us to, "what-the-heck", submit it, too. Separate TWRP Editors contracted both books on the same day.

How has The Wild Rose Press been to work with?

A joy and a blessing. We´ve worked with two Editors, Nicola Martinez (now heads up White Rose Publishing, an affiliate) and Joelle Walker. Both women are accomplished, smart, exacting, supremely professional and wonderful to work with.

Do you have an agent?

Not yet. Anybody interested?

Can you tell us how long it took you to write your book and also how long it took from the time The Wild Rose Press sent the contract and the time it was released?

It took approximately four months from concept to completion. The book released nine months from contracting – the latest "newborn".

Do you have any words of inspiration for other writers who would like to be wearing your shoes?

Our hopeful journey to publication held pitfalls and encouraging affirmations throughout. The small successes lifted us up. We celebrated our first finalist position in an RWA chapter contest as if we´d won a gigantic prize. Because it affirmed us as viable writers with a voice that appealed at least to contest judges. As small successes accumulated we gave them free reign to lift us higher. Our point? Relish every uplifting aspect your writing brings you. Whether it´s rereading a sentence and inwardly thinking, "Wow that´s good!" or signing a multi-book contract. Love every minute and ignore the pitfalls.

I understand that you are touring with Pump Up Your Book Promotion in June via a virtual book tour. Can you tell us all why you chose a virtual book tour to promote your book online?

We discovered Pump Up Your Book through Dorothy Thompson´s guest blog on an author site. From there we visited Dorothy´s website to learn more. Author testimonials convinced us to tour with Dorothy. The internet is THE way to reach a vast audience. And our fondest, far-flung dream is to find devoted readers and help them find us.

What´s next for you?

We have an inspirational romance, Rose of The Adriatic, releasing from White Rose Publishing on 7/31/09. Truly a book of our heart, so we´re very excited about it. We´ve contracted with The Wild Rose Press on the 3rd book in The Sullivan Boys Series, Capturing Karma. Our WIP is the 4th book in the series. One more after that and we´ll say good-bye to The Sullivan Boys.

Thank you for this interview, K.M. Can you tell us how we can find out more about you and your new book?

Please accept our invitation to visit our website: www.kmdaughters.com. Thank you so much for inviting us!