Blog Tour: Connected by Kim Karr

Today we welcome Kim Karr, author of Connected to our blog!!

Book release date: March 22, 2013.

Goodreads link:Here

Author Information can be found here: Link

Cover design: Okay Creations

Blurb:

What if a ‘Once in a Lifetime’ could happen twice? 

Suffering from a past full of tragedy, Dahlia London's soul has been left completely shattered. Happily ever after is a far cry from reality in her world. But, when she is reconnected with her past, the bonds that form are irrefutable.

When River Wilde, lead singer of The Wilde Ones, comes back into Dahlia’s life, the intensity that fires their relationship combined with underlying feelings that have never died lead her to believe she has met her soulmate. 

Struggling with confusion as old connections fade and new ones begin, Dahlia's grief begins to lift -- 

but guilt remains. River wants to be the one to mend all that is torn within her. 

But with a past that is never really gone, can their future survive?

Excerpt:

“Pearls or no pearls?” I asked as I watched him stride toward me in the mirror. I had known him since I was five years old, but for some reason the way he looked at me that night left me breathless.

Ben wrapped his tan arms around my waist and started to kiss my neck. I could feel the soft, warm skin of his freshly shaven face. “Dahl, I’d prefer nothing at all to  be perfectly honest,” he muttered while he began to unzip my dress.

My Review:

Holy hotness Kim Karr!!! I can't even begin to put in words how much I LOVE this book!! I was all over the map of emotions while reading this gem... I was smiling like a goofball in love, crying like I just lost my first dog, and then blushing because of the amazeball love scenes.... WHOA.... The scenes. M-E-O-W!!! Kim has now introduced me to one of my top 5 book crushes... RIVER WILDE! 5 out of 5 stars on the knock my socks off scale.... For sure!!!

I immediately fell in love with Dahl (Dahlia). She is a girl from my own heart... Loves fashion, bling, and rock n' roll!! I love her down to Earth, girl next door style. I love how she speaks her mind... She is strong and independent but sexy and likeable. I admire her for her strength, her ability to love, and her perseverance! Dahl has not been dealt an easy hand in life, yet she still smiles, continues to live, and enjoys life. Dahl has loved the same boy since she was a child. They were the perfect couple... The typical prom queen and king... The envy of anyone who knew them. Then life takes a different turn in the road and everything Dahl knows is ripped away from her. She questions how her life is suppose to continue without her rock.

As much as I love Dahl... Words cannot express my feelings for RIVER WILDE!!! Whoa... Give me a friggin fan and a cigarette and I don't even smoke!!! HO-LY HOT-NESS!!!! Wowwy... Wow... Wow!!! River is a bad boy rocker who isn't really a bad boy. The best of both worlds!!! He sets his eyes on Dahl and wants her against the wall, in a bathroom, wherever he can have her. Whew... Did I mention the love scenes made even me blush?!?!? River is a poetic, romantic, super sexy, rock my world stud!! He is hell bent on being the glue that molds Dahl back together and hold her there. Who wouldn't want a YUMILICIOUS sex on legs man to rescue them!! Problem is River has a secret.... Which left me obnoxiously screaming "WHAT THE?!?!?" at my Kindle. I am impatiently waiting for book 2 to grace me with its presence so I can drown myself

 in a certain River. ;)

The connection between Dahl and River make this story a must read. Kim Karr is an evil little genius that rocked my world with this book! There was a point that I knew I HAD to finish reading... No more bookmarks would do. It was THAT good!! There were so many aspects of Connected that I loved and could talk about forever... But my all time fave was the basis behind the story line. That was the question... What if a ‘Once in a Lifetime’ could happen twice?

Author Interview:

How did Connected come about? And where did the inspiration come from?

The night The Voice premiered on NBC in April 2011, I watched it and fell in love with the show and Adam Levine. I started to think about his journey with Maroon 5 and the number of years it took him to gain fame. I had been thinking about writing a book but hadn’t come up with a storyline that intrigued me enough. For some reason, that night the story of Dahlia, River, and Ben came to mind. The name of the book was different as well as the character names, but the plot never veered.

Do you plan on this being a series? If so, how many books do you plan to write?

Yes the series name is Second Chances. I know for certain there will be at least 4 books. Connected and Torn will be full novels. Frayed and Mended will be novellas.

How long did it take to write Connected?

I planned out my story chapter by chapter as soon as the idea came to mind. When I was done I had twenty chapters and an idea of what would occur in each one. That summer, I began to fill in the chapters starting with the end. However, life got busy and I put the story aside. In April of 2012, I read 50 Shades of Grey and Beautiful Disaster followed by Thoughtless and Effortless. I craved more books like that to read, so I went to Facebook to find updates. I met a girl online who was just as enchanted with these books as I was, and we started PMing. Turns out, we were both writing books. I pulled out my manuscript and sent her what I had. This gave me the push I needed to continue telling the story of Connected. As our friendship grew, I started sharing more of my story ideas with her. She introduced me to other writers, and I continued to write with the help and encouragement of my new friends. I officially re-started Connected in August 2012 and finished in January 2013.

Was it difficult to pick a cover for the book?

No it was actually very easy. I found a photo online of a guy and girl and the girl happened to be wearing pearls. Pearls play an important role in Connected so I just knew it would be perfect. I sent the picture to Sarah at Okay Creations and she sought out the photographer. The model would not sign off, so Sarah asked me if I wanted to hire a photographer to do a photoshoot to create a similar photo. I said absolutely and she arranged it. The people on the cover of Connected are a real-life model couple who Sarah had worked with before. She messaged me and asked if I had hair color preferences. I said no. And three days later I had the beautiful cover for Connected.

Is there anything that you want your readers to know?

I chose to have each chapter be titled by a song that best represented the events occurring within. My goal is that the reader will listen to the song before reading each chapter so they will feel the full impact of the scene.  

Special message from Kim: If you haven’t watched the book trailer Connected, you must. The characters in the video are whom I casted for the roles. Also, I hope it conveys the emotion I am trying to present throughout the entire novel. The song used could not have been anything other than perfect.

Check out the book trailer.... HAWT!!

Kim Karr Giveaway:
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