Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Guest post: "Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places" by Urban Fantasy Author Christine Amsden

Some of you may be too young to recall the popular country music song “Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places” by Johnny Lee. It came out in 1980, when I was three, and I grew up with it. It's one of those country songs that I think exemplifies the genre – a song about real people and real struggles. It was a song that I think many people can relate to at one point in their life or another.
For Kaitlin, the heroine of my new novel, Kaitlin's Tale, it's her theme song. It fits hero Matthew Blair as well – really, it has to. Otherwise Kaitlin couldn't own the final line of the song: “Now that I found a friend and a lover
I'll bless the day I discover you-oh you
Lookin' for love
(In all the wrong places ...)”
I think it's especially true that when we're young, we know what we want more than what we need. These are not the same things.
Kaitlin wants a fairy tale hero. She wants to be loved for who she is but ironically, won't tell anyone who that is. She's actively afraid of Matthew when she discovers he's a telepath and might really learn the truth about her.
But Kaitlin has very serious problems at the heart of her journey through man after man. She was sexually abused by her stepfather at a tender age and her big secret – that it's really her fault – is the lie driving her life.
It's not really her fault. But she believes it is, as do many, many victims of sexual abuse.
In the end, a telepath is just what Kaitlin needs, even if it's not what she wants.
Telepaths don't exist in real life. Which is why even as I wrote Kaitlin's story, I found myself hoping that others would recognize the real need here – not for a telepath, but to tell someone the truth. Someone who can help. I know you're out there somewhere, but only in a general sense. Nobody can help you if you don't first tell them you need help.
Meanwhile, enjoy the fantasy of one woman looking for love in all the wrong places. She finds it when she's honest.



Title: Kaitlin's Tale
Genre: urban fantasy/paranormal romance
Author: Christine Amsden
Publisher: Twilight Times Books

About the Book:
Kaitlin Mayer is on the run from the father of her baby – a vampire who wants her to join him in deadly eternity. Terrified for her young son, she seeks sanctuary from the hunters guild. But they have their own plans for her son, and her hopes of safety are soon shattered.
When she runs into Matthew Blair, an old nemesis with an agenda of his own, she dares to hope for a new escape. But Matthew is a telepath, and Kaitlin's past is full of dark secrets she never intended to reveal.
About the Author: 
Christine is the award-winning author of the Cassie Scot series, the story of the only ungifted scion of a family of powerful sorcerers. Her latest novel, Kaitlin's Tale, follows the trials of Cassie's best friend as she falls in love with Cassie's arch-nemesis. Christine's other titles include The Immortality VirusTouch of Fate, and Madison's Song.
When she isn't writing, Christine is often editing or coaching other authors. In recent years, freelance editing has become almost as great a passion as writing itself. Plus, it supports her writing habit. Christine is a wife, a mom, and a foster mom. She lives in Olathe, Kansas, just outside Kansas City.

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