Thursday, February 19, 2015

Interview with Kevin V. Symmons, author of 'Solo' #womensfiction



Kevin Symmons has a BS and an MBA. He has attended the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music and studied in France. After a successful career in business management and consulting, he returned to his first love: writing. His first novel, a spell-binding paranormal romance titled "Rite of Passage" is set in the chaotic period after World War II. It's received dozens of great reviews and was a RomCon Reader's Crown Finalist for 2013. His second effort is a contemporary romantic thriller set near his Cape Cod home, titled "Out of the Storm." Like his first novel, it is an Amazon Best-Seller and received many 5-star reviews. "Solo", an intense and ambitious women's fiction work, has been released from The Wild Rose Press, his award-winning publisher. It explores the devastating effects of privation and domestic violence on the beautiful and extraordinarily talented young heroine.
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About the Book:

Title: Solo
Author: Kevin V. Symmons
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Pages: 353
Genre: Contemporary Women’s Fiction
Format: Paperback/Kindle

Jessica Long has the voice of an angel. But Jesse's cold beauty masks a brutal past filled with privation and cruelty. As the talented soprano approaches her final year at New England Conservatory, she is faced with a choice: stay with her striking young lover or accept the offer of a successful Broadway producer. She chooses the latter only to discover that fame can exact a cruel price. After years of yearning, the lovers meet again - at Jesse's ragged homestead on the Maine Coast.

Matt will reveal the benefactor who's followed and protected Jesse as the lovers face a confrontation with the jealous pursuer who's tried to destroy her. One final choice awaits that may cost Jesse both Matt and her life. The Broadway impresario, a mysterious crime lord, and Matt's stunning literary agent head a cast of absorbing secondary characters. Filled with unexpected plot twists, Solo is a classic, leading the reader over a bittersweet tapestry spanning fifteen years.

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Thank you for this interview!  I’d like to know more about you as a person first.  What do you do when you’re not writing?

Hmmm… good question. I am not one dimensional but writing and promotion consumes a lot of my time. I love skiing, exercise and boating (I actually have certification from the USCG for piloting and navigation). I also sing in several groups… which ties in with my novel Solo. Attended New England Conservatory and have an undergrad minor in music. And my wife and I do a lot of fund raising. Plus I have a great extended family across the country that I am devoted to!

When did you start writing?

I began in junior high. Wrote my first short story at 11… a war story since I grew up a post war baby. And I had the great fortune to have great motivational teachers in High School and College.

As a published author, what would you say was the most pivotal point of your writing life?

I guess my diligence in submitting until I found the editor and publisher that loved my first novel. After years of rejections it was like being drafted into the major leagues! And I would tell prospective authors… if your work is good there is someone that will appreciate it!

If you could go anywhere in the world to start writing your next book, where would that be and why?

Believe it or not… right here in my den in Plymouth MA. It’s the place where I feel most at home and the place where all my novels have been written! The greater Boston area and Cape Cod is replete with settings and story possibilities.

If you had 4 hours of extra time today, what would you do?

Promote more! So much of being a published author is selling yourself and your work. There is never enough time and though at first I was averse to social media I find I enjoy interacting with my many fans and friends on FB and twitter!

Where would you like to set a story that you haven’t done yet?

I’m into New England. It has so much history and so many great places I love to just write about here… stories that revolve around the greater Boston area. All my novels have been set in NE.

Back to your present book, Solo, how did you publish it?

I have been a published author with my current publisher, The Wild Rose Press, for some time and though it varied from their commercial fiction mantra they liked it and accepted the manuscript so I was glad to stay “at home!” They are a great publisher.

In writing your book, did you travel anywhere for research?

Actually the novel deals with areas that I have experience with… serious musical study, musical theater, publishing and sadly, domestic violence so I did some field trips and study but much of it came from my life…

Why was writing Solo so important to you?

I had published several novels prior to Solo and I realize this sounds trite but every author has a story they want to tell so I had been working on this for several years and felt it was a novel and story that needed to be told.

Where do you get your best ideas and why do you think that is?

I know that many authors get ideas from different sources… I get mine from observation and life experience… and that’s where Solo evolved from. It germinated from an idea I and grew into a major novel!

Any final words?

I would just tell aspiring writers to never give up. Don’t sell yourself short and always be honing your craft. Remember out job as writers is to entertain, offer escape, educate and elicit emotion from those whom we sell our work to!

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