Author Interview with Tawdra Kandle

Today I am pleased to host one of my favorite romance authors, Tawdra Kandle. She and I met through Indie Book Fest (fabulous Fall reader/author event. You NEED to go!) and I love her books. Well, she has a new one coming out TODAY, so I asked her to tell us a little about her perspective on romance. Here’s what she said:

TBR: In your opinion, how does modern romance genre differ from traditional romance? (Or does it?)

TK: I think there is more of a tendency for strong female characters in modern romance. While certainly not all of tradition romance featured less-than-strong heroines, there was often a lack of depth or of self-reliance there. I also think many of the tropes seen in traditional romance are no longer viable or popular. As society has shifted and moved, so has the love story

TBR: What gave you the idea for Fifty Frogs?

TK: Last fall, I was on my way home after the end of Indie BookFest, the author education/reader appreciation event that I organize and run with my business partner. One of my daughters was in the backseat of the car, and my dear friend, fellow author Gail Priest was also with us. Just before we turned the final corner in our neighborhood, we spied a turtle in the middle of the street. We stopped and attempted to ‘rescue’ the creature by moving him to the side of the road nearest the lake. 

Unfortunately he didn’t want to be saved. He kept crawling under my car, running along beneath it as we drove slowly. Just then, a very nice looking young man (ahem!) emerged from one of the houses and offered to help us. While he and I tried to maneuver so that he could reach the turtle, Gail leaned into the backseat and said to my daughter, “He’s really cute! Get out of the car!” That became a scene in Fifty Frogs, and ultimately, it inspired three different characters. I was happy that I had a vehicle to share some of the amazing stories my daughters have experienced in their dating lives . . . some are much stranger than fiction!

TBR: What defines a “perfect” romance?

TK: I’m not sure there is such a thing! I think there are a few key components to any successful love story: a strong man, a strong woman, an attraction that grows the more they get to know each other, a sense of mutual respect and the evidence that both main characters have grown over the course of the story. For me, there must also be a happy ending! 

TBR: Ok, so let’s switch to real life. Is romance necessary to the success of a love relationship?

TK: Oh, I think so, though I’m not sure that always has to be romance in the traditional ways. I’m not a flowers and chocolates girl, but I love that my husband always makes me coffee. I love that after 30 years of marriage, he still kisses me good-bye and good night. In my books, romantic gestures are usually unexpected ones, ways in which the characters show each other how much they care in surprising ways.

TBR: What is your favorite way of keeping the romance alive in a relationship?

TK: I am intentional about making sure we have time together, apart from other people. For Christmas this year, our kids bought us very comfortable reclining folding chairs for sitting out by our lake. We make a point of sitting out there each evening, either before dinner or after, talking. You’d think that after thirty-plus years we’d run out of things to say, but not yet! 

Thanks for talking with us Tawdra. Now for the book:

Fifty Frogs: Vivian is sick of dating. Sick of the way guys treat her, sick of living and crying by when and if they call . . . she’s just done.

When her aunt reminds her that a girl has to kiss a lot of frogs before she finds her prince–Aunt Gail says that number is fifty–Vivian decides she’s taking control of her dating life: she’s going to go on a series of first dates only, and each one must end in a kiss. She begins chronicling each date–the good, the bad and the downright unbelievable–with a plan to turn the stories into an in-depth magazine series about the realities of dating in the twenty-first century.

Everything’s going along according to plan until Vivian hits a bump in her road with Frog Number Five, who doesn’t seem to understand his role in this deal. And despite Vivian’s determination to make it all the way to the big five-oh, when fate keeps throwing this same man across her path, she begins to wonder if maybe it’s time to ditch the plan . . . and kiss just one more frog.

Click here to get your copy of Fifty Frogs today!

Author Bio: Tawdra Kandle writes romance, in just about all its forms. She loves unlikely pairings, strong women, sexy guys, hot love scenes and just enough conflict to make it interesting. Her books include young adult and new adult paranormal romance, new adult and adult contemporary romance and adult paramystery romance. She lives in central Florida with a husband, kids, sweet pup and too many cats. And yeah, she rocks purple hair.

You can connect with Tawdra on Twitter or Instagram (@Tawdra) and on Facebook.