SEELIE KAY: Postcards from The Ledge: This week in The Loft: Author Kayelle Allen!

Joining me today in The Loft is author Kayelle Allen. Kayelle writes romance, Sci-Fi, and space opera with misbehaving robots, mythic heroes, role-playing immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. The author of multiple books, novellas, and short stories, Kayelle is the founder of Marketing for Romance Writers, a diverse organization of authors and other members of the literary community who share advice, promotional opportunities, and support. A U.S. Navy veteran, she is also a member of RomVets, a group of military and former military women who write romance. Kayelle claims she has been married so long she's tenured.

S: Welcome back Kayelle! It's always a pleasure to have you visit The Loft.

Are there any characteristics the lead characters in your latest book share?

K: Kam and Brinn are both professional thieves who excel at working with children. In the Tarthian Empire, where this story unfolds, Thieves' Guild members working under a "contract" cannot be prosecuted. So to protect themselves, companies hire other thieves to devise systems that prevent theft. These two are the best at what they do, and have worked together in the past. One of their projects led to a romantic encounter, but neither pursued the relationship further.

S: How did you meet your current partner? When did you know he was "the one?"

K: I was on active duty in the Navy and stationed in Memphis, TN. He was also, and we took an orientation class together. One day we were walking in the same basic direction and struck up a conversation. Ended up having a soft drink and talked for hours. We spent every waking hour together we could. We were married less than six months later. What told me he was the one was that he treated me as an equal and always listened. He still does, 45 years later.

S: Forty-five years together is a pretty amazing accomplishment.

What would you like to people know about you?

K: I'm an introvert and highly intuitive. When I meet someone, I almost always spot an opportunity for rapport within a few seconds. I can also tell when people are being fake. I've missed that a few times with people who are good at having a front, but you know that old saying about being once-burned. I tend to come off as reserved, but I am silently figuring you out. Once I get to know you, I do my best to be the kind of friend you need.

S: Relying on my intuition has saved my butt in more than one instance. It's a valuable skill.

What is the best/worst thing that has ever happened to you as a writer?

K: I think of two amazing things right off the bat. First was when a reader who had to flee Hurricane Katrina's stormy wrath told me she took an autographed copy of my first book with her to protect it. I cried when I read that. Second, when I was doing a reading at Outlantacon, a gay geek Sci-Fi convention in Atlanta, Georgia, I held up the book "Wulf, Tales of the Chosen," my first MM book, and a young black man in the audience jumped to his feet--one of the heroes on the cover was also black. He said, "You wrote Wulf? Oh my God! I have to give you a hug!" and he ran up to where I was sitting and hugged me. It was his favorite book. We've stayed friends over the years, and honestly, I never get tired of telling that story. If you're interested in the con, you can find out more here. It's associated with Gaylaxicon. https://outlantacon.org

S: Those are wonderful experiences!

What's the best advice you have ever been given?

K: Focus on improving your strengths, and your weaknesses will decrease. Figure out what you're good at and do more of it. We all know what our weaknesses are. Focusing on those do not necessarily improve our strengths. Think of your energy as coins. If you have 10 coins of writing energy to spend every day, spending one coin on 10 different weak areas won't accomplish as much as spending 8 on improving one and 2 on a weakness. If you want to go far, prioritize amplifying what you already do right.

S: That's great advice.

What inspired "Package Deal?"

K: I'd been wanting to start a new series featuring the Thieves' Guild, an organization in my Tarthian Empire stories. It's been an important part of multiple books, including all the Antonello Brothers books. I saw an opportunity to get involved with a single dad anthology--"Package Deal"-- and immediately thought of Brinn. He'd been a major character in "A Stolen Heart," which is my permafree intro to the Antonello Brothers. I loved writing Brinn, because he had a wonderful sense of humor and adored working with children. So I grabbed this chance to tell a bit more of his story in "Hacking Planet Fun."

S: Is there anything special you would like people to know about "Package Deal?"

K: The anthology has multiple authors and genres, but all the stories have single fathers who find love. It was released on Father's Day, which I thought was a great time for a book about dads.

Here are the blurbs for "Package Deal" and "Hacking Planet Fun."

Package Deal, a Single Father Romance Anthology

Families come in all shapes and sizes. Divorced, widowed, adopted, blended, fostered, gay or straight -- each family has unique tale. Join these authors as they tell stories of amazing single dads who find love in unexpected places. Laugh, cry, get a little hot, maybe even throw your phone. Don't say we didn't warn you.

Join these authors as they show off these amazing single dads! Featuring Stories by: Kayelle Allen, Rae Tina, Rhylie Matthews, L.P. Guleva, C. E. Lashua, Jenni Lynn, and Kaci Rose.

Hacking Planet Fun by Kayelle Allen

A twist on academy stories, the male-male science fiction romance Hacking Planet Fun focuses on the staff, and introduces a classroom of tiny precocious thieves.

Kam, Master of the Thieves' Guild Academy on the planet Kelthia, deals with a school full of fledgling thieves, con artists, and hackers, and doesn't need attitude from students, faculty, or staff. When he rejects a half-feline half-human prodigy for unmanageable behavior, his ex, Brinn, fosters the girl himself.

Brinn handles the unruly child well, and Kam grudgingly agrees she shows great potential as a future thief. Missing Brinn, Kam seeks to win him back. But when the child comes under suspicion as having hacked Planet Fun, an empire-renowned anti-gravity theme park, Kam must decide whether to trust his well-honed instincts, or his long-divided heart...