SEELIE KAY: Postcards from The Ledge: This week in The Loft: Author Kim West!

Joining me today in The Loft is fellow Extasy author Kim West. Her new contemporary romance book is her first foray into the romance genre. Previously, she published a book on Pilates and stretching exercises. Kim turned to writing romance after the COVID pandemic forced her to close her Interior Design business. She now writes full-time. The "mother" of three cats, Kim lives in Hout Bay, a picturesque fishing village in Cape Town, South Africa.

Author Kim West

S: Good morning, Kim. Thanks for joining me today!

Why write romance?

K: We live in an ugly broken world where people need to escape and dream of beauty. What better way than with a steamy erotic/romantic story? Sex is part of everyday life and I love to write about it. Sex is classy, beautiful, and stimulates the senses. It also makes us feel alive and it is an escape mechanism. When a man and a woman meet and are attracted to each other, they want to explore, and touch and feel, and in return, that makes them feel desired and attractive. Sex is also a much-needed physical activity to reduce stress. In short, we as humans need sex, and that is why God gave us sex. Like all else in the world, it must be treated with respect, and that is what I like to portray in my books. Sex is beautiful, wonderful, and aromatherapy for mind, body, and soul.

S: I think all romance books offer an escape from reality, no matter the sub-genre. They are aromatherapy for the mind, body, and soul.

How do you develop your characters? Do you use photos or a vision board?

K: Neither. I have a wide circle of friends and know a wonderful collection of spectacularly outrageous people that I have met through the years. I love using them as my role models, or I dream them up.

S: I tend to write about lawyers for that very reason. I have met a broad range of people with a fascinating collection of quirks and foibles. Great fodder for my stories.

Do you outline the plot for your stories before writing?

K: Yes, I do, but it invariable changes. I start with an idea but as the plot develops, I will embroider as the story unfolds and evolves, and then it usually changes direction

S: I always say you can't write the ending until you understand the journey and that can't happen until your characters actually complete their journey.

What do you write first? The blurb or the book?

K: The book. I have no idea how it is going to develop.

S: Do you write in other genres?

K: I compiled a book with motivational inspirational stories about life after divorce. So, I do write in other genres. I also wrote a children’s book a few years ago, but never submitted it for publication and would love to do that now. I just need to find the time to finish it.

S: What famous book did you wish you had written?

K: "The Prince of Tides" by Pat Conroy. He has an unbelievable way to describe something. He has a way with words that I have never found with another writer. Each to his own, but he is really one of a kind.

S: I enjoyed that book as well!

What do you want inscribed on your tombstone?

K: "Here lies a lady that inspired and motivated others to be the best God made them to be." I would like to be remembered for humility, kindness, empathy, and that I always respected other people in every way.

S: What inspired "Yes?"

K: Me! My fantasies.

Here's the blurb--

Although happily married, Cara felt there was a void in her life. Is she unconsciously looking for someone to fill this void? And will she find it?

Cara Belmond is a successful fashion designer and owns Cara’s Collections. She’s married to Rudolf, an artist, and together they own the Belmond Art Gallery. Beautiful and successful, they’re regarded as the golden couple of Cape Town. Cara and Rudolf are very much in love and have a very active sex life, but sometimes—just sometimes—she wonders if she doesn’t need a little bit more. Maybe a little harder.

That is until one night at one of their art exhibitions where she meets Mario Perez. Mario is Spanish, dangerously attractive, and arrogant. He invites Cara for coffee, and instantly fascinated by him she accepts. Will he be what she needs?