Author Name: Kelly Elizabeth Huston

Book Title: A Girl, Stuck

Book Genre: Romantic Crime Story

Release Date: March 5

Publisher: Watermount Publishing

Welcome, Kelly! How would you describe A Girl, Stuck?

Devastated by heartache, goaded by ambition, and blinded by attraction, private eye Harry’s allegiances falter when she dives undercover to help a cop-friend solve a cold case. With dreams of a life in law enforcement, she wants to prove herself but when she falls for the good, bad guy who might be too far down the wrong road to be saved, it threatens everything—her family, her career, and her life.

What sparked the idea for this book?

So this book is a bit darker than my previous book, A VERY CROWDED HOUSE, and definitely more than my debut TEX MILLER IS DEAD, but it is definitely what I like to read. But the idea of doing right even when doing right feels so wrong really appealed to me.

How long did it take for you to write the book? Did you do any research?

So much research! That said, I drafted it quickly. Three months. But the research into law enforcement and its application procedure was exhaustive. Also things like the bill of rights—things I should have known as a

What’s your favorite part about writing/being an author? What do you find challenging?

I am a REVISION fan. Drafting is tough (#teampantser here) but once I have a beginning middle and end and all those words to play with, I’m in heaven.

If you were speaking to someone who hasn’t read your writing before, why should they want to read A Girl, Stuck?

Pardon my bias for showing, but I think it is a great story. But I also think, while the inherent dangers heighten the circumstances, the notion that a young adult thinks she has it all figured out and knows exactly who she is, only to learn she doesn’t and she isn’t is universal. At least my ego thinks it is. I think we all went through that phase of recognizing there is always another lesson to learn, more dues to pay.

Fill in the blank: Readers who liked Harlan Coben’s Myron Bolitar series will also like A Girl, Stuck.

There’s crime, some laughs and low-heat love story with side characters you’ll root for as much as the main ones.

What about the writing/editing/publishing process has been the most surprising to you so far?

How high the highs are and how low the lows. It’s a wild ride I wasn’t prepared for, but I don’t want to get off it now.

Any words of wisdom you give your pre-published writer self (or to a new writer)?

Everyone needs to choose their own publishing path, but don’t let the gatekeepers stop you. I queried, signed with a fantastic agent, revised two manuscripts with her. When on submission, editors at BIG 5 houses said the most wonderful things about my writing and my stories, but they didn’t know how to sell them. Nothing feels better than getting read and having total strangers publicly praise your book on Insta or Amazon or Goodreads, et al. Do it!!!

Are you working on a new project? Please tell us about it.

I’m eager for my next book, SEE SADIE JANE RUN. It’s not nearly as dark but includes another feisty heroine (a brilliant but broken PhD geotechnical engineer) that, despite what Thomas Wolfe said, goes home again. It’s a second chance story with some intrigue and a quirky cast of characters in an evolving coastal Georgian town. It also includes an encore by the fierce and fabulous Leo Kline from A GIRL, STUCK. I’m aiming to publish it in late July/early August.

What was the last book you read? What did you think of it?

I read Letters for Lucien by Suzy England. Oof, I cried and I am not a crier when it comes to books. Read it but brace yourselves.

Where can readers find you?

website: https://www.kellyelizabethhuston.com/ newsletter(monthly) sign-up found there

https://www.facebook.com/K.E.HustonWriter

https://www.instagram.com/k.e.huston/

https://www.threads.net/@k.e.huston

https://twitter.com/K_E_Huston

Thank you, Kelly! A Girl, Stuck is out now.

A Girl, Stuck

She wants in. He needs out.

Moments from her small but pivotal role in A Very Crowded House, Harriet “Harry” Smith begins her own story where an Ivy League education, her wit, and talented two hands make no promises, least of all the promise of a happily-ever-after.

A typically tough private investigator and criminology professor, Harry Smith distracts herself from heartbreak by diving headlong into her latest surveillance job. On a steamy New York City night, she sets out on foot, cocksure and reckless, landing face to face with Trey Popov, a serious rising star in the Trubetzkoy crime family whose eyelashes just might be worth killing for. She escapes the verboten interaction but when the two meet again, Harry plunges undercover as a wholesome schoolteacher who turns Trey’s head despite his compulsion to climb the criminal ladder.

Harry’s unconventional, clandestine scheme and forbidden attraction combust in a violent disaster. All she can do is work toward justice for her murdered police detective-dad. Along the way, she hopes to rescue the good, bad guy too far down the wrong road to be saved. For Harry, doing the right thing is also the hardest thing, but crossing some lines isn’t in your DNA when you bleed blue. Devastated by heartache, goaded by ambition, and blinded by attraction, Harry’s allegiances falter, and the differences between academic theory and real-life prove that no one makes it out unchanged. Hell, some don’t make it out at all.

Author bio:

Kelly Elizabeth Huston writes women-centric, genre-straddling fiction that always includes laughs and a love story. But sometimes there’s heartbreak, a smidge of mystery, moments of suspense, and maybe a dead body… or two. Maybe. Above all, she hopes her protagonists are better for it in the end, and she entertains her readers along the way. She currently lives in Georgia with her husband and two nearly-grown sons, who are, hands down, the best cheer squad a writer could wish for. After spending a few years in the traditional publishing space, Kelly leaped to the indie side without looking back and is eager to dole out her book babies and get them read. She hopes you’ll join her in the adventure. www.kellyelizabethhuston.com