Thursday, April 16, 2020

BLOG TOUR & AUTHOR INTERVIEW with Kirsten Fullmer for "Love on the Line (Women at Work, #1)"

Love on the Line
(Women at Work #1)
by Kirsten Fullmer
Publication date: June 14th, 2017
Genres: Coming of Age, New Adult, Romance, Young Adult
Andrea is an ordinary girl in an extraordinary situation.
She left her comfortable home and family to take a job building a pipeline with her estranged grandpa, Buck. She’s curious about his job, and why her mother dislikes the man. She didn’t expect to uncover buried family secrets, or for the job to be so difficult. 
Rooster isn’t a bad guy. He respects women; he was raised by one of the best. But that new girl on the job is too small and feminine. She’s a distraction, plain and simple, and she doesn’t belong on a pipeline. This job is his chance to impress Buck Brennan, a pipeline legend, and no girly greenhorn is going to ruin it for him. 
Will Andrea prove herself to her grandfather and forge a relationship with the old man, or will continuous disagreements and unexpected sexual tension between Andrea and Rooster derail their hard work?

~ AUTHOR INTERVIEW with Kirsten Fullmer ~

1) What gave you the inspiration for the storyline?

Love on the Line is about a girl who takes a job building a pipeline in the mountains with her grandfather. Even though this book is different than my usual genre, (sweet, small town, cozy mystery, romance) I was inspired by my own daughter who, at the age of nineteen, took a job pipelining with my husband for a summer. It was heart wrenching and hilarious to watch the two of them, and I had to write about it.
 
2) Are there any hidden (or not so hidden) themes in the book that you hope readers will discover?

This book is full of hidden themes such as resilience, modern day adventure, finding your inner strength, and resolving family issues. It’s also about making choices because they feel right for you, even though they may not be what other people would choose.

3) Are any of the characters based on real people you know?

All of the characters in this book are based on real people. For example, Nick is based on two of my daughter’s pipeline friends who died while she worked with them; one from ALS, and the other from a four-wheeler accident. Andrea is based on my daughter and Grandpa Buck is an older, more mellow version of my husband. 

4) Who has influenced you most as a writer?

As a young woman I loved the book Tisha, by Robert Specht, and Mrs. Mike by Benedict and Nancy Freedman. Both books feature young women, girls by today’s standards, who took opportunities offered to them to travel and try new things. I loved seeing the strength within women, even at an early age.  I read the entire Anne of Green Gables series, by L. M. Montgomery, in sixth grade and loved them as well. All those authors inspired me to write about what lies within a woman’s heart.

5) If you could have any three literary characters over to your place for game night, who would you invite, what would you play, what would you serve, and why?

I’d be very interested to spend an evening with Cannie Shapiro from Jennifer Wiener’s Good in Bed. She has a dry wit I love. I’d also invite Lady Whistledown from Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series, and Marilla from Anne of Green Gables. I’d serve fancy finger foods (that I didn’t make) and plenty of wine. We’d play five card stud, but I’d be good at it. The chatter and banter would be memorable, I’m sure.
 
6) Do you feel that you can ever have too many books?

Actually, I do! I travel with my husband full time in our forty-foot RV, so space is at a minimum. This lifestyle means I’ve had to learn to let go of many material things that I love, including but not limited to kitchen gadgets, lovely dishes, toys and games for the grandkids, and sewing/craft supplies. I enjoy reading very much, but I’ve learned to have faith that I know where to find the books I love. The joy is in the words and the experience, not the physical book. (I tell myself this a lot because it’s hard) I either read on my Kindle (lots of extra storage) or I read books and pass them along to daughters and friends, confident that we’ll meet again in some other place or format. 

Author Bio:
Kirsten is a dreamer with an eye for art and design. She worked in the engineering field, taught college, and consulted free lance. Due to health problems, she retired in 2012 to travel with her husband. They live and work full time in a 40' travel trailer with their little dog Bingo. Besides writing romance novels, she enjoys selling art on Etsy and spoiling their three grandchildren. 
As a writer, Kirsten's goal is to create strong female characters who face challenging, painful, and sometimes comical situations. She believes that the best way to deal with struggle, is through friendship and women helping women. She knows good stories are based on interesting and relatable characters. 

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