For those who don’t know me, I’m Kayce Lassiter, and I write contemporary romance, which I call Cowgirl Fiction—stories set on a ranch, a farm, or somewhere close to one. My characters wear western hats and boots, and are more mainstream country than what you would find in a true “western” novel. But they’re always “country” in some way, with a redneck thrown in here and there just for fun. (Ain’t nuthin’ funnier than a redneck. Right?)
Kayce Lassiter
My heroines are pretty inside and out, tough and fiery, and my heroes are gorgeous, smart, and capable—“can-do” folks with fixable flaws and the ability to laugh at themselves. I grew up country. I’ve had horses and dogs my entire life, and have had an incredible number of “opportunities” in life to laugh at myself, so I write what I know.
My stories have characters that will make you laugh and cry, but I hope they all remind you of someone from your own life…because they are fun and healing. There isn’t a one of us that couldn’t stand a little more laughter in our lives—ain’t that right? Yeah, I see you nodding. Laughter gets us through the mundane and the difficult…so read a good book and laugh until you snort!
My new release, Murder by Dummies, is book one in The Marilyn Club series, and is currently available to download from Totally Bound and all other major online retailers. Woo Hoo! Here’s an inside peek at how the concept for The Marilyn Club series came about.
We all have a Crazy Aunt Millie, or Nutty Uncle Smitty. Maybe you have a huge family tree with lots of crazies (like mine), or a small family tree with only a few. Either way, you’ve got someone that’s nuttier ‘n a squirrel turd. I know you do!
How do you handle it when you take Crazy Aunt Millie to the doctor who has her remove her shoes, and her feet are covered in duct tape? Seriously, that’s the only way she could adhere the homemade arch supports to the bottoms of her feet. How else would you do it?
Or what if your bubble-off-plumb mother asked you to interpret for a comedy show she’s putting on for a deaf organization, and when the curtain opens behind you, your two-hundred-fifty-pound mom is on stage in a tutu? I’m speechless. What would you do?
Well, first, you refuse to interpret or drive them to the doctor ever again. Next, you laugh until you cry, or snort—whichever comes first. Then you write a story about some equally crazy characters. Because laughter heals, and the whole world has a little something that needs healin’.
Thus, was born The Marilyn Club series. A close friend once said I was much like the niece, Marilyn, in the old TV sitcom, The Munsters. Marilyn was the cute blond (okay, so I’m not blonde—it’s my story, I’m tellin’ it my way). Anyway, Marilyn was the only “normal” one in the bunch. The rest of the family (all nutty monsters) felt sorry for her. To them, she was the odd one.
So, I took a young woman surrounded by a sea of crazies, gave her some partners-in-crime who were also related to the highly dysfunctional, and plopped them all down in Buzzard’s Breath, Arizona. Then I hid in the bushes to see what they’d do. As predicted, what they do ain’t right.
We all have our quirks, but each of us knows someone who makes us look like a poster child for “normal.” So, hop aboard and take a tour through the district of not-rights, where you’ll meet the zany characters of book one, Murder by Dummies. Recognize anyone?
I hope you’ll see at least one character who reminds you of Nutty Uncle Smitty. The crazy train is leaving the tracks…get on and let’s see where it leads us. That’s my story, loony and ludicrous, and I’m stickin’ to it. Hang on real tight now, ‘cuz we’re gonna go real, real fast!
Love ya,
Kayce
https://www.totallybound.com/book/murder-by-dummies