Author Bio: Kylie Hillman is the Australian author of the International Bestselling Black Shamrocks MC series, Amazon Bestselling NA/Sports Novel, Brawl (Black Hearts MMA #1), and Amnesia, the first book in the Centrifuge Duet. When she's not writing, she's wife to a Harley-riding, boating and fishing, four-wheel driving, quintessential Aussie bloke and mum to two crazy, adorable, and eccentric kids. Kylie is a Crohn's Disease sufferer and awareness campaigner, as well as an avid tea drinker, metal head, and math nerd, she is known for lacing everything she says with sarcasm and inappropriate innuendo. Writes: Romantic Suspense/Thrillers (MC & MMA) and Psychological Thrillers Author of: Seizing Control, Black Shamrocks MC #1 Brawl, Black Hearts MMA #1 Amnesia, Centrifuge Duet #1 Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m 32. Australian. Married to my own Harley-riding alpha. Mum to two nutcases. Known for my snark, sarcasm, and ability to make inappropriate innuendo out of the most innocent sentences. I love metal, math, and making people laugh when they shouldn’t be. My motto is “Live your best life”, closely followed by “Don’t be a dick”. I have a severe case of Crohn’s Disease so I like to spend my spare time harassing the Australian government about new treatment options and subsidies. When I’m not writing, I can be found reading, compulsively cleaning, or bingeing on Netflix. Tell us about your latest release. My last release was Amnesia, Centrifuge Duet #1 back in February. It was a departure from my usual romantic suspense genre as it was an erotic, psychological suspense thriller. The story follows a young woman who wakes up with amnesia and slowly finds out that she can’t trust those who surround her. Its basic premise covers a tale as old as time – the need to satisfy greed at any costs and the cast iron fact that good does not always triumph evil. What can readers expect from you in the rest of 2017? My next release is the first book in my Black Shamrocks MC spinoff, prequel series. Conan will be released on July 28th and his book is going to introduce readers to the first generation of the Black Shamrocks MC and delve deeper into the chaos they created that impacted their children in the original Black Shamrocks MC series. I also have the second book in the Black Shamrocks MC: First Generation series as well as three more books in my Black Hearts MMA series scheduled for the remainder of 2017. Have you got anything planned for 2018 (book releases, signings etc.)? Next year, I heading to the Titanic Signing in Belfast in March, then to Cincinnati for the Motorcycles, Mobsters, and Mayhem Signing in July, before finishing the year at the West Coast Fiction Festival in Western Australia in November. I beyond excited for my first overseas signings and can’t wait to tick visiting Perth off my bucket list. Book-wise, I plan to publish the final four books in the Black Shamrocks MC: First Generation series plus a couple of psychological thriller standalones. What is your favourite genre to write? A mash-up of the romance, suspense, and thriller genres. Do you see yourself writing in any other genres in the future? I have so many other ideas plotted out already. It’s just a matter of finding the time. Currently taking up room in my Google Drive are the beginnings of a dark paranormal romance trilogy, a teen fantasy series (think along the lines of Tamora Pierce’s The Song of the Lioness series), and an action/crime series. Which book was your favourite to write, and why? Tempting Fate, Black Shamrocks MC #4 was my favourite ever writing experience. That book was the culmination of everything I’d been sowing through the first three books in the series and it flew from my fingertips when I finally got to write it. Mad Dog and Lainey are my favourite characters to write so I always love revisiting them. For those who are new to your work, which book would you recommend starting with? It depends on the level of dark that the reader prefers. If they don’t mind a little darkness, then I’d recommend starting with Seizing Control, Black Shamrocks MC #1. If they enjoy the lighter side of gritty then Brawl, Black Hearts MMA #1 would be better. How do you find names for your characters? And can you write them until you’ve found the perfect one? So far, the names of the characters have come to me when the basic storyline has hit. I have a lot of trouble with last names so I usually open up a discussion in my reader group. My Kollectivites always offer the best suggestions. Which of your characters would you want to be stranded on a desert island with, and why? Mad Dog, hands down! He’s based on my husband (to the extent that his first name is a derivative of my husband’s name) so I know he’d take care of me while keeping me safe and “entertained”. Do you have a character you feel more connected to? I love my female characters. They all have parts of me and the women that I admire in real life in them. While they’re not perfect characters, I think that most women can connect with their personalities, individual foibles, strengths, and shortcomings in a realistic way. What’s the best reaction you’ve ever received over one of your books? The start of the Black Shamrocks MC series tackles issues of domestic violence, sexual assault, and PTSD. I love receiving messages from readers who have been in similar situations or know someone who has thanking me for my realistic handling of the topics. My favourite ever email came from a reader who said that my words helped her understand why her sister behaved the way she did when they were trying to help her leave her abusive relationship. Who is your biggest supporter? Definitely, my husband. He can become resentful about the time that I spend writing, but he also understands that it makes me happy and fulfils my innate need to create. Who are your must-read/one-click authors? JA Huss, Pepper Winters, Lili Saint Germain, Tarryn Fisher, and Susan Fanetti are my must-read authors. I’ll drop what I’m currently reading whenever they have a new release. What book has made you laugh most? LA Casey’s Slater Brothers series. I don’t read a lot of comedy but I love that series. What book has made you cry most? Show the Fire by Susan Fanetti. That book gutted me. Were you an avid reader as a child? Yes! I took a paperback everywhere I went, just in case I had a spare moment to read. I’d also constantly sneak off and hide in the bathroom when I was home to keep reading when I should have been doing chores. Are any of your heroes based on real men in your life? Most definitely. Mad Dog and Hooligan are my husband, through and through. Timber is based on my little brother. Benji shares a struggle with my eldest brother. Jax from the Centrifuge Duet is a compilation of people I’ve come across. Real life experiences and observations flow through my stories. Are any of the experiences in your books based on events that have happened to you/someone you know? They’re based on real life events, but also things I see on the news and observe in strangers. I’m always watching and listening to people and making note of how they behave and react. Do you have any funny writing quirks or stories you could tell us? I don’t know if this is funny or quirky, but I cannot write unless my house is spotless. My inability to function in chaos makes for some “fun” times such as vacuuming at midnight because the messy floor was distracting me. Are you a sporty or curl up with a good book type of person? It depends on the weather. If it’s sunny, I like to be out and about. However, I still read every night before I fall asleep and usually a book or two on the weekends. In the cooler months, if I’m not writing, I’m curled up in my spot on the couch reading. What is the most romantic thing someone has ever done for you? Um, next question please. My husband is not really a romantic and, after 15 years together, I’d probably laugh at him if he tried. I must add that I do get a cup of coffee in bed every morning. What is the wildest thing you’ve ever done? Jeez, I was a bit nuts in my early adult years so there’s a few things to choose from. One that sticks out is being busted having sex on the sports field of an exclusive boy’s high school in the early (daylight) hours of the morning. My husband and I had been walking home from a long night out when the urge hit. We thought we were in a park. Didn’t realise that we were on private school grounds until security started yelling at us. It was a mad scramble to dress and leave before they got to us – I was a bit pissed when we got home because I lost my favourite pair of panties that day. What is the strangest thing you’ve done in the name of book research? I had my husband (who’s an MMA fanatic) work through fight moves with me when I was writing Brawl. I’m sure we looked like a pair of nutters as we wrestled in slow motion on the living room floor. What is your drink of choice while writing? Coffee and lots of it! What is your favourite writing snack? Pretzels and skittles. Do you have any pets? Yes, I have a Johnson’s Bulldog cross AmStaff named Sienna that I saw on a Facebook sales post and fell in love with at first sight. I made my husband drive 250kms each way on our anniversary to get her for me. She was eight months old and her previous owners were trying to sell her because they couldn’t handle her. When she came to us, she settled down straight away and actually saved my life a few years later when a dog attacked me and our little Maltese. We also have a Maltese cross Lhasa Apso named Angus (after Angus Young from AC/DC), a Rainbow Lorikeet named Bow, and a cat name Mia. Are you a morning person? Nope! And I never will be. People who enjoy mornings are evil! If you could have any superpower, what would it be? The ability to read minds. My intuition is strong, but sometimes I don’t listen to it when I should. Being able to read minds would end the guessing game. What book are you reading now? Atheists who kneel and pray by Tarryn Fisher Name 3 books everyone needs to read (excluding yours). I’m going to cheat and name series because I can’t narrow it down to just three books. Signal Bend series by Susan Fanetti. Alex Delaware series by Johnathan Kellerman Rosato & Di Nunzio series by Lisa Scottoline
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