Aloha to Kendall Grey and INHALE: A JUST BREATHE NOVEL

Let's kick off the weekend with an author new to me - Kendall Grey!  Elf recommended I meet her at RT ... and I invited her to be my guest today!  From her bio,

Kendall Grey is a whale educator and urban fantasy writer. She lives near Atlanta, Georgia with her ghost husband, a random rainbow, a gossamer-winged fairy, a wild imp, and a ferocious miniature long-haired Dachshund who keeps them all in line. INHALE is the first book in the “Just Breathe” trilogy.

Kim:  Please share your favorite sight, sound, and smell of Atlanta, Georgia! 

Kendall:  There are tons of cool places in Atlanta. My favorite sight is probably the Georgia Aquarium, which is the largest aquarium in the world. I love the beluga whales there. I'm not a fan of cetaceans in captivity, but these animals were rescued and can't return to the wild, so I'm happy they have a home in Atlanta.

My fave sounds come from the "Fabulous" Fox Theatre, where you can experience plays, ballets, music groups, and special interest performances.

There aren't many good smells in Atlanta, unfortunately. Lots of car exhaust. HA! But if you get out of the city, the wisteria hanging from the trees is absolutely to die for at this time of year. 

Wisteria (from Wikipedia)

Kim:  I can't resist this question - what is a whale educator?

Kendall:  Well, I don't teach whales. Ha! I teach people about whales. I used to be a public school teacher. After I quit working, I found that I really enjoyed talking to kids in schools about whales and the threats they face. A lot of Georgians don't realize that the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale calves off the Georgia and Florida coasts in winter. There are less than 400 of these animals left in the world. Ship strikes and fishing gear entanglements are the top two right whale killers. What we do on land affects whales too. I think it's super important to educate people so they can make wise choices that improve the health of our environments--both land and water. That's why I'm donating all my profits from the JUST BREATHE trilogy to whale education programs. 

Kim:  Who or what helped you along your road to publishing?

Kendall:  My critique partners and editor continue to have a tremendous impact on the development of my craft. Without them, I wouldn't be here. Now that I'm in the promotion and marketing phase of publishing, book bloggers have taken center stage in my world. They're the ones who are getting my name out there. In the two days following one blogger's glowing review of my book, over 30 people added INHALE to their Goodreads TBR list. Before that, I'd been averaging about 2-3 adds a day. Book reviewers have pull. I respect and appreciate the heck out of them. 

Kim:  Tell us about the "Just Breathe" trilogy and the first book, INHALE - what inspired it?

Kendall:  The books were mostly inspired by the whales I love. The heroine is a whale biologist named Zoe Morgan. I want to be her when I grow up. :-)  The hero, Gavin Cassidy, is a musician in the "real world" and a human protecting Sentinel in the supernatural world. The two leads are total opposites in so many ways, but I love how they fit together.

I stink at trying to explain the story succinctly, so here's the blurb for INHALE:

Strangers in reality, inseparable in dreams…

After years of suffocating under her boss’s scrutiny, whale biologist Zoe Morgan finally lands a job as director of a tagging project in Hervey Bay, Australia. Success Down Under all but guarantees her the promotion of a lifetime, and Zoe won’t let anything—or anyone—stand in her way. Not the whale voices she suddenly hears in her head, not the ex who won’t take no for an answer, and especially not the gorgeous figment of her imagination who keeps saving her from the fiery hell of her dreams.

Gavin Cassidy hasn’t been called to help a human Wyldling in over a year, which is fine by him. Still blaming himself for the death of his partner, he keeps the guilt at bay by indulging in every excess his rock star persona affords. That is, until he’s summoned to protect Zoe from hungry Fyre Elementals and learns his new charge is the key to restoring order in the dying Dreaming. He never expects to fall for the feisty Dr. Morgan…nor does he realize he may have to sacrifice the woman he loves to save an entire country. 

Kendall at RT!

Kim:  What's next for Kendall Grey, other than meeting me at RT (editor's note:  I submitted these questions before RT).

Kendall:  RT Convention, yes! I can't wait! It will be my first reader convention. I'm also heading to Colorado for RomCon in June. I'm totally excited about both events. In the meantime, I'm getting all three books ready for publication. I just received my final round of edits for EXHALE (book two, due out June 5). I'm almost done drafting the third book, JUST BREATHE (due out July 10). It's gonna be a crazy few months. After the books release, I'll take a little time off and enjoy the whales up in Gloucester, Massachusetts for a week this summer. Then it'll be back to writing. :-)

Thanks so much for inviting me to your blog today, Kim. I had a blast!

Aggressive, head-lunging humpback whale 

in a competition group.

Calf breaching

Pectoral fin waving "hello" :-)

Blog:  www.kendallgrey.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/KendallGreyAuthor

Despicable Tweets: www.twitter.com/kendallgrey1

Goodreads: At this link.

Newsletter: At this link.

Elf posted her review of INHALE at this link.  I am giving away an ecopy of INHALE to one randomly selected commenter.  To enter the giveaway,

1.  Leave a comment about the sea - love it?  loathe it?  favorite activity?  favorite creature?

2.  This giveaway is open to all readers.  

3.  Comments are open through Saturday, May 5, 10 pm in Hawaii.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, May 6.

Mahalo,

Kim in Hawaii