#AuthorInterview – “The Infiltrator” by K.A. Raines

Let’s welcome K.A. Raines to the hotseat for a juicy interview!

What attracted you to the romance genre?

I’ve always enjoyed writing AND reading in a multitude of genres, but I always felt that romance gave a story its pulse. As a child, the romantic subplot is usually what cemented my enjoyment of a book or movie – even if the movie I was watching was science fiction or action/adventure. I also love some good sexual tension build-up, and I think this shows in my writing. I keep the romance (and sexy times) central while not allowing it to swallow the story. Although, I’m planning a series of erotica short stories that might have little in the way of plot, but we’ll see.

“When I started writing books, I wish I had known…”

How to go without sleep. Although, motherhood actually prepared me for this one. And so did bootcamp, but that was a long time ago.

What attracted you to your current partner?

Actually, I’m a happily divorced feminist. I love the idea of romance more than the reality of shared domesticity. Seriously, though, I’ve opted to remain single while my children are still in school while I work and write. I don’t have the time or energy for dating (especially after I’ve had my fill for stories like the one below).

What was your worst date ever?

This is actually a funny if somewhat pitiful story. Shortly after my divorce, I met a very attractive, somewhat younger man at one of those Japanese restaurants where they cook the food in front of you. He was tall (well over 6’) and blond with a German accent. The date started out well enough, but halfway through the meal he started ranting about his ex-girlfriend. Needless to say, the date couldn’t end soon enough. Afterward, he followed me out to my car like a lost puppy and asked me if I’d take him home. I was baffled/amused, and I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. This guy was very good-looking, and I imagine he probably didn’t feel the need to be suave because he was used to getting what he wanted – but I was a divorced mom, not some 20-year-old looking for a hook-up.

Anyway, the guy had the nerve to text me again a week later to set up another date – and I decided to give him another chance (being nice), and he cancelled on me at the very last minute. I blocked him after that.

Have you ever experienced what you consider the perfect romantic evening?

I dated a guy once who brought over 5 or 6 horror DVDs. For me, that was the ultimate act of consideration. He knew I’d like that more than flowers.

What is your writing process? 

Once I come up with a plot nugget, I hash out a rough – very rough – outline. Then I begin writing. I revise/edit chapters as I write (While this is painstaking, it ultimately saves me work in the end). I revise my outline as the plot evolves in my head. Then I edit and revise again.

Why did you write this book? What was your inspiration?

My book is what The Walking Dead would look like with more romance, sexy times, and an HEA. Basically, if a romance novelist had written the show. Seriously, I love post-apocalyptic storylines and the tense situations in which they place the characters. One day (probably when watching TWD), I had a plot bunny about a woman alone at the end of the world who gets rescued from a group of savage men by a man pretending to be one of them. From there, it was merely working out the plot details and actually writing the thing.

What would you like to people know about you?

Although The Infiltrator is my first published novel, it is not my first novel. I have been writing since I was about 11 years old, and I dabbled in fanfiction for years. Even though I’m a newcomer to the world of published fiction, I think readers will appreciate the maturity of my writing if they give my book a chance. Also, I’m hard at work on another romance/dystopian quasi-sci-fi novel and a series of erotica short stories. I can’t wait to hear what people think!

The Infiltrator by K.A. Raines

Genre: erotic romance/dystopia

Book blurb:

A virus has rendered humanity mostly extinct. Keira Starr is alone, staying alive by staying on the run, sleeping in empty gas stations and the trunks of cars long abandoned on the highway. The world is overrun by “Ghosts,” the mindless, bloodthirsty dead, but they are the least of her problems. She is being hunted by ragtag groups of ruthless men, independent contractors working for a mysterious human trafficking ring. When she is finally captured, she discovers that Derrick Caine, despite his gruff demeanor and appearance, may just have a different agenda altogether.

Excerpt:

He stared at her for several heartbeats before turning suddenly, clearly on the verge of storming away. She sighed wearily. “Derrick, wait.” She launched forward, reaching unthinkingly to grab his shirt to stop him—but he jerked away so brusquely that the top three buttons popped off his shirt, ripping it partially open. He was staring at her, breathing heavily through his nose and frozen in inaction as he watched her watching him. Abruptly, the room felt absurdly hot, and she was having difficulty keeping her eyes on his face.

“What happened to you?” she breathed. “Who did you lose?” She knew she was pushing him, that she should stop before she went too far, but it felt like observing a train wreck, watching from a distance as the engine rushed ahead at full steam, and, even foreseeing the impending disaster on the tracks, being powerless to stop it. “You risk your life tryin’ to save women and children. Who was she? Your wife?” She didn’t even know why she cared. She didn’t want to care. Derrick Caine was a virtual stranger to her, yet she knew she was already in way too deep.

He growled suddenly, a low, guttural sound that jarred her out of her trance when she rather unexpectedly found her space invaded by him for the third time in the past several minutes. Yet the charge in the air had shifted subtly; he no longer seemed angry, exactly, but there was something decidedly predatory in his eyes.

“The fuck you want from me?” His voice in her ear was a dangerous rumble that elicited chills up her spine and ignited a fire that bloomed hotly in her womb, a delicious contrast. Quite suddenly, all she wanted was to relieve the dull throb between her legs that his voice and presence evoked; she wanted him so badly that she physically couldn’t endure not to have him soon.You. Just you. “I could ask the same of you,” she settled for, and she couldn’t stop the tremor in her voice. She was overwhelmed by him—by his nearness, by the heat emanating from his body, drawing her in. She tentatively raised a trembling hand, reaching up to touch a raised scar on his chest, just above his left pectoral. His chest continued to visibly rise and fall, and he was breathing hard through his nose in an obvious effort to calm himself, fists clenched in tight balls at his sides. His breathing hitched when she barely touched him, a feather-light caress, her fingertips just skimming the jagged edge of his scar. She had known all along that he was in pain. So much unbearable pain—yet he would never admit it to anyone, least of all her.

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08CFRXZCS

Author bio:

K.A. Raines is a U.S. Navy veteran who lives in Longview, TX with her children. She has a passion for reading and writing, and her love of science fiction, paranormal, and erotic romance bleeds into her writing.

Social Media

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KA_Raines

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100052614996318

Website: http://karaines.com