Author Spotlight: Kacie West- Laugh, Love, Lust
The more new authors I come across, the happier my mind becomes. Having such a varied library of romance novels to choose from means I am truly never ever bored. And I love that my Kindle library and TBR (yes, Audrey II is still lurking, but I’ve pruned her quite a bit and she’s behaving- for the most part) is stocked with established favorites, new favorites with huge backlists, and new favorites who are also relatively new authors.
One of those baby authors I’ve fallen in love with—Kacie West—is actually another author duet. A.J. Ranney and Jenni Bara started writing together at the end of 2022. And while I’ve read A.J.’s books (and met her in person—and she’s a true sweetheart), I haven’t started my Jenni binge yet. But, I have read both of Kacie’s books. And I get to meet Jenni and see A.J. again at Charm City Romanticon in less than a month!
I reached out to them for this Author Spotlight to get the details of their collaboration in their own words. And now, I’m bringing that info directly to you, in their own words, with a few of mine thrown in here and there, too.
BBW: Who is Kacie West?
KW: Did you know that Kacie West is a combination of two authors?
AJ Ranney fell in love with Morgan’s pen name, Kacie West, from Jenni Bara’s More than a Hero and talked her into bringing her books to life. Kacie West was born as a real-life author, and the two began co-writing. AJ is the plotter, organizer, and planner, so she writes all the bones of the story, then sends it back to Jenni. Then, when AJ is busy with her two kids, husband, and her house full of animals, Jenni goes through to add, edit, and tweak it. Which sometimes includes line editing her own sentences more than a few times to make it all just right. Then while AJ works on more bones, Jenni goes back to her four kids and day job as a paralegal in family law, writing real life unhappily ever afters all day. AJ and Jenni have not only become co-authors but great friends, and they can’t wait to bring more of Kacie West’s stories to life.
BBW: What types of books/ romance subgenres do Kacie’s book incorporate?
KW: Kacie’s books are romcom novellas with the perfect combination of plot, spice and laughs.
BBW here: Yep, definitely this. I’ve read both Goldielocks and the Grumpy Bear and Tumbling Head Over Heels and really enjoyed both of them. Perfect length, great plots, genuine giggles, solid steam.
BBW: What common themes do you find through her books?
KW: Kacie’s current theme is nursery rhyme retellings that are twisted around into fun, spicy, short reads. In the future the duo is planning to try some fairy tale retellings. They have a great idea for Cinderella.
BBW: What types of readers are most likely to be drawn to her books?
KW: Readers that like to laugh their way to the happily ever after.
BBW here: definitely this. The humor isn’t over the top, it’s well placed within the storyline, and gives great insights into the characters.
BBW: What do you like most about co-writing books?
AJ Here: I like plotting and the conversations Jenni and I have through that process. It always ends with one or both of us cracking up laughing at the most outrageous scenarios.
Jenni here: I enjoy writing and bouncing ideas off AJ. But my favorite part is there are two of us to do all the being an author stuff that comes with publishing a book!
BBW: What else should readers know about Kacie and her books?
KW: Kacie’s books are all available in KU and spin off both AJ and Jenni’s books. So all the side characters are usually people you can meet in Becoming an Evans, the Metros Baseball Boys or The Half Moon Lake series. We are excited to keep writing together and hope to get three or four books out a year.
BBW here: I do love the interconnectedness with the side characters. It makes it fun to read the books they’re from and recognize the main character from another book. But they’re definitely standalone readable without knowing the other characters. One of the things I truly love is when an author draws you into another series they’ve written by including characters from it in a book I’m reading.
Connect with Kacie West, Jenni Bara, and A.J. Ranney
Visit their websites: https://www.ajranney.com/ and https://www.jennibara.com/
You can get her books on: Jenni/Kacie on Amazon AJ/Kacie on Amazon
You can find them on social media here:
AJ on Facebook AJ on Instagram AJ on TikTok
Jenni on Facebook Jenni on Instagram Jenni on TikTok
Kacie doesn’t have a Facebook reader group yet, but you can connect with A.J. & Jenni here:
