K.M. Daughters is the penname for team writers and sisters, Pat Casiello and Kathie Clare nee Lynch. The author name is dedicated to the memory of their parents, Katherine and Michael, the “K” and “M” in K.M. Daughters. Inspired by their father, who wrote children’s books for them when they were small, and their mother’s love of romance novels, K.M. Daughters was “born” in 2005 at a Romance Writers of America national conference when the sisters plotted their first manuscript.
K.M. Daughters has published twelve award-winning novels garnering rave reviews. RT Book Reviews magazine awarded a 4-star, “Compelling, Page Turner…”, rating to Beyond the Code of Conduct, Capturing Karma, and All’s Fair in Love and Law. It awarded 4 1/2 stars, meaning “Fantastic…”, to Rose of the Adriatic and the final installment in the Sullivan Boys Romantic Suspense Series, In the St. Nick of Time, which RT Book Reviews called “Fantastic, a keeper. ” Kirkus Reviews said about Fill the Stadium, “…a vivid fictional creation. The book’s well-orchestrated ending sections shouldn’t leave a dry eye in the house.”
Reunion for the First Time, contemporary romance, won first place in the International Digital Awards, and is the author’s newest release.
Fill the Stadium, mainstream women’s fiction, won The Booksellers’ Best Award 2017, is the 2nd place winner in the International Digital Awards, and is a finalist in The National Readers’ Choice Awards.
Who comprises the writing team of K.M. Daughters?
Kathie and Pat: We’re (Pat Casiello and Kathie Clare) sisters writing under the penname.
How did you decide to write together as a team?
Pat: Prior to forming a team, we had created manuscripts independently, and individually aspired to be a published author. Kathie had a title in mind and a basic premise for a contemporary romance that she discussed with me on one of our frequent “sister walks.” We had a great time batting plot points back and forth and fleshing out characters. By the end of the walk we had a basic plot map and well-developed main characters. Kathie suggested that we write the novel together. THEN we had a lengthy discussion answering the question, “How the heck will that work?” The result was our first novel Reunion for the First Time (Winner of International Digital Award).
How does writing as a team work? Who does what work?
Pat & Kathie: We collaborate on story and character development first. That process is pretty exhaustive because we envision backstories for our main characters – possibly from childhood on – even though that history may not figure into the ultimate story line. Once we have the principal elements set, we create a plot map by chapter. Then we alternately assign chapters P & K. We each write all points of view as a result.
How did you decide to write under the name of K.M. Daughters?
Kathie: I proposed the use of the penname which is dedicated to the memory of our parents, Katherine and Michael. We’re K(atherine) and M(ichael’s) Daughters.
Pat: I immediately loved the idea and thought it perfectly describes us and recognizes our parents’ inspirational roles in our becoming writers. Our dad wrote children’s stories, and our mom was an avid romance reader.
You have a recurring set of names that appear in each of your books. Who are they, and why do you use them in each book?
Kathie & Pat: We name secondary characters in each book Kay, our mom’s nickname, and either Mickey or Mike for our dad. They have a lot of fun in our stories.
Your book Fill the Stadium features awareness of the condition adrenoleukodystrophy. What is this disorder, and what made you choose this to focus on?
Pat: Adrenoleukodystrophy or ALD is a rare genetic disorder caused by a gene mutation that prevents the production of a protein that breaks down certain fatty acids in the body. These fatty acids accumulate and destroy the protective coating around the nerves. Without this protective coating, the nerves degenerate. Brain sensors basically short out. ALD, and a breakthrough discovery that slows this degeneration was featured in the 1993 movie, Lorenzo’s Oil.
Kathie: We learned about the reality of ALD when a little boy, close to my youngest son, was diagnosed. My son was the captain of the Harvard football team and spent summers helping the coach’s “right-hand woman” in the football office. Her grandson, A.J., died within a year of diagnosis of ALD. By that time my son played for the NFL. We suggested a research fundraising idea to my son to “Fill The Stadium” at Harvard: a flag football exhibition game between graduates, now pros, and the current varsity football team. And afterwards a dinner with live and silent auctions. The next step for K.M. Daughters? We totally fictionalized characters and events and wrote Fill the Stadium (Winner of the Booksellers’ Best Award).
The Sullivan Series, consisting of five books, is a romantic suspense. What draws you to this genre?
Pat & Kathie: We were drawn to the genre because we love to read romantic suspense.
Your Adriatic series is set in Croatia? Have you been there? What inspired you to set your series there?
Pat: I have three times, once with Kathie, visited the area in Croatia where millions believe apparitions of the Virgin Mary are occurring that we fictionalized in the series.
Kathie: While there with Pat I meditated in a eucharistic chapel where I received an overwhelming sense that we HAD to write about this special place. At the time we were unpublished and writing the second book in the Sullivan Boys series. We spent the remainder of the trip developing the first novel in our Adriatic series and when we went home, we finished the novel rapidly, I think in about three months. We received our first publisher “CALL” for Jewel of the Adriatic.
The Adriatic series deals with visions of the Mother of God. Who is the Mother of God, and do you have a personal connection to her?
Kathie & Pat: Mary of Nazareth is the mother of Jesus Christ, believed to be the son of God in the Christian religion. Catholic Christians also refer to Mary to as the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, and Immaculate Conception. Our belief system is Catholic and our personal connection to Mary deepened while visiting historic and contemporary apparition sites in Portugal, France and Bosnia Herzegovina.
What authors have influenced your own writing careers?
Pat & Kathie: Oh my gosh, we have always read voraciously and love an eclectic range of authors and writing styles. We like the Barbara Kingsolver quote “I learned to write by reading the kind of books I wish I’d written.”
K.M. Daughter’s Book Titles:
Inspirational Romance: Jewel of the Adriatic, Rose of the Adriatic, Left at the Altar, Just the Way You Are, Resurrected Love
Romantic Suspense: Against Doctor’s Orders, Beyond the Code of Conduct, Capturing Karma, All’s Fair in Love and Law, In the St. Nick of Time
Contemporary Romance: Reunion for the First Time
Mainstream Fiction: Fill the Stadium
To connect more with the sister writing team, visit the following sites:
Amazon author page
http://www.kmdaughters.com/
Audio of St. Nick of Time
