Kate and the Kid by Anne Rothman-Hicks & Kenneth Hicks Book Tour, Guest Post, & Giveaway

Kate and the Kid

by Anne Rothman-Hicks &

Kenneth Hicks

KATE AND THE KID is about a young woman (Kate) who has just lost her job and had a major fight with her boyfriend (also arising from the trauma of being fired). At this very low point in her life, Kate is tricked into taking care of a sweet but emotionally damaged six-year-old girl (Jenny) who only communicates with adults through a doll she calls “Miranda.”

As a result of an eventful night of babysitting, Kate begins to bond with Jenny, which causes a whole new set of complications with the people in Kate’s and Jenny’s lives.

This book tells the story of how Kate and Jenny help each other to heal, grow, and navigate the difficult and sometimes dangerous world of New York City.

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Excerpt:

When Kate got back to the bedroom, the girl was still on the fire escape, tiptoeing close to the edge, looking over the side for Miranda.

“Please, come in, Jenny,” Kate said. “We’ll have the superintendent next door help get Miranda. Really we will.”

Jenny shook her head and stared straight down over the railing at the courtyard below. Kate tried not to think about what Jenny was asking of her. Surely she knew this was not possible.

“I realize the Super’s not around now. But tomorrow he’ll help us. We’ll get up first thing in the morning…”

With a quick glance at Kate, Jenny started down the fire escape stairs.

“Jenny, no!! Please wait. Just wait.”

The girl hesitated, looping one arm over the railing. Her face was not impassive. Her eyes were not those of a zombie. Her face was alive with pain and confusion and determination. Kate swallowed hard, then lifted the window open as far as it would go. She took a deep breath.

Her arms and hands were trembling as she eased out sideways, her rear-end first, followed by her right leg, her head and upper torso, finally her left leg. She was hoping to act confident, but as she reached the center of the metal slats, she began to shake. A breeze caught her hair. She couldn’t breathe. She began to cry. The world was a spinning blur.

Then she felt the girl beside her. A bony little arm was wrapped around her neck. Smooth cool lips were kissing the tears on her cheeks and on her eyes, over and over again.

“It’s okay, Katy,” the girl said. “We can help each other. We’ll do it together, Katy.”

 

What was the hardest part of writing this particular novel?

{Guest Post By Author}

The hardest part of writing this book was to have Kate—a somewhat self-centered young woman, who has recently lost her job and had a major fight with her boyfriend—come into contact with Jenny—a very difficult six-year-old child who is withdrawn and mistrustful of adults—and have them gradually bond. Taking over the care of an unrelated child is not something that we felt would ordinarily happen to most people and would not be a quick or easy transition. Rather, the development of a state of mind that would allow for such a thing would almost have to sneak up on Kate so that she is barely aware of what is happening to her as she becomes more and more involved with the child and increasingly concerned for her welfare.

Therefore, Kate’s first involvement with Jenny – babysitting with her for one night – comes about essentially because her neighbor, Sally (who has been caring for Jenny) tricks Kate into doing it. At that point, Kate has the option of getting someone else to babysit, but feels sorry for Jenny and decides she will do it herself. By the next morning, Kate is still more or less counting the minutes before Sally will return.

Nonetheless in some strange way, she has enjoyed being with Jenny. Later that day, when Kate patches things up with her boyfriend, Roger, he tells Kate than the best thing she can do for Jenny is not to get involved. Several weeks must pass with many incidents between Kate and Jenny before Kate decides that she will take Jenny into her home, and even then her decision is made reluctantly, with the express idea that she is only helping out until Jenny’s mother, Linda, can care for her again. When Kate makes the commitment to let Jenny stay with her—against the wishes of Roger—she has developed strong emotional ties to Jenny and is not just feeling sorry for her. However, the full mother-daughter bond still has not developed. That fierce bond comes into play as the book reaches its climax when Kate becomes as protective as a tigress of Jenny and realizes that she does not want to ever let her go.

Likewise, Jenny’s problems in communicating with adults and in making friends with other children were not behaviors that we felt could disappear overnight. Rather, we had to come up with a series of events, each building on the one before it, before Jenny is able to talk to Kate without the doll and even comfort Kate and give her strength at a very difficult time.

We hope that readers will enjoy the developing relationship between Kate and Jenny.

 

 

Anne Rothman-Hicks was born in New York City and, except for a brief exile to the suburbs imposed by her parents, she has lived there all of her life, the latter part of which she has shared with her co-author, Kenneth Hicks, and their three children.

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Anne and Kennet will be awarding a $40 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. 

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found by clicking the banner below: 
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This promotion was brought to by both the authors, Anne and Kennet, and Goddess Fish Promotions. If you are interested in Goddess Fish Promotions, you can contact them via website, Twitter, Facebook, Blog, or Google+.