This year’s Frasier Contest has come to a close. The finalists and semi-finalists have been announced, and we are all eagerly awaiting the Pizza Party to find out who the winner is. In the mean time, lets meet one of the Judges that made it all possible: Kathleen Y’Barbo, with her new book Millie’s Treasure!

Q: Kathleen, can you give the MBT Audience a little blurb about your story?

A: From bestselling author Kathleen Y’Barbo comes Millie’s Treasure, the second book in The Secret Lives of Will Tucker series, a new set of novels involving romance, adventure, and hidden identity.

Memphis 1890–Bookish heiress Millie Jean Cope is as clever as she is beautiful. Unfortunately, though adept at solving puzzles and cryptograms, she doesn’t realize her new fiancé isn’t who he claims to be, but instead is a charming scoundrel. The infamous Will Tucker is presenting himself as a British gentleman, Sir William Trueck, though in reality he is a crafty criminal looking for a hidden map to a secret treasure.

Pinkerton agent Kyle Russell has been on Tucker’s trail for years. At last Kyle believes he has Tucker cornered, but he is uncertain whether the lovely woman on the con man’s arm is an unsuspecting victim or willing accomplice. Finding reasons to spend time with Millie is easy. Keeping himself from falling in love with her is another issue entirely.

A fun and entertaining story of how God can shine the light of truth on the most cryptic circumstance.

Q: What is one piece of writing advice you could give to the MBT audience.

A: The best writing advice I ever got was to be fearless in my writing. In MILLIE’S TREASURE, being fearless translated to going beyond the expectations of a traditional historical romantic suspense novel to incorporate the element of steampunk. What is steampunk? If you’ve seen the old television show Wild, Wild West or watched any of the Firefly shows, you were watching great examples of steampunk. To bring the definition down to the basics, steampunk is an alternate version of history that allows for inventions that were not actually available at that time. While this may sound like science fiction, there is a subtle but strong difference, at least in The Secret Lives of Will Tucker series. Science fiction assumes a futuristic or alternate reality while steampunk, at least the version I use in my books, brings the future into a historically accurate past.

The Pinkerton agents in MILLIE’S TREASURE and the previous novel in the series, FLORA’S WISH as well as the final book SADIE’S SECRETS (February 2014), are inventors who use the gadgets they are seeking to patent—or have already patented—to assist them in their duties. To be sure I didn’t stray too far from possible, I searched the patent office files for items that were patented less than a decade after my story takes place. That way I could claim that while it was possible my guys were working on creating something like a pair of “extra vision” glasses or a hearing device in a hat, eventually someone actually did—and patented it.

While creating these stories was fun, I have to admit to more than a little concern that my editor might not like the fact that I strayed from the normal confines of my genre. After all, mixing genres does come with a measure of risk when it comes to reader expectations. I’m happy to say that despite my fears—which I got over quickly—she was delighted.

So, this time around I conquered my fears to create a Southern historical romantic suspense novel with a dash of steampunk. Next time, who knows? But I will definitely be listenting once again to the best advice I was ever given: Be fearless!

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Bestselling author Kathleen Y’Barbo is a Carol Award and RITA nominee of forty-eight novels with almost two million copies of her books in print in the US and abroad and nominations including a Career Achievement Award, Reader’s Choice Awards, Romantic Times Book of the Year, and several Romantic Times Top Picks. A proud military wife and tenth-generation Texan, she now cheers on her beloved Aggies from north of the Red River. Find out more at www.kathleenybarbo.com.