Kate’s a delight to talk with and after listening to what she has accomplished and planned I fully understand why she’s as slender as she is. Yikes, the woman is not only a prolific writer but lives chaos, tames it and directs it, like a maestro. I so need lessons or a bit of the energy pool she dips into accomplish everything she does, lol!
Kate, thank you for visiting with us today.
Hi Sia, and thanks so much for the invite to hang out at your blog today! I’m actually looking forward to it—sort of a tiny island of peace in the chaos that’s been my life the last couple of months. It’s been wild—I was in Columbus, Ohio for the Romantic Times convention, and then three weeks later—after writing day and night to finish StarFire, the third book in my DemonSlayers series—I took a redeye to New York for Book Expo. Arrived Tuesday morning from California after a full day and night of travel (we live in the boonies—just getting to the airport is a nightmare!) and hit the ground running—after I checked into my hotel and took a very fast nap!
Thank goodness my StarFire manuscript arrived in NY before I did...that was a relief, especially since it had been due three weeks earlier. (Baaaaaaaaad kate!) Anyway, I met with some folks at Kensington Publishing and then went to a really cool cocktail party that night. I mean, think about it—redeye to NY, cocktail party in Manhattan with all kinds of authors, agents, editors and publicity people and little ole me, from Cobb, California, a town without a single stop light and only the occasional stop sign, sipping good wine on the top floor of the Library Hotel! In frickin’ MANHATTAN! New YORK! Sheesh...I kept thinking, wow! This is what AUTHORS do! (snort! Actually, what authors do is write. A lot. I don’t hang out in my jammies all day just because it’s cool...I do it because I generally don’t have time to actually get dressed. The poor FedEx man must think I don’t own any real clothes!)
But back to why I’m looking for some peace and quiet—did the cocktail party and then spent all day Wednesday at Book Expo. I wandered around like an alcoholic in a bar giving out free samples. I mean, have you ever BEEN to Book Expo? Publishers from all over the world, famous authors (Fergie was signing, and it was just a couple of days after she got caught trying to sell time with her ex, the prince. The security was amazing...) agents, editors and EVERYONE is giving away free books. I came away with my share, believe me. Getting them home on the plane was another story...Wednesday night I had dinner with my editor’s assistant. I’d planned to take him out because he does so much to make my life easier, but Martin said that Kensington was picking up the tab, which was really a nice surprise. Martin, his friend Nick and I went to a cool little Cuban restaurant not far from my hotel and had a wonderful meal.
There is nothing I love more than going out with not one but TWO smart, funny, good looking young men. I felt like a damned cougar—both guys are younger than my son—but they were so darned entertaining and we had a fantastic time. Then I was up at four and on the plane by seven, headed home again. We’re talking VERY QUICK TRIP...
And, as soon as I got home and got my laundry done, my husband and I were off again, this time in the motorhome headed for the Mount Shasta area to do some research for the next book in the DemonSlayers series, and then on to the Allen Array, an amazing place up in the Hat Creek area where there are all these giant antennae checking space for signals from extraterrestrials as part of the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) project. That was also research for a possible new series—as many of you may have heard, I’m currently writing the final book in my Wolf Tales series--#12 will be the last one. I’d hoped Kensington would pick up my proposal for a second generation series about the children of the Chanku, but they’re not interested at this time. My editor said to hang on to it—I may be able to do it later on, but for now I need something new. I’m thinking!! Honest...
As soon as we got home, I wrote a short story for an anthology I’m in with Lori Foster—the title is Dime Store Cowboy, and it’s a sequel to my romantic comedy, Cowboy in My Pocket, which was written almost ten years ago. I’ve wanted to write a story for a couple of the secondary characters ever since the first book was published. This anthology gave me a chance to let Mark Connor finally lasso his rodeo queen...LOL! Yep, Cowboy in My Pocket was a western comedy romance, sort of a parody of category romances. If you want a good giggle, it’s still available at Amazon.com and BN.com and most other online book sellers. The sequel will be out next June.
As soon as I finished Dime Store Cowboy, I rushed over to Stockton to visit my mom—she’s almost 89 now—but while I was at her place she had some health issues which meant I stayed over longer than planned. When she was feeling better, I raced back home (it’s about a three hour trip) to finish up copy edits for Wolf Tales 11—that one comes out next January, and I’d forgotten how much I loved it! I’ve been so caught up in chatting about Wolf Tales 10, the book that’s out this week, that I forgot I’d even written 11! It’s sort of a political thriller, though since it’s Wolf Tales, it’s a very SEXY political thriller! One thing I had fun with was letting Keisha step in as the double for the First Lady. When President Obama was first running for office and I saw Michelle Obama, I just about flipped. Other than the hair, she WAS Keisha Rialto, my über-alpha, Anton Cheval’s mate. I knew from the moment the president was elected I was going to write a story where Keisha got involved with Michelle Obama, and this one turned out even better than I’d hoped.
Right now I’m getting notes together for Wolf Tales 12. It’s a bittersweet project—I feel as if I know each one of my Chanku like old friends, and it’s going to be difficult not to write anymore of their stories. I had hoped the series would go on a bit longer, but the reality of this business is that when a series has too many books, you start losing readers. It’s time to move on. I’m thinking of moving forward about five years for WT12—Anton’s daughter Lily has been such an amazing character to get to know that I want her to have a bigger part in the final book. She’ll be about seven, just old enough to take off on her own and get into trouble. If you’ve read my series, you’ll recall that there are caves below Anton’s house in Montana, and some interesting hieroglyphics on one of the walls. I really want to find out what they say before I end this series, and I have a feeling Lily is going to be the one to figure them out. We shall see!
So, I’m starting Wolf Tales 12, reminding readers that Wolf Tales 10 is showing up in stores, and cooking like a madwoman because our kids and grandkids will be here for the weekend. We’ve got a family reunion to go to and I’ve got grandkids to hug—our son and his family live in Hawaii and I haven’t seen four year old Ella or twenty month old Owen since early spring, so I’m really looking forward to their visit. Our daughter will be here as well with her two youngest—her husband and oldest son are staying home to keep an eye on the animals. (Sounds like that’s a really good excuse to avoid a family reunion full of people they don’t know!)
I’ll be checking in to see who stops by and says Hi, and I’ll be giving away some books—I LOVE giving away books! I’ve got copies of DemonFire and Wolf Tales 9, and I imagine Sia can probably come up with at least five winners for me. And, if you’re a winner and already have both WT9 and DemonFire, I’ve got an ARC of HellFire or one for Nocturnal, the anthology the comes out in September with stories by me and Jacquelyn Frank, Jess Haines and Clare Willis. Just leave a comment to be entered.
A Life For A LifeThe Chanku are gifted with more power—of mind, body, and soul—than the most superior of humans. Yet even these exceptional beings cannot change the laws of nature...or destiny. And when one loses his human life mate to a tragic accident, he is shattered by grief he never imagined possible...
The only thing worse than losing his love is knowing that her death was caused by the incompetence of a goddess supposedly possessed of timeless wisdom. The justice dealt for the goddess’s horrible mistake is a demotion—from immortal to human—and the charge of filling the missing space in the Montana pack. But while some accept her quickly, not all are so willing...
It is time for Anton, Stefan, and Adam to test the newcomer: to see if she can withstand the heights of ecstasy these Chanku men will show her—and to discover whether, when faced with the ultimate sacrifice, she will make the right choice...
Kate Douglas loves romance. Married 38 years to a man she fell for at first sight, she’s a true believer in love everlasting. Her Wolf Tales have it all—sex, romance, lots of plot and plenty of action...and did we say sex? Her newest series, The DemonSlayers, while not as sexually explicit as Wolf Tales, is filled with rip-roaring action, hot and handsome heroes, and women who know what they want and don’t hesitate to go for it. With four books a year, along with the occasional novella, Kate’s life often teeters on the brink of chaos, but somehow, things always seems to come together when they should. Life's good—but fantasy and romance are even better!
Where to find Kate:
