Monday, March 28, 2011

Get Captured By Katharine Ashe!!


Well, shiver me timbers!!

No need to walk the plank, mateys! We've got just the treasure to keep you coming back for more!

Hoist up the mail sail and hand me some rum, because we've got the vivacious vixen of the high seas hanging out with us today! Yep, you guess it right, me hearties, it's the fantasic KATHARINE ASHE!!!

Her new release, CAPTURED BY A ROGUE LORD, is the Catch O' The Day today. If you've a need to read about a swashbuckling hunk with a sweet spot for a plucky heroine, then you're gonna want to ride the tide with Katharine's Alex and Serena!

Without further ado, here's Katharine!!


Hi, everybody! Thanks to Sarah for allowing me to celebrate the release of CAPTURED BY A ROGE LORD with you today. I am so happy to be here again!

The other day Sarah asked how I’m managing to balance mommy time and my writing goals. I can answer that in two words: passion and play.

First, to explain a bit, I’m a mom (of both human and canine kids), an author of historical romance, and a professor of History. I am also a wife, a church volunteer, a book club member, a girlfriend, a sister, a daughter, a tweeter, a runner, and an occasional gardener. In short, I’m like most women who write romance fiction: FAR TOO BUSY and insanely over-extended. So how do we manage it? How do we go from the beautiful ideas in our heads to the pretty pages ready to send to an agent or editor, all the while maintaining everything else in our lives?

Passion and play.

I adore what I do. ADORE. Writing romance feeds me, and I think it’s all about my characters. I invent them, and then I invest them with every emotion I have ever felt. I make their love powerful, their pain consuming, their joy ecstatic, and their affections embracing. I hurl them from laughter to desire to misery and back to laughter again as often as possible. I do this because passion—the passion of emotion, whatever emotion it is—gives me energy. I love to feel deep emotion; it enlivens me. When I write it, I feel it. Writing romance is my drug of choice.

But powerful emotion is not enough. Like a diet consisting entirely of steak (or if you prefer, tofu), things can get pretty heavy pretty quickly. That’s where play comes in.

By ‘play’ I don’t mean games or sports. That too often becomes competition. I don’t run timed races because to me that would be work. I run with my iPod and I sing along, and so it’s play. I play in other ways, too—with my son and dogs, first and foremost. And you know that garden? Total play, only relaxation, and if it doesn’t get done that’s fine.

More importantly, I play with my work. I allow myself to enjoy it. To really enjoy it. How do I do that?

Here’s the bare truth: when it comes to writing fiction, I don’t follow the rules.

Don’t get me wrong; I know the rules. I’ve read the books and done the conferences and had heart-to-heart talks with agents and editors. But when I sit down to write, I put those rules away and I follow my heart. This makes every single time I go to that computer fun. Play. A joy. Honestly, my characters thank me for it, because they want to be having fun too as they tumble into that gloriously delectable dance of desire and entwined hearts we call love. And of course, if they’re having fun, I’m having fun! The corollary to this, of course, is that when they’re miserable, I tend to be too. But the beauty of romance is that misery is short-lived and happiness is indeed ever after. Love and laughter, in the end, reign.

So how do I keep the balance? How do I maintain my sanity? With love and laughter, passion and play.

How do you keep your balance? What tricks do you employ to get pages written and life lived all at the same time? One commenter today wins an autographed copy of CAPTURED BY A ROGUE LORD!


Thanks, Katharine!! It's always a pleasure to have you here at the Lovestruck Novice! I just adore your words of wisdom! Just to tantilize your senses, here is a blurb for CAPTURED BY A ROGUE LORD:

CAPTURED BY A ROGUE LORD by Katharine Ashe (Avon, March 29, 2011)

She would marry no man…

Serena Carlyle dreams of a happily ever after. Firmly on the shelf at twenty-five, instead she’s determined to find the perfect match for her beautiful younger sister. What better prospect than their neighbor, the wealthy, rakishly handsome Earl of Savege? Now Serena can beg his help in halting a local band of smugglers. Then, one night, stealing away from yet another disappointing ball, Serena finds herself trapped alone with a stranger …

Until he captured her—body and soul
His kiss was irresistible, his caress unforgettable, and he hides a devastating secret. A Robin Hood upon the sea, Alex Savege is the brazen pirate Redstone, seizing the yachts of spoiled noblemen to settle an old debt. Serena needs a hero, but her heart is in the gravest danger—for it is soon to be captured by a man as skilled at seduction as he is at plunder.


Good luck to all who enter! Thanks again to Katharine for her generosity. If you'd like to know more about Katharine Ashe, please click on over to her website: http://www.katharineashe.com

THANK YOU, TLN'ers!! Here's hoping your week fabulous! It's great to be back!

20 comments:

Eliza Knight said...

Congrats on the release Katharine! Sounds fascinating!

I think you're right about passion and play. If we don't absolutely love what we do, it would be awfully hard to sit down and create this whole other world, these multi-faceted people. For me its all about finding balance and having a written daily schedule--or else I'd lose my mind. I try to involve my family in my research and my work--for example, talking about history, going to museums, historical sites, festivals. My oldest really wants to travel with me to conferences and things, and I hope one day she can. And sadly, I learned to write (even love scenes) with Mickey Mouse Club House on in the background, lol. Lots of bargaining... if you let mommy finish these pages we'll go to the park... lol

Margo Hoornstra said...

Katie,

Yesterday, I happened upon a banner that proclaimed Scatter Joy! which cited several proverbs advising joy is to be shared not hoarded. Exactly as you said!

Best of luck with the release!

Margo

Tracy Brogan said...

S I G H.... There is nothing I love more than a good Pirate romp! Can't wait to read it. And thank you for reminding me that writing is the FUN part of my day. When it starts to feel like work, I pause to remember how much joy the process gives me, rather than agonizing over my word count. It helps!

Loralee said...

Great questions, Katharine. You've got the right idea. Balancing daily life and writing is a constant juggle, like spinning plates on a stick. When they all spin, it's fantastic. When one drops and breaks, instead of giving up, you just spin another one.
A writer who truly loves telling stories will always find a way to spin another plate.
Once in awhile I give myself permission to stop spinning and simply play. That seems to give me the balance I need to spin again.
Wishing you much success with Captured By A Rogue Lord.

Emma Lai said...

I have no idea what the answer is. I just now feel as if I'm getting into some kind of groove with my 18 month old. Basically, I work on promo or read when he's up and running (which is most of the time) and write or edit when he's napping. All in all, I put in an average of 4 hours a day. Of course, I forget to eat, do laundry and shower until hubby rescues me. :)

I remember when he was a baby, I'd read whatever I was reading to him. Otherwise he'd knock the book out of my hand. Now he just closes my computer lid if I'm not paying him enough attention, in his opinion.

Then said...

LOL, Eliza. We've all had those Mickey Mouse Club/love scene moments, I suspect. ;) And you're so right about involving our families. I took my son to a recent pirate museum exhibit twice, actually; he played with other little boys on the mock ship deck while I frantically scribbled notes from the displays. And the dedication in Captured by a Rogue Lord is to my son, "with whom I built my first pirate ship." Yup, Legos, of course. I bought him the pirate ship set and as we built I talked through my plot with him--minus the racier bits, of course! :)

Then said...

Margo, I love that -- Scatter Joy! I will remember that one. Thanks for visiting Sarah's blog today!

:)

Then said...

TL, it's my great pleasure! I wish you much joy in your writing (even when you're counting words!). Thanks for commenting today!

Then said...

Thank you, Loralee. "you just spin another one" -- fabulous! You're so right. :)

Then said...

Emma, yay to you for actually creating hours of writing time for yourself! I do know that forgetfulness well. Oftentimes my husband will come home after picking up our son at the end of the day to find me sitting at the kitchen table in my running clothes (from the morning), typing away, starving, and completely oblivious that the sun is setting. Those are the good days. ;)

Unknown said...

Congrats on your latest release, Katharine! I love pirate adventures!
I stick to a daily writing goal to complete pages, but don't write on the weekend to give myself a break and enjoy time with my family.

jenalang(at)live(dot)com

Sarah Simas said...

Thanks again, Katharine! I really enjoyed your post and I'm loving the comments, too! I have yet to establish a routine. The baby is three months old now and I'm no where near as organized as I thought I'd be! I like Eliza's idea of a daily schedule.

Before the baby came, I would write while the older two napped. *sob* They don't nap anymore!! See? I totally needed all the awesome advice! :)

Johanna R Jochum said...

I'm not a writer so I would not know how to balace things out! I do know have trouble balancing my kids, work, and homelife! It takes a lot of work. I do know for a fact I want this book! Love me some pirates! LOL! Thanks for sharing a great post today!

evjochum[AT]aol[DOT]com

Then said...

Smart thinking, Jena. Thanks for commenting! :)

Then said...

Sarah, thanks so much for hosting me on your lovely blog today! It must be incredibly challenging to get any writing done with an infant and non-napping toddlers. When my little guy was much littler (he's eight now), I bowed to the demands of a junior professor's hectic schedule, and I think writing was my happy place outlet. But during those late-night hours when my baby was awake, I'll admit I got a lot more of the Weather Channel watched than writing done! ;) The best of luck to you, and wishes for moments stolen here and there as you may. :)

Then said...

Thanks, Johanna. It's so nice to see you here! It's so true that most women juggle far too many responsibilities for sanity's sake. I'm glad that at least gives us the chance to get together to share stories! ;)

RFTC Blog said...

Can I just say that writers are awesome! I bow down to the commitment you all are able to put into your writing. I am horrible, I mean horrible with balancing things. I'm just the biggest procrastinator. I will put off anything. In the past I've tried to write and I get caught up in other things and then just let go by the wayside. I need to get better at these things. Who knows, maybe one day...

Katharine, I can't wait to read this book. I have been eagerly awaiting it since I read the first months ago. I just purchased your novella and I hope to dig into that soon.

iqb99@yahoo.com

Mary Anne Landers said...

Thank you for your post, Katharine. I'm still working on balancing writing with the other aspects of my life. Therefore I can't offer you and those who read your post any constructive feedback---yet.

However, allow me to note that one part of your article really struck me: the part in which you say you ignore the rules. It sounds like that's how you make your characters and stories come alive.

For many years I've complained that the rules for the romance genre are too strict. But nowadays I take a different approach. Instead of griping about this Procrustean bed, I write romances in which I too ignore the rules.

I believe there are readers out there who feel the same way I do and would be willing to try romances off the beaten path. Now all I have to do is convince an agent that such is the case.

Well, I also have to finish my works. And I will---as soon as I can manage that balancing act.

Keep up the good work.

krazymama_98 said...

I do love a good pirate love story. :-) I will be reading it, so I hope its a good one! :-) It doesnt seem like they come along very often!

Sarah Simas said...

Thank you to everyone for swinging by and hanging out with Katharine and I. Hope to see you back again soon!

The comment winner is Jena!!!