Fall In Love With Katharine Ashe!!!

Oh-Da-Lolly!! We're knee-deep in luck today, TLN'ers!

The super sweet KATHARINE ASHE is visiting!!!

Katharine debuted last year with SWEPT AWAY BY A KISS and CAPTURED BY A ROGUE LORD- books one and two of her Rogues of the Sea Trilogy. Both of which were seriously fantastic reads! I enjoyed her fresh voice and unique characters. I can't wait to read her new release and final book in the series, IN THE ARMS OF A MARQUESS.

I definitely don't need a crystal ball to know that laundry will be piled sky-high and spaghetti will be the dinner de jour until I finish the book, because Katharine spins a yarn guaranteed to keep you turning pages! If you're looking for a must-read-romance to indulge in now that the kiddos are in school, grab a Katharine Ashe and be prepared to fall in love!

1) If you were a book, what would your blurb be?

A passionate romantic with a heart full of dreams finds herself trapped in the unyielding life of a history professor. When she creates an alter ego as a romance novelist writing steamy adventure stories, she falls into her own adventure headfirst.

2) Name three words that describe your voice.

Vibrant, eloquent, powerful. (I feel like Mrs. Elton in Emma saying this, but I swear that these are other people’s words. They’re on my book covers. )

3) What do you do when a scene isn't coming out the way you'd like?

Grind my teeth and ponder hard while walking my dogs. Listen to my playlist for that book. But most of all I just keep writing, deleting, writing, deleting, and writing until the scene works. When I hit a snag I can’t rest until I work it out. My mind just spins and spins on the problem until I get it right!

4) How in depth do you get into your character's heads before you start a project? Do you use flow charts? Spreadsheets? Or do you just roll with it?!

Usually my hero or heroine begins as a minor character in another book I’m writing. This happened with the heroine of IN THE ARMS OF A MARQUESS. Octavia Pierce was the younger sister of a heroine I was writing at the time, a freckled hoyden with long legs and a passionate dream of traveling. She didn’t even have to glance up from the Atlas of the World sprawled across her lap in that scene for me to know she had to have her own story. And nearly the moment I realized this, there was Lord Ben Doreé looking over my shoulder as I wrote, telling me that he would be her hero. That happened ten years ago. I had that pair in my heart and mind for eight years before I wrote their book.

Not all my heroes and heroines are with me that long before I write them, but they are always how I start a book — with the romantic dynamic between the lovers. It’s what drives every thing about the book, including other characters and the intrigue and adventure. So I suppose you could say I get pretty into their heads before I start writing. They tell me what their fears and dreams are, I figure out how that’s going to make their romance really tumultuous (the kind of story I love most), and then I figure out how they’ll grow and change as individuals, learning from one another how to be the best people they can be. One of the ways this comes most easily to me is by writing bits of pivotal emotional scenes. I don’t actively choose to do this; the scenes come to me at random. I think it’s the characters telling me to let them show me who they are by their words and actions, rather than what I imagine would be right for them. Somehow seeing them at their most emotionally intense, even for brief moments, helps me get to know them really well very quickly.

That sounds like crazy author stuff. But I think most writers understand what I mean, right ladies?

5) What would you say is your biggest challenge as a writer?

Finding unbroken hours and days to write. I have another job, and promotion takes a great deal of time as well. I work best when I have long stretches to lose myself in the story. That’s when I write best. Those days are hard to come by. But when they do come, oh how wonderful they are!

6) Unpublished to multi-pubbed: Would you have wanted "Your Writer's Journey" to have happened any other way?

I would have wanted it to happen quicker! I know now that it didn’t because my books weren’t ready. Every book I wrote between that first manuscript and my first book with Avon made me a better writer. Every workshop I attended and every great book I read during that time taught me something about what I wanted to do in my own books and what I didn’t want to do. Some writers get to the “ready” stage quickly, some more slowly. I was somewhere in the middle, but at the time it sure felt like it lasted forever!

Want to hear a story? A few years ago I was driving along a road in my little town feeling absolutely miserable about the City of Nowhere to which my writing career was swiftly traveling. I wanted to give up. I thought about calling my little sister, but I knew she’d say I couldn’t. (She’s a go-getter!) So I called my mom instead. I wept a little, sighed a lot, told her I’d never stop writing stories that I’d share with her and my sisters, but that I just didn’t have it in me to try to get published after so much rejection. Eventually I’d get back on that road, I said, but for a year maybe I wanted to just back off of the whole professional track, and that was okay, wasn’t it? I knew she’d say, “Of course, honey. Give yourself a break from those rejection letters for a while, buck up your spirits, and then you’ll be ready to face the dragon again.”

She said, “Absolutely not. Under no circumstances. You may not even pause in trying to get published.” It was like a big ole slap in the face. And she was right. A month later I found my agent, and a month after that I signed with my publisher.

Thanks, Mom.

(Wish blogger had a "Like" button! lol)

7) What's up next for you? Give us the scoop!

IN THE ARMS OF A MARQUESS is the final book in my Rogues of the Sea Trilogy. So now I’m working on a new project, The Falcon Club Series. In a desperate bid for normalcy, five secret agents of the Crown abruptly quit, but the past just won’t let them be. Book #1, WHEN A SCOT LOVES A LADY, finds a scandal-plagued London beauty and a roguish beast of a lord trapped in a tiny village during a snowstorm… and someone’s got seduction in mind. WHEN A SCOT LOVES A LADY comes out next February!


Blurb for IN THE ARMS OF A MARQUESS:

She had never forgotten him…

Miss Octavia Pierce is witty, well off, and shockingly unwed. Still, she is far too successful in society to remain on the shelf forever, and her family has hopes that Octavia will finally make the perfect match. What they do not know is that years earlier Octavia was scandalously tempted by the one man capable of sweeping her off her feet—the man now known as the Marquess of Doreé.

A third son, never meant to inherit, Lord Ben Doreé has abandoned his past and grown accustomed to his illustrious new position of wealth and power. But he has never forgotten Octavia, and now she desperately needs his help in a most dangerous, clandestine matter. Although she claims she has put the memories of the passion they shared behind her, Ben is determined to once again have her in his arms—and in his bed.


Whew-ee! Now, that's a terrific teaser! I'd like to thank Katharine for taking the time out of her busy release week schedule to let me interview her. If you'd like to know about KATHARINE ASHE and her books, please check out her website: www.katharineashe.com/

Katharine would like everyone to that for every copy sold of IN THE ARMS OF A MARQUESS through its K.I.S.S. and Teal campaign Avon Books will donate 25 cents to the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance for research and support services for families struck by this stealthy disease. Help us spread the word about the whispering symptoms of Ovarian Cancer!

What a wonderful way to support such a noble cause!

THANKS to one and all for swinging by! Hope your holiday weekend is breathtaking! I'll be stapled to my computer getting the word count out. Golden Heart deadline is crackin' on fast! TTFN and stay safe!

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!

A Debut Author To Watch: Meet Katharine Ashe!!!

Welcome back for another edition of A Debut Author To Watch!!

Today, I'd like to introduce the newest jewel to grace Avon's crown, the lovely KATHARINE ASHE!!

It was quite by chance I learned of Katharine's soon-to-be-released debut novel SWEPT AWAY BY A KISS and I couldn't be happier to have another Regency author to read.

This week unlocks the door to the magical land of authorhood for Katharine with SWEPT AWAY BY A KISS set to hit bookshelves Tuesday, July 27th. (psst...that's tomorrow!!)

Better snitch a handful of cookies and a whipped creamed topped iced coffee and get ready to fall in love. I'm thinking we've found an author guaranteed to find a spot a on our keeper shelves!


Thank you for inviting me to join you today, Sarah. I’m so happy to be here!

1)If you were a book, what would your blurb be?

A passionate romantic with a heart full of dreams finds herself trapped in the unyielding life of a history professor. When she creates an alter ego as a romance novelist writing steamy adventure stories, she falls into her own adventure headfirst.

2)Using three words, describe your voice.

Sensual, vibrant, powerful.

3)What was your journey to publication like? What was your favorite aspect of the adventure? What did you dislike?

As so many novelists, I had written stories my whole life. I couldn’t help myself; the stories came and the characters insisted I pay them homage. Nevertheless, fresh out of college I answered another muse—Clio, the Muse of history. Off I went to graduate school to become (cue History Channel music) a Professional Historian.

Soon enough I found that Clio’s companionship, while invigorating, did not wholly satisfy me. So I grasped the hands of Erato—the Muse of lyric poetry, the poetry of love—and Calliope—the Muse of epic poetry, the poetry of adventure—and invited them to join us.

Together the four of us romped about aimlessly for some time, as new friends will often do.

Eventually I discovered RWA and learned about query letters and synopses, market trends and point-of-view. I sent out many letters and chapters. I received many rejections. This went on for a few years. I became somewhat discouraged. I continued to write with all my heart, but with less hope of publication. Then, when I was just about ready to tell my Muse friends that we would be going it alone once more—still romping with great joy but no longer with serious aim—I got The Call.

Upon this journey I have loved best the writing. I also love many people, kind, generous and endlessly fascinating authors. The professional grace and camaraderie of romance writers awes me.

I liked least those occasions upon which experts stated, “this is not marketable” or “you should not write that.” I hope to never hear myself saying that to an aspiring author. If you hear me do such a thing, I give you leave to smack me upside my head (metaphorically speaking, please).

4) Tell us about how you "Got The Call"! Was it everything you'd thought it would be?

I had just walked through the kitchen door, briefcase on my shoulder, and I flipped open my laptop upon the counter. I read an email message I thought was from one of my students: “I am in love with this book. I can’t stop thinking about it!” I thought, wow, I’ve never had that sort of response from a student to whom I recommended a book for term paper research. Then I saw the sender’s name, my agent now.

I jumped up and down. A lot. And I screamed a little. I couldn’t really breathe, so the scream was kind of squeaky.

A month later I was in that same kitchen when I got a phone message from my fabulous agent telling me Avon had made an offer on my trilogy. I got preternaturally calm. I couldn’t breathe again. It was kind of weird this time. It didn’t even seem real. It was My Dream.

5) Novice Writer to Debut Author: What have you learned? Any preconceived notions debunked or confirmed?

I have learned above all that there is a lot of enormous talent in the romance fiction world—authors, agents, editors, marketing and PR people, you name it. I’ve also learned that bringing a single book to publication at a big publishing house is a huge effort, and if your agent and editor are behind you it is a wonderfully affirming experience.

6) Any advice for aspiring authors?

Write what is in your heart. It sounds corny, and sometimes feels astoundingly unrealistic. And lots of folks will gladly tell you it is in fact unrealistic. Even after the book of your heart sits upon store shelves folks will still tell you it’s unrealistic! But in the end it is your heart and your time and your talent and your love of the characters and story. Every moment of life is precious. Write what you love because you love to write it, and not for any other reason. And don’t give up.

7)What's the rest of 2010 looking like for you? Give us the juicy gossip!

Happily, writing! Earlier this year I finished the third book in my debut trilogy filled with sailing ships, intrigue, and most of all deliciously sexy love. I am incredibly excited for books 2 and 3 to come out in April and October next year! The only way I can bear waiting for that, actually, is to keep writing. I just started my next series with Avon, and I am loving it—more romantic Regency-era adventure, this time featuring ex-spies.


There you have it! A star on the rise and we've been given the inside track on her journey. I'm thinking there's no better way to a start a new week than by getting a healthy dose of motivation. I'd like to thank Katharine for working us into her schedule. It was a last minute request, but she graciously agreed. Ain't that awesome?!

If you'd like to learn more about Katharine Ashe and her debut novel SWEPT AWAY BY A KISS, please head on over to her gorgeous website: http://www.katharineashe.com/

THANK YOU, TLN'ers!! I'm thinking a little MAMA MIA and TAKE A CHANCE ON ME is the flavor of the day! What makes the scene is hottie Alexander Skarsgaard's dad saying, "I'm a writer--a lone wolf." LOL Oh, I love that movie! So, here's to all you "Lone Wolves" out there!! Catch ya back on Whip-IT Wednesday!!