Welcome Kate Hill

Hello Kate. Tell us about yourself.

I’m a forty-something vegetarian New Englander who loves to read, write, work out and watch horror and action movies.

I love connecting with readers, so I visit my publishers’ yahoo/chat groups as often as I can. Also I enjoy hosting special events at my site, such as my annual Halloween page. I have a blog, yahoo group and a website that’s regularly updated. I’m also on Twitter.

My latest series is Combustion, which is published by Changeling Press. It’s erotic science fiction that focuses on a group of aliens who are temporarily stranded on Earth. Trouble in Paradise is my first independently published story. It’s a traditional romantic adventure.
I wanted to write a traditional romance with a heroine who was a little unconventional for her time. Also I wanted to work on a story with a bit more of a buildup to the hero and heroine getting into bed than what I generally write for my current publishers.

Are you a plotter or a pantser, Kate?  

I guess I’m a bit of both, although I’m more of a plotter. Before I start writing, I like to know my characters pretty well and I also need to have a loose outline so I know where the story is going.

Are you traditionally published, self-published or both? 

Both. I write regularly for Changeling Press and I’ve also been published by Ellora’s Cave and New Concepts Publishing. They’ve been fantastic to work with. Trouble in Paradise is my first self-published book. I didn’t feel it would fit well with any of my publishers, so instead of submitting it I decided to publish it independently. Right now I’m revising a previously published story to re-release independently. It will probably be out toward the end of this year or early next year.
I’ve only had one book self-published so far, but I found it to be a lot of work and pretty stressful. With a publisher, you have a lot of help. You’re supplied with editors and cover art. The publisher oversees distribution of the book. Self-published authors are in charge of everything and it takes a lot of time and effort, but it has a tradeoff. You get to see the kind of story you want to write done exactly how you want it, from cover art to characterization. It took over a year of revisions before I felt Trouble in Paradise was in shape to be published.

How do you create sexual tension in your romances? For me it depends on the characters. For some, lust-at-first-sight works. Others take more time before they get together. In Trouble in Paradise, when Grace and RC first meet, she’s completely disgusted with him and with good reason. Once he cleans up his act, she finds him hard to resist.

Do you have any rejection stories to share? Tons!! Rejection just goes with the territory. One that stands out in my mind is a rejection letter that told me my character who was a college student acted too much like a college student. I’m still trying to figure that one out! I eventually sold the story, but I’m still amused by that particular criticism.

What is your writing routine like? I set aside a certain amount of time each day for writing, editing and promo. Since I love keeping calendars and charts, I use them to keep track of my time and drive my family crazy leaving them all over the house.

What are you reading now? Right now I’m reading Making Waves by Cathryn Fox and Jaci Burton.

We’d love a blurb and an excerpt from your latest book.

Trouble in Paradise by Kate Hill (Romantic Suspense) Available at
All Romance Ebooks
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-troubleinparadise-1153845-152.html
Barnes & Noble
http://tinyurl.com/d2ok42u
Smashwords
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/302667

Before cell phones and reality TV, when women had big hair and men were all about action and adventure, a girl walks into a bar searching for a hero. She finds R. C. Benson, a soldier turned grave robber wallowing in past sins. With a marriage of convenience, a pet shark and a shady butler, Grace and R. C. have their work cut out for them, but that gives them the perfect chance to fall in love.

Excerpt:
“That was some night.” Grace slipped off her shoes once she and R. C. returned to their hotel room. “I can’t wait to get to bed.”
He rubbed his hands together. “Now you’re talking.”
Grace shot him a serious look and pointed in his face. “Remember this is not for real. If you think I’m having sex with you, you’re crazy.”
“Of course I’m crazy. I’ve gone along with this ridiculous idea of yours, haven’t I?”
“I mean it, Benson. You come near me and I’ll castrate you.”
He chuckled and winced at the same time. “Oh and you’d try, too.”
“You can count on it.”
“Well you can’t blame me for trying.” He hung his jacket next to the others in the closet and removed his tie. He unbuttoned his shirt, revealing the lean, hair-dusted chest she longed to caress.
“I’m changing in the bathroom,” she said.
“You like the right side of the bed or the left?”
She glanced over her shoulder, one hand on the bathroom door. “I said I’m not sleeping with you.”
“No. You said you’re not having sex with me. If you think I’m going to sleep on the floor, you’re the one who’s nuts.”
“Fine. I’ll sleep on the floor, seeing how you’re such a gentleman.”
“The bed is king size. You don’t even have to touch me.”
“Damn right about that.”
“Look.” He piled pillows down the center of the bed. “How’s that?”
She narrowed her eyes. The thought of sleeping on the floor wasn't appealing.
“When we get to the island, we’re going to have to share everything, so we might as well start now.”

http://www.kate-hill.com
http://www.twitter.com/katehillromance
http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/katehill/info

Kate is giving away a pdf copy of her book to one lucky commenter.

Welcome Mary Marvella

Mary is giving away a pdf copy of Protective Instincts to one lucky commenter. Email address needed to win.

Thanks for inviting me to join you today!
I am sitting watching Once Upon a Time because I believe. I grew up reading fairy-tales. When I taught 6th grade I had an extra assignment, to give a 3rd grade teacher a break by taking her kids for half an hour once a week. I had no training teaching kids of that age, but I did know how to make up stories, so once I had used up my store of kids' stories, I retold them, making up new endings and telling what happened next to the characters. 

For as long as I can remember I created stories in my head. I played house, climbed trees, and read everything. I made paper dolls and designed their clothes. I still like to color in coloring books and in stories.

After I retired from teaching I became a tutor. I teach at a variety of levels, including anything language arts and writing classes. I also edit books for Gilded Dragonfly Books and for freelance clients.

Protective Instincts began several incarnations ago, with a man who thought his teenage son had a crush on a sexy young teacher, only to find the teacher was a 30-something woman and sexy in a wholesome, woman-next-door way. He actually asked her out and then kissed her. That part went away with several drafts. Then I thought about what would happen if the woman became the target of a professional killer, the man who killed her husband. What if he planned all murders to be different? Since it was to be a romance, I needed a man who would protect her, but not a cop or a military type. The daddy from the original idea became a man with premonitions and a protective streak a mile wide. That book became Protective Instincts. http://www.amazon.com/Protective-Instincts-ebook/dp/B00EGE93CC/

An idea comes to me or characters appear and want to tell their stories. I started a book after my EX and I bought a house for my daughter to rent out while she attended college in Milledgeville, Georgia. The seller's daughter mentioned ghosts and named them for me while we were signing the papers. The story wrote itself in my head during the 2 1/2 hour ride home. Well, not the entire story, but I knew who the ghosts were and why they were in the house. They told me they were there to protect the heroine and they introduced me to the hero, the guy next door. From there the story wrote itself over months when I had to turn in pages to my critique group. That story became Haunting Refrain. (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0057033GG)

I self -published 3 novels and 2 novellas before I contracted a book. I would advise anyone thinking of self publishing to get your book edited by a pro. Several of my clients ask me to edit books they Indie-published and got bad reviews because of grammar and punctuation.

How do you create sexual tension in your romances? 

It's always about the tease. Make your characters want each other and don't let them get what they want until they beg.

Do you have critique partners? Three of us met through Georgia Romance Writers and the 4th we met at a bookstore. She now belongs to GRW, too. I have one partner I met years ago and we work together and another one who asked me years ago to critique with her and a friend of hers.

I hate routines, but I write or edit when I'm not tutoring or making preparations to tutor. I try to troll Facebook and answer emails and read loops. I might write all night if I am on fire or an idea grabs me or if I don't have other obligations, like blogs to write or posts to upload to my blogs.

Thanks for being my guest, Mary. We’d love a blurb and an excerpt from your latest book.

Excerpt:
Sam was ready to climb through the phone line. Something was terribly wrong. He’d known it just before he woke in a cold sweat, his gut in pain. The memory of her frightened amethyst eyes haunted him. Why had he dreamed about her? Why had she seemed so upset? He’d speed-dialed Ms. Roberts’ number before he realized he’d picked up the phone beside the recliner where he’d fallen asleep. All Sean’s teachers’ numbers were programmed into the phone.

“I’m comin’ over.” Sam was out of the chair as quickly as his sleep-stiff body would allow.

“No! No, don’t come over here.”

“Something’s wrong. I know it is.” Still half asleep, Sam held the phone between his chin and his neck as he shoved his feet into the shoes he’d discarded before dozing off.

“Everything’s fine,” she had told him. Why would she lie? He knew she had, because his premonitions were never wrong.

“So, why didn’t you answer your phone?”

“I was half asleep. Do you know what time it is?”

“Yes, but I’m worried about you. I’ll be at your house in ten minutes,” Sam had his keys and wallet in his hands. “I’ll explain, but I really need to be sure you’re all right, please.”

He replaced the phone, then checked Sean’s room. Sean lay sprawled across his bed, blond hair mussed, his hand dangling off the edge. Grabbing a sheet of paper Sam scrawled, “Son, back soon. Don’t worry. Gone to check on a friend.”

Sam raced across town, hoping he didn't get stopped for speeding. The streets were deserted. Good fortune had put each light on green or flashing yellow. He didn't think he’d have stopped if there had been a red light. The eerie feelings weren't as strong as when he’d awakened, but they wouldn't go away.

Blurb:

They met because he had premonitions and she was in peril. But you will never believe why they fell in love.
After mourning the loss of her husband, Brit Roberts manages to pick up her life as a teacher for a rural Georgia High school. Things are fine until anonymous phone calls turn creepy and her life is endangered. It's not until Sam Samuels shows up to check on her that she finds a little peace.

www.MaryMarvella.com
www.pinkfuzzyslipperwriters.blogspot.com
Mary Marvella@mmarvellab
www.gildeddragonflybooks.wordpress.com