Romance Author Hotspot

Meet Kate Richards!

First question:

Eggnog or Mimosas? Are you old enough to drink? Up until Christmas I’ll go with eggnog…or eggnog lattes! Then I’ll switch to mimosas. And yes…since I just got carded at Target picking up beer for the hubs, I am Target certified as old enough to drink.

We’re also taking pictures with Santa, did you bring a gift for him? (Maybe a new release or a pretty book cover…) I have a nice cover, is he a sexy Santa?

Blurb:

What to do when your fiancé dumps you for a bimbo, right before a vacation of a lifetime to a luxurious Bahamas couples resort? If you’re lucky, like Terese, the reservations clerk can refer you to another resort, even nicer, and suggests you contact the fabulous Madame Eve at 1Night Stand—for a replacement date!

David is Terese’s date. Very tall, ebony dark and handsome, he’s also starting to yearn for more connection than career has allowed. After years of working at various resorts, he can settle in and enjoy his position as Castillo Resorts’ newest manager right in his native Bahamas.

Add in a hurricane with a sudden change in course, and David and Terese may have a more exciting date than either of them planned. In more ways than one.

Please enter. Drinks are served by the elves in the corner.

What’s your favorite holiday and why? Halloween, I love fall and everything about it!

Did you ask Santa for anything good? Uggs, but Santa is making me find the website and place the order for him…anyone else married will surely understand this.

What’s your favorite place to spend the holidays? Home, where we can snuggle by the tree and watch for Santa

What is your favorite Christmas memory? I was convinced I saw Santa’s sleigh fly by…more than one year. As a child, that was my favorite part of the holiday. And who knows, maybe I did.

Do you have personal resolutions for the New Years? Anything interesting? I am going to write every day and not let other commitments get in the way!

Why do you write romance? I love being involved with the characters and helping them find their happy ending.

How long have you been writing for? And how would you describe your publication journey? Forever, but I only got serious writing for publication a couple of years ago, and I’ve been very lucky to find supportive, encouraging publishers and awesome editors who helped me grow.

Are you a plotter or pantser? What is your routine? Pantser. I sit down with a plot in mind and my characters take the reins and show me how they want it to go. They are smarter than me anyway! And certainly more creative.

What characteristics do all your heroes/heroines have in all your stories? Honesty is important, once any comedic misunderstandings are cleared up. And heart.

What writing resources do you abide by as a writer? I have taken classes, I have an awesome group of critique partners and beta readers, I read books and research on any topic covered by my stories.

What are you working on right now? I am working on a story to submit to the Wiccan Haus series at Musa. I may have another 1Night Stand story up my sleeve as well.

What news would you like to share with your readers? Valerie Mann and I have created another series for Decadent Publishing called The Edge. It’s very sexy shorts and we expect the debut to be around Valentine’s Day.

Where can readers find you?

1. Twitter: katerichards09
2. Facebook: katerichardsauthor
3. Website: http://katerichards.wordpress.com

List other books you have out: I have several with Decadent Publishing including, The Virgin and The Playboy, Trail of Hearts, Avalon for Christmas.

Thank you so much for joining us at Romance Author Hotspot!

PRIZE: Copy of Gale Force Passion

Kate Richards is in the house! And we’re talking about Avalon! 

When I wrote Avalon for Christmas, it was because Catalina Island is one of my favorite places to spend the holiday season. The storefronts, restaurants, and bars embrace the tourists, there are terrific end of the year sales, you can stay in a hotel, motel or rent an awesome vacation home with a whole bunch of your best, most entertaining friends. I’ve done all these things. And overall we did have wonderful times, but we learned that there are a few things that can mess with your good time. So, I thought I’d share, in case anyone was trying to find something interesting to do with their winter break.

1. Do not start drinking on the boat on the way over. More than one merrymaker has missed the first night of partying because she arrived at the island blitzed and in need of a nap. Then everyone makes fun of you the whole rest of the trip.
2. Do not start drinking the moment you arrive on the island…same reason as before. There will be plenty of time to enjoy grownup beverages after you unpack and get settled. Maybe have a nice round of miniature golf before dinner and YES, we did usually do that, it’s right up there with renting a golf cart and tooling around the streets and unlike the stuff the real tourists do like taking glass bottom boat trips and buses to the top of the island. Well, okay that’s fun and sometimes you see buffalos.
3. Once you’ve realized that the person who rented the house is the one who gets stuck on the foldout sofa,  feel free to begin drinking. You will never get a moment’s rest while your nine or ten friends fall over the sofa bed when they stumble in …well, at all hours.
4. Do not take a date. I did this once, and by the time the weekend was over he’d hit on every one of my friends and barely escaped with  his boy parts attached. A trip with girlfriends is just that. Men can be acquired along the way…but bringing one is just a mistake. All those women and one guy leads to testosterone overload and stupidity is sure to follow.
5. This is very important. A girlfriend of mine made a custom every year of asking one particularly cute sheriff to test her for drunkenness. In this process we learned that it is illegal to drink and drive a golf cart, ride a horse, pedal a bicycle, but that it was fine and dandy to drink and party in the streets of Avalon on New Year’s Eve. Apparently. At least she was never arrested.

Avalon is the most charming town filled with lovely, friendly people who are delighted to welcome tourists.  We always had a wonderful time, in the end, and the making fun of each other was part of it. It worries me slightly how many of the lessons I learned involve drinking. But we were all hard working professionals who didn’t get to let loose too often. So…we did! Another time I will post what not to do in Lake Tahoe on vacation. I’ll try not to make it all about drinking. In Tahoe there was an incident with sushi…

Comment! One lucky winner will win a new print copy of The More the Merrier, and for out of country readers, Kate’s giving away an Amazon gift card! 

Happy Black Friday! 

Blurb: 

Pete hopes the magic of the holiday season will help him to mend the friendship one night of teenage indiscretion tore apart. A successful software designer, he is bringing his girlfriend, Gina, to Avalon to meet his oldest friend, and first love, Andy. A dozen years have passed and it will take all the Christmas spirit in Avalon to mend the rift and maybe, just maybe, bring the three of them together for a night of explosive sex that will catapult them into a happy ever after beyond any of their wildest dreams. If it can happen anywhere, it can happen on Catalina Island!

Welcome Kate Richards! Come hang out! Party! Win a copy of the Virgin and the Playboy and a $10.00 Amazon gift card to a random commenter!

It’s Kate Richards! Let’s talk witches and Halloween!

As a witch, I feel particularly qualified to share my opinions of Halloween. It is not only our new year, but my favorite holiday of the entire calendar year. After all, it involves candy, costumes and a huge party with crazy decorations, including my coffin table.

This table was handmade for me, and could be a working coffin should one be needed. It was very handy for about a year in the living room until its authentically sharp corners bonked so many ankles it was voted into storage except on Halloween…and a week or two before.

Our house is haunted. It was built by my uncle in 1958 and my great uncle, great-grandparents, aunt, and my grandfather all died here. Most of them were quite advanced in age, my great-grandmother was 101. And apparently they all liked it here, and are seen from time to time by all manner of visitors. My grandmother likes to go bump in the night when my dear husband is less than appropriately kind and respectful to her favorite granddaughter. It gets a little crazy, but breaks up any argument she contributes to.

Halloween is especially haunted around here, we had a guest last year swear he saw a couple in Victorian clothing sitting on the couch. No idea who they were, but it’s a party so the more the merrier! Anyway, if you’re in the Los Angeles area this Halloween, keep an eye out for our house. It’s the one lit up like a Christmas…err…Halloween tree? Maybe a jack-o-lantern.

Happy Halloween!

Kate

Blurb:

Archaic and powerful demon, Alessandro knew never to disappoint his overlord. On the night of Samhain, when veils thin and worlds collide, he enters Earth in deadly search of one thing: a soul—until the scent of cinnamon leads him to…a Halloween party?

Sweet and passionate, Gwenny, who spends her Halloween performing a ritual with her coven,  will do whatever it takes to protect those she loves. Thrown in Alessandro’s company, she doesn’t realize the danger until their night of passion ends, and she has to choose whether to go along with the night’s evil mission or fight the Lords of Hell themselves to save herself and her cinnamon-loving demon.

Leave a comment for this wonderful witch and win a copy of Demon Loves Cinnamon, released Oct. 29th! Great read, great fun, great demon!