Kate Pearce

Keeping Claire
KB Alan

Claire’s been fantasizing about the owner of her company since she first saw him. Ryan is gorgeous, confident and sexy as hell. In other words, so not her type. With the crazy life she leads, it’s best to stick to men who are happy to do what she tells them to, then disappear. Since Ryan would never abide by those terms, it’s best to keep him right where she’s got him—in her dreams.

Ryan gets up close and personal with Claire while investigating a threat to his company. Once he’s convinced she’s not out to hurt what he’s helped build, he refocuses his more-than-human energies on his intriguing employee. When she quits, insisting it’s best if she leaves town, he’s determined to convince her otherwise. At least long enough to get a taste of her. And the more he tastes, the more he touches, the more he wants. Now he just has to convince Claire that what they have is worth fighting for, and he’s more than up to the task.

Available now at Ellora’s Cave!

Announcing Tawny’s Taylor’s “Some Like It Hot” writing contest!

Starting October 25th, 2010, Tawny Taylor will be hosting a writing contest.
The final judge is an editor from Ellora’s Cave.

The Prizes? Read on!

All SubGenres of erotic romance accepted, including:
~Contemporary~Fantasy~Futuristic~ Shapeshifter/Vampire~BDSM~

*You may submit one chapter–not to exceed 5000 words. Stories must be complete and unpublished.

*Each Monday, two stories will be selected by an Ellora’s Cave editor who is actively acquiring. At the end, six weekly winning authors will submit a partial (first three chapters, last chapter and synopsis) to the final judge for ranking.

The first place winner will receive …

A critique of the full winning manuscript by EC editor Grace Bradley!

The second place winner will receive…

A critique of the partial manuscript by EC editor Grace Bradley (first three chapters, last and synop).

The third place winner will receive…

A critique of the first chapter by EC editor Grace Bradley.

Details at: http://www.tawnytayl…ingContest.html

Isn’t it lovely?

Here’s the blurb:
Desperate to defeat King Richard III and gain the English crown, Henry Tudor made a pact with the Druids that bound him and his heirs to the Druids’ deadly struggle against the Vampires. Ever since, the Llewellyns, an ancient Vampire-slaying family, have been in the permanent employ of the monarchy.

When Rosalind Llewellyn had to join forces with her enemy Christopher Ellis to defeat a rogue Vampire threatening Henry VIII, their alliance led to a surprising passion. Reunited after a year’s separation, they face a new threat that could destroy their last chance at happiness.

Christopher is delighted by the spectacular rise of his friends George and Anne Boleyn at court. But Rosalind suspects Lady Anne is up to no good—that she may even be a Vampire who’s bewitched the king. Now Rosalind must fight to keep Christopher from falling under the woman’s mysterious spell. It isn’t until Anne reveals a dark secret that Christopher awakens to where the true danger lies—and begins to play a desperate game in order to save the woman he loves…

This is for book #2 of The Tudor Vampire Chronicles, which is published in February 2011 from Signet Eclipse.
It’s the continuing story of Rosalind and Christopher’s complicated love life, which becomes even more interesting when Rosalind comes back to court and meets Christopher’s old friend, Anne Boleyn…

You know I’ve been blogging all over the place this last month about “Kiss of the Rose” and answering questions of all kinds. I thought it would be a good idea to ask myself some ‘frequently asked questions’, just in case any of you were wondering about stuff that comes out in the book or where I got my ideas from.

Q: How did you come up with the idea of putting Vampires into Tudor England?
A: Well this was an odd one. I’d always wanted to write Tudor fiction of some kind, but figured it had already been done so well by others that there wasn’t really much point. However, my agent emailed me last year and asked whether I’d ever thought about writing Tudor Vampires. I thought about it and it seemed to me that the fact that the Tudors came to rule England was, in itself a big surprise, so I theorized that maybe something supernatural had helped them. After that I settled on Henry Tudor being brought up in Wales, added a dash of Druids, tied them in with the Vampires, because of the idea of blood sacrifice, and hey presto! I had a concept!

Q: It was that easy, huh?
A: Not really. Because after I came up with the concept of having six books about King Henry VIII’s six wives and their dabbling in the paranormal world, I had to write a proposal for three books. That took some doing. Luckily I studied Tudor politics and archaeology at university so I had some basic tools to work with.

Q: You make it sound easy.
A: Whispers That’s because I’m glossing over the moments of teeth grinding despair that always characterize putting together a proposal and waiting to hear if it has been accepted. And writing the first book was hard work. I hadn’t written a paranormal historical before and there was a huge amount of world building to get right as well as strong likable characters, a plot and a love story.

Q: Did you always intend to have the same hero and heroine for more than one book?
A: Originally, I hoped to have the same hero and heroine for all six books, because I thought it would be interesting to see their love develop over the years and mirror the events in the lives of King Henry’s six wives. Ultimately, we decided that it was too long a time span, so I settled for having the same h/h for the first two books. It was also the only way I could do justice to their love story.

Q: Are there any themes you tried to explore in the books?
A: I was very interested in the power of three. It’s a big part of many religions and it is also great for the romance format creating a whole series of triangles with all kinds of love. That’s why I started the series with three male characters, Christopher Ellis, Rhys Williams and Elias Warner. I was also very keen to tie the elements of the paranormal world closely into the real events of the characters lives. So at the point our story starts, Katherine of Aragon really is in danger of being discarded by the king because she hasn’t produced a male heir. The whole concept of childbirth and children has always fascinated me, and its a constant theme throughout Henry VII’s life as well.

Q: Who was your favorite male character to write?
A: Well, I love them all because they are all very distinct. Christopher is just adorable because he’s so fiery and passionate and arrogant, and yet so unsure of his identity at a very deep level. I loved writing such a flamboyant character. he reminds me of Errol Flynn or one of those dashing silent film heroes. Rhys is different again, more even-tempered and definitely more liveable with. Elias? He’s going to need some work:)

Q: What’s been the most surprising thing since the book reviews have started to come in?
A: I was very surprised that some people weren’t happy that the book didn’t end in a neat HEA. As I’m so far ahead on the writing curve (I’m writing book #3 at the moment) I know what happens in book #2 so in my head it’s all wrapped up perfectly. I’ve also been surprised by the diversity of opinion. People either love the book or don’t, but then I think my writing style always does that to readers.

Q: So if Rosalind and Christopher get their Happy Ever After in book #2, who comes next?
A: Rhys Williams. He doesn’t get Rosalind, but he does meet a very interesting cousin of Rosalind’s called Verity Llewellyn.

Anyone have a question for me? Comment below and I’ll answer

The Between. A race of people between light and dark. Good and evil. Human and animal. The world discovered their existence over a decade ago, and so far the balance between humans and Between has been precarious at best. One bite is all it takes to cross the line from human to Between. It doesn’t matter what species of shapeshifter bites a human–only the soul can dictate what kind of animal is most suited to a Between. Many humans think they’re dangerous and should be locked away, while others covet their power.

On a fateful camping trip, fiery Oregon beauty Rhiannon Reid is kidnapped and turned into a “Between”–a magical shape-shifting creature. Now forced to prove her worthiness to the group’s golden king, lion-shifting Elan Delacourt, the two test each other’s strength and character–but lose themselves in the hot-blooded battle…

Find out more here: http://www.crystaljordan.com/books/between-lovers

Enjoy

Last week I went on a family vacation to Long Beach, California, a nice 5 hour drive away from where I live. One of the sights we were keen to visit was the old Cunard liner The Queen Mary.

We ended up walking onto the lower decks of the ship where the entrance to the ‘Ghosts of the Queen Mary’ tour was scheduled to start. Now, halfway up the gang plank I’d already decided there was no way I was going to do this tour because a) I’m slightly claustrophobic, b) I’m a scaredy cat and c) sometimes I get these weird ‘vibes’ about places and have to get out.

The three members of the family who wanted to do the tour were allocated a later time so we decided to explore the ship while they waited. Two minutes in, my husband, boy #3 and my daughter are skipping merrily down a passageway lined with cabins. Son #2 and I both stop about three foot into the passage and stare at each other. Neither of us like it and want to get out.

So we call back the rest of the gang and head upward toward the airier spaces of the first class passenger entrance. As I’m walking I remember the old family gossip about my uncle who used to work for the Midland Bank and spent some of his time acting as a banker on voyages from Southampton to New York for this very passenger line. I’m thinking he was actually on the Queen Mary.

We get to a nicer, brighter level and just as we arrive a tour guide comes past us and points to a gift shop located in the corner and tells everyone that it used to be the office of the Midland Bank who operated the only bank on the liner. So it seemed that family gossip was accurate about this at least!

I was still uneasy on the ship and although I enjoyed the experience I wasn’t unhappy to leave.
I called my mother yesterday to tell her about the visit. she totally got the creepy vibe as it is something we share and she immediately confirmed that my uncle had been on the Queen Mary and it’s sister ship the Queen Elizabethm and that in those days-the early 1950′s, it was quite a stressful job as once he was at sea, he had to make all the financial decisions as to whom to loan money to without any back up.

There was also a lot of socializing involved and I imagined him, in his twenties, in his evening clothes chatting to all the ladies like some debonair man of the world. My mother said that to relieve the stress he obtained permission to play the big grand piano in the first class dance hall late at night. So he’d sit there in the moonlight playing happily to himself once everyone else had gone to bed. What a wonderful image.

Kate Pearce is giving away a basket of signed books from her backlist, a signed copy of her latest release, KISS OF THE ROSE , a bag of Hershey’s Kisses and spa goodies, including her exclusively blended KISS OF THE ROSE perfume and infused soap to one lucky winner! How do you win this awesome prize?

Answer the question “What makes the perfect first kiss?” in the comment section of this blog, the contest post on Kate’s blog, Twitter, Kate’s Facebook Fan Page or emailing contests(AT)knightagency.net. You can enter multiple times. See details below

KISS OF THE ROSE FIRST KISS CONTEST

Prize: Gift basket featuring signed books from Kate Pearce’s backlist, as well as a signed copy of KISS OF THE ROSE. Plus, a bag of Hershey’s Kisses and spa goodies including Kate’s exclusively blended KISS OF THE ROSE perfume and infused soap.

How to Enter: Answer the question, “What makes the perfect first kiss?”

FIVE WAYS TO WIN
1. Via Twitter, answer the question, “What makes the perfect first kiss?” in 140 characters or less. Use the hash tag #KissoftheRose.

2. Via Kate’s author blog OR The Knight Agency blog, answer the question “What makes the perfect first kiss?” by commenting here in the contest post or in the comment section of this contest post on The Knight Agency blog <http://www.knightagency.blogspot.com/> .

3. Via Facebook, reply to the contest post on Kate’s Facebook Fan page <http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kate-Pearces-Fan-Page/220636502580> answering the question prompt.

4. Email your answer to Contests(AT)Knightagency.net Contests@Knightagency.net> .

RULES

1. The winner will be chosen randomly. This contest runs from Monday, August 9th thru Thursday, August 12th at midnight ET.

2. Mutiple entries are accepted. Meaning you can enter up to five times by posting an answer on Twitter, FB, Blogger (TKA and Kate’s blog) and emailing your answer. However, the entries MUST be different. For instance, you cannot answer the question the same way on both Twitter and Facebook. Also, please be sure to comment within the contest post whether on Blogger or Facebook to ensure your entry is counted.

3. The winner will be announced on Friday, August 13th on Kate’s author blog, The Knight Agency blog and via both Kate and TKA’s Twitter accounts (@KnightAgency and @Kate4Queen). If the winner does not claim their prize within two weeks of the announcement, another winner will be selected. If the second winner chosen does not respond within two weeks, the prize will be declared void.

Thanks to everyone who entered and I’m sorry I can’t give you all a book.
The winners (Chosen by random husband number crunching) are:
Alycia and Pearl

I’ll be in touch so watch your in boxes!

Kate x

Finally! It’s the Big Day!!

Kiss of the Rose releases this Tuesday! Go check out this link for excerpts and extra info.

And I’m having a contest. Comment below to win a chance to own one of two signed copies of Kiss of the Rose and some of the specially blended perfume and soap the lovely lady at Latherati made me just for the book.

Contest ends next Sunday.
Good luck!
Kate x

I’ll be away for a while, so please feel free to:

1. check out some of the older posts.
2. Read all the juicy excerpts.
3. Take a wander through the Regency Gallery.
4. Look behind the scenes of ‘Kiss of the Rose’
5. Enter April’s contest below to win her e-book

And by the time you’ve finished all that, I’ll be back and I’ll be having a Big Contest on this very blog giving away some Kiss of the Rose books and promo items!!

And if you happen to be near the Swan and Dolphin Hotel in Orlando Florida at 5:30 next Wednesday evening, come and check out the massive 400+ romance authors signing their books for literacy for life. I’ll be there so come and say hi!

Now, you all behave yourselves, okay?
Kate x