Interview with Katharine Ashe, Exclusive Excerpt!, & Giveaway Entry Stop

I'm happy to have author Katharine Ashe here at Among the Muses today as part of her blog tour! She's here answering some questions on her writing, latest release, and gifting us readers an exclusive excerpt! In addition, this is a giveaway entry stop, so make sure to check out the interview and then the giveaway details at the bottom!

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Genre: Historical Romance

Publisher: HarperCollins

Pub. Date: August 30, 2011

Blurb:

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 don’t 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 Marquis 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.

Welcome to Among the Muses, Katharine!

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Grade school! The first story I remember penning was what we’d now call fan fiction: a rewriting of the story of Pretzel, “the longest dachshund in the world.” I thought poor Pretzel’s girlfriend was horridly snooty, so I gave him a more endearing heroine. 

Can you tell readers who are not familiar with the series what the premise of the stories are about?

The novels in my Rogues of the Sea trilogy—SWEPT AWAY BY A KISS, CAPTURED BY A ROGUE LORD, and IN THE ARMS OF A MARQUESS—are loosely connected, so each can easily be read stand-alone. The heroes all have strong connections to the sea and ships. The relationship between the heroes and heroines of all three books is probably best explained in IN THE ARMS OF A MARQUESS (which I can’t detail because of spoilers!), and also in my novella, A LADY’S WISH. 

Was there a character you enjoyed writing the most?

I love writing all my characters, but my heart remains fully with my hero and heroine—together. One simply doesn’t exist without the other, so completely entwined are they in their creation. Ben Doreé and Octavia Pierce came to me many years ago—Ben the mysterious man of great power and responsibility that society only guesses at, and honest, sensible Octavia, the only woman he’s ever wanted. Writing their story of young, passionate, forbidden love lost then re-found seven years later was like falling in love all over again. 

We usually never talk about villains during interviews. Share with us who or what is the antagonist of your story.

I’d be giving too much away! I’ll give a hint, though: there’s more than one. 

Without giving away spoilers, can you share your favorite scene from the book?

The scene that begins at the Greek folly by the lake and ends in the marquess’s bedchamber (with a brief stop in a billiards room, in which the billiards table comes in very handy!). It’s a reunion scene that both the hero and heroine have awaited for seven years.  

Do you have a special formula for creating character names?

This may sound like one of those crazy things authors say, but I swear to you it is true: the characters name themselves. I met Octavia when she was fifteen years old, sprawled in a chair, with an Atlas of the World open in her lap, and she told me her name—an imperial, ancient name (Octavian Augustus was the first emperor of the ancient Roman Empire). Soon after, when Ben told me he was Octavia’s hero, he informed me of his first name (not short for Benjamin, in his case, but that’s another spoiler!). He also said he was enormously wealthy. Enormously. So his name came from d’oreé, French for “of gold”. Other characters offer me their names as well, suitable to their station in life and society, and their personalities. I don’t know how to explain it Most of the time. they just present themselves! 

Do you have any interesting writing quirks?

When I’m writing a novel, I write all the time. I mean, it’s nearly impossible for me to put the story down, even to do the tasks of everyday life. When I’m walking the dogs I write scenes in my head and scribble them down quick on a legal pad the second I walk through the door. When I’m driving if I think up lines of dialogue I record them on my phone. My husband once took a picture of me writing standing up as I was cooking dinner. Honestly, I do this when I read a novel I love, too. So I think it’s because I’m addicted to the happily ever after and can’t wait to get to the end so I can celebrate all the bliss and heaven with my hero and heroine! But then of course I’m sad it’s over. So that’s when I go back and tinker. A lot. It’s win-win, really.  

What can readers expect next from you?

My Falcon Club Series debuts March 2012 with WHEN A SCOT LOVES A LADY. When a snowstorm throws a scandal-plagued London beauty into the arms of a roguish lord, she suspects that succumbing to his seduction may be the only way to tame him… Until she discovers the beast is in fact no beast at all…

Can you leave readers with a little teaser from your new release?

[Here’s an exclusive excerpt!]

Ben pushed to his feet in the gin-soaked pub. His clogged head spun.

Styles laid a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll take you to Hauterive’s. Why you came in here when the company there would welcome you, I haven’t the slightest.”

“No. I’m for home.” He started toward the door.

“You disappeared from Lady Ashford’s party so swiftly I hadn’t an idea of it until you were gone. If I’d have known you were heading here I would have dissuaded you.”

“Couldn’t have.” Ben pushed through the lollers at the tavern’s entry and headed toward the mews down the alley with bleary eyes but hound-like precision. If he hadn’t trekked this path hundreds of times in his university days, he would be lost now. Lost in London’s hells and lost in confounded memories, neither of which locations he particularly wished to be.

“Who was that girl you were dancing with, the one that looked like an Irish Athena, all sublime figure and eyes of soft steel?”

Ben blinked to shut out the image of Octavia’s body wrapped in the shimmering gown, her soft lips, pinkened cheeks, and the sensation of her trembling fingers within his. But behind his lids the image was even stronger, and his hand still felt hot where hers had lain.

“Good God, Walker,” he grunted, “you and Constance would make a perfect pair, both of you curious as a couple of magpies.”

“Lady Constance asked about the girl too? Is she jealous?”

“Only of your paramours.”

“Then the lady at Ashford’s is a paramour?”

Ben shook his head, his stomach rolling. “Not mine.” Not any longer.

He moved across the street in unsteady strides.

But why not? No one controlled his destiny now. His life was his own. Why not seduce a beautiful, deceitful woman, a woman whose flavor yet remained upon his tongue? Why not take pleasure where he wished?

Because he could not then and still could not believe in her deceit, although he had tried to convince himself of it again and again. To absolve himself of guilt.

He stumbled into the stable and pressed his face into his horse’s satiny neck. Taking to the bottle tonight had been a mistake. He needed clarity. A pitcher of icy water over his head would do it, just as her smile had earlier, so brief it seemed she didn’t even know she smiled, washing his vision clear for an instant as it always had.

 

Where can readers find you?

website: http://www.KatharineAshe.com

facebook: facebook.com/KatharineAsheAuthor

twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/KatharineAshe

Before we move on to the giveaway details, there some fabulous information about to tell readers about. Can you share what those little 'seals' on the front cover means?

I am honored to be a spokesperson for Avon Romance’s K.I.S.S. and Teal campaign to raise awareness about Ovarian Cancer. From every sale of IN THE ARMS OF A MARQUESS, 25 cents will go to the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance for research and support for families suffering from Ovarian Cancer. I hope my readers will help me spread the word about this stealthy, whispering disease. For more information, please visit www.KISSandTeal.com.

Giveaway Details:

• Katharine and HarperCollins are generously gifting one lucky randomly drawn commenter from her blog tour a $25 Amazon gift certificate!

•  Leave a comment along with your email addy (please break it up using (at) and (dot))

• Contest is open the duration of the Katharine's blog tour.

•  The more stops you comment on, the better your chances of winning! :)

Blog Tour Stops:

Click on the graphic to go to the main web page, or click on the links below.

August 22: Romance in the Backseat

August 23: Reader Girls

August 24: Ramblings from this Chick

August 25: Among the Muses

August 26: Black Velvet Seductions Readers' Blog

 

Good Luck!