1. Tell us a little bit about how you write your books:
However I can! My life is crazy. I have three kids ages 12, 8 and 6. I'm not Martha Stewart or any of those other super mom types. I'm disorganized and forgetful. When I have time to write, I sit down and I write. And when I don't...well, I don't. I have to prioritize emergencies a lot. :)
I am probably most organized about my writing. I always write a brief outline of the book so I know essentially what is going to happen from scene to scene, beginning to end. Then I write. When my life is at it's most crazy, I just try to write something, anything, everyday. When I can, I set writing goals or word counts for each day in order to hit a deadline. I work pretty well under pressure, actually. And I edit as I go. It's very hard for me to just write and forget about 'fixing' things until I'm done with a rough draft. Instead, most of my books are ready for submission by the time I write The End the first time.
2. How long have you been writing and what do you love about it?
I've been writing my whole life. But I've only been writing professionally for about six years. I love being my own boss. I love setting my own work hours, my own deadlines, and, heck, my own agenda. I also love that's it's a solitary work life. I work best without distraction. I also love the really interesting people I have met through writing. Writers are so creative and imaginative and a little crazy. Just the kind of people I like.
3. What hobbies/interests do you have?
I knit. Knitting is very zen. My mind wanders and I often find myself plotting new stories or solving plot issues on current books while I'm knitting. It settles and soothes me. Of course I read all the time, too. I'm also a catalog junkie. I must get a hundred in the mail each week and I study each one and then throw it away. I almost never order anything, and when I do I go online. I just love looking at the catalogs. It's a sickness.
4. Something people would be surprised to know about me is…
I'm actually a bit of an introvert and a loner. I'm happiest at home, surrounded by my family and my things, quietly leading my little life. Crowds make me nervous.
5. If you could invite 4 people (real or fictional, living or dead) to a dinner party, who would you invite and what would you serve?
Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant. I love old movies and I grew up watching these greats on the silver screen. I've read their biographies and autobiographies, and they just seem so amazing. Funny, smart, talented, and they knew (know in Bacall's case) how to have a good time. Just the sort to have at a dinner party. What would I serve? Something catered, of course. I can't cook at all. Oh, and lots of booze for this crowd.
6. I can’t live without…
My first thought was smiles from my kids. :) But if we're talking about more physical things, these days it's Bigelow Spiced Chai decaf tea, piping hot. I drink it all day long.
7. Tell us a little about this current book - what was your favorite part about writing it?
The Devil's Thief is the first book in a new Regency historical romance series called The Saint's Devils. The Devils are a group of rakes who've been friends since their school days. Their unofficial leader is Sir Hilary St. John, a sort of brilliant, hedonistic Sherlock Holmes character who helps his friends solve mysteries surrounding their heroine in each book. The Devil's Thief is about Alasdair Sharp, a well to-do gentleman whose famous family heirloom The Stewart Pearl is stolen by Miss Julianna Harte, who needs the money from the pearl to save the foundling home she sponsors. When Alasdair catches Julianna stealing the pearl she lies about her identity and he thinks she's an experienced thief, a product of the underworld. So he offers her a bargain--one night in his bed for the pearl. He never means to keep the bargain, however. He plans to pay her off with something else in the morning and make her his mistress. But when morning comes Julianna has disappeared with his pearl and Alasdair has to enlist the aid of his friends to find her and his family heirloom.
My favorite part about writing it was the humor. Author Katharine Ashe described it as a romp through Regency London, and it really is. There's some verbal sparring between my hero and heroine, and the Devils are all witty and charming.
8. What's next for your writing?
Love and War: Brothers in Arms The Beginning will be released next month, too. It's a short story in my erotic Regency series Brothers in Arms which is a prequel to the first book, The Courage to Love. It was originally written as a free short for my newsletter subscribers, but I know not all readers want to subscribe so I'm now making it available to everyone. A Brothers in Arms novella, a prologue to the next full length book, Love Betrayed, will be out before the end of the year, and the full Love Betrayed will be coming out next spring. And in July, 2013, Tempting a Devil, the second in The Saint's Devils series, will be released.
9. How can your fans stay up to date with what you are doing?
http://samanthakane.us
http://www.facebook.com/SamanthaKaneauthor
http://twitter.com/skaneauthor
newsletter: http://samanthakane.us5.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=d56cadf6d5dd3d90aa0b8a99d&id=810dff8484
And you can check out an excerpt of The Devil's Thief here:
The Devil's Thief by Samantha Kane, Excerpt
and now for the giveaway - just fill out the rafflecopter form below:
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