~~Author Wednesdays--Kate Douglas & Giveaway~~

                                    © Astine | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images  

Happy Wednesday everyone!! It's Author Wednesday at For Whom The Books Toll and my guest today is the fantastic Kate Douglas. Welcome Kate and thank you for being here today.

Thanks, Julianne, for the chance to chat about my newest book as well as my upcoming books—I’ve been a bit busy the past few months! St. Martin’s Press has bought a new series from me—I don’t have a name for it yet, but the first novella is called Tangled, and the first novel, the one I’m working on now, is Intimate. Both of these are set in the wine country here in Sonoma County, California, where my husband and I live, and it’s a huge change to be writing sexy contemporary romances set in my home town rather than my über-sexy paranormal shapeshifter stories!

I’ve really enjoyed getting back to my writing roots—I started out with contemporary romances in 1998 when I sold my first stories to Hard Shell Word Factory, one of the early ebook publishers—but I’m not giving up on my Chanku! I’m publishing my erotic paranormal series, Spirit Wild, independently, and the fourth in the series, Dark Refuge, released a couple of weeks ago. The print version will be available sometime this week. 

That’s the best thing about the popularity of ebooks—the fact that, when a publisher decides not to continue publishing a series, the author and readers aren’t left hanging. I absolutely hate that—getting hooked on a story line and characters and then suddenly they’re gone. It’s every bit as tough for the author—I never know what’s coming next, and when I first realized Kensington wouldn’t be publishing anymore of my series, I had this horrible sense of guilt at having not only failed my readers, but my characters as well. They still have stories to tell, and I can’t imagine not having Anton Cheval in my life. I mean, he’s a pain in the ass at times, but he’s so real to me that I count on him for story ideas. 

(And no, I do NOT need therapy. Really. I’m okay...  )

I’m taking my Spirit Wild stories a step further though, and bringing them out in print as well as ebooks, but I have enough readers who are interested in print that I really feel as if it’s an important step. Besides, I still love my print books, and it’s also nice to know I’m not the only Luddite in the room. I may have started out with epublishing long before most people knew what ebooks were, but I still want that print book to hold when I’m reading. Since it’s important to me, I completely understand my readers who ask for print.

I can’t share any of my new contemporary story excerpts yet—the anthology it’s in with Lora Leigh and Shiloh Walker won’t release until April of 2015—but I can share a snip of Gabriel Cheval’s story. He’s the hero in Dark Refuge who falls in love when he reconnects with a childhood friend—the adorable little girl of Oliver and Mei’s, all grown up. It’s a big adjustment for Gabe to discover that “little EmyIzzy” isn’t cute and chubby anymore. No, she’s all grown up, and more than a match for him.

But it’s the darkness inside Em that’s got both of them struggling to find answers—and they’re answers that could impact the entire Chanku pack.

I had a lot of fun imagining Gabe’s first night seeing Em after so many years:

====Excerpt from Dark Refuge, Book 4 of Spirit Wild====

This trip to San Francisco was looking better all the time, and once he got over the shock of seeing EmyIzzy again... Crap. Emeline... He actually sighed. Sighed! What the hell was that all about? Em had been just one more little sister, attached at the hip to his baby sister Lucia, and Gabe had figured she’d still be much the same—sort of like Luci. Cute and silly and someone he could tease and relax with. He hadn’t seen her in...Goddess. He hadn’t seen her in at least six or seven years.

It appeared a lot could happen to a woman in six or seven years, and looking at Emeline now wasn’t the least bit relaxing. She’d been short and cute, and a little on the pudgy side, but somehow that baby fat had managed to rearrange itself in absolutely stunning fashion.

Em waited for him in the entry by the door to the garage. She was tinier than a lot of the young women in the pack, with her father’s slight build, but she had all her mom’s sex appeal.

Except he didn’t want to see Em that way. It wasn’t easy, though, ignoring the subtle, sexy sway of her hips as he followed her down the steps to the garage. She’d put on tight black jeans with high black leather boots that almost reached her knees, and a dark blue sweater that showed off more of Emeline Cheval than Gabe ever imagined she’d have to show.

It was a struggle, reminding himself she was EmyIzzy, for Goddess’s sake. Not a fuck buddy. Besides, he’d just had excellent after-run sex with Aaron. There was no way he was going to screw with Em after what he’d been doing with her brother a few hours ago. Nope. Wasn’t going there.

====

So that should give you an idea of what I’ve been up to, and what’s coming. Dark Refuge is out now, and it will be awhile before my St. Martin’s Press books release, but I’m hoping to slip another Spirit Wild book in between now and the time when the SMPs are out. I’m not going to be hanging out on Facebook as much, but I always answer my email, so don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have questions.

Julianne, I’d like to give away a couple of print copies of Dark Moon, if you’d be so kind to pick winners for me. Now I really need to get back to work, but thanks so much for stopping by.

Kate Douglas

kate@katedouglas.com

www.katedouglas.com

www.twitter.com/wolftales

www.facebook.com/katedouglas.authorpage

I'd be happy to Kate. Ok commenters, leave Kate some love!!! Answer this question: Have you read any of Kate's Chanku books?  Do you have a favorite?

Two random commenters will chosen. This is a US ONLY giveaway since the books are print. Kate will also be signing these books for! So make sure to leave your email so I can contact you if you win.

Title: Dark Refuge

Author: Kate Douglas

Series: Spirit Wild #4
Genre: Paranormal/Erotic Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Beyond the Page Publishing

Publication Date: May 11, 2014

Print: Last week of May 2014

Blurb:

Gabriel Cheval has watched his packmates find love, but he wonders if there will ever be a woman for him, one who is his perfect match. He doesn’t expect to find her in Emeline Isobelle Cheval. They share a last name, and though they’re not related, Gabe still treated little “EmyIzzy” as a bratty kid sister. Now Emeline is all grown up, and she needs Gabe’s help. But Em’s troubles are even darker and deeper than the human trafficking ring she’s uncovered. There’s a terrible darkness in her soul, and a horror inside Em can’t fight. Gabe offers all he has—but is  his light and love enough to bring Em safely out of her Dark Refuge?

Emeline Cheval has always felt a darkness in her soul, an emptiness she blamed on her controlling parents. After years of unrest, Emy has finally found some sense of peace by living quietly far away from her family and her pack. But her world is thrown into chaos when she discovers a fellow Chanku trapped in a human trafficking and prostitution ring. Now Emy must turn to the very pack she left behind for help. 

On the outside Gabe Cheval has it all. Stunningly handsome and strong, he’s a prominent and valuable member of the pack—but he carries a fear that he will never find a woman of his own. He remembers Emy from his childhood, and he’s shocked when he goes to help her and discovers that the silly young girl has grown into a sensuous and beautiful young woman—one who tantalizes him with the sense that she could be the perfect mate to finally end his loneliness. 

But even as Gabe and Emy come together to rescue the captive woman and explore the undeniable attraction building between them, the dark menace that lurks deep in Emeline’s heart threatens to push them apart. Through Gabe’s loving and erotic touch and Emy’s open and passionate trust in him, they uncover a horrible secret that could threaten the very core of the Chanku hierarchy.

Buy Links:

Amazon: Dark Refuge (Spirit Wild)

ARe
iTunes
Kobo
Smashwords

Title: Dark Moon
Author: Kate Douglas
Series Spirit Wild #3
Genre: Paranormal/Erotic Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp
Publication date: January 28, 2014

Blurb:
Chanku spirit guide Igmutaka has known since the day he held the newborn daughter of Tala and Mik Fuentes in his hands, that she would grow up to be his. Unfortunately, no one thought to copy Mikaela Star on the message. After years of avoiding her overbearing spirit guide, Star has decided to return to Montana and face the beautiful and irritating man who has haunted her nights for much too long.

But first, she takes a small vacation in California, where Igmutaka just happens to be waiting.

Sunny Daye has known this day was coming. She and Ig have been lovers for years, but both of them accept that they are not meant to be a mated pair. When Igmutaka tells Sunny her man is "out there, and coming closer," she can barely contain her excitement. But Fen Ahlberg is not at all what Sunny expected--in fact, he is so much more that his mere existence will change the Chanku forever.


Buy Links:
Amazon: Dark Moon (Spirit Wild)
Barnes & Noble
Books A Million
iTunes
Kobo

Title: Dark Spirit
Author: Kate Douglas
Series Spirit Wild #2
Genre: Paranormal/Erotic Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Beyond the Page Publishing
Publication date ebook: January 6, 2014
Publication date print: January 20, 2014

Blurb:
Romy Sarika has spent much of her life suffering at the hands of a sadistic cult leader. Twenty years earlier she watched him kill her mother, and now she waits to suffer the same fate. But when the self-proclaimed prophet orders Romy killed, the wolf inside her--the one she has tried to call--rises up, and for the first time she shifts. She escapes, leaving death and chaos in her wake.

Jace Wolf and Gabe Cheval, two powerful Chanku on their annual survey of wild wolf packs in the Pacific Northwest come across a dying wolf. When Jace uses his abilities to heal the animal, he makes an unexpected discovery: the wolf is a shapeshifter. Now only does he heal her terrible wounds, he helps Romy unleash sensual desires in her that are as new and intense as her wolf-like abilities. But just as Romy is opening herself to this erotic world and the passionate connections she’s forming with both men, danger closes in.

Bent on revenge and driven by bloodlust, cult members pursue the trio. With their lives at stake and the safety of the Chanku race in jeopardy, Jace, Romy and Gabe must fight to save themselves and the future of their kind.

To my readers:
This is the first of my Spirit Wild stories to be published independently. I wrote it to fit between Dark Wolf (April 2013) and Dark Moon (February 2014) for an early January release. Though the book is self-published, it is available as both ebook, and print. I've got a terrific editor and support team in Beyond the Page Publishing, and I'm very proud of this first indie-release in the series. I hope readers will continue to follow my Chanku--I've still got a lot of stories to tell.

Buy Links:

Amazon: Dark Spirit (Spirit Wild)

Print: Dark Spirit (Spirit Wild) (Volume 2)
ARe
Barnes & Noble
Books A Milion
iTunes
Kobo
Smashwords

Title: Dark Wolf
Author: Kate Douglas
Series Spirit Wild #1
Genre: Paranormal/Erotic Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Kensington Books ~Imprint-Aphrodisia
Publication date ebook: April 30, 2013
Publication date print: April 30, 2013

Blurb:
It is a bold new beginning for the Chanku. For so long they kept their shapeshifting ability secret, but now they have assimilated into the world in ways they once never thought possible. Still there are those who want to destroy them, with dark powers of their own...

The CEO of Cheval International, Lily Cheval chooses to live alone, but a series of rapes and murders leave her wary and worried for her fellow Chanku. Then she meets Sebastian Xenakis and the connection is intense and immediate. The son of a charismatic cult leader, Sebastian is a mysteriously sensual man who uses magic to shift into wolf form. He and Lily come together in a moment of supreme ecstasy, succumbing to a primal passion that leaves Lily shaken but utterly alive. Is Sebastian her lifetime mate or is he her worst enemy?

Buy Links:

Amazon: Dark Wolf: 1 (Spirit Wild)

Print: Dark Wolf (Spirit Wild)
ARe
Books A Million
iTunes
Kobo

I should have just said, "it's all about me," right? But it's true, you know...each of us takes our own road on our journey to whatever we end up doing, and I really do believe that some people just seem to know they are meant to write. I've felt that way since I was little, but it took me a while to figure out exactly what course my career was going to take. I started out writing radio copy for KCEY radio in Turlock, California back in 1972. How could I know at the time that those 30 and 60 second commercials would help me write "back cover copy" as an author? I also wrote and illustrated an educational cartoon strip for mosquito abatement districts around the country for a number of years. If you remember Skeeter Mosquito cartoon booklets (they were handed out in a lot of elementary schools) from the seventies and eighties, that was me. Fortunately, they had little if no impact on my writing...

In the mid-eighties, I was a reporter for a small town weekly newspaper where I covered everything from high school sports to drug busts, including a huge forest fire that burned much too close to our house. I got a lot out of that job--how to meet deadlines, how to write concise prose (well, I do try... ) and what people are really like in emergencies. How they react when terrible things happen, or wonderful things. I think I connected more with a world outside mine during that short three year stint than I ever would have in my fairly insulated middle-class life. It was an experience that changed the way I see the world around me.

All during this time, I was reading romances, and thinking that one day I'd like to write them. One night I actually dreamed an entire story. I felt as if it was some sort of gift from an unknown muse, and I got up and wrote--in longhand--as much as I could recall. I still have that legal sized notepad, covered with my always almost illegible handwriting. From those scribbles, I started to write. 

I entered the first three chapters in an unpublished writers' contest and won first prize. I thought I'd be published within the year, so I worked really hard at finishing the book. I called it Rite of Passage, and then I found the names of publishers willing to look at a manuscript without an agent (there weren't many) and I sent it off. And waited. You could only send to one publisher at a time (they didn't take simultaneous submissions) and of course it was printed and mailed in a big box with enough postage to get it back if you wanted it returned. It was a slow, arduous, and ugly process. 

And depressing, when the rejections showed up, often months after submission. For what it's worth, many submissions and rejections followed. While I waited, I wrote. And wrote some more. Rite of Passage was never sold, but...

In 1998, I sold a different story to a small ebook publisher, and of course this was before anyone knew what an ebook was. I continued writing for epublishers: Hard Shell Word Factory, now owned by Mundania Press, Ellora's Cave, and Changeling Press. It wasn't until 2005, a full twenty years after finishing that first romance and after writing many other stories for epublishers, that I signed with Kensington Publishing in New York. That first book got its start at Changeling Press as an online serial, and it changed my life.

In January 2006, Kensington launched their Aphrodisia imprint of erotic romance with Wolf Tales, a compilation of the first five stories from my online serial at Changeling Press. It's a sexy paranormal series about a lost race of shapeshifters called Chanku. I was the imprint's lead author, eventually writing twelve novels and nine novellas to complete the Wolf Tales series. After that series ended, I wrote an erotic science fiction romance series--Dream Catchers--which included the opening novella, Dream Catcher in the NightShift anthology, and two novels: Dream Bound followed by Dream Unchained which tied up the story arc. 

During that period, I was also writing a series for Kensington's Zebra imprint. DemonSlayers was completed with four novels--DemonFire, HellFire, StarFire, and CrystalFire, as well as the novella Crystal Dreams in the Nocturnal anthology. But I really missed my Chanku, and I returned to their world with the Spirit Wild series, which follows the lives of the children of the original Chanku characters from Wolf Tales. I'm having fun with that series, even though Kensington is no longer publishing them. Paranormal romances aren't as profitable as they once were, but luckily I have wonderful, loyal readers who don't seem to mind who publishes the stories, as long as I keep writing them.

The dynamic of the original Wolf Tales series has changed, and my shape shifting Chanku now live in a world that knows of their existence. The first book, Dark Wolf, released in April 2013. Both Dark Spirit and Dark Moon released in January 2014. They can be read in either order, and all three are available in both ebook and print format. Dark Wolf and Dark Moon are published by Kensington Publishing, while Dark Spirit is the first I've brought out independently, with assistance from Beyond the Page Publishing.

My husband is still putting up with me after well over four decades, though I'm convinced it's got to be hell living with me when I'm on deadline...which is most of the time. We've got two grown kids and a total of six perfect grandchildren. Doug and I have recently moved out of the mountains and are now back in the small wine country town of Healdsburg, California. And, as always, I'm usually in my office, working on the next book. 

You can reach me by email at kate@katedouglas.com

www.katedouglas.com

www.twitter.com/wolftales

www.facebook.com/katedouglas.authorpage

If you'd like to see how the Chanku stories started, visit Kate's website for more info on the Wolf Tales series.

Thanks for being here today Kate!  I hope you'll stop by next Wednesday when Ciana Stone will be here.