Clean Romance: Harlequin Heartwarming discussion
Author Interviews
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Interview with Giveaway
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Enjoyed the interview.Love stories involving dogs especially ones trained
for various service related issues.
Looking forward to Part 2 of the interview.
Thanks for sharing with us.
Carol Smith
penelope223@yahoo.com
ENJOYED THE INTERVIEW. HOPE THE SERIES IS A BIG SUCCESS.
Enjoyed the interview. Thank you for sharing with us. Look forward to reading this series. Looking forward to reading Part 2 of your interview.salcedv@aol.com
Thank you for such a great interview. Thank you for writing stories that give readers an insight to K 9 training. It is so important that these animals are well trained and your stories bring light to an unsung hero. I want yo thsnk you for that. Jhdwayne@peoplepc.com
Deana
Thank you for a great interview, I always enjoy a good series. kimblejc@gmail.com
Jennifer wrote: "Thank you for a great interview, I always enjoy a good series. kimblejc@gmail.com"Thank you, Jennifer. I'm glad you enjoyed the interview. If you get a chance to read the books, I would love to hear from you.
Happy reading!
Kate
Carol wrote: "Enjoyed the interview.Love stories involving dogs especially ones trained
for various service related issues.
Looking forward to Part 2 of the interview.
Thanks for sharing with us.
Carol Smith
p..."
Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment, Carol. I'm glad you enjoy stories with dogs in them, because I love featuring furry, four-legged characters in my stories! The K-9 trilogy was fun to write, because the dogs played such an important part in the stories. I hope you get a chance to read the books and that you'll enjoy them!
Best wishes.
Kate
Victoria wrote: "Enjoyed the interview. Thank you for sharing with us. Look forward to reading this series. Looking forward to reading Part 2 of your interview.salcedv@aol.com"
Good morning, Victoria. Thank you for taking the time to read the interview and leaving a comment. I hope you'll enjoy the books, and I would love to hear from you, once you've had a chance to read them.
Have a terrific day!
Kate
Deana wrote: "Thank you for such a great interview. Thank you for writing stories that give readers an insight to K 9 training. It is so important that these animals are well trained and your stories bring light..."Hello, Deana,
I knew a little about police service K-9s when I came up with the idea for the trilogy, but doing the research was a great eye opener. The dogs and their handlers have some of the most dangerous jobs in law enforcement, and I have a tremendous respect and gratitude for them.
Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment.
Happy reading!
Kate
Susan wrote: "ENJOYED THE INTERVIEW. HOPE THE SERIES IS A BIG SUCCESS."Good morning, Susan.
Thank you for the good wish and for taking the time to read the interview and leave a comment.
Best wishes for a wonderful day!
Kate
Thanks for the interview and I look forward to reading this series. nancyannjones@hotmail.com
Nancy wrote: "Thanks for the interview and I look forward to reading this series. nancyannjones@hotmail.com"
I'm glad you enjoyed reading the interview, Nancy. If you get a chance to read the books, I would love to hear from you.
Happy reading!
Thanks for the great interview. I learned quite a bit about the publication process and am so happy for you that you like your editorial team.
As a reader and a writer, I love to hear about the inspirations and processes of others. Research with a bunch of dogs sounds like a dream come true!Margaret
mcstandafer@gmail.com
Jennifer wrote: "Thanks for the great interview. I learned quite a bit about the publication process and am so happy for you that you like your editorial team."I'm glad you enjoyed the interview, Jennifer. Yes, Harlequin has an exceptional team. I have also really enjoyed getting to know some terrific authors.
Best wishes for a terrific day. Thanks for stopping by!
Kate
Margaret wrote: "As a reader and a writer, I love to hear about the inspirations and processes of others. Research with a bunch of dogs sounds like a dream come true!Margaret
mcstandafer@gmail.com"
I loved the research! It truly was a dream. In fact, I might be due for a refresher course! :-)
Thank you for stopping by, Margaret!
Kate
The interview was great I love stalking Kate and reading her books.
Diana wrote: "The interview was great I love stalking Kate and reading her books."In this case, I don't mind the stalking at all, Diana! :-) Wait until you see what we have planned to celebrate our July Heartwarming releases, including the third book in my K-9 trilogy! Oh, by the way, my new contract includes a FOURTH book in the "trilogy!" I suppose we'll have to start calling it a series now!
I'm glad you enjoyed the interview.
Have a great evening!
Loved the interview and want to read the books. Sounds too interesting to pass up
Nice interview. Do you get stressed when the words don't flow and you know you only have 3mths to make it work? My neighbor has a K9 bomb sniffing dog and they work at our airport! Thanks for the chance to win!
Nina wrote: "Loved the interview and want to read the books. Sounds too interesting to pass up"Aww . . . thank you, Nina! If you do get a chance to read one of my books, please let me know how you enjoyed it.
Happy reading!
Kate
Jennifer wrote: "Nice interview. Do you get stressed when the words don't flow and you know you only have 3mths to make it work? My neighbor has a K9 bomb sniffing dog and they work at our airport! Thanks for the c..."Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment, Jennifer. Perhaps because of my past "day" jobs, I'm used to meeting tight deadlines and deal with pressure well. Interestingly, I find writing lots of words relatively easy; that is, the story is generally in my head and it's a matter of getting into the Word document. I take considerably more time editing the manuscript to tighten it up and ensure it flows well.
As for your neighbours explosives detection dog, did you know that the dogs are generally 97 to 98% accurate? In comparison, trace detection devices are not nearly as accurate . . . but you can read about some of that in the third book of my trilogy! :-) I read an article recently that stated that TSA was adding (if I remember the number correctly) 500 more bomb sniffing dogs!
I am glad you enjoyed the interview!
Best wishes for a terrific evening.
Kate
Hi Kate! I'm always a sucker for books with animals in them especially K-9s. What inspired your K-9 series? Amazing how accurate they are.Have you heard about Protection Dogs? Very interesting to watch the videos.
Jenny
I love the K-9 series! I would love to read this one!
Jennifer wrote: "Hi Kate! I'm always a sucker for books with animals in them especially K-9s. What inspired your K-9 series? Amazing how accurate they are.Have you heard about Protection Dogs? Very interesting to ..."
Hello, Jennifer! I'm pretty much a sucker for animals, with a special fondness for dogs. Combine that with my respect and appreciation for law enforcement personnel, and the trilogy was a natural for me. The bonus was doing the research! Most (if not all) police dogs are trained in handler protection regardless of their primary specialization.
Not only are the dogs far more accurate than trace detectors, they are far less expensive, too...and more efficient! :-)
Thank you for the comment and the question, Jennifer!
Kate
Sonja wrote: "I love the K-9 series! I would love to read this one!"Thank you, Sonja! I wish you good luck with the giveaway! If you do get a chance to read the book, I would love to hear from you.
Best wishes and happy reading!
Kate
Enjoyed the interview and learned a lot. :-) & my Mom would enjoy this book too.
Thanks for sharing the interview. I learned a lot.worwichistory101@hotmail.com
Dixie-lee wrote: "Enjoyed the interview and learned a lot. :-) & my Mom would enjoy this book too."I'm glad you enjoyed the interview, Dixie-lee. It's so nice of you to say that your mother would enjoy it! If you preorder When I Found You for her, please send me an e-mail through my website (http://www.kate-james.com/contact/ - there's both an e-mail address provided and a fillable contact form at the bottom of the page ), with her name, your transaction number and a mailing address and it will be my pleasure to mail you a couple of autographed book plates for her.
Happy reading!
Kate
Melinda wrote: "Thanks for shring the interview. I learned a lot."My pleasure, Melinda. I appreciate you stopping by and leaving a comment!
Have a great day.
Kate
Kate wrote: "Dixie-lee wrote: "Enjoyed the interview and learned a lot. :-) & my Mom would enjoy this book too."I'm glad you enjoyed the interview, Dixie-lee. It's so nice of you to say that your mother would..." thank you. :-)
Enjoyed the interview! Thank you for sharing :)Lori
jlipayer (at) charter (dot) net
Jimnlori wrote: "Enjoyed the interview! Thank you for sharing :)Lori
jlipayer (at) charter (dot) net"
I'm glad you enjoyed it, Lori. Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment.
I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Kate
I enjoyed the interview. I always enjoy learning about new things. Publishing is interesting because every author has a different story. Looking forward to reading your series. I like K-9 stories.worwichistory101@hotmail.com
Melinda wrote: "I enjoyed the interview. I always enjoy learning about new things. Publishing is interesting because every author has a different story. Looking forward to reading your series. I like K-9 stories."Thank you, Melinda. Most authors really enjoy the research associated with our books. Not only is it a learning experience, it can be a lot of fun. If you do get a chance to read one of the books in the K-9 trilogy, I would love to hear from you.
Happy reading!
Kate
Thanks for taking the time to do this. jmcgarry2011@yahoo.com
Joseph wrote: "Thanks for taking the time to do this. jmcgarry2011@yahoo.com"My pleasure, Joseph. Best wishes for a terrific week!
Kate
I look forward to reading your series after this interview! I'm always touched and impressed by dogs that are trained to serve and help us.
Kathi wrote: "I look forward to reading your series after this interview! I'm always touched and impressed by dogs that are trained to serve and help us."Thank you for stopping by and for the comment, Kathi. I thought I knew about police service dogs before I started writing the trilogy, but I learned so much more through the research. They are truly exceptional animals and have very important jobs.
If you do get a chance to read any of the books in the trilogy, I think you'll find it interesting, as I tried to work in some of what I learned...and, of course, I would love to hear from you, if you do read one.
Happy reading!
Kate
Great interview! I learned a lot. I look forward to reading your books.tlcmom582@AOL.COM
Terri wrote: "Great interview! I learned a lot. I look forward to reading your books.tlcmom582@AOL.COM"
Thank you, Terri. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Best wishes with the giveaway, and if you do get a chance to read one of my books, I would love to hear from you.
Have a great evening!
Kate
Mod
For everyone else who participated, if you didn't win this time, don't despair. There will be more giveaways in the months ahead. Thank you for being a member of the Wholesome Romance: Harlequin Heartwarming Group.
Heart wrote: "The winner selected at random to receive a copy of When the Right One Comes Along is Lori. CONGRATULATIONS Lori!! You will receive an email with details of how to obtain your book. For everyone e..."
Congratulations, Lori! I hope you will enjoy When the Right One Comes Along!
Sincere thanks to everyone else who stopped by and left a comment.
Best wishes and happy reading!
Hello Kate James. Welcome, and thank you for being a guest to On Writing for Readers today. For our visitors, On Writing for Readers is a platform for Harlequin Heartwarming authors to talk a little about themselves, the writing process and their experiences related to becoming a published author.
Kate's Bio
Kate spent much of her childhood abroad before attending university in Canada. She built a successful business career, but her passion has always been literature. As a result, Kate turned her energy to her love of the written word. Kate's goal is to entertain her readers with engaging stories featuring strong, likable characters. Kate has been honored with numerous awards for her writing. She and her husband, Ken, enjoy traveling and the outdoors with their beloved Labrador Retrievers.
1. Kate, please tell us how you became a Harlequin Heartwarming author, and why you wanted to write for the Heartwarming line.
I was fortunate to have my very first manuscript acquired by a publisher. Although the publisher was small, thus didn’t have a large budget for marketing and promotions, they were a dream to work with both for editing and cover art/design. It also meant that my first book was in print and in book stores after only eighteen months from when I first started writing it! The experience gave me the opportunity to learn a lot about publishing, which I believe was invaluable in securing my contract with Harlequin.
I met my editor, Paula Eykelhof, at an author event where she was a speaker. We chatted afterwards and she gave me the chance to submit a proposal to her. The proposal was for single title women’s fiction manuscript. While we were in discussions about that manuscript, she informed me that Heartwarming was looking for new authors and could be a quicker way for us to work together. She sent me a couple of sample books. (Thank you Roz Denny Fox and Pamela Tracy for the terrific introduction to Heartwarming!)
I submitted a proposal and shortly thereafter I signed my first contract with Harlequin.
As for the second part of the question, I consider myself very fortunate to be able to write for Harlequin. In addition, I have the privilege and pleasure of working with two of the most exceptional people in the business: Victoria Curran, senior editor for Heartwarming and Superromance, and of course Paula.
What I love most about writing for Heartwarming is the people. The editorial team, led by Victoria, is exceptional and terrific to work with. Our editors continually challenge us to write the very best stories we can.
Also, Heartwarming allows for a wide range of story ideas, from straight romance to romantic suspense, providing variety for the authors and our readers. We can even create a series within the Heartwarming line, encouraging our readers to keep coming back for more! Yet the stories all have certain core elements that our readers tell us they value.
The stories are wholesome, with strong central characters and interesting settings. They have emotional depth with significant internal and external conflicts. And our readers can trust in a satisfying happily-ever-after!
Lastly and most importantly for me, our readers are warm, generous with their feedback and loyal. I’m thrilled whenever I read reviews, or receive e-mails or letters from readers telling me they enjoyed one of my books!
So . . . a huge thank you to all our readers for making it possible for us to do what we love!
2. How many Heartwarming books have you written, and tell us a little about your latest series.
My July release, When I Found You, the third book in my K-9 trilogy, will be my fifth book for Heartwarming.
I was excited about the idea of writing the K-9 trilogy. I have tremendous respect and appreciation for law-enforcement personnel who dedicate their lives to keeping us safe, and I love all animals, especially dogs. As such, the K-9 trilogy was a natural outcome for me.
I have to admit, I had a lot of fun doing the research, too. I had the great pleasure of spending a considerable amount of time with PC Jim Hilton of Ontario’s York Regional Police. PC Hilton is a K-9 expert and trainer, and is partnered with explosives detection dog, Max. PC Hilton was extremely generous with his time, knowledge and expertise, and I loved meeting Max.
Max seemed to simply float over those obstacles during training, and you should see him climb walls! It’s was no hardship spending my time doing this type of research!
The first book in the trilogy, When the Right One Comes Along, was released in October 2015, and is the story of San Diego Police Department (SDPD) officer Cal Palmer, his search and rescue dog, Scout, and trauma surgeon Jessica Hansen. Cal and Jessica first meet after a serious earthquake rocks San Diego and Cal is injured rescuing Scout from a collapsed building, in contravention of a direct order from the incident commander. The second book in the trilogy, When Love Matters Most, followed January of this year. When Love Matters Most tells the story of Rick Vasquez, an SDPD K-9 unit sergeant, who fled drug-related violence in Mexico as a boy, his narcotics detection dog, Sniff, and Madison Long, the primary veterinarian for the SDPD's canines.
The third book in the trilogy, When I Found You, will release on July 1st. In this book, when an unprecedented rash of security breaches at San Diego's international airport puts passengers at risk and brings the competence of the airport's chief of security, Ariana Atkins, into question, police K-9 unit captain Logan O'Connor and his bomb detection dog, Boomer, might be Ariana's best, if not only, line of defense . . .
If you get the chance to read my K-9 trilogy, I hope you enjoy it!
And if you do . . . here’s some good news! I just signed another contract with Harlequin that includes a fourth book to the “trilogy!” I suppose we’ll have to rename it the K-9 series now.
3. How long does it generally take for you to write a Heartwarming book? Or, are you given a specified time to complete a book or series?
On average it takes me about three months to write a book. Our contracts stipulate the delivery dates for our manuscripts. We work with our editors to set the dates. Once the contracts are signed, it’s essential that we adhere to the schedules to ensure Harlequin can get the books released as planned.
4. Can you tell us a little about the proposal process, how you present a book for publication?
For aspiring authors, there’s a query/submission process whether submitting to agents or publishers. In my case, I either got very lucky, my business background came in handy or—more than likely—it was a combination of the two, as I got my first manuscript published. There is the artistic, creative side to writing, but there is an entire business side to it as well. Publishing is a business. For an author to excel, they have to be able to understand and effectively deliver on both the creative and business aspects. Querying agents and/or publishers requires a combination of creativity and business acumen.
Once a relationship (and credibility) is established with a publisher, the process is simpler. I expect each editor has their own preference, but recognizing how very busy Paula is (she works with top authors such as Brenda Novak and Heather Graham), I try to be respectful of her time. I first submit very short synopses to see which ideas interest her most. I then follow it up with full synopses for the proposal.
I can’t emphasize enough that whether a person is an aspiring author or an established one, it’s important to always put your very best work forward.
5. Is proficiency in grammar, punctuation, etc. required to write a book, or are editors primarily responsible for ensuring accuracy in those areas?
As I noted previously, Harlequin has an extraordinarily talented team, and has a robust process for ensuring that the books that they publish are the very best that they can be; however, that does not negate our responsibility as authors for ensuring that we present the very best work that we can. I’ve learned a great deal from Paula, but grammar and punctuation should not be things that your editor teaches you.
6. What's the hardest part about getting published?
I heard on a statistic that 87 percent of North Americans believe “they have a book in them.” That’s a LOT of submissions to agents and editors for what they refer to as their “slush pile!” To get noticed, you need to stand out as an author.
Another complexity is that the publishing industry has evolved dramatically in recent years. In the current environment, authors are able to much more directly influence their own success, thus publishers—while always looking for the very best stories—also have to consider the business acumen and brand of an author.
This is the end of Part 1 of our interview with award winning author Kate James. Want to know more? Please stay tuned for Part 2 coming your way soon.
Thank you Kate James for sharing your knowledge and insight into the publishing process, and for information about your books. We look forward to continuing this interview next week where we’ll learn such things as some of the perks of writing for Harlequin, and how valuable book reviewers are to authors, plus much more. We appreciate having you as a guest to On Writing for Readers, and we look forward to hearing more next week. Readers – stay tuned for more with next week’s Part 2 interview with Kate James.
GIVEAWAY!!!
Comment on Kate’s interview for a chance to win a signed print copy of When the Right One Comes Along, the first book in Kate’s K-9 series. U.S. and Canadian residents are eligible for a print copy. International residents are eligible to receive an e-book copy. Please leave an e-mail address so that we can contact you if you win. Winner will be announced on May 30th.
To find out more about Kate James’s books, click the links below:
http://www.harlequin.com/author.html?...
http://www.amazon.com/Kate-James/e/B0...
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...