Guest Author Katharine Ashe

Please help me welcoming my guest today, award-winning author Katharine Ashe. (applause)

Ella: Katharine, I’ve read all your book and love them. Thank you so much for being here today. Tell us a bit about yourself and what made you decide to start writing?

Katharine: Thanks for inviting me to join you today, Ella. I’m so glad to be here!

I write deeply sensual and emotional romances set in the Regency era, mostly in England but also Scotland, Wales, India, the Atlantic Ocean and really anywhere Englishmen and women of the early 19^th century went—which was pretty much everywhere in the world.

I started writing stories when I was a wee lass, in third grade perhaps. Even then they looked suspiciously like romances. My first was what we now call “fan fiction,” a rewriting of Margaret Rey’s wonderful Pretzel, “the longest dachshund in the world.” I adored Pretzel; he was kind, funny, clever, completely unique and quietly wonderful. But his love interest was a prissy little snob. So I ditched her and gave him a nicer puppy to adore. From that moment on, it was history. Literally! I loved history, so I studied it in school. Eventually I got myself a PhD and a nifty job in academia while I continued writing romance novels (now about people) in my extra time. Then I realized I’d rather be writing romance full-time, so I am now a part-time professor of religious history, a full-time author, and very happy about both.

Ella: What drew you to write Regencies?

Katharine: On the one hand: the balls, lords, ladies, gowns, carriages, manners and rules of Regency high society drew me. (And Jane Austen! Always Jane!) On the other hand: the ships, wars, exotic lands, exploration, tumult and violently dramatic tenor of the British Empire captured my imagination too. The contrasts are deliciously decadent. I love small town stories and I love vast imperial stories. I love romance and family affection and adventure and passion, and it was all there wrapped up in this fantastically neat and decorous beau monde whose power and wealth rested almost entirely on England’s ever-expanding world domination. It’s heady stuff. I can’t think of a more exciting era in which to set love stories.

Ella: You just published your first indie-published book Captive Bride. What made you decide to dip your toe into self-publishing?

Katharine: My publishing schedule with Avon is already packed. I’d written Captive Bride several years ago and it was just sitting in my drawer waiting to see the light of day (or, rather, the dark of night, since it’s a ghost story. J ) I’d already made it available to some of my readers for free online, but I wanted to be able to offer it to more folks. Self-publishing it at a very low price seemed the easiest, quickest way to do that. Also, it’s a bit different from my Avon books, especially in terms of the modest cast of characters and single setting for the story. I adored writing it, and I adore the hero and heroine and the medieval ghost villain. I’m so excited it’s out there for my readers to enjoy!

Ella: Well, I for one am glad you did. Is there anything else you’d like to add before we give folks a chance to read an excerpt?

Katharine: May I reveal a little detail I haven’t mentioned anywhere yet?

Ella: Of course.

Katharine: Bea, the heroine of Captive Bride, appears as a ten-year-old girl in one of my other published novels. I’d love to know if any of my readers noticed. J

Ella: If, they haven’t noticed, I’m quite sure you’ll have your readers going back to their books and looking. Without further todo, here is the back cover blurb of Captive Bride, followed by an excerpt.

Blurb

Sensible, practical Beatrice Sinclaire has two secret passions: gothic novels and Lord Peter Cheriot, the man her beautiful sister left heartbroken years ago. When Bea’s scapegrace twin brother begs her help to rescue a maiden from a haunted castle, Bea seizes the chance for real adventure. If only Lord Cheriot didn’t insist on protecting her! How can she maintain a clear head in the face of terrible danger when all she wants is to be in his arms?

Lord Cheriot may be the catch of the London season, but he has only ever loved one woman, Bea Sinclaire. And he’s determined to have her. He doesn’t count on a meddling ghost whose demand for a virgin bride threatens Bea in the direst manner. But the specter has a deadline, All Hallows’ Eve, and it’s fast approaching. In the race to capture the heart of one daring lady, it’s every man—and ghost—for himself.

Excerpt   

“You wanted to believe it, didn’t you? You wanted the ghost to be real, and you’re happy that he is. Aren’t you?” He looked at her so fixedly, as though he hoped she would deny it.

She could not deny it, not even for him. She’d had so few adventures in her life. None, in truth. She simply could not regret this one, however horrifying it might seem to a rational person. She may as well admit it to him. She was fairly certain he wouldn’t tell anyone, especially not Mama; he already knew her nasty little predilection for darkly dramatic prose.

Cheeks hotter than ever, she tightened her arms and met his regard directly.

“I did hope he would be real, and I wanted to be able to help. I cannot imagine a more exciting activity to be engaged in just now.”

“I can.” Tip’s voice sounded rough.

Her eyes shot wide. “What?”

He looked even odder than before, his eyes intense, like emeralds glinting from within a shadow. He put his palm on the stone behind her head and leaned in.

Her heart slammed against her ribs. They had never stood this close, not even while dancing, and that was years ago. He seemed so large from only a few inches away, so masculine and broad, his chest a wall of heady possibility right before her. If she unwound her arms she could touch him, place her palm on his coat and feel his body that looked so firm and powerful, as she had wanted to do for years. Longed to do.

Her breaths shortened. She fumbled behind her for the door latch. “I—I think I will turn in now.”

Tip’s eyes seemed to shimmer. “Not.” His breath feathered across her brow. “Just.” He bent his head. “Yet.”

Download CAPTIVE BRIDE for your e-reader or computer e-reader program here: [Amazon, B&N, SW, etc links to come]

http://www.KatharineAshe.com

Read Chapter 1 of Captive Bride: http://www.katharineashe.com/books_ghost.html

Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cpukwcz

Nook: http://tinyurl.com/clgvsva

Most other e-book formats (including iPad): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/245099