Susan Elizabeth Phillips Archives

Romance author Cate Tayler was supposed to be my #WriterWednesday guest for last week, but, well, uh, my website had a meltdown. I’m so sorry, Cate – thank you and everyone for y’all’s patience!

But what better way to liven up your Memorial Day weekend than by bringing you an author of “sassy & sultry romance”?

So without further ado (meaning babbling from me), here’s a bit about Cate and her new novel, Love Me Now!

What inspires you to write?

Much of my inspiration comes from music, believe it or not. I hear a song, or even just partial lyrics, and it will trigger an entire story in me. What that story ends up looking like when all has been written, revised, and rewritten is normally different from what I started with. But it all begins with a lyric or two that resonates with me.

Which type of romance do you love most, and why?

Contemporary appeals to me most. I like to be able to relate to the stories I read, especially if they are set in a location I know well. Favorite tropes of mine are secret baby (but only when the baby is a secret for a good reason, not just because mom is being stupid), fake fiancé/fiancée, and enemies to lovers. But really, any romance that breaks my heart and puts it back together again by the end is at the top of my list.

Name two things people don’t know about you:

This is a tough one, because I think I’m pretty much an open book. But, the majority of people outside my family probably don’t know that I once wanted to be an astronaut, and read the entire official Space Shuttle Manual cover-to-cover in preparation. I was devastated when they retired the shuttles. There went my dream of being accidentally launched into space a la Space Camp, and piloting the shuttle home!

Another thing most people might not know about me is that I have a degree in German, and while I sometimes dream in Deutsch, it’s been so long since I’ve used it, I’ve forgotten most of it.

What fellow romance author do you recommend reading, and why?

Just one? Really? Okay, then I’d have to say Kristan Higgins, because she writes in such a way, you’re crying on one page and laughing your butt off the next. No, wait… I change my mind. Susan Elizabeth Phillips, because she manages to create complex characters whom you can’t help but love and cheer for, even when they’ve done despicable things. On second thought, I’d have to say Lauren Layne, because she writes a perfect balance of sexy and sweet.

[ML says: I see what you did there, Cate. Well done.]

A Bit About Love Me Now:

A sassy good girl. A rebellious billionaire. A pretend proposal. What could possibly go wrong?

Calista Markatos is failing miserably at saving her family’s Greek diner. Without a miracle, her parents will lose everything. And it’s all the fault of a land developer whose big ideas are destroying her family’s livelihood.

Driven by guilt over his brother’s death, Miles Gardner plays the role of dutiful son. But he rebels against his father’s choice of a bride. A fake engagement can help him avoid the marriage trap. All he has to do is convince the Greek goddess to go along with his plan.

She doesn’t have to like him to pretend to love him.Thirty days later, they’ll both get exactly what they want—and maybe something they didn’t know they needed.

Love Me Now can be found at all major e-book retailers. Find buy links at https://books.pronoun.com/love-me-now/

A Bit About Cate:

Cate Tayler is a beach baby, born and raised on the Connecticut coastline. She met the love of her life while serving in the US Air Force, and after extensive overseas travel, they are now raising their four children in the wild suburbs of Maryland.

When she’s not living her own happily ever after, she’s creating them in her small-town romances. Because the world always needs more happy endings!

You can connect with her at her website: http://www.catetayler.com. Follow her on Facebook (AuthorCateTayler), and on Twitter and Instagram as @writercate.

Thanks so much for joining us, Cate! So glad to have you here.

Writer Wednesday is back! Par-tay!

This time, we’re shaking it up a little bit. Instead of a standard interview, Kathryn Barrett is taking over the whole shebang (with my blessing, of course, especially since she was already subject to my quizzing in March) and giving us a little insight into her novels, including her latest, True Gold.

It’s kind of fun sitting back with the rest of y’all and seeing (okay, reading) what she has to say.

(Also, if you haven’t checked out her first book, Temptation, you should! I adored it – and have both Redemption and True Gold in my stack of books to read next!)

You gotta have friends…and so do your characters

Like any author, I love my characters, but sometimes, I love their friends more. My third release, True Gold, features a character who first appeared in my last book, Redemption. He’s the head of the company the main character works for, and he makes a brief appearance at the end, a supportive boss and friend. But as I was writing Redemption, I wanted to know more about this guy, who first appeared to me as a shadowy figure, a quiet man who didn’t have many friends, but who’d formed a friendship with Claire because they were very much alike in temperament.

My first book, Temptation, also features a friend of the main character Laura, who was also the hero of Redemption—Matt Grayson, a Hollywood A-list actor and director who, I knew, had been recently reunited with his true love.

When best friends pop in for brief appearances in my books—or even in the many book ideas that for now exist only in my head—I want to know their story too. When I first started writing I’d often be led astray by these friends. At its midpoint, the book I was writing became dull and difficult, so I let myself be distracted by the shiny new friend who’d appeared. Who is he? What’s her story? What’s he hiding? The tantalizing secrets they held intrigued me, tempted me away from the current work in progress. Finally I had to get tough with myself and just finish the book, promising myself I’d go back and write the other stories—discover what that character was all about—later.

I think friends are easier to include than family members. There’s a reason why so many romance heroes and heroines are orphans: parents are often an inconvenient complication in a plot—unless they’re estranged, they need to show up once in a while if the story is to be realistic. But a friend can pop in long enough to offer valuable advice a character needs to get beyond the Black Moment she’s found herself in.

Other authors I like write the same sort of loosely connected stories: Nora Roberts, Susan E. Phillips, and Judith McNaught, whose books first convinced me I needed to write romance. And the best thing is, there’s never a shortage of story ideas. As long as a character isn’t totally friendless, there’ll be someone in my head, waiting in the wings for his story to be told. And then, I get to check in on my previous characters, too, as they inevitably make an appearance in their friends’ books.

What about you? Do you like to read or write about friends of previous main characters?

TRUE GOLD:

Connor Forrest is a self-made billionaire only one generation removed from the emerald turf of his mother’s Ireland. Jaded by the high risk, high tech investment world he inhabits, he has little time for introspection, poetry, or true love. A piece of perfectly thought out logic, on the other hand, makes him weak in the knees.

Rebecca Evans is a brilliant computer programmer disguised as a ditzy blonde. She’s looking for love, but people are not as predictable as mathematical equations.

A fall in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park sends her straight into Connor’s arms, but getting into his heart is a much harder task.

Can Connor learn that true love, like gold futures, is worth a little risk?

Find True Gold here:

Simon and Schuster: http://books.simonandschuster.com/True-Gold/Kathryn-Barrett/9781623422158

Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/True-Gold-Kathryn-Barrett-ebook/dp/B00ZPNZJIU

Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/True-Gold-Kathryn-Barrett-ebook/dp/B00ZPMWPK6/

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/true-gold-kathryn-barrett/1122135938

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/true-gold/id1006823331?mt=11

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/true-gold-1

BooksAMillion: http://www.booksamillion.com/search?query=9781623422158

Bio:

Kathryn Barrett reluctantly put aside childhood dreams of becoming an author and took a more practical approach, majoring in Business Administration in college. But after marrying an Air Force officer, she realized a career in high finance didn’t suit an itinerant lifestyle. She happily returned to her first love, writing stories that feature larger-than-life characters, family relationships, and of course, a happy ending.

Her award-winning novel Temptation was published in 2013, followed by Redemption in 2014.

Having lived all over the world, Kathryn and her family have recently relocated to northern Virginia. She enjoys long walks with her squirrel-obsessed dog, traveling to tiny European countries, cooking vegan feasts, and, only occasionally, she still reads the Financial Times.

Website: http://kathrynbarrett.com

Twitter: @KathrynSBarrett

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKathrynBarrett

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Kathryn-Barrett/e/B00BHSWH00/

Thanks so much, Kathryn!
I, for one, LOVE series interconnected by siblings or friends (as all my stories will be).
I’m so glad you could share your insights today.

Tag Archives: Susan Elizabeth Phillips

#MondayBlogs: Meet Romance Author Cate Tayler!