Of all the characters you've created, which one is your favorite? (I'll create a distraction so your characters can't see your answer.) Why do you love them best?
Thanks for having me, Donna! I’m so honored to be considered a Friday Friend.
Now back to your question. At the risk of sounding like I’m promoting something, *ahem*, I have to go with Cara DeLuca, the heroine of my newest release, All Fired Up. She’s a broken, trying-to-be-tough girl who feels as though she’s failed as a daughter, sister, and especially, as an Italian. What no one knows is that she’s a recovering anorectic who has a hard time connecting with her food-obsessed, restaurant owning family. And then she messes up royally when she marries a hot, Irish pastry chef in Vegas…
I'm so glad you're here, Kate! And honestly, how could Cara resist that Irish pastry chef? What's your go-to "writing avoidance" technique? (Can you tell this is one of my favorite questions?)
That’s a great question because I have so many. :) I’ve realized the perils of Pinterest so I dodge that like the plague. I dip into Facebook and Twitter once a day but I try not to stick around for long. So that leaves…TV! My DVR is usually filled to the brim and I go into major writing avoidance mode whenever I see that DVR-full % climb above 50. Then I know it’s time to plow through episodes of The Walking Dead, Chicago Fire (this is, um, research: I’m writing a series about firefighters next), and my latest favorite American Horror Story: Coven.
Yeah, "research" is so important! Can't wait to see the firefighters series. If you were able to go on a writing retreat, where would it be? (Don't mind me. I always pack my suitcases during interviews.)
The ocean would have to be involved, so maybe a cottage on the West coast of Ireland or a beach front cabin on Bora Bora. When I win the lottery or become a multi New York Times bestselling author, I’ll buy a permanent retreat in Hawaii, probably on the North Shore of Oahu. As long as I have Internet, I’m all good.
You're making my tropical heart go pit-a-pat! What's the word you love to use (and overuse, so you have to take it out of your book during edits)?
Apart from the ubiquitous “turn” and “look”, “twitched” is one I love. Lips, hips, and other body parts are fond of twitching. Also I’ve been known to overuse “slid.” Someone is always sliding a gaze someone else’s way or sliding in…well, you know!
I'm guessing you're not talking baseball here. LOL Name the first thing you'll do when you make a million dollars from your books.
Pay off the mortgage, give up my day job, and then start real estate shopping in Hawaii!
Hey, you can do your real estate shopping while you're on your writing retreat! Okay, here's the Tasty Ten lightning round, where we get to know you in a speed dating kind of way:
![MH900283115[1]](http://aviary.blob.core.windows.net/k-mr6i2hifk4wxt1dp-13110517/c5434ed8-621b-499c-a192-f1764a8a4eb2.jpg "MH900283115[1]")
Coffee or tea? Tea (I’m originally from Ireland where we proudly drink 8-10 cups a day; I’ve got it down to a respectable 2)
Drafting or revising? Revising
Twitter or Facebook? Twitter
Winter or Summer? Summer
Beer or wine? Wine
Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate
Heels or flats? Flats
Rare or well done? Rare
Pecs or abs? Abs (see my covers for Feel the Heat and All Fired Up. Ab-alicious!)
Biter or licker? (Hellloooo! I'm talking ice cream cones here!) You tease! Licker. Licker all the way.
Author Bio
Kate Meader writes contemporary romance that serves up delicious food, to-die-for heroes, and heroines with a dash of sass. Originally from Ireland, she cut her romance reader teeth on Catherine Cookson and Jilly Cooper novels, with some Mills & Boons thrown in for variety. Give her tales about brooding mill owners, oversexed equestrians, and men who can rock an apron, and she’s there. When not writing about men who cook and the women who drool over them, she works in an academic library. Her stories are set in her adopted home town of Chicago, a city made for food, romance, and laughter – and where she met her own sexy hero. For news, excerpts, and recipes, check out her website at http://www.katemeader.com.
Social Media Links
Website ~~ Facebook ~~ Twitter ~~ Goodreads ~~ Blog
Hot in the Kitchen, Book 2
Her sweetest mistake . . .
Cool as a Chicago winter, private events planner Cara DeLuca is a model of self-control . . . until she meets the one temptation she can't resist: Shane Doyle. The sexy, Irish pastry chef is too hot, too sure, too young, and after a crazy night in Vegas-her new husband. While at first Cara wants nothing more than a way out of her sham marriage to Shane, she soon finds that beneath his farm boy demeanor lies a man who can match her drive, both in and out of the bedroom. How can the wrong guy feel so deliciously right?
. . . Tastes so, so good
Shane has carefully structured his career and life around one goal: connecting with the family that doesn't know he exists. Marrying a woman with more issues than a magazine stand wasn't part of the plan, but melting Cara's icy exterior is so worth the detour. Now as the annulment date nears and long-buried secrets are revealed, Shane will have to fight for the one thing guaranteeing the perfect life he craves . . . the current Mrs. Shane Doyle.
Excerpt
“We can get an annulment because we didn’t…Well, it wouldn’t have mattered if we did.” She hesitated, and he could see the gears going round as she rethought her position.
“What if we did?” Shane asked, tamping down on the glee in his voice.
“What if we did what?”
“What if we did sleep together? What if we had sex?”
The way he said it could be construed as past sex or the promise of it. The promise of can’t-walk-for-a-week good times between a man and a woman. “That wouldn’t make a difference?”
“But we didn’t.” Her brow creased in puzzlement and horror descended to her mouth. “But we didn’t,” she repeated, less sure now.
He couldn’t keep it up but every inch of him—every hardening inch—wished it were true. “Nah, we didn’t.”
“Shane!” She socked him in the side and broke into that laugh that he’d fallen in love with the minute she’d graced him with it in the third bar of the crawl. It had taken him that long to get it but it had been worth every bad joke, every cheesy pun, every flash of the dimple Aunt Jo said would be a woman’s downfall.
The old girl had neglected to mention it would be his downfall as well.
Book Buy Links
Hi Kate and Donna.
I didn't want you to stop talking about your heroine, lol. You hooked me right there. I know what you mean about the DVR. That % is a bugger. How did you make the tasty ten look so easy? Yes, that cover is awesome. Congrats on the release.
Fun post. Thanks. :)
Posted by: S.J. Maylee | November 08, 2013 at 08:34 AM
Glad you enjoyed it, S.J. (Always good to see a fellow Six Sentence alum here!)
I liked Cara as a heroine too, and those ab-alicious covers Kate has are wonderful to look at, aren't they? LOL
Posted by: Donna Cummings | November 08, 2013 at 08:49 AM
Hi, Kate and Donna. I'm completely with you on the writing retreat, Kate. I couldn't have described my dream writing abode better! And I'll take Hawaii too as the permanent one :)
Congrats on All Fired Up! I always loved your SSS snippets and have to catch up with this series. On my TBR!
Posted by: Mae Clair | November 08, 2013 at 08:49 AM
Mae, I think if I went to the Hawaii writing retreat, I'd never make it back. LOL I love it there, and in my mind, I'm *always* there. :)
I think you're going to enjoy this book. I need to read the first one now -- yeah, I always do things backwards. LOL
Posted by: Donna Cummings | November 08, 2013 at 08:59 AM
Thanks for hosting me today, Donna! I should also mention that during my release week (month?) blitz, my publisher is giving away free stuff to celebrate, including a $100 AMEX gift card! See this page for details: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/ZTQzMTk4N2YwYjQxZjI5MTFkNTljNjY0ZDc1ZGQ5OjEx/
Free books, goodies, and cash! Who doesn't want that, right? Thanks again, lady!
Posted by: Kate Meader | November 08, 2013 at 09:01 AM
Kate, it's fun having you here. :) And thanks for sharing the rafflecopter info -- all kinds of goodies there!
Posted by: Donna Cummings | November 08, 2013 at 09:13 AM