Rionna Morgan with Kat Martin

I am honored today to pause for a moment and chat with New York Times Bestselling Author, Kat Martin.  I can tell you that I have been a huge fan of hers since I read Night Secrets over a decade ago.  She has an amazing ability to pull her readers into a story where the mood is sensuous; her characters are powerful, and her plot is original and fresh. One may think, oh I'll just read for a bit and suddenly hours have slipped quietly by and the book is half finished.  

Against the Sun Book Trailer

Kat Martin...Contest!

Rionna:  Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?  

Kat:  I was born in Bakersfield, California, graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where I majored in anthropology and also studied history.  After college, I ended up in the real estate business, which was a fantastic career.  That’s how I met my husband, Larry, who sold ranches and farm property.  He had written a western novel called Shadow of the Mast.  It was wildly romantic and I loved it. That is how I started writing--over twenty five years ago.

Rionna:  How did you choose the genre you write in?
Kat:  I’m a romantic person by nature.  Once I discovered Anya Seton and some of the other older romance writers, later Kathleen Woodiwiss, I was hooked.  It was a perfect fit for me.

Rionna:  Do you work with an outline, or just write?
Kat:  I do both.  I used to have the entire book plotted, but now I don’t have that much time.  I definitely have the story idea front-to-back.  I just fill in the scenes and make the romance happen.

Rionna:  Can you tell us about your upcoming book?
Kat:  AGAINST THE SUN is my latest, out the end of May, it’s big Jake Cantrell and Sage Dumont’s story, which deals with a visit to Texas by a Saudi Arabian sheik and his family,  The sheik is there to negotiate a three hundred million dollar oil-well equipment deal with Marine Drilling International, Sage’s family owned company.

Jake is hired to act as Sage’s bodyguard and teach her the protocols she’ll need to know in order to complete the sale.  Customs like not showing the bottom of her foot, which is considered an insult, or making the okay sign, which is giving someone the evil eye.

Because of the research involved in getting the customs, clothing, and attitudes of the Saudi visitors correct, AGAINST THE SUN is one of the most difficult books I’ve ever tackled.  I’m proud of the way it turned out.

Available at these book sellers:

Indiebound

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Rionna:  Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or is it purely all imagination?
Kat:  Since I’ve done a lot in my life, pieces and parts of all my books come from personal experience, but all of those are turned and twisted and changed, making them fiction.  One of the ghost stories I wrote, The Silent Rose, was based on a terrifying incident that happened to my husband and me in a bed and breakfast in Connecticut.  I planned to change it, make if more fictional, but in the end, the first sixty pages were exactly what happened to me in the house.

Rionna: What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?

Kat:  I can’t say I have a favorite chapter.  I see the book as a whole.  I like writing sex scenes.  They’re crucial points in the development of the romantic relationship.  They aren’t just about the graphic act of sex but the ramifications of the act at that point in the love story.

Rionna:  What project are you working on now?
Kat:  I’m working on the next three AGAINST books after AGAINST THE SUN.  I’m thrilled that readers want more stories that feature the hunky friends of the Raines brothers, who appeared in the first three books.

Rionna:  Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers?
Kat:  Persistence is the key.  Keep writing.  Don’t let anyone stop you from fulfilling your dreams.  Listen to other people’s advice, gather all the facts and information you can, then decide what you want to write.  And don’t give up.

Rionna:  Now for the clever-silly question, if you were a t-shirt, what would you say?
Kat:  KAT MARTIN MEMBER WORKAHOLICS ANOYMOUS.

Rionna:  Is there anything that you would like to say to your readers and fans?
Kat:  Thank you all for being so supportive over the years.  You make all the hard work worthwhile.

For a sneak peak at AGAINST THE SUN...click here!

Thank you so much, Kat Martin, for visiting with me today.  It has been wonderful getting to know you.  And I can't wait to open the pages of AGAINST THE SUN and sink into the amazing story I know it will be.

All the Best,
Rionna Morgan