Kate September

Enchanted in Romance welcomes Kate September for an interview that will provide insight to a budding new author.

Hi Kate and thank you for taking time out what I’m sure is a busy time in your life to grant our readers and reviewers a brief glance into the world of a rising star in the world of e-publishing. How are you doing?

I’m doing well, thank you – other than needing more sleep and about three more hours in the day, that is…

R: Forgive me but I have to ask you first about your La Belle Époque series and your feelings about the rave reviews I see you are getting from some of the most revered review sites regarding your first installment, Portrait of Desire.

I have to confess, every time I get a great review, I jump up from my chair and do a crazy little happy dance in my living room. I have to get that energy out before I can sit down and write a proper, contained thank you note to the reviewer and get busy with publicizing the review. It just totally makes my day. In general, I’m totally floored that my book has gotten such a warm reception in the industry. I’m deeply honored – it also inspires me to keep going, keep writing, and keep building my career.

R: How did you come up with a concept of these historicals that are all based in the 1900s and in one of the most romantic cities in the world, Paris?

I used to live in Paris, and I go back there all the time, so I know the city both in terms of a concrete sense of geography, but also in the sense of its people and spirit.

Honestly, the idea for the books popped into my head one day as I was walking my dog. Suddenly, a little voice was saying, “Paris, 1901 – A new century, a new kind of art…” And then I was off and going with the plot for “Portrait of Desire.” The best part was having an excuse to do all sorts of research and spend hours in the library rifling through musty old books.

R: I took the time to look over your website and noticed you have published work with three different e-publishers. What factors went into the decision to select the companies you currently have e-Books with?

Well, part of that was a strategic business decision for me. I view writing as a career for myself, and to that end, I treat it like a business. I have a business plan, a brand promotional strategy, and long-term goals for myself.

Right now, I am focused on building a track record in the industry, and to me, it’s a great point of validation that three different publishers have been interested enough in my work to publish it. It has been a great learning experience for me, too! Every publisher works a little bit differently, and so I pick up on things to do and not to do.

R: Sometimes writers lock themselves into a certain genre but it looks as if you are not only writing historicals but have also branched out into the fantasy genre. Which genre is your favorite and do you think you will specialize or continue to provide your fans with works from multiple genres?

I definitely don’t want to get pigeonholed into one genre. I love writing historical romance, but I have several other books in the works that are both contemporary and fantasy – though I have trouble with the term “fantasy.”

For me, my fantasy work is really more focused on retelling fairytales and myths for adults. And I’m very picky about how I create my settings for fantasy – I don’t want those worlds to simply be a rehashed English medieval setting with one or two twists. For my contemporary work, I have one book that is in process right now that still has ties to two of my favorite things – Paris and historical research.

In every story I write, I have something to say, and I plan on writing whatever inspires me, in whatever genre.

R: After starting this interview out discussing your work as an author, I’m sure EIR readers would love to know more about you as a person. What is a typical day in your life like?

My day starts at 6:30 AM, with my pup pawing me in the face and letting me know it’s time to go out. We go for our walk, I come back make coffee and feed breakfast to husband, fish and dog. I then go to work – I currently work as a career counselor at a college for architecture. I have a 12 minute walking commute to work, which means I’m always 15 minutes late.

During the day, if I’m not being productive with work, I will take a break and do some writing. I also try to get to the gym on my lunch hour a couple times a week. Then, after my day is over, it’s a quick swing by the grocery to pick up the fixings for dinner, and then a joyful reunion with the pup and his evening walk.

I will then fix dinner – I love cooking and creating nourishing, delicious meals, clean up from dinner, and then settle down for a couple hours of writing.

Not the most exciting day, but a richly rewarding one.

R: Do you have any extravagant behaviors one might find surprising?

I collect books and shoes. Right now, I’m on a kick of collecting children’s books illustrated by Errol Le Cain. His “Beauty and the Beast” and “Thorn Rose” have some of the most enchanting, beautiful, inspiring illustrations I’ve ever come across. In general, I collect editions of “Beauty and the Beast.” My latest addition is from my last trip to Paris, where I picked up a French version with gorgeous pictures at the store Gibert Jeune.

As for shoes, well, what can I say? I’m a huge fan of John Fluevog shoes and BC Footwear. I haven’t quite reached Imelda Marcos status, but I’m working hard on it!

R: I noticed you have a dog and a pet fish do you think you will ever use them in a support role in any of your upcoming works?

My dog is actually my mascot when I write. He sits behind me in my chair, leaning his head against my back. Every 20 minutes or so, he crawls around to sit in my lap and give me kisses, then returns to sitting behind me.

I also get some of my best ideas and do my best plotting when I’m out walking my dog.

My fish is a Betta fish. My husband and I named our first Betta “Alpha Betta.” When he went to the great fish tank in the sky, we got “Beta Betta.” But this fish is really known as “Crazy Fish” because he will jump for his food.

I haven’t ever really thought of including a pet in my work – though this does give me some ideas!

R: Now that we have more insight about Kate the woman, can you tell our readers why you selected erotica as your niche and do you think its extreme popularity is fleeting or here to stay?

I have always been a big fan of Anais Nin and Henry Miller. I believe their work really brought together literary fiction, erotica, philosophy and romance. That is what I try to emulate with my writing. I got into erotica because I felt that even in the most explicit sex scenes, there could be real poetry, real meaning conveyed in it, and a lot of traditional romances didn’t include such explicitness they way I wanted to.

I think what you will see is eventually the blending of romance and erotica. Traditional romance novels will begin to incorporate more explicit love scenes in order to capture the erotica market, and erotica will continue push for more plot and character development in order to make a grab for the romance readers. In the end, I believe that it is the romance genre that will evolve and expand, with erotica becoming a highly popular, but highly defined niche.

R:  From the published and unpublished works in your repertoire do you have a favorite character?

I have to say my favorite character to-date is from the upcoming “Duet of Desire” – the haughty Elise Montfort. I purposely made her a difficult heroine to like at first. She is clever, manipulative and looks out only for herself. What endears her to me is that because she starts out in such an unsympathetic place, her character arc is truly wrenching as she grows and changes.

R: This may be an impossible question to answer but which one of your published works is your favorite and why?

I am really, really proud of “Portrait of Desire.” I think it’s the first work that really incorporates all the elements I want to have in my writing – fascinating, detailed backgrounds, flawed characters, a theme that is greater than just the plot (i.e. what is art and what does it mean to be an artist), and lush prose that elevates the traditional sex scenes to be something almost transcendent.

R: I’ve taken up a lot of your time so far, but wondered if you could tell our readers about any new upcoming projects you’re working on?

Gosh, I have so much in the works! Let me break it down in a list…

“Duet of Desire” is Book #2 in La Belle Epoque and is coming out in May 2006 from Siren Publishing.

“Dance of Desire” is Book #3 in La Belle Epoque and is coming out in June 2006 from Siren Publishing. This is the book that I am currently working on writing and editing.

“Mortalis Curo” is a contemporary mystery/suspense romance that I have just signed up to do for 4 Girls Publishing. We don’t have a release date, but I’m also working on this right now, writing and editing it.

I have probably another five or six books that I plan on writing this year. They’re a mix of contemporary, historical and fantasy.

R: Kate, thank you for taking time to sit down with me today so the readers at Enchanted In Romance could get to know you better. Before we leave could you tell our readers where they could find more information about you and your amazing books and any upcoming chats, appearances, or book signings?

There are two easy ways to get more information about me and get all the latest news. The first is to visit my website, http://www.kateseptember.com. I update it once or twice a week, so there is always something new! You can find the complete listing of my published work (along with pictures of the covers and brief synopses), as well as the links on where to get them!

The second way is to join my Kate September Yahoo Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/katesetpember. I post all announcements about my upcoming interviews, book releases, chats, appearances, projects…you get the idea.

Thank you so much for this opportunity to talk with you! I really appreciate it and hope your readers do, too!