Interview with Kat Martin

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KAT MARTIN
Affaire de Coeur's March, 2011 Author of the Month

Kat Martin

Hi, Kat,

I’ve known you and Larry forever, and I’m proud of your success. I’m going to ask questions that I already know the answers to, but our readers would like to know. For the sake of clarification, Larry is also a writer whose genre is the Old West.

Yes, and Larry has also written several mysteries. He has a new Western just out, Nemesis. It’s available in paperback and e-book through Amazon.

AdC: When did you start writing and why?
KM:I started in 1985. I had read a book that Larry had written and it was really good, but he couldn’t seem to get it sold. So I started working on the grammar and spelling, doing a little editing, and began to think that maybe I could write a book, too.

 

AdC: How has Larry influenced your writing?
KM:He’s always around to help me plot the action sequences. The gunfights and the fistfights. He also does the cooking so I have a lot more time to write!

AdC: I know that you collaborated with him at least once and it wasn’t optimal. Have you tried it again?
KM: I loved the collaboration we did on Tin Angel, a western historical. But he didn’t like me interfering in his writing! So...no, we haven’t tried it again.

AdC: What have you learned about writing since you started?
KM:After 50 books, I guess you could say I have mostly just learned how to write. There are lots of techniques you can use to improve your writing and I’ve done my best to learn those things.

AdC: You started off writing historicals. (Do you know I still have the green galley of your first book?) Now you’ve added contemporary to your repertoire. Which do you like better? Will you be expanding to another subgenre?
KM:You are talking about the galley you have of Magnificent Passage, my first book. I’m excited that it’s being re-issued in July with a gorgeous new cover. I have to say I love writing the contemps. It opens up a whole new world. Different language, different pacing. It’s extremely exciting to get this opportunity. Regarding writing in another subgenre, last year I did a small hardcover called The Christmas Clock, which was a straight contemporary, a sweet little story. In April, the second in the Dreyerville series, A Song For My Mother will be released in the same format. So, yes, I’m trying lots of new things.

AdC: Tell us about your new series. Congratulations on the very positive review you’ve gotten.
KM:I think my “Against´ books are some of the best work I’ve ever done. In Against The Wind, Jackson Raines, the oldest brother, lives on a ranch in Wyoming. He runs into his old high school nemesis, Sarah Allen, a woman who humiliated him in front of half the school. Sarah is back and in desperate trouble, and there is no one to help her but Jackson.

Gabe Raines in Against The Fire is working with lady architect Mattie Baker to find the arsonist who is trying to ruin and then kill him. Mattie is far too independent for a macho man like Gabe, which makes them a really fun couple.

Youngest brother Dev Raines, in Against The Law, has been hired to help Lark Delaney find her dead sister’s little girl, which leads them into danger, high adventure, and very hot romance.

AdC: You’ve moved to Montana. Is that area more conducive to writing? Tell us about your (relatively) new digs. Pix would be nice.
KM:Amazingly we’ve been living in Montana for almost fifteen years! Amazing how time flies. In a way it is easier to write here. We both have private offices and we are way out in the country. We can go all day without seeing a car on the road. Plenty of undisturbed time to write. But we chickened out a few years ago and now winter at the beach in California. The best of both worlds.

AdC: What is your idea of a perfect day?
KM:Today is a perfect day here at the beach. 70-degree weather; looking out my window at the boat channel that runs past our house; watching the sailboats go by. And writing. Writing is still a favorite pastime--thank God. At least when the story is beginning to come together--which this one seems to be. Tonight, a nice home-cooked dinner (cooked by my gourmet chef-husband) and a glass of wine.

AdC: Do you have any hobbies?
KM:Work is my hobby. But I do love to travel, especially to Europe. I love visiting New York, staying in gorgeous hotels and eating in the best restaurants. I like camping when we’re in Montana. Planning a camping trip to Alaska this fall.

AdC: Tell us one thing about you that nobody knows.
KM:I have to watch my weight, just like everyone else. But because I’m small, no one believes that.

AdC: What authors do you admire both within and outside the paranormal realm?
KM:I’m not much on vampires. I love ghost stories, though. I’ve been reading a lot of suspense lately. Dee Davis is good. Laura Griffin is great. I just discovered Joanna Bourne. Her historical, Forbidden Rose, is wonderful.

AdC: What is the worst thing about being an author? The best thing?
KM:The worst thing is when you’re in the middle of a book and can’t figure out what you’re going to write. You can’t sleep, can’t think straight. The best thing is when it is all coming together. On top of that, authors get to meet really interesting people.

AdC: What do you expect to be doing 10 years from now?
KM:I hope I’m doing the same thing I’m doing now--except that my books are higher up on the NYT Bestseller List!

AdC: What can we expect from you next?
KM:The “Dreyerville” book, A Song For My Mother is out in April for Mother’s Day. Then the re-issue of Magnificent Passage in July, then more “Against” books. Against The Storm is out in November.

AdC: Pass on some words of wisdom, please, to aspiring authors.
KM:Perseverance is the key. Write and keep writing. Don’t let anything or anyone stop you. Please visit my web page www.katmartin.co

Kat Martin on Wikipedia