After a twenty-year road to publication, Kate Douglas is now a best-selling author with Kensington Aphrodisia, Ellora's Cave, and Changeling Press. Her incredibly popular WOLF TALES series and the related Chanku shapeshifter stories in the SEXY BEAST anthologies have proved to both the NY publishers and audiences alike that yes, erotic paranormal romance is here to stay. Especially when it comes with Kate's distinctive brand of sizzle! Kate has picked up numerous awards along the way, including three EPPIEs, and I am very proud to have her joining us here at sierradafoe.com!
Sierra Dafoe: Kate, you're one of the authors who've become role models for me -- and, I suspect, a lot of other erotic romance writers -- authors who have proved by example that crossing over successfully from e- to print publishing can be done. Every time that happens, I always want to stand up and cheer, not only because it's personally encouraging, but because it also reinforces the legitimacy of e-publishing, and erodes a bit further the fallacy that electronically published books are somehow not "real" books. What, in your experience, has been the greatest difference between writing for Ellora's Cave and Changeling, and writing for Kensington? Are there things about the e-publishing industry that you still especially like and miss?
Kate Douglas: Thank you, Sierra. I started out in the very beginning with epublishing and signed my first contract in 1998. The biggest difference then was the instant gratification. You could submit a manuscript in the morning and hear from the editor by afternoon that the book was accepted! Both Ellora's Cave and Changeling Press were the same way in the very beginning, but of course the bigger a publisher gets, the longer it takes for staff to get back to writers. Changeling Press is still fairly fast, and I have to admit, that's a lot of fun-seeing a story up for sale shortly after submitting it. Nothing better than immediate gratification.
I'm currently writing a story for Kensington that is scheduled for January 2009-and my editor emailed today to ask me for a blurb for the cover copy already! To be honest, there are more similarities than differences between print and epub. I get excellent editing from all my publishers, which is one of the most important things for an author. We love it when our editors make us look better! I don't miss much about epublishing because I've stayed connected to my writing roots -- I don't want to lose the close relationships epubs often have between staff and writer.
I will say that I think epublishing first gives an author a valuable grasp on the industry. I felt very comfortable with the business end of writing when I finally signed my Kensington contracts.
Sierra: There's an old saying (I don't know who said it originally!) that the successful authors are the ones who didn't quit. Tell us a bit about that twenty year road to publication - what was it that kept you plugging away at it, despite the setbacks?
Kate: There are very few writers, published or not, who actually have the option of not writing. It's a force within us that never really goes away, almost a compulsion to put our stories down on paper. I know when I get with other writers we all make jokes about the voices in our heads that won't go away until we write the story, but it's not all that funny. We really DO have voices, and stories, and plots and all those marvelous things that go together to make a book. I never really considered quitting. I believed in myself and I had some wonderful friends along the way who continued to encourage me even when I racked up stacks of rejection letters. The writing community can be very supportive, and I love the "pay it forward" philosophy so many of my fellow authors have. I try to help newbies whenever I can-sort of paying off the debt to those who helped me when I might have been totally discouraged otherwise.
Sierra: The first three (I think) Wolf Tales books started out as novellas for Changeling - what was it like to go back and rework those stories into full-length novels? Was it challenging? Fun? Both?
Kate: Actually, the first Wolf Tales contains the first five novellas from Changeling Press and they appeared in the book verbatim. I rewrote absolutely nothing. However, the sixth novella and final chapter of the first book appears as a novella in the first Sexy Beast. That one required a lot of added material to make it stand alone as a single 30,000 word story in an anthology and I loved adding to the story. I also was able to introduce new characters toward the end of the story, which led to the rest of the Wolf Tales stories. I'm one of those odd authors who loves to revise and rewrite, so I was actually disappointed not to have that option with the first book!
Sierra: Tell us a bit about the Chanku - where did the original idea for them come from?
Kate: When Margaret Riley and her husband Bill decided to open Changeling Press, she told me she wanted something really hot that would "push buttons." I remembered a short story I'd written as a freebie for a readers' list and thought I could add to that. The original story was merely about anonymous sex between a woman and the man who rescues her from a snowstorm. She never sees his face, but the interlude was mega sexy. I took that 1000 word story and wrote Stefan, the very first of my Wolf Tales, planning to do a new "chapter" of a serial that would appear every month or so. M and I decided to make the characters shapeshifters because readers were desperately looking for shapeshifter stories at the time. I did a lot of research on wolves on the Internet and that's when I discovered a species of Tibetan wolf with the local name of "Chanku." I thought it was perfect, and my sexy shapeshifters were born.
Sierra: That is too cool! I didn't know that. And I agree, it is perfect. One of the things that was very controversial about the first Wolf Tales book was the character of Keisha, who is the victim of a hideously traumatic rape. Was that hard to write? And what has it been like, following her journey as a survivor through subsequent stories?
Kate: Keisha is still very much a part of the stories. Her traumatic assault has made her stronger, yet more empathetic to others with problems. She is the perfect alpha bitch of the Chanku pack-wise beyond her years yet aware of how easily it is to be totally traumatized. You'll see more of her in the upcoming books-Wolf Tales VI and Chanku Wild which come out next summer and fall. Scenes like Keisha's are difficult to write because I put myself fully into the character when I write them. It's the only way I can write a really deep point of view and capture the emotion for the scene. Sometimes the phone will ring when I'm writing like that and it takes me a few minutes to actually carry on an intelligent conversation!
Sierra: And you've recently completely Wolf Tales VI, I understand - not to mention celebrating your 35th anniversary! Congratulations! It's always a challenge in a series to keep each story fresh and exciting while staying within the world you've already created. What things do you do, as a writer, to really make every story new?
Kate: I've tried to do each story from a different character's point of view. They see everything with their own background and baggage which takes the readers into the story from a totally fresh angle-I think that changes what could otherwise be very similar stories. For instance, in Wolf Tales V, Ulrich Mason finds a new love-he's been married and raised a child, while Millie West is in her mid fifties and has never married or cared for children. Their story parallels Baylor Quinn and Manda Smith, a much younger couple with totally different issues. Manda, like Stefan in the first book, was caught half way between wolf and woman, but their circumstances are totally different. My characters are so real to me, they're like very good friends...with issues, of course! Of course, keeping them straight sometimes gets REALLY confusing! I see them all as such distinct personalities that I hope my readers can tell how different each one is.
Sierra: You've also contracted three more Wolf Tales books and three more Chanku novellas for the Sexy Beast anthologies - way to go! What is it about the Chanku that makes them so appealing, do you think? Or at least, what makes them appealing to you?
Kate: I hope what appeals to me is what appeals to the readers-the characters came to me as well rounded and fleshed out individuals, and that's the way I write them. I try and create an emotional connection between my characters and my readers with an involved plot and meaningful sex. I also try very hard not to write any gratuitous sex scenes-those scenes should always move the plot forward. If the reader can't identify with the character or feel a powerful emotional connection, then the sex scenes, which are intensely graphic, could easily become little more than pornography. I never want that to happen.
Sierra: I wanted to ask - obviously, there's a great deal of satisfaction in writing a book that you're proud of and happy with, but what else about being a working writer do you really enjoy?
Kate: LOL-I go to work in my jammies. My office is upstairs with a view of the forest. I sit in my grandmother's old oak rocker with my laptop and write all day long, so I'm surrounded by sexy heroes and tough heroines, characters who are generous enough to tell me their stories. I'm also surrounded by bookcases loaded with my own books as well as those of my favorite authors. I even have a little bed up here in case I want a nap. My characters move in and out of my head and I can hear my husband downstairs vacuuming and doing a lot of the housework-now tell me, can you think of ANYTHING better than that? What's not to love? :)
Sierra: I understand you also have a fabulous series out with Ellora's Cave - the StarQuest books, with some seriously sexy lion shifters. What do you enjoy most about writing science fiction erotica? And is there any hope of a another StarQuest book any time soon?
Kate: Actually, my lions of Mirat are NOT shifters. They're aliens from another planet and writing that series was pure fantasy fun. I would love to write another book one day and tie up some loose ends in the series, but I honestly don't have the time. I write almost seven days a week to stay current with my Kensington contracts. Science fiction is a lot of fun because of the world building that goes into it. I get to make ALL the rules!
Sierra: On that note, what can we expect to see in the upcoming Wolf Tales and Sexy Beast books?
Kate: I've got to stop and think about that one...Sexy Beast IV comes out in the spring and it has a story called Chanku Destiny. It introduces a couple of new characters and the beginning of a new thread that really comes to life in Wolf Tales VI. There's a huge surprise in that book that I'm not going to talk about, but it will change the entire scope of the upcoming series. Chanku Destiny also divulges a lot of Oliver's history. He's Anton Cheval's personal assistant, but there is a lot more to Oliver than meets the eye. His role in future books will go through a huge change. Wolf Tales VI will introduce another new character who really shakes things up within the Montana pack. The book I'm writing now, Wolf Tales VII, brings all the Chanku together in Montana when their women have been threatened by simultaneous attempted kidnappings. I'm having fun with this one!
Sierra: In all your copious free time (HA!), what do you enjoy doing for relaxation?
Kate: I forget what free time is. I'm not kidding-in the last two years I've written twelve books and novellas. I'm now caught up enough that I'm only scheduled for two novels and two novellas a year, but the first novel is due in January and I'm still not done, I always manage to get them finished on time, though, so I'm not panicking TOO much. I love to read, and that's something I've not had much time for. I also sneak away and go hiking whenever I can. We live in the mountains with a beautiful state forest nearby with lots of trails. When I need the outdoors, that's the place I go. I try and get a grandkid fix as often as I can-our daughter and her family live an hour away, and our son and his crew live in Hawaii. I managed two trips over this past year to see our granddaughter, but it's never enough time! The whole family will be together over the holidays and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone.
Sierra: I absolutely love the family portrait on your site (www.katedouglas.com) and I gotta ask: what did your family think of your erotic writing when you first started out? Were the kids uncomfortable with mom writing the "spicy stuff"? (My son refuses to read mine, and I think I'm glad, LOL!)
Kate: It's really funny-my husband retired last year and actually has a casting agent. He was in the movie Bottle Shock (it comes out in the spring-watch the guys playing pool in the bar scene. The tall one with long white hair and a beard is mine!) and has shot a couple of commercials when he's not out tooling around on his motorcycle, and I write uber-sexy romances. Our thirty-four year old daughter looked at both of us awhile back and sort of mumbled, "Why can't I have NORMAL parents?" I love it! As far as I know, our kids don't read my books, but they do pass my web address out to their friends and our son goes around the bookstores on Oahu and turns my titles face out. I think they're very proud of my success as an author, but both of them probably wish I wrote something else. I know my mother does!
Sierra: And is it okay to give a huge squee that I'm going to have a story appearing in a print anthology with you from Changeling, sometime early this year? I'm so stoked about that! :p (WOLF, due out late January or February from Changeling Press)
Kate: LOL...that's terrific, and I didn't even know it! (Story of my life...) Congratulations! The print titles from Changeling Press do really well-readers know they will always get a good story from this publisher.
Sierra: Thanks so much for joining us, Kate! Where can readers find out more about you and your books?
Kate: LOL...well, let's see...I just spilled my guts here, but there's always my website at www.katedouglas.com. The more personal info is on the site for romances and the spicy excerpts are at the erotic romance part of the site. The front page gives an option for both.
Thanks so much Sierra, for inviting me to chat with your group and for featuring my books. Let me know when our print book comes out! (I'm ALWAYS the last to find out stuff....)
Sierra: Kate, I most definitely will! And thank you again for being our featured author this month!
The WOLF TALES stories in reading order: (Click titles for excerpts at katedouglas.com!)
