RSS Add-Me
Win 5 Kathryn Shay books!
Welcome to another Monday with an awesome book giveaway and an interview with Kathryn Shay. And if anyone is interested in posting a comment or question for Kathryn, she will stop by and comment also! 
Did being an English teacher help you with your writing? Do you have any interesting stories you can tell us about your teaching days?
Kathryn: In teaching, you come to know a gamut of people. Students, teachers, administrators and parents enter your life in droves, and I learned a lot about human nature while dealing with them. Also, there were "contacts" at school that I readily used: an ex-cop who helped me with plots, the wife of a public defender, who let me follow him around for a full day, the girlfriend of a firefighter, who introduced me to key contacts at my local fire department. I could go on and on. Second, I'm able to portray teenagers in my books better than most because I spent so much time with them. I can always tell when an author writes a story with adolescents in it and doesn't really know much about them.
Memorable moments? There are many. To name a few: my reluctant learners rushing to class to be the first to volunteer to read aloud from OF MICE AND MEN; working with kids as an advisor to the literary magazine, their class council and an alcohol-free, all night party after the senior ball (yes, I had to stay up all night with 500 teens). Counseling a suicidal student (and getting him more help, of course) when I was the one he reached out to while we were reading ORDINARY PEOPLE. And one special one: in my final year of teaching, I had a small class of advanced eleventh graders. On my last day, they each brought in a bouquet of flowers for me and delivered them all day long while I was teaching other classes. I was stunned!
What is it about firefighters that made you want to write about them? When researching your firefighter books, did you learn things about fire safety that you have implemented in your home?
Kathryn: I always thought firefighters were real heroes. And they are! They walk into burning buildings and risk their lives every single day; they are mostly unassuming, unpretentious men and women who just want to help other people; they're funny in a black-humor kind of way. And they have stories like you wouldn't believe of carrying victims out of a building, losing a child in a fire, diving into ice cold water to save someone, what it feels like to be burned badly enough to need hospitalization. They also confided how the job affects their personal lives. Spending time with them was an experience, I'll tell you.
Fire safety advice: always close your bedroom doors at night. It stops the spread of a fire should one break out. Use smoke alarms religiously. Have a fire path for getting out of the house. Use the child identification stickers on children's windows.
What is it like writing for a publishing house like Harlequin?
Kathryn: Harlequin has been a fantastic place for me to write. For one thing, an author can really build her career there by having more than one book out a year. And they have an established readership so new authors can get known right away; this doesn't happen in single title. I also like that they've always let me write controversial things: date rape, a guy who slept with the heroine's mother years before he met her; adultery; school violence. Last, I've met some wonderful people there. My first editor became a good friend before she retired. My current editor is so enthusiastic about my work that it gives me confidence to take chances and grow.
Do you find love scenes hard to write? What advice would you give someone who wants to write for the romance genre and of course writing that perfect love scene?
Kathryn: I find love scenes incredibly easy to write and I always have. Mine tend to be explicit and highly sensual. I usually follow the flow of the characters' physical contact and am not afraid to say what someone is touching or kissing. The most important thing about writing a love scene is that it has to grow out of the characters' personalities and fit in with the plotline. Just as each character is different in a book, so will his or her attitude toward and participation in sex be unique. My best advice for writing a romance novel is to love the genre and read voraciously in it, both while trying to get published and afterwards.
Can you tell us about your new release, Taking the Heat?
Kathryn: TAKING THE HEAT is about widower Liam O'Neil who lost his wife three years ago to cancer and is ready to date again. He meets Sophie Tyler, rough and tumble female firefighter from the FDNY, and is attracted to her. But his sons are still suffering over the loss of their mother and Liam feels he can't risk getting involved with someone in a dangerous profession. Too bad, though, because they can't help themselves and sparks fly, emotionally, physically and on the line.
Have you attended to any book conventions this year? If so, what are they like?
Kathryn: I attended the NINC conference in New York City in March. To be a member on NINC, an author must have two published books out in any genre. The conference is geared toward the issues involving a working, professional writer. The schedule was packed with presentations by editors, agents, lawyers and people with expertise in various fields. This year, one of the guest speakers was a writer for daytime soap, THE GUIDING LIGHT, and she was fascinating. Another aspect of this conference is networking and camaraderie. I was able to visit with my writing friends and talk about writing as much as I wanted, and also see one of my editors and my agent since it was in NYC. My friends and I also went to plays, dinners and I even toured Greenwich Village and stood on the spots where the family's pub and the firehouse in TAKING THE HEAT are supposed to be. Conferences are always professionally beneficial and a great deal of fun.
Thanks so much, All About Romance, for letting me talk with you. Kathy Shay
We are giving away these great books as a prize: Kathryn's newest release, Taking the Heat; Be My Babies; The Wrong Man For Her; Tell Me No Lies; and Someone To Believe In.
To have a chance to win these five books, all you need to do is answer this question correctly:
Which country in Europe did Kathryn Shay visit in 2004?
Send your answer to aarblog@gmail.com One winner will be chosen at random from all correct entries submitted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, Thursday night, May 8, 2008. (Unfortunately because of high postal rates, we can only ship to US addresses.) The winner will be announced here and notified by email on Friday, May 9, 2008. Good luck!
Kate 
HI Kathy,
Just wanted to say hi. I'm looking forward to your new book.