Writing Western with Kat Martin!

Hi, Kat! Thank you for agreeing to appear on Wordwranglers today.  I’ve been a fan since I discovered your Raines of Wind Canyon series.  Right now I’m enjoying Johnnie and Amy in Against the Night.
Here are my questions.

D’Ann:  What are your writing days, or nights, like?
Kat:  I’m a workaholic.  Thank God my  husband also writes novels and works in the business.  I like to write long days at least 4 days a week, then do promo and write half days the rest of the time.  I don’t write when I’m traveling or at conferences.
D’Ann: What was your journey to publication like?
Kat:  Tough, tough, tough.  With my first book, I was turned down by every publisher in New York.  Except one.  The very last one bought me and featured the book as a lead title.  So I got a good push but the company went broke and I had to start all over.  I’ve done that a number of times.  I’ve written for all the majors and had 6 different agents.  So it has not been a cake walk.
D’Ann:  If you could sit down with any romance author, past or present, who would it be, and why?
Kat:  I’d pick someone odd...Wilbur Smith.  He is not only a fabulous author but believe it or not, he wrote my all time favorite romance.  The Eagle in the Sky.  It was amazing.
D’Ann:  What makes a hero sexy?
Kat:  Well, he has to be pretty yummy to  look at, have a decent body, and he has to be smart.   For me he also has to be tough and honorable.  He can be kind of a male chauvinist pig--as long as the heroine is his equal or he changes as the story progresses.
D’Ann:  What childhood story/author inspired you?
Kat:  I can’t remember any of the stories my mom read to me.  I didn’t read much in high school.  I started reading in my twenties, found Anya Seaton, Frank Yerby, and went on from there.  Forever Amber was a book I really loved.
D’Ann:  What has been the most exciting thing about your career?
Kat: Traveling and meeting people, those two things are great.  Also, the personal fulfillment of completing a novel.  And of having readers tell you how much they enjoyed it.
D’Ann:  What’s a perfect day for you like?
Kat:  Lots of good writing.  The kind you feel good about at the end of the day.  Then a glass of white wine with my husband and eating the fabulous meal he cooks!  (Larry’s a gourmet cook!)

D’Ann:  What is the most extreme thing you’ve done researching one of your books?
Kat:  I went on a police ride-along.  That was amazingly enlightening.  I traveled to England and stayed in historic bed and breakfast hotels.  I leaned how people used to live.  That was really fun and educational.
D’Ann Some favorites:
A. Place  New York City
B. Animal   Deer
C. Drink   Dirty Martini
D. Color  Red (which I rarely wear)
E. Actor  Tom Selleck  ((young actor, Bradley Cooper)

Thank you so much for your time!
Thanks for having me!  Love you all, Kat

About Kat: For New York Times bestselling author Kat Martin, a career in real estate led her down the road to romance.

Through real estate, Kat found her own perfect match--her husband, Western author Larry Jay Martin.

"We were on opposing sides of a transaction--I represented the seller and he represented the buyer," Kat recalls.

A short time after the two became acquainted, Larry asked her to read an unpublished manuscript of an historical western he'd written. Kat fell in love with both the book and the author!

"It was quite a romantic story," she admits. "I'd still like to see it get published." Then, after doing some editing for her future husband, she thought she'd try her own hand at writing.

Kat moved on to become the bestselling author of over fifty historical and contemporary romance novels. To date, 12 million copies of her books are in print, and she's been published around the globe, including Germany, Norway, Sweden, China, Korea, Bulgaria, Russia, England, Estonia, Lithuania, South Africa, Italy, Poland, Thailand, Portugal, Turkey, The Slovak Republic, Spain, Argentina, Estonia, Czech Republic and Greece.

When she's not writing, Kat also enjoys skiing and traveling, particularly to Europe. Currently, she's busy writing her next book.

Excerpt from Midnight Sun:


"I like my house right where it is," he said, then changed tactics and added, "How much do you want for your property?"
Surprise widened those clear green eyes.  She was wearing a red cotton turtleneck and he could see she had nice breasts.  Her fancy jeans were filled out as well as he remembered, better maybe.  Round behind, tiny waist, legs just the right length for the rest of her.  His loins began to fill.  It happened so rarely he took an unconscious step backward.  Jesus, he couldn't believe it.
"My property isn't for sale," she said, distracting him, thank God.
"I'll double whatever you paid for it.  You can buy a bigger piece of property somewhere else."
"I don't want a bigger piece of property.  The Lily Rose belongs to me and I intend to keep it."
"I'll give you three times what you paid."
Her lips flattened out.  Before, he noticed, they'd been full and very nicely curved.  "I don't think you understand, Mr. Hawkins.  The Lily Rose is a mining claim.  I intend to work that claim, as I have every right to do.  You can offer me ten times the price I paid--a hundred.  It wouldn't make a whit of difference.  I'm staying, Mr. Hawkins, whether you like it or not.  If anyone's going to move, it'll have to be you!"
He drilled her with a glare and she tensed a little at the forbidding look on his face.  "You aren't telling me you intend to set up a dredging operation on this property?"  Anger softened his voice, making the unspoken threat all the more intimidating.  Four years ago, his employees had cowered at that menacing tone but Charity didn’t back down.
"That's exactly what I'm telling you.  That's what Mose Flanagan intended to do--he just never got around to it."
"Sonofabitch!"
The smile she gave him looked downright evil.  "Get used to it, Mr. Hawkins.  I'm staying right here and working this claim.  Accept it or move somewhere else." 
With that she turned and marched away.  He tried not to notice that round behind, but his eyes refused to look anywhere else.
Sonofabitch, he silently repeated, thinking again of Mose and the secret laugh he must be getting out of this.  Call turned and started walking.  He didn't look back all the way to the house.  But even if he closed his eyes, he could still see the pretty little blond with her nice breasts and round behind.  
For months, he'd been telling himself it was time to reawaken the sexual side of his life.  He wasn't a monk, even if he had been living like one.  A couple of weeks ago, he'd started seeing a divorcee in Dawson named Sally Beecham, a cocktail waitress at the Yukon Saloon he had known for a couple of years.  Sally was a sexy little brunette and she had made it clear he was welcome in her bed whenever he was ready.  He'd been telling himself that time would be soon.  
But he'd never gotten hard looking at Sally.
Not like he was right now, just thinking of Charity Sinclair.