Katherine Garbera: Avoiding Cowboys, Babies & Brides!

Welcome to author, Katherine Garbera.

When I first started writing romance novels back in the early 90s the popular trends in contemporary romance were brides, babies and cowboys.  And because I'm contrary by nature I set to work on a novel about a single-mom with a seven-year-old (definitely not a baby).  I was unpublished at the time and every contest I was a finalist in I was up against some cowboy, baby or bride.  Somehow this made me more determined not to write one.  I sold my not-a-cowboy-bride-baby book to Harlequin for the Desire line and THE BACHELOR NEXT DOOR was released in 1997. 

After that I wrote romantic suspense which I had heard from numerous agents and editors was deadßpun intended!  Those books were fun to write and I enjoyed dipping my toe into the suspense waters.  One thing that has stood me well in writing is the fact that I can see the both sides of an issue. And when I write bad guys I need to know why they are bad. I’m sort of digressing but it made my stories a little not so suspensy in the traditional sense because you always knew who the bad guy was.  J

I did a pretty good job of staying away from babies and cowboys until recently when I dipped my toe into the cowboy sub genre.  And I have to admit I love those rough and tumble men.  The way they are no-nonsense (billionaires are too!) and can sweep a gal off her feet.  I have an upcoming Christmas novella, Cowboy, It's Cold Outside :)

My main objection to writing a cowboy was that I had grown up on various ranches in Florida.  You probably didn’t know that Florida had anything but beaches and theme parks but there is a whole other Florida that is rural and ranch centered.  My parents had an egg-ranch with 10,000 chickens—do you know how smelly that is? 

That was my problem with cowboys and romance for a long time.  Every time I set something on a ranch I remembered the smells, but time has given me the distance to move on from there. 

And babies...the problem with babies when I first started writing was that I had a toddler and then was pregnant and had a baby--funny how that happens! And writing about a pregnant heroine or babies was too much my reality.  I didn't see the cute part until my kids were teenagers.  Then I could look back fondly and write a baby book.  Or in my case a series featuring cute babies, billionaire alpha men and strong feisty women. :)  

My latest release FOR HER SON'S SAKE is available now.

COMPETITION:

So what about you?  Are you a trend follower? Or a trend bucker like me?  I'm giving away an autographed copy of the complete Baby Business series to one lucky commenter!

USA Today bestselling author Katherine Garbera is a two-time Maggie winner who has written more than 60 books. A Florida native who grew up to travel the globe, Katherine now makes her home in the Midlands of the UK with her husband, two children and a very spoiled miniature dachshund. 

Visit Katherine on the web

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Follow her on Twitter @katheringarbera.

Thank you for visiting the blog, Katherine.

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LET'S CALL THE WHOLE THING OFF - Jill Steeples

Jill Steeples lives in a small market town in Bedfordshire with her husband and two children. She writes short stories for the women’s magazines and romantic comedy novels for Carina UK.  When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, walking, baking cakes, eating them and drinking wine.

Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off

Bride-to-be Anna is devastated when she discovers her fiancé, Ed, has been having an affair. Hurt and confused, Anna flees to the seaside in need of some serious soul searching, but should she still go ahead with her wedding or should she just call the whole thing off?

What gave you the idea for your book and how long did it take to write?

I’m fascinated by the idea of temptation and where it can lead you.  I wondered what might happen if you stumbled across your best friend’s diary.  Would you really be able to resist taking a sneaky peek?  And if you did take a little peek, what might happen if you discovered something you really didn’t want to know?  This novel took me four months to write.

How did you find your publisher?

I saw a call for submissions from Carina just as they were setting up.  I was intrigued, knowing they were part of Harlequin, about their new digital imprint and hoped my novel might be a good fit for their line.  I quickly sent off my full manuscript and couldn’t believe it when I received an email some weeks later saying they’d like to call me to discuss my manuscript.  It really was a dream come true.

This is your second book for Carina. How did the process differ from your first book?

The big difference was that I had a deadline to work to which focussed my mind somewhat!  My first novel was written over the course of a year and went through the RNA NWS scheme so I was able to make several changes to it before submitting to publishers.  Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off was written to a much shorter timescale and I’d barely written ‘The End’ before it was sitting in my editor’s inbox.

What is next in your writing life?

I’m delighted to have a further two book contract with Carina UK so I’m currently drafting my third novel which has a working title of My Perfect Boyfriend.  It’s a romantic comedy which I hope will be published later this year.

Website: http:// www.jillsteeples.co.uk

Blog: http://www.jillsteeples.co.uk/blog/

Carina:  http://www.carinauk.com/

Amazon: Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off

Thank you, Jill, for joining us today.

Compiled by Natalie and brought to you by the blogging team of Elaine Everest and Natalie Kleinman.

Please contact us at elaineeverest@aol.com if you wish to be featured on our blog or would like to write a craft article.

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