To cap off our Labor of Love Day festivities, Holmes and I are pleased to have a chat with romance writer extraordinaire, Kait Nolan*. Kait just released her new book, Red, which is a YA twist on the Red Riding Hood tale, because, after all, every fairy tale has a dark side.
I downloaded Red to my nook as soon as it came out, and it disappeared just as quickly. No, nothing is wrong with my nook. My 13-yr-old daughter took off with it. She started reading and didn’t stop until she was finished. Except for once, that is, when the tension had her so caught up she had to run into my office and bemoan Sawyer’s dire situation. This is what my very discriminating daughter had to say about Kait Nolan’s newest novel. . . .
“Red is a thrilling adventure with surprises around every corner. A wonderful mix of romance, violence, and supernatural transformations. An absolutely intoxicating read!”
Kait Nolan. She even looks like a romance writer, doesn’t she? Her answers are the ones in bold.
So Kait, we’re delighted for the chance to get to know you better.
We’d like to start out by asking, what was your inspiration for Red? What tipped the scales for you from passing idea to active endeavor?
The voices. They wouldn’t hush. Elodie literally woke me up at night telling me her story. Which did not put me in particularly good humor with her, as I value my sleep. But the only solution was to tell her tale.
Sounds like a strong young lady.
Piper’s daughter was so excited about your writing after reading Red that she downloaded the rest of your books. We realize it’s a bit late to ask this, but are all of your books YA?
Actually no, this is my first YA (published anyway—I’ve got a lot of YA manuscripts collecting dust in the manuscript graveyard). But it won’t be my last. It’s SO MUCH FUN writing YA.
BTW, you might want to warn her about one, um, ahem…steamy scene in Forsaken By Shadow. It’s not too graphic on a romance novel scale, but just sayin’…
Thank you. I’ll be sure to mention that to her. What other books have you written, and what genres are they?
Everything else I have out is a sort of paranormal romance/urban fantasy hybrid (I tend to have too much romance for strictly urban fantasy, but way more action than the typical romance). There are currently two novellas in the Mirus series (Forsaken By Shadow, Devil’s Eye) and a freebie short story (Blindsight) in the same world. I’ll be putting out an omnibus of all three (Genesis) in e and print within the next month or so. Then moving on to full length novels in that series.
Sounds like plenty to keep you busy. Having read your blog and tweeted with you for several months, we have the impression that you are one of the most dedicated writers we’ve ever met. How many hats do you wear, exactly?
Researcher (full-time), college instructor in psychology (part-time), writer (in-between-time), domestic engineer (other-in-between-time), food blogger, and general goddess-in-training.
That’s a lot of hats. So are you telling us you are really a cyborg, and you never have to sleep?
Sleep? What is this sleep thing of which you speak? I am proudly sleep-deprived since I graduated college in 2002. 😀 Seriously, though, it is a major challenge. You know that whole “people need an average of 8 hours a night?” Well I’m at the upper end of that average. My body wants 10 HOURS. I usually get about 7. I am firmly convinced that instituting world-wide daily nap time for grown-ups would be a major step in achieving world peace.
Hear, hear! Now, you clearly must love writing to be so dedicated. What did you love most about writing Red?
I loved stepping out of my Mirus world (which I love) and playing in a new one. It’s always a joy to me to explore new worlds and new characters, and in this case it was particularly fun to be…not an adult for a while.
What’s your favorite thing about Elodie Rose, the leading lady of Red?
Elodie kicks butt. She’s strong, independent, and capable and doesn’t wait around expecting somebody else to come save her or fix her problems for her.
What’s your favorite thing about Sawyer, the young man/wolf?
His bu…I mean, his absolute dedication to Elodie. He totally respects her strength and doesn’t feel threatened by it.
Sounds like a good man. Especially if he has a nice “bu….” (Holmes insists I note that last sentence was a Piper comment, and not a Holmes comment.) When you finished Red, did you dive right into a new project?
Oh I tried. It didn’t go well. My brain, it esploded.
Lol. Can you give us any hints about the topic of your next book?
Well, I can’t say with 100% conviction, but I’m probably going back to my Mirus world to play around with that other favorite wolf-shifter featured in Devil’s Eye.
While reading your blog, Piper discovered a page with great gluten free recipes. Since more and more people are realizing they are sensitive to gluten, have you ever considered writing a cookbook?
Not so much, no. I enjoy food blogging and sharing recipes for food I enjoy. But I’m not sure I’d have enough totally original recipes for a formal cookbook. Now a fiction series that includes recipes…THAT I’d like to do.
Piper’s dog, Daisy, was very excited to know we’d be speaking with you here today. She has a few questions for you, too, if you don’t mind.
Daisy
Hi Kait. *wags tail* I’m so happy to meet an author who gets it. . . . Oh, sorry about that fur on your dress. . . . Stephanie Meyer got it. She wrote those books about that sexy Jacob and some other characters that cluttered up the rest of the pages. Dog readership is a driving force in today’s book market, you know. Jacob was my main alpha, but now you’ve given me another sexy wolf to love in Sawyer. *rrrowww, wag, wag*
Who wants a tummy rub? *scratch scratch scratch rub* Who’s a good girl? Have a meatball.
Thank you. *lick, lick* Those were some great kisses in the book. You know. The ones where the token girl gets to kiss the brave, sexy wolf. It was clear you wrote that from first hand experience. Did you get to kiss lots of wolves for that material, or do you have a main wolf?
I do have a main wolf. We’ve been happily mated for just over twelve years now.
Did it taste like meatloaf? I love meatloaf. I always imagined kissing a wolf would taste like meatloaf.
That would depend entirely on what I made for dinner …
So I remember seeing some stuff about Arnold Schwarzenegger in the news recently, and I was wondering if that super-wolf, Sawyer, and that token girl who follows him around need a maid?
Now, Daisy . . . That’s not appropriate. Sorry about that, Kait. I’m still working with her.
I’d love to know what else you would like to tell us about Red?
I suppose that it is a stand-alone. I keep getting asked if there will be a sequel. It wasn’t written with a sequel in mind, and at present I don’t see much room for one, but I’ve learned never to say never with my characters.
Is there a question you wish we had asked you today?
Can’t think of a thing.
Since we are The Romance Doctors, and you’re a romance writer, do you have any questions for us?
Not at the moment, but give me time to get into the next WIP. I’m sure something will present itself!
Thank you so much for stopping by our blog and giving us a chance to learn more about you and Red. Sorry about that dog slobber. A touch of Dawn liquid should get that right out . . . Daisy, get out of Kait’s car . . .
Red, which is highly recommended by both Piper and the most discriminating YA reader you’ll ever find, her daughter, is available at Smashwords, Amazon, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Barnes and Noble, the iBookstore, and All Romance EBooks. It’s been an honor to speak with you today, Kait. Thank you for stopping by.
Do you folks have any questions for Kait?
Piper Bayard—The Pale Writer of the Apocalypse
Holmes—Student of Sex, C4, and Hollow Points
*Kait Nolan is stuck in an office all day, sometimes juggling all three of her jobs at once with the skill of a trained bear—sometimes with a similar temperament. After hours, she uses her powers for good, creating escapist fiction. The work of this Mississippi native is packed with action, romance, and the kinds of imaginative paranormal creatures you’d want to sweep you off your feet…or eat your boss. When she’s not working or writing, she’s in her kitchen, heading up a revolution to Retake Homemade from her cooking blog, Pots and Plots.
You can catch up with her at her blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.
What a fun interview! It’s nice to get to know Kait better, and RED sounds so good!
Great interview! Well if Piper’s 13-year-old can handle it then mine can too. She drifts towards vampires and oriental culture but Elodie sounds like a character she would really get into.
Oh I hope so, Gene! I’m really hoping young girls will dig Elodie and see her as a good example!
Red was a fun read. YA has come such a long way since I was a teenager–cough–twenty plus years ago. It’s actually good now. Back in the dark ages, there was Sweet Valley High and those Twilight Where Darkness Begins books.
Great interview Kait. It was good to know more about you. My question: Do you design your own cover art?
Oh good God, no. I have no skills in that area! Cover art is the one area of self publishing that I 100% feel that unless you yourself are actually a graphic designer by trade, you should hire a professional. I use Robin Ludwig @ http://rldprint.com/ who is awesome .
Great interview! It was a lot of fun to read this one.
Red is one of the best books I’ve read all year!
Enjoyed the interview a lot, especially Daisy’s questions, never would ahve thought to ask whether werewolf kisses taste like meatloaf ;-D lol Thanks for the fun interview Kait, Holmes, Piper, Daisy 🙂
She’s a smart dog… 😀
*woof!* Wanna be Daisy–Aroooooooooooo!”
Magical-dawg
Here I am thinking I lead a busy life, and then I read what Kait does…sheesh. Little Red Riding Hood as always fascinated me, can’t wait to read your take on it. I agree with Catie, I think I read YA more now than I did as a YA! Writing it now too.
An interesting point with Piper’s daughter — that now she wants to read all you’ve written, which is adult romance. So, have you thought about how to mesh the two worlds? Although there’s plenty of writers who do both. I’m rambling now…
I totally have a YA spinoff planned in the Mirus world 😀
Sounds like a great book and a very busy author. Great interview!
I keep hearing about this book. Would my more senior members of book club dig it? Or would it just seem too strange for them? Obvious answer: I need to get this book and figure that out for myself. Great fun! And Daisy is a good doggie! 😉
That’s a hit or miss! I had one 70+ grandmother email me that she loved it and passed it on to her 18 year old granddaughter!
Great interview!
Thanks for the compliment, Alica, and thanks for stopping by.
Fantastic interview! I loved Red. Just fabulous. 😀
Piper, thank you so much for hosting Kait and Red. I have it on my must read list, not only because it sounds great but because I absolutely adore the author! 🙂
Great interview! I look forward to reading RED!
It’s a great book. Thanks for stopping by, JM.
Do you ever plan on publishing your books on print?