This morning it is my pleasure to welcom Katherine Longshore as she answers a few questions and then gives us a look at her new book, Brazen.
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What do you like best about writing romances?
Kissing scenes! Because kissing can be so intimate and tell us so much about the other person. It engages all the senses and heightens most of them—smell, touch, taste. But more than that, I love romantic tension, because it’s something so many of us can relate to. Will he kiss me? When? How? What will it feel like? What if I hate it? Should I kiss him first? And then all the should-I-shouldn’t-I of forbidden romance. I love being able to keep my characters a little bit on edge—wanting. And then giving them a taste of it so they want more.
What is your favorite romantic story (movie/book. fact/fiction)?
I fell in love with A Room With a View when I was in high school—both the movie and the book. Because…Italy. And Edwardian dresses. And forbidden love. And a romantic heroine who feels bound by her class and society, but longs to break free and really be herself. Because it includes art and music and philosophy and a terrifically romantic kiss in a meadow overlooking Florence. Because there is humor and sadness and the happily ever after feels true.
If you could be any romantic heroine, who would it be and why?
I’d love to be Lucy Honeychurch from A Room With a View! But I think even more, I’d like to be Scarlett O’Hara, just for a little while. She may not always be entirely admirable, but you can’t deny that she’s strong, and that’s what I love about her most.
Which of your characters/books was the most fun to write?
In BRAZEN, I loved writing Madge Shelton. She is one of Mary Howard (the narrator)’s closest friends, and the one who encourages her to find love and romance, whatever the cost. Madge is irreverent and witty and completely at home with her sexuality. Her spontaneity often helps her achieve what she thinks is her heart’s desire, but also occasionally gets her into trouble. Most of all, she has heart, and is a loyal friend, especially when Mary needs her most.
If you weren’t a writer, what would you want to be doing instead?
Something in travel. Ideally a travel writer, but I think that falls under the writer category! Perhaps a guidebook researcher or location scout for a tour company. I love traveling to new places and discovering new restaurants and fun places to stay. Or possibly a guest lecturer on cruise ships—though I’d have to know a lot about a variety of places, so I could always be going somewhere different.
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Title: BRAZEN
Author: Katherine Longshore
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Pub. Date: June 12, 2014
Pages: 528
Find it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads
Mary Howard has always lived in the shadow of her powerful family. But when she’s married off to Henry Fitzroy, King Henry VIII’s illegitimate son, she rockets into the Tudor court’s inner circle. Mary and “Fitz” join a tight clique of rebels who test the boundaries of court’s strict rules with their games, dares, and flirtations. The more Mary gets to know Fitz, the harder she falls for him, but is forbidden from seeing him alone. The rules of court were made to be pushed…but pushing them too far means certain death. Is true love worth dying for?
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Author Info:
Katherine Longshore grew up on the northern California coast. At university, she created her own major in Cross-Cultural Studies and Communications, planning to travel and write. Forever. Four years, six continents and countless pairs of shoes later, she went to England for two weeks, stayed five years and discovered history. She now lives in California with her husband, two children and a sun-worshiping dog.
Where you can find Ketherine:
Website/Blog/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads
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Giveaway:
1 winner will receive all 3 books signed International.
2 winners will receive signed copies of Brazen US Only
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e2389b182/
Tour Schedule:
Week One
6/2/2014- Literary Exploration– Review
6/2/2014- The Anne Boleyn Files– Guest Post
6/3/2014- Romantic Reads and Such– Interview
6/4/2014- Page Turners– Review
6/5/2014- Magical Urban Fantasy Reads– Guest Post
6/6/2014- Parajunkee’s View– Interview
Week Two
6/9/2014- Gone With The Words– Review
6/10/2014- Tales of the Ravenous Reader– Interview
6/11/2014- Bewitched Bookworms– Guest Post and Review
6/12/2014- Two Chicks on Books– Guest Post
6/13/2014- Mundie Moms– Review
6/13/2014- Fiktshun– Interview
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A woman who has it all…![Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000026_00012]](https://romanticread.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/guardedheart_ebooksm-1.jpg)
Romantic Reads and Such 