My guest today is Kate Bateman, writing as K. C.
Bateman, bestselling author of Regency and
Renaissance historical romances.
Her books feature feisty, intelligent
heroines, (badasses in bodices!) wickedly inappropriate banter, and heroes you
want to both strangle and kiss. When not writing, Kate leads a double life as a
fine art appraiser and on-screen antiques expert for several TV shows in the
UK. She currently lives in Illinois with a number-loving husband and three
inexhaustible children, and regularly returns to her native England “for
research”.
She’s answering some questions and telling us about
book #1 in her Regency Spies and Secrets series.
She’s
answering some questions and telling us about book #1 in her Regency Spies and
Secrets series.
Be sure and
leave a comment with your email as Kate is giving away to one lucky reader her choice
of any one of her ebooks or a signed print copy of The Devil To Pay, her new Renaissance Historical.
1. What drew you to write in the
genre(s) you do?
I’ve always loved the ability of historical romance to
transport you to another time and place. It’s magical. As a history geek, I
have a keen interest in getting the historical details right, but also to
provide my readers with a romantic, witty, action-packed adventure story too.
Who wouldn’t want to enjoy the thrill of flirting in a Regency ballroom, or taking
part in the intrigue of a Renaissance court—while tucked up safely in their own
comfy armchair?
2. If you couldn’t be a writer anymore,
what profession would you take up?
I’d definitely go back to my ‘other’ job, that of antiques
and fine art appraiser. When I lived in England, before I moved to the US, I
ran my own auction house, and I absolutely loved my job. Every single day was
different, and you never knew what interesting or beautiful item was going to
walk through the door at any moment. I loved the variety of that. Every piece
has a story attached to it, too, what we auctioneers call its ‘provenance’ and
I love hearing those. Now I have to get my history fix by sneaking historical
facts into my novels instead.
3. What’s the first thing you do when
you finish writing a book?
Finishing a manuscript, or
handing back final edits, is a wonderful feeling. I usually have a celebratory
drink—either a cup of tea or a nice glass of wine—depending on the time of day!
And I sometimes treat myself to a massage, as a reward, too!
4. If you could interview one person
(and it doesn’t have to be a writer) who would it be?
I’d love to interview the
historical romance author Laura Kinsale. I love her writing, and her use of
unusual time periods, and I’d be interested to know how she comes up with her
plots and what her writing process is.
5. If you were given a chance to travel
to the past where would you go and why?
Wow, there are so many places
I’d want to visit. I think it would be pretty amazing to spend an evening at
Versailles during the reign of Louis XVI, flirting and dancing. Just think of
the amazing dresses, jewels and gossip!
6. Tea or Coffee? And how do you take
it?
Being English, I really am a
walking cliché and drink a LOT of tea. It’s really almost all I drink, (except maybe
alcoholic beverages like gin and tonic!) I’m a big fan of strong black tea, and
my favorite is Yorkshire Gold, with a bit of milk and half a teaspoon of sugar.
There’s literally no situation that can’t be improved by a nice cup of tea!
7. What will always make you smile,
even on a bad day?
Videos of otters! I know some people go mad over cats and
dogs, but a video of an otter doing something silly will always make me smile.
They seem to have a real ‘joie de vivre’.
8. What are the next five books on your
‘to be read’ pile?
My TBR pile is enormous. It’s
in danger of toppling and squashing me flat, because I prefer real physical
books to reading on a Kindle or Nook. I have a whole room of shelves filled to
bursting. The next five books on there, in no particular order, are: The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo by
Kerrigan Byrne, Ten Ways To Be Adored
When Landing A Lord by Sarah MacLean, As
I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, Crooked
Hearts by Patricia Gaffney, and The Proposition
by Judith Ivory.
9. How did you come up with the idea
for your latest book?
Almost all of my books have real-life events as plot points.
I love researching and regularly get sidetracked and sucked into a rabbit hole
of fascinating information. I’m amazed at the true facts – really often
stranger than fiction—that I discover. The first book in my new Bow Street
Bachelor’s series, This Earl of Mine,
for example, (which will be out next year with St Martin’s Press), features a
true historical plot to rescue Napoleon from exile on the island of St Helena
via submarine! I had no idea that submarines had been invented and used in
warfare in 1816, but I found a fascinating report of an American inventor named
Robert Fulton who did just that. I incorporated ideas from that true event into
the story – with a little artistic license of course!
The book I’m currently writing (the second book in the Bow
Street series) has at its heart the true story of the theft of the French Crown
Jewels from Paris in 1792. It was rumored to have been an inside job. Although
some of the jewels were eventually recovered, others are still unaccounted for,
and some—such as the huge Bleu du Roi blue diamond—were cut down to disguise
their background. The larger half of the Bleu du Roi is now known as the Hope
Diamond. The smaller “half” is still out there somewhere.
I love playing the author game of “what if...” and wondering
what happened to all those jewels, who stole them, and how they ended up where
they did. In my version, some of them were stolen back and hidden for the glory
of France by a mysterious thief known only as the Nightjar.
A Counterfeit Heart...
As Sabine de la Tour tosses piles of forged banknotes onto a bonfire in a
Paris park, she bids a reluctant farewell to her double life as a
notorious criminal. Over the course of Napoleon’s reign, her
counterfeits destabilized the continent and turned scoundrels into rich
men, but now she and her business partner must escape France—or face the
guillotine. Her only hope of surviving in England is to strike a deal
with the very spy she’s spent her career outrunning. Now after meeting
the arrogant operative in the flesh, Sabine longs to throw herself upon
his mercy—and into his arms.
Richard Hampden, Viscount
Lovell, is prepared to take any risk to safeguard England from the
horrors of the French Revolution. To lure the insurgents out from the
shadows, he’s even willing to make a pact with his archenemy: Philippe
Lacorte, the greatest counterfeiter in Europe. But when a cheeky,
gamine-faced beauty proves herself to be Lacorte, Richard is shocked—and
more than a little aroused. Unlike the debutantes who so often hurl
themselves at him, this cunning minx offers a unique and irresistible
challenge. Richard will help her. But in return, he wants something that
even Sabine cannot fake.
