Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Today's Special - - Kat Martin


Kat Martin is back with a new Brodies of Alaska novel and this one may be my new favorite. Be sure to check out AGAINST THE TIDE!

New York Times bestselling author Kat Martin is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara where she majored in Anthropology and also studied History.   She is married to L.J. Martin, author of western, non-fiction, and suspense novels.
Kat has written more than sixty-five novels.  Sixteen million copies of her books are in print and she has been published in twenty foreign countries, including Japan, France, Germany, Argentina, Greece, China, Russia, and Spain.
Born in BakersfieldCalifornia, Kat currently resides in MissoulaMontana, on a small ranch in the beautiful Sapphire mountains.
Her last eleven books have hit the prestigious New York Times bestseller list.  Both AGAINST THE WILD and AGAINST THE SKY, her latest release, took top ten spots.  AGAINST THE TIDE the 3rd book in the Brodies of Alaska series hit shelves on May 26th!

Visit Kat's website at www.katmartin.com
Or look for her on Facebook  at Katmartin/author.




HOW I GOT PUBLISHED

May 26th marks the release of the twelfth novel in my Against Series--AGAINST THE TIDE, Rafe Brodie and Olivia Chandlers' story, the third in my Brodies of Alaska. 
After writing for so many years, it's almost hard to remember how difficult it was getting my early books sold.  I’m sure every author has an interesting tale of how he or she got published.  In my case, my husband Larry had written an historical novel titled Shadow of the Mast set in early California, but he couldn’t find a publisher.  I loved the book, which was extremely moving and very romantic. 
Since I was a voracious reader and adored the book, I couldn’t understand why publishers weren’t snapping it up.  (I still have no clue as to how New York publishers actually think.)
I decided to see if maybe there was something I could do to polish it a little, maybe help it sell.  By the time I was finished, I was hooked on the idea of writing a book of my own. 
I chose a western romance because I had a western background, and Magnificent Passage was born.  Now both of us had books to sell, which we tried to do by attending conferences, looking for an editor who might be interested, and trying to find an agent.
At a conference in Fresno, California, we met an agent who agreed to read sixty pages of any attendee’s manuscript.  We sent the pages and the agent took both of us as clients.
Unfortunately, those manuscripts were summarily rejected by every publisher in NYC!  Despair set in.  Picking ourselves up, we each started writing another book.
Months later, the very last publisher my first manuscript had been sent to decided to buy it.  Pageant Books made it the lead title for their new romance line, a great start for me. 
During that time, L.J.'s manuscript, his second western novel, Tenkiller, was sitting in the slush pile at Kensington where it had been for nearly a year.  It was picked up, read, and purchased.  After all the waiting, we were published six weeks apart, which meant we could travel and promote our novels together.
The bad news was my first publisher closed its doors after just two of my books were printed and I was out on the street again.  Again, I was rejected everywhere. 
Totally distraught, I was trying to bolster the courage to keep writing when, at the last possible moment, Berkley picked up my next novel, Captain's Bride, and again, the book was chosen as a lead title.  Even after that, it was no easy road.
Since those early days, I’ve written for nearly all the major houses.  Some were a real pleasure, others not so much. 
Currently, Kensington is publishing my Romantic Suspense novels.  In AGAINST THE TIDE, RafeValdez, Alaska.  It's a majestic but harsh and remote place to live.  Fascinated by the new owner of the Pelican CafĂ©, Olivia Chandler, Rafe begins to wonder why such a beautiful young woman would want to hide herself away in such a place. 
Brodie is the captain of a charter fishing boat fleet in tiny
Rafe is determined to solve the mystery, but when his first mate, young Scotty Ferris, is murdered, Rafe has a far more important mystery to solve.  
Scott was Liv's friend, too, and she is equally determined to find his killer.  As the clues unfold, Rafe and Liv are drawn into a web of secrets and lies and that lead both of them into danger.
I hope you’ll watch for AGAINST THE TIDE and if you haven't read AGAINST THE WILD and AGAINST THE SKY, I hope you'll try them, too.
Till then, all best wishes and happy reading, Kat



Thanks to Kat for sharing her journey to publication with us today. 

Readers, how did you discover Kat Martin's books? Did you first discover her as an author of historical romance or romantic suspense? 

How you were first introduced to the romance genre?

One person who leaves a comment will receive a copy of AGAINST THE TIDE.  



        

17 comments:

  1. I discovered Kat via historical romance--the Bride Trilogy. I'm looking forward to reading Rafe's story. Thanks for the post and giveaway.

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    1. I discovered her through her historicals too. Hope you enjoy Rafe's story as much as I did!

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  2. I discovered romance through an old Harlequin don't remember the title.

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    1. I think Harlequin was responsible for opening the doors of romance to a lot of readers.

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  3. I can't remember which one of Kat's books that I read first but I've really been enjoying them even to the point that I will read out of order lol. I missed this one somehow. Kathleen Woodiwiss is the one that really got me hooked on romance although I had read others.

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    1. This one just came out, catslady. Woodiwiss is another author responsible for introducing a lot of readers to romance.

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  4. I first found the romance genre with Sherrilyn Kenyon's Fantasy Lover and was instantly hooked. I will read just about anything as long as there is romance in it but tend to lean toward Contemporary, Suspense and Paranormal with a Historical and YA/NA thrown in every now and again. So I found Kat's romantic suspense books first. In fact I haven't read one her historical yet since those are so few and far between for me.

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    1. I enjoyed her historicals but I love her romantic suspense novels! Thanks for stopping by, Texas Book Lover!

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  5. discovered her through social media

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    1. I've discovered a lot of new authors through social media. It's a great place to find books!

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  6. Read the book. It was fantastic! One of her best!

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    1. I agree, Debbie! I was on the edge of my seat through the entire book and I adored Rafe!

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  7. I know I discovered Kat through her historicals, but I can't remember which one I read first. I still haven't read any of her romantic suspense - they're all still on my wish list. :-)

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  8. Through her romantic suspense books!

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  9. I first discovered Kat Martin through her romantic suspense books. My introduction into the romance genre was through Jayne Ann Krentz's Harlequin books.

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  10. Kat Martin Romantic Suspense books :)
    My introduction into romance genre was through Nora Roberts's Books :)

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  11. love your romance suspense I am reading Against the Tide right now ans loving it...write faster...ha-ha

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