Make-Believe Mondays With Kate Pearce

Today on Make-believe Mondays I'd like to introduce Kate Duggan, another of my RWAonline friends. Kate writes erotic romance as Kate Pearce.

Kate, first, tell us a little bit about the manuscript you’re working on now.

Kate: Well, first off my new e-book, Planet Mail a futuristic erotic romance comes out from Ellora’s Cave on July 5th!

I’m currently working on three others. The first is a proposal for my next Virgin Cheek book-three chapters and a synopsis. At the moment I’m stuck waiting for some feedback about sports injuries and rehab which will dictate the pace and time scale of the whole story.

I’m editing a companion book to my Ellora’s Cave ebook, “Eden’s Pleasure” which is about the second of the Harcourt twins. It’s due to my editor by the end of June.

The third is a new gothic erotic paranormal set in Georgian England which I am having a blast writing, probably because no one has contracted it.

Mark Twain said, “You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” How do you fill your creative well to keep your imagination in focus?

Kate: It’s hard. I tend to have a very tight focus on my writing and being productive and successful. I have to remember to get out and sniff the flowers, ride my horse, play with my 4 year old daughter and forget to stare at a computer screen. If I don’t, I can’t write.

Debra: It is a balance of sorts isn't it? Too much writing or too much play will tip that balance. I imagine that with a four year old the pull to write and the pull to your daughter could be equally as strong at times.

Is there a point when your characters begin to come alive and you can see and hear them?

Kate: Absolutely. I keep a page from one of the drafts of a Regency historical I wrote when the couple were supposed to indulge in some steamy lovemaking. I’m trying to type what I think should happen and somehow my fingers get taken over by them having a row. In caps I have typed WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING??? They carried on arguing for days in my head before I finally gave in and let them have their way.

Debra: When characters come alive they can be very strong willed. It is after all their story.

Some very famous authors have played with language, creating words for people or places that no one has ever heard of. Have you ever played with words in that way and if so how?

Kate: I experimented with a couple of made up words and creatures in my new book Planet Mail which is set on another planet in the future. It was quite liberating!

Debra: Oh, what fun! Creatures! Now I'm intrigued. Just 9 more days until the book is out!

For some writers, dreams play a role in creating fiction. Has this been true for you? Have you ever dreamed a scene or an image that later wound up in one of your books?

Kate: All the time. The moments between waking and sleeping seem to produce some of my best ideas and scenes-it’s as if a piece of my subconscious peaks outs just in time to give me a visual, a scent or the answer to a plot question that has been plaguing me.

As a child did any particular book or author pull you into their imaginary world?

Kate: I loved a British historical writer called Rosemary Sutcliff. She wrote bitter-sweet children’s books about many different historical periods and her research was immaculate. One of her books about the Romans in Britain gave me the germ of the idea for the first book I ever wrote.

If there were no categories for books, no reader expectations to meet, and you could create the wildest work of imagination that you could think of what kind of story would that be?

Kate: I’m lucky enough to work with a publisher who already allows me to write that kind of story. My first published book was an erotic Regency romance but my editor didn’t turn a hair when I next presented her with a racy romp about intergalactic Vikings set in the future.

Is there anything else you would like to add about the role of imagination, and dreams in creating fiction? Any other message for our readers?

Kate: I think you have to push the envelope and let yourself explore emotions and places in your writing where you never thought you could go. We all have unique experiences and insights so use them to enhance and develop your voice.

Kate, thank you for joining us here on this Make-believe Monday to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

Kate: You are welcome!

Visit Kate at www.katepearce.com