In the Author Spotlight & Contest
Kat Bryan

CONTEST: I love to hear from readers and friends so I’m offering a contest. The rules are simple. Just leave a comment on Ann’s blog about this post and after a week, I’ll draw a winner to receive a copy of Where The Rain Is Made. Please make sure to read a snippet of the latest review on “Rain” from Cheryl’s Book Nook listed after the blurb and excerpt at the end of my interview. It's one of my favorites. Don't forget to post in order for a chance to win.

AL: Hi Kat! Thanks for being In the Author Spotlight this week.

KB: Hello, Ann, and thanks for inviting me.

AL: So, tell us what’s happening with you.

KB: I’ve been holed up for several months because of all the snow sweeping the country. I haven’t minded it at all this year. In fact, it’s afforded me time to read some terrific books and catch up on my writing.

AL: What do you currently have for us to read?

KB: I’m proud to announce two new releases – Sojourn With A Stranger through New Concepts Publishing (http://tinyurl.com/8kafsn) and Where The Rain Is Made (http://tinyurl.com/b62s58) through The Wild Rose Press.

AL: What sensual tales are you weaving for us?

KB: Well, that’s an ongoing process. I write under two names for seven publishing houses, so it never ends. Right now, I’m working on a sequel to Where The Rain Is Made, and another historical themed around a wickedly-decadent pirate and his lady.

AL: When did you know you had to be a writer?

KB: When I was in grade school, a teacher noticed my interest in reading and placed a copy of To Kill A Mockingbird on my desk. I took it home and devoured it, imaging myself as Scout. I fell in love with the characters, and felt the sultry, summer air, tasted the prejudice in that small town. I was hooked from that moment and knew I wanted to be a writer one day. Several years later, I graduated to Gone With The Wind and again fell in love with Scarlet O’Hara, a woman who could bring a man to his knees with one raised eyebrow.

AL: Who’s the author(s) that inspired you to write?

KB: Harper Lee, Margaret Mitchell, and I loved the husband and wife team who wrote under the pseudonym Laura London. My all-time fave book is Windflower by them. I’ve read it so many times, the pages are tattered and worn. Their writing is descriptive, their characters mesmerizing.

AL: If you could go anywhere in the world and write to your hearts delight, where would you go, what would your story be about and what is the title?

KB: I would go to a year-round warm climate so I could sit outside all day and write under the swaying palm tress. Although I write paranormal and historical, the first book I’d write would be titled “Paralegal Goes Crazy and Turns Romance Writer”. This, of course, would be a biography about me!

AL: You’re lady of the manor, describe your perfect man.

KB: Handsome, of course, but more importantly he must have a sense of humor, the ability to laugh at himself. We all want a hero who can slay dragons and laugh death in the face, but I want that, plus a man who laughs when he falls off his horse.

AL: Spring is around the corner. What is your favorite part about the season?

KB: Flowers . . . flowers and flowers. I love being outdoors and spend too much time digging in the dirt and admiring my flowers when I should be writing. I also spend time with my furry friends, a dog and a cat who are extremely devoted and loyal.

AL: You get to gorge on your favorite junk food without the fear of gaining a pound. What do you eat?

KB: I wish! My favorite foods are everything that’s loaded with calories; pizza, Italian cuisine, cheeseburgers, and an addiction that I succumb to much too often – coffee. I’m waiting for the day when someone discovers how to administer it IV for instant gratification (lol). I’m not very tall, so I have to watch my weight, but I’m not overweight. I guess I’m blessed in that regard.

AL: What's your favorite music?

KB: Right now, Sarah McLachlan, ABBA, Chris Isaak, but it depends on my mood. I also like Celtic and Scottish music. Claddaugh is one of my favorite groups. They sang one of the songs in Last of the Mohicans.

AL: Please share a favorite quote with us.

KB: Ah, I have many, and I’m also a proverbs nut. Okay, here’s one of my favorite quotes: When you stop having dreams and ideals – well, you might as well stop altogether. ~ Marian Anderson.
AL: Thank you so much Kat for sharing with us today.

KB: No, thank you Ann for your hospitality. I really enjoyed visiting with you.

AL: If you'd like to find out more about Kat and her work, please visit her at:

http://www.kcelestebryan.com/
http://katskwipsandrants.blogspot.com/

Featured Title:


BLURB:

Held captive by a decadent-looking savage, Francesca DuVall spends every waking moment planning an escape for her brother, Marsh. She never counted on falling in love with the man whose smoldering silver eyes cause her to tremble with unbridled passion.

Ethan Gray, the man, is a curator at a famous museum . . . most of the time. At other times, he’s Meko, a savage warrior hurled into the past to help his beloved people, the Cheyenne.
Though their worlds are decades apart, Meko can’t resist the dark-haired, green-eyed beauty he kidnaps during a raid. A brutal, savage leader of the Dog Soldiers, he has many battles to fight to save his people, but none he wants to win more than the one that will capture Cesca’s heart forever. From the windswept plains of Colorado and the harsh life of a Dog Soldier to the placid life of a curator, their love was fueled passion and kindled by destiny.


EXCERPT:

She’d never seen him so calm. Vapors rose from the water like a fine mist, sheathing his shoulders and head. He moved not an inch, and for a moment, she wondered if he was breathing.

He came toward her, slowly, the ripples circling her, beckoning her. “It will never be over between us.”

His words were so civil, delivered with such composure they threw her mind into total disorder. She stiffened her arm and thrust it before her, hoping it would be enough to hold him at bay. Still he advanced. He encircled her outstretched wrist with a gentle hand and pulled her to him, his breath warm against her wet skin. Drawing her head back, he bared her throat, delivering sweet, lingering kisses to the throbbing pulse in the center of her neck. His lips traveled along the creamy flesh of her shoulder before he claimed her mouth, fiercely, possessively. A hot flame clawed at her belly when he slipped one hand beneath the water and pressed it against the small of her back, pulling her closer . . . closer until she felt the full length of him against her. It was arousing and suddenly all desire to claw his face vanished; any shred of resistance she intended to use disappeared as quickly as the space between their bodies.

He kissed her again, his tongue probing the inside of her mouth and she clung to him, her legs wrapped around his hips beneath the water. When he pulled back, her breaths came in short, rapid bursts. She heard a moan and prayed it wasn’t hers. He cradled her in his arms as he pushed through the water again, back to where they came from, and laid her in the tall grass. A curse fell from his lips, spoken in Cheyenne, as he looked down at her. Events happened so fast, she couldn’t think. The soft beating of the drums, distant laughter, and the soothing sound of water trickling over rocks came to her through a fog.

REVIEW:

First off let me start off my saying . . . I loved Where the Rain is Made! I predict this book to be a best seller. It is so good that words can’t describe it, but I will try. I enjoyed everyone from Cesca to Meko and everyone else in between. I read the electronic version and at three hundred plus pages, I sometimes have a hard time sitting for so long staring at a computer screen. I have to tell you that when I began reading this book I found myself glued to the seat. My husband ended up cooking dinner for me as I was engrossed in this book. Where the Rain is Made is a pleasure to read. There are not many books that come along like this one, but when they do, watch out. I am now on the hunt to read more books by K. Celeste Bryan. Reviewer for Cheryl's Book Nook: http://cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com