Ahoy to Katharine Ashe and Rogues of the Sea

The most anticipated summer movie - Pirates of the Caribbean 4:  On Stranger Tides - premieres on Saturday, May 7, at Disneyland.  From the OC Register,

Disneyland plans to set up 20,000 bleacher seats for fans who want to watch celebrity arrivals, including possibly Johnny Depp, for the "Pirates of the Caribbean 4" premiere Saturday.

Another 2,000 invited guests, stars and ticket holders only are allowed to watch the "Pirates of the Caribbean - On Stranger Tides" premiere along the Rivers of America.

Oh, let's get in the mood for Pirates - please join me in welcoming Katharine Ashe:

The American Library Association's Booklist named Katharine Ashe one of the "New Stars of Historical Romance." Her debut historical romance, SWEPT AWAY BY A KISS, was nominated for Best First Historical Romance in the Reviewers' Choice Best Book Awards. CAPTURED BY A ROGUE LORD has received a "TOP PICK!" from RT Book Reviews: "Ashe knows how to captivate readers with her action-packed romance brimming over with marvelous characters, sexual tension, witty repartee and action, action, action." Katharine lives in the wonderfully warm Southeast with her husband, son, two dogs, and a garden she likes to call romantic rather than unkempt.  A professor of European history, she has made her home in California, Italy, France, and the northern US. Please visit her at www.katharineashe.com. 

Kim:  Armed with research material as a history teacher, how did you break into romance publishing? What's harder - unearthing history or getting published?

Katharine:  I love stories—wild, fantastical stories of adventure, heroism, truth, triumph, tragedy, and most of all love. And these kinds of stories really happened! Academic scholarship is fun because you get to dive into the super nitty-gritty of a subject. You also get to do research in musty old archives staffed by curmudgeonly old Italian guys or persnickety young German ladies, suspicious French librarians or stuffy English archivists. Doing that research inspires my imagination endlessly to invent stories of my own.

As to which is harder, unearthing history or getting published in romance fiction—I suppose they’re about the same. I feel very fortunate that as a novelist I am now able to do both at once.

Kim:  Your debut series features sea rogues - what inspired the sea theme?

Katharine:  First, I love the sea. It is a world of beauty, life, and joy. But it’s also a treacherous mistress, unpredictable and oftentimes violent. Second, I adore Regency England. The niceties of social interaction and proper behavior contrast so deliciously with the rough dangers of a sailor’s life. I just couldn’t resist putting them together, like in the hero of CAPTURED BY A ROGUE LORD, an indolent rakish earl whose secret identity is a brazen Robin Hood-like pirate. Also, Britain in the early nineteenth century was far more than drawing rooms and London balls. It was a vast empire with all sorts of potential for excitement and intrigue. Since I adore both these worlds of high society and swashbuckling adventure, I write love stories that mingle them.

Kim:  Does your sister still review your work? Who serves as your beta reader?

Katharine:  I’m so grateful my sister still reads my manuscripts, as well as one of her closest friends. My mother reads the pages the moment I send them to her (God bless my mom and all such moms!). I also trade beta reading with another romance author who is fabulous.

Kim:  How do your History colleagues perceive your historical romances?

Katharine:  In general they are respectful. They know the publishing world (although not mass market publishing), and understand what it takes to produce a book. A number of them have revealed to me that they have ideas for novels they would love to write if they weren’t so busy. Sometimes they tell me this as though it’s a scandalous fantasy, like they’re admitting they’ve dreamt of spending a week on a Caribbean island with the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue models. Since being a romance author is in fact my scandalous fantasy come true, I always smile and say, “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

Kim:  What next for Katharine Ashe?

Katharine:  IN THE ARMS OF A MARQUESS, Book #3 in my Rogues of the Sea Trilogy (August 30), is the story of a powerful lord, a passionate lady and a fierce, enduring love that defies society’s will to destroy it.

Mahalo, Katharine, for visiting us at SOS Aloha!  Katharine is giving away a copy of CAPTURED BY A ROGUE LORD to one randomly selected US commenter:

She would marry no man…
Serena Carlyle dreams of a happily ever after. Firmly on the shelf at twenty-five, instead she’s determined to find the perfect match for her beautiful younger sister. What better prospect than their neighbor, the wealthy, rakishly handsome Earl of Savege? Now Serena can beg his help in halting a local band of smugglers. Then, one night, stealing away from yet another disappointing ball, Serena finds herself trapped alone with a stranger …

Until he captured her—body and soul

His kiss was irresistible, his caress unforgettable, and he hides a devastating secret. A Robin Hood upon the sea, Alex Savege is the brazen pirate Redstone, seizing the yachts of spoiled noblemen to settle an old debt. Serena needs a hero, but her heart is in the gravest danger—for it is soon to be captured by a man as skilled at seduction as he is at plunder.

I am giving away a copy of SWEPT AWAY BY A KISS to one randomly selected international commenter:  

A Secret Identity
When pirates storm Lord Steven Ashford’s ship upon the high seas, it brings him closer than ever to the nefarious criminal he seeks to ruin. Only one seductive detail threatens his victory: the scandalous beauty imprisoned with him, Lady Valerie Monroe. Temptation has never been so intoxicating or so forbidden, for Steven is disguised as a French priest. If they make it off the ship alive, to protect her from his enemies, he must never see her again…

An Undeniable Love

Back in England, and under the ton’s scrutiny for a reckless past she hasn’t escaped, Valerie dreams of the breathtaking “man of the cloth” with whom she shared her greatest adventure. Then he reappears in society under his true identity, Viscount Ashford, but despite the danger their consuming passion cannot be denied. Now standing in the way of their desire are Valerie’s wounded heart, Steven’s lone destiny, and a villain that will stop at nothing to crush them both.

To enter the giveaway,

 
1.  Leave a comment about Katharine, pirate romances, and sea adventures.
 
2.  Comments are open through Saturday, May 7, 10 pm in Hawaii. 

3.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, May 8.
 
Godspeed,
 
Kim in Hawaii
 

 
Pirates of the Caribbean 4 - On Stranger Tides was filmed on Oahu and Kauai.   In fact, the original "Black Pearl" - a basic barge with props - sailed from the Bahamas to Hawaii.   Upon arrival, it was renamed (and redecorated) as Queen Anne's Revenge for the new movie.  It remains moored in Ko'Olina Marina near the new Disney resort, Aulani. 

Aulani opens August 29, 2011 - just in time for Labor Day Weekend!