Spring is certainly in the air and today we welcome Kate Noble to Coffee Time Romance to help break it in. We are delighted to have you.
First of all, congratulations on your upcoming new release, If I Fall. I visited your website and noted how beautiful the cover is. Very exciting.
So, just because we all want to know, is there anyone in If I Fall you would consider dating yourself? Who and why?
Well, considering I gave my hero, Jackson Fletcher, the physical characteristics of Taylor Kitsch, I wouldn’t mind spending some alone time with him. Not at all.
What prompted you to write If I Fall? Did a prior story inspire it? Or maybe you were riding along in your car or fixing lunch when all of a sudden the story struck such a cord you just needed to write it?
If I Fall is very much it’s own story, but it is informed by what happened in my previous novel, Follow My Lead – or, at least it is as concerns my heroine, Sarah Forrester. You see, Sarah has been dumped. Cruelly, unhappily, at her engagement ball, by none other than a duke. (And being dumped I’m sure strikes a chord with a lot of people) It is devastating, but more than that, it marks her in society. So, to survive the social season, and to protect her vulnerable heart, she reinvents herself as the Golden Lady, the most sought after young woman of the Ton. The only person who sees through this façade is her childhood friend, Lieutenant Jackson Fletcher.
What about the hero – Lieutenant Jackson Fletcher? Where did his story evolve from?
I adore the works of Patrick O’Brien – the seafaring tales of Captain Aubrey and Dr. Maturin on the HMS Surprise. I also happened to grow up as a Navy brat, so I jumped at the chance to make Jack a Navy man. But at the time (1823) the British Navy was at a time of peace – and as Jack says, there’s nothing worse than peacetime for a man of action.
What’s different about If I Fall from other books you have written? What sets it apart from other books of the same genre?
In my mind, If I Fall sets itself apart because we have these two very lost people, who get very much in over their heads in a conspiracy of global proportions – and they fall in love along the way. It’s on a grander scale (from London to France to India to Burma) than most romance novels I read, but it’s still very much about Jack and Sarah finding their way to love.
Will If I Fall be a launching pad for other works?
Oh, If I Fall is very much within the same universe as my other novels, so there are familiar characters – but I see this book as the first in the Forrester Sisters series. I’m working on the story for Bridget, Sarah’s sister, as we speak!
What’s next in store for you? What book are you working on? I heard a rumor about a novella called The Dress of the Season. Can you tell us a bit about that?
Yes, what’s next is already here! I’m very proud to announce that my e-novella, The Dress of the Season is out! It’s about Harris Dane, Viscount Osterley, who orders a very fine and scandalously cut dress to be made for a certain lady he wishes to woo. While with the dress designer, he also orders a pair of gloves to be sent to his ward, Miss Felicity Grove, to wish her well for the new Season. But when Felicity accidentally receives the dress, along with Osterley’s affectionate note, it sets into motion a tale of scandalous misunderstandings and love in the last place you look.
It takes place at the same time and in the same world as If I Fall, but you don’t need to read one to enjoy the other. I, of course, hope that you enjoy both!
Now…a few questions about Kate Noble, the author. When you write, is atmosphere important? For example, do you use mood music or candles? Do you need complete quiet to concentrate?
I don’t need complete quiet – in fact, I prefer the movement and noise of a coffee shop to my home. If I’m at home, I will find a million little things to do instead of writing. If I go out to a coffee shop, I have no choice to do anything but work.
What’s the strangest inspiration you ever got for a story idea?
In my second novel Revealed, I actually based my heroine, Phillippa, on Paris Hilton, drawing parallels between the socialites of today and the ladies of the Ton during the Regency Era.
In what order do you write? For example starting beginning to end, combining parts, in random order or in development cycle?
I write very linearly. I start at the beginning and end at the end. Sometimes if I’m struck by a scene that’s in the future, I will write it before it’s time and then connect the tissue, but that’s very rare.
What were your favorite authors as a child thru teens and now as an adult; have their tastes changed over the years.
I was addicted to the babysitters club as a girl, and very quickly I transitioned into a Jane Austen girl, and have pretty much stayed there. It wasn’t all that long ago, but I am amazed at the absolute wealth of YA books that are available today that were not available then.
Has anyone ever told you that you couldn’t write or that you just couldn’t do it? If so, how did you handle that?
Honestly, no. I’m the only person who has ever told myself that I wasn’t good enough. And that’s a daily struggle, shutting up my inner demons.
What is more sexy to you in a person? The way they walk, the clothes they wear or the overall confidence they project?
Confidence is the sexiest thing a man can wear. All the swagger and designer clothes in the wolrd cannot make up for its lack.
How has your experience with the staff and other authors, as well as readers, been at Berkley Sensation?
Absolutely wonderful. I am very blessed to work with my editors at Berkley, as well as enjoy such fantastic fans.
If you weren’t an author, what do you think you would be doing instead?
Art. When I was a kid, it was my dream to be a Disney animator.
What makes you smile? Sad? Angry?
Smile: figuring something out
Sad: stupidity
Angry: violent stupidity
Finally, a question I always like to ask our guests when they visit Coffee Time Romance. If someone were to describe you as a certain type of coffee, what would that be?
A double latte, with the fun leafy pattern drawn in the foam. Frothy, sweet, but with a kick.
Ooooh, lovely choice. Thank you again Kate and please come back and visit us any time.
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