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Welcome to our New Faces column, where we're pleased to introduce some of the debut authors in the romance publishing field. This time we're visiting with Kay Austin, whose first release is the time-travel romance Time Rogues, from Dorchester's Lovespell line. Kay, Welcome to TRR! Tell us about yourself. Age? Umm, let's ballpark it at well past puberty with no finish line in sight. I call lots of places "home." My roots are southern, but thanks to my odyssey-like lifestyle, I claim a kinship with countless communities--from Japan to Jersey and numerous mileposts in between. Currently home for me is a south-facing residence within burping distance of a snoozing volcano in the land of liquid sunshine, Washington State. If the volcano erupts and buries me in ash, I'll be a Washingtonian for perpetuity. Are you coming to romance writing from another job? Jobs? I multi-task. What woman doesn’t? At the top of the list is writing, my dream job and passion. As far as the IRS is concerned, I get most of my W-2s from teaching. I’m a substitute teacher for a great school district that includes two military bases. And I’m teaching college history courses at night. Add domestic diva and gal-pal for my sweet hubby into the mix and my 24/7 schedule is booked until the next ice age. What led you to write romance? Heat--the lack of it--and my addiction to happy endings. The decision to write came much earlier than the opportunity to act on it. But, it all came together the year I lived in rural Hosten, Germany. I endured an interminable winter in a dark and dreary stone farmhouse without a telephone or television or reliable heat source. The vista from my snowy perch was postcard-worthy. Gothic churches and quaint burgs dotted the surrounding hillsides and castles--minor ruins to formidable structures--were commonplace. From dawn to dusk I was left to my own devices and after fulfilling all my domestic diva obligations that included scrubbing mold off the walls, I read romances. My demand soon outpaced my weekly supply. I had no choice. I had to fill the gap. I remember the day life changed for me. I hauled out my manual typewriter, planted the card table over the portable heater, rolled in a sheet of blank paper, and Dawn of Elizabeth (Passion’s Honor) was born--a historical romance set in a nearby castle. Tell us about your road to publication. You really, really don't want to know about this. It's not a story for the faint of heart. Suffice it to say that I'm one stubborn female. Long ago Dad gave me a ceramic bulldog, explained tenacity, and helped me make peace with my true nature. My dogged will and determination to stick with writing--to the bitter end, if necessary--was tested over several decades. Decades? Yep, several! You've all seen the Family Circle cartoon in the funny papers. The route little Jeffy takes to his goal is never a straight shot. And like little Jeffy, my road to publication wasn't remotely similar to the straightaway at Daytona. I've bounced across continents, slogged through numerous jobs, and juggled marriages and careers for most of my--ahem--fifty-something years. Looking back, it's obvious I took several detours that delayed my trip. But tenacity and Proverbs, God's rulebook for life, guided my steps. And I firmly believe in the axiom: "good things come to all who wait." What kind of research was involved for your first book? Location, location, location. Although I'm a historian and truly adore researching, I also appreciate shortcuts when questing for facts. Nothing beats total immersion in the environment to collect data fast. My first book was a historical set in the general vicinity of my drafty German farmhouse. It was easy to drop in on my favorite castle, village, or deep and dark forest to absorb atmospherics. Tourist guides supplemented my knowledge of local histories and legends. And, my German neighbors generously answered questions to help fill in the gaps. I collected enough information to expand that first book into a trilogy. Writing time-travel romances has been a blast because they blend past, present, and future environments in a global arena. Time Rogues is the first book in the trilogy featuring a commando-like team of time-travelers dedicated to fixing the past to protect the future. Central to my ongoing research is the study of risk-taking professions from paramilitary to homeland security. Sci-fi elements are crucial to the plots and demand a steady dose of Stephen Hawkins-like info. And as with Time Rogues, accurately depicting pivotal historic events or personages at the crux of the story problem require countless "just-the-facts" forays on the internet and to libraries. Wandering the stacks and fondling leather-backed tomes filled with teeny tiny print is all part of that location-atmospheric thing that works for me and triggers a built-in research methodology. At WWW.KAYAUSTIN.COM I'm adding links to topics and subjects as I continue to research and write the sequels in my time-travel series. Tell us about your debut book. Ah, Time Rogues. What a fun book to write! A museum exhibit coordinator and her lover travel back to ancient Pompeii to save a fellow time-traveler's life before Mt. Vesuius erupts. It's something of a cross between Romancing the Stone, Indiana Jones and 12 Monkeys. Here's the back cover blurb: It was all about to go up in smoke. As a candidate for the directorship of the Dallas Museum of History, Mackenzie Cates was thrilled to acquire the Pompeii exhibit. But it came with a string: Rick Mason, the love of her life and the sexiest archaeologist since Indiana Jones. He'd left her with a memory of lovemaking hotter than lava, and he couldn't have returned at a worse time. Mackie's raging libido was making her see things--like the strange bald beauty prowling the museum and casting lascivious glances at Rick or the mysterious moving statue. Next thing she knew, Rick would be telling her there was a conspiracy; that he was possessed by a two thousand year old dead guy; that he wanted to marry her, but first they had to travel through time to save the world and a pair of doomed lovers! Well, one thing was certain; before Vesuvius, her composure, and her career erupted in one big bang; Mackie needed to unravel the mystery of the Time Rogues. Who are your influences as a writer? Marked influences are other writers. I'm a binge reader and indiscriminate. During my formative years, I imprinted with authors from the romance genre. After reading my first gothic romance, I was hooked. Biographies of the Bronte's, Jane Austen, and their ilk, convinced me that I wasn't an odd duck with all my secreted scribbles and my obsession with bittersweet love stories. Long dead, they were part of a sisterhood that accepted me, encouraged me, and challenged me to continue obsessing and scribbling. I did. Romance authors are a constant influence. The genre is pervasive, slipping beneath the humdrum routine and teasing forth the sensual awareness of a word, a look, a touch, a sound. I'm enriched by the imagery. I'm uplifted by the sentiment. I'm humbled by the honesty. And, I'm entertained by the story. Who influenced me? Insert the countless names of past and present greats in the genre including Andersen and Austen; Blake, Bronte, and Brown; Cameron, Chittenden and Crusie; duMaurier and Dailey; Grant, and Gellis; Ledbetter and Lindsey; Krentz; Macomber, Michaels, and Miller; Peters; Rogers and Roberts; Scott, Small, Spencer, Stewart, and Stuart; and Wiggs and Woodiwiss. Their well-crafted tales about the toe-tingling miracle of falling in love are timeless. I reread their works repeatedly for inspiration. Whether tame or torrid, humorous or inspirational, off-world or paranormal, historical or futuristic, a story well told, endures. What does your family think of having a published romance author in their midst? Proud doesn't begin to cover it. They're all expecting Hollywood to make a movie out of Time Rogues and its sequel Time Transit. Meanwhile, they're pitching in to launch WWW.KAYAUSTIN.COM as web presence with the belief that indeed "the best past is yet to come." Tell us about plans for future books. The sequels Time Transit and Time Fugue will continue the time-travel series. Target releases are 2006 and 2007 respectively. I loved writing Time Rogues. It was a wild ride for the hero and heroine hell-bent on rescuing a pair of doomed lovers in ancient Pompeii before Mt. Vesuvius erupts and saving the world in the process. I'm very excited about Time Transit. It's Maude and Gil's hotter than hot love story and it's a cliffhanger from the first line in the prologue.
Time Transit Excerpt: How can readers get in touch with you? A quick visit to WWW.KAYAUSTIN.COM will link folks to my e-mail kay@kayaustin.com and allow them to bookmark my website. The site’s under development and new additions will feature the guest book, calendar, links to time-travel research, and "sightings" of real Time Rogues. Kay, thank you for joining us, and best of luck with your future releases! Readers, we have a review of Time Rogues here at TRR. |