WWR: The Married Mistress is the story of a couple who had already met, fallen in love, and married. What's it like writing about a couple who have a past?
Kate: In some ways, writing about a couple who have a shared past is easier than writing about a couple who have just met. The reasons why they parted - the things that came between them - form the conflict and you don't need to work on setting up reasons for them to be at odds with each other in the present. You can actually go with the 'hating each other on sight' scenario because they both remember what happened in the past and are angry about it. Knowing what split them up the first time means that you can bring in real issues like trust, betrayal, loss, even unfaithfulness etc can all be brought into the present day conflict when some of these are too powerful to bring into a relationship for someone who has just met. Then, as the book progresses, the hero and heroine can go through new experiences that teach them how to love properly. They can learn from the past and see where they went wrong.
The other thing about writing a couple with a past is that there is also a lot to build on to show that they really do love each other. This can often be one of the hardest parts of a romance - showing that the way they feel is a real, true, deep love. But with a couple who share a past then there's a lot more scope. You can write about things they shared in the past - happy days and sad times - you can show them forgiving the past and moving on from it - and heading into a brighter future together. It's a very rich seam for a novelist. In fact often the 'reunion' stories are easier to write because there is that much more depth behind the present day relationship.
WWR: What do you hope readers take away from The Married Mistress? Any particular life lessons, or did you intend only to entertain your readers?
Kate: All my books are written for my readers to enjoy, so obviously the entertainment element is very strong in them. But, having said that, when I write a romance, I always want to write something that deals with the real problems that can arise in relationships today. My dear friend Michelle Reid
In The Married Mistress, Damon and Sarah married in a rush before they really got to know each other. They had lots of passion but not the deep-rooted trust that comes for real faith in another person. So when another person - Damon's father - tried to come between them with stories and lies, he was able to work on that, and on Sarah's own insecurities to split them apart. They have to get to know each other all over again.
WWR: Tell us something special about The Married Mistress.
Kate: The thing that I most enjoyed about writing The Married Mistress was the way that I cold turn certain situations on their head . That's why it's called The Married Mistress - which could imply that Damon's mistress is married to someone else - when in fact she's actually married to him. But because of the interest in their relationship by the paparazzi, they pretend that she just his mistress. I liked working on the idea of what makes the difference between a wife and a mistress - because it isn't just a piece of paper. It's an emotional commitment, and a public one too.
That's the other thing I liked working with and playing with the ideas of a public relationship and a private one. Sarah and Damon kept their actual marriage very secret, so they never appeared in public as man and wife. Now they are being seen in public a lot - but the press think she is just his mistress. And it's by acting out those roles in public that they learn how really to be man and wife in private, where it really matters.
The other thing I should explain about The Married Mistress is that it actually came out in 2003 in the UK. Delays in publication have meant that this book is only just coming out now in America. And that's a pity, because The Married Mistress is actually linked to another of my books - Their Secret Baby. If you read TMM, there is a point where Sarah meets her boss, Rhys, in the hotel in Paris. Rhys is hunting for his baby daughter - a baby he knew nothing about - after learning that his ex-wife has died. Readers might want to know what happens when he finds her - and that's told in Their Secret Baby.
WWR: You're a prolific author, with at least 3 books out a year. Do you find this stressful or invigorating?
Kate: Both! I'm contracted to write at least those 3 books a year and it can be tough to meet the deadlines sometimes. Last years I had some health problems and eye surgery and that really made getting the books in on time a problem. But the good thing about having deadlines is that they make you concentrate. I love writing but writing a Presents novel can be a very intense and emotionally draining experience. I like to try and take a small break between each book and work myself into the new story. And sometimes it's very tempting to relax too much - take too long a break. I need to discipline myself to get back to work and knowing that there is a deadline looming makes me concentrate on that.
When I have the ideas, the plots and the characters in my head then writing the books is usually okay. But it's when I don't have any new ideas or a plot just won't develop right that then I find it a real stress. The deadline timetable means that I don't have time to really let the story build in my thoughts until it's really ready - you could almost say 'ripe' - to be written. And so I often have to start out without knowing exactly where I'm going and learn as I go along. The other things is that the short space of time between books can mean that I don't have time to abandon a book and start again if I really feel it isn't going to work. I have to really think hard and make it work, rather than sitting around waiting for inspiration.
And then sometimes I make life even more stressful for myself, by suggesting linked books. The books I'm working on at the moment are a duo - two linked stories about two Sicilian brothers. And because they're going to come out very close to each other, I have to get both of them written by June. Luckily I've finished the first one and my editor loves that.
WWR: What it's like being so close to London and your publisher? Do you ever get to go to lunch with your editor?
Kate: Actually, I just had lunch with my editor last week. I have a new editor - we started working together after my last book - At The Sheikh's Command - was accepted. So we hadn't met and had only talked on the phone. We had lunch together to get to know each other and to talk about future plans. It was really great - we got on so well and talked and talked all through lunch. This is one of the best things about the editor-author relationship. Sometimes it's just a working relationship and other times you really 'gel' with an editor (I've had 13 different ones so I know all about adjusting to a new person!). I usually go to London twice a year. And I see my editor in person then. This time she's also coming to the RNA Conference in July so I'll see her again then.
WWR: In The Married Mistress, the story that happened before the book opens seemed as interesting to me as the current story. Was it a challenge to keep from putting too much of that backstory into the book?
Kate: As I've already said, writing a 'reunion' story can be easier on some levels, because there is that shared past and the shared disillusionment. The couple have learned about the pain of love as well as its joys and so, obviously, you have to refer to the past - to the problems that came between them and the reasons why the parted in the first place. The issues and the failings in their love have to be brought out and looked at and learned for, But the important thing to remember when writing a romance is that it is the present day relationship that interests the reader most. The past is the past. It's what they do with those lessons in the present that really matters and that will turn them into lovers for life and that's what the author needs to write about.
So I always remember that I'm writing about the present and only need to refer to the past to show what happened to make them as they are today. Too many flashbacks, too much backstory will hold up the progress of the novel and actually bore the reader. I have this image of a reader stuck in reading the past of my story and muttering 'get on with it!' and that's what I want to avoid. Also, I know that quite a few readers actually skip over the flashbacks/backstory . They just need enough to know why the split happened and then to get back to the present. So if they don't want to read it, I'm just wasting my time and energy writing it.
WWR: The Married Mistress delved into major issues of trust and communication, a common theme for you. Do you believe that trust and communication are the most important issues lovers have to come to terms with when they begin a relationship? Is that why you choose to write about these issues?
Kate: I've talked about this in my answers earlier. And yes, I really do believe that trust and communication are vital to a loving relationship. Especially communication. I've been married for over 30 years (!) and if we hadn't learned how to communicate openly and honestly then I don't think we'd have lasted that long. Lack of communication is at the root of so many problems - and not just between lovers. But I also need to make sure that when I'm writing a book, the conflict is not just because they don't talk to each other. If the problems between them could be solved with just one question being asked and being answered, then it's not a very serious problem and not worth writing a book about! :) But it's the reasons why they don't feel they can ask those questions, or why they have problems believing the answers - those sorts of problems - that fascinate me.
Sometimes books and films - and 'soap' - seem to make it appear that if a couple just love each other then life will be wonderful and they'll float off to that Happy Ever After ending and all will be perfect. But love and life is more complicated than that. So the lovers that I write about need to have the best possible foundations for their relationship in order to be able to go into the future together, trusting, open and secure in each other's love. So that then, when it's tested - as it will be - they have the communication to be able to share and find ways to deal with everything that arise.
WWR: I also read The Antonakos Marriage and noticed that like The Married Mistress's hero Damon, Theo had problems with his father. Is this something we'll find in lots of your books? Are you drawn to these familial conflicts or do they just lend themselves to the types of stories you write?
Kate: Ah, well there's a similarity there because both those heroes - Damon in The Married Mistress - and Theo in The Antonakos Marriage - are Greek. And traditionalist Greek fathers do seem to think they can interfere in their children's lives and their children's relationships. They want to see their children married and producing grandchildren to inherit the family business - all the more so if, as these two men are, they're wealthy and have a fortune to leave to their heirs.
These two books are appearing very close together but, as I said The Married Mistress was actually written in 2003 and The Antonakos Marriage was only written last year. So although they are on similar themes, it isn't one that I visit as often as they may give the impression that I do. But yes, it is a topic that fascinates me. We are all so much influenced by the way we grew up - our relationships with our parents and families. That's where we learn to love and trust - or the opposite. So I like to explore the influence that these past relationships can have on the present and the future loves of my characters. That's why, when I'm talking about writing a romance, I always emphasise that you need to get to know and to understand your characters really well, so that you know whether they had problems with their parents or had wonderful loving and relaxed relationships with them - because it can affect their own love relationships later.
WWR: The Married Mistress covered a very short period of time. Did this make it easier or harder to write?
Kate: I've already said that writing a Presents novel can be a very intense and emotional experience, and one of the ways that I can make it so intense for the reader is to keep the action concentrated in a short time and a limited space. That's the way that you keep the plot 'boiling' and the pace hot and fast, rather than letting it slow at some point - and develop a 'sagging middle'! The focus is directly on the couple, they can't really get away from each other and they really have to deal with the conflict between them. I've just written a book - one of the Sicilian ones - where I think over half of the story takes place in less than a day!
But then there are other stories where something has to happen in the middle of it - or things have to develop - and so the book needs to cover a longer space of time. A 'secret baby' type of plot would be one of those, or one where the heroine is pregnant and has a baby in the story, because then, obviously, there has to be enough time for the pregnancy to develop.
Both sorts of stories have their own challenges and demands and I enjoy writing them both, But I have to admit to a sneaking preference for that real intense, claustrophobic, concentration that comes into a short space of time.
WWR: So, do you ever think about the future for the characters you write, or does the story end when the book ends? I'd like to know how the first meeting with Damon's father went after he and Sarah reunited. How many children do they have? Boys or girls? :-)
Kate: Oh yes, I do think of what might happen in the future - though I have to try not to do it too much or I couldn't write the next story, That's the problem again with that intensity and concentration again. I get to know and understand and care so much about my characters that it's hard to let them go. But I have to say goodbye to them so that I can concentrate on the next one.
But - hmm - I think that that first meeting with Damon's father would be pretty uncomfortable and stiff. But seeing as Damon has made it plain that it's Sarah he rally wants, then his father will have to learn to accept it. I think that Sarah and Damon's love would show Aristotle what real love is and so he'll learn from it and soften too. And I'm sure that if - when - grandchildren come along that he'll forget all his bad feelings. Because yes, they will have children - at least two - maybe one of each? What do you think?
WWR: About The Antonakos Marriage -- This one was overflowing with heart-wrenching conflict. How much fun was this one to write? -- Because it sure was fun to read!
Kate: Oh yes - I loved writing The Antonakos Marriage with that very intense conflict. I'm so glad you enjoyed it and found it heart-wrenching - that was just the effect on my readers that I was aiming for. I'm so pleased I succeeded. We come back to what I said about creating a conflict that really matters - and one that just can't be solved with one question and an answer. Theo and Skye have only just met but the problems between them are huge and they're both created from outside themselves and inside their own personalities so it makes for a really complicated situation. I wanted it to be a very very emotional situation and one that seemed as if it would cause nothing but heartbreak.
The truth is that The Antonakos Marriage is one of my own personal favourites of the books I've written. And it seems that a lot of other people love it too - it sold out in the UK when it was released in December 2005 - and I just learned that it sold a #1 of all the Mills & Boon books released that month. Then it won the 'Best M&B Modern Award 2005 ' from CataRomance so it's certainly touched a lot of hearts already. I hope it will do the same in America when it appears in August.
WWR: Kate, The Married Mistress was a great book! Thanks so much for the interview and for allowing me a sneak peek of The Married Mistress and your upcoming American release, The Antonakos Marriage. And yes, I think Sarah and Damon would have two children, at least one of each! :-)
Buy the books mentioned in this interview:
The Married Mistress
Their Secret Baby
The Antonakos Marriage (UK)
The Antonakos Marriage (US, available August 2006)
