Sunday, February 4, 2007

Once upon a time...



I'd love to say that this picture is of me in a past life but it is, in fact, Caroline Murat and her children. I've always liked it because she has that look on her face I often have, (when surrounded by all four children), of 'take me away!'

Once upon a time I desperately wanted to be Jane Austen. Then it was Georgette Heyer. Finally I became Kate Pearce and I quite like her. She’s everything that attracted me to the two great ladies mentioned above and a lot lot more smutty.

Like dear Jane Lockwood, I’m an import to the USA from the Old Country where I grew up in the middle of a family of six sisters. Three of them got married in a fairly short period of time, echoing the Bennett sisters, leaving me with my own bedroom for the first time in my life.

I’ve always been fascinated by sex in all its amazing variety and detail. My historical romances kept getting turned down for being too unconventional, so I decided the best thing to do was be even more unconventional. Hence my first erotic Regency romance, “Eden’s Pleasure” was written six weeks after the birth of my 4th child. (I’m sure there’s some deep hidden meaning behind that inauspicious start but whatever). I sold it to Ellora’s Cave in Nov 2005 and I haven’t looked back.

The sequel to “Eden’s Pleasure” “Antonia’s Bargain” came out in January 07 from Ellora’s Cave but readers will have to wait a while for another Regency erotic romance as I just sold two (well, my agent did) to Kensington Aphrodisia (waving at Celia). I think they’ll be out in 2008. (lowers voice) In the meantime, I write in other erotic sub-genres as well, so please go and check out my website!

Some of the things I’m looking forward to discussing are historical attitudes toward contraception and the more ambiguous kind of happy ever after. I’m sure we’ll get around to those fascinating subjects soon! When I'm super famous, I'm also planning on 'improving' all the Georgette Heyer's with a bit of smut. Only problem is, I can't decide which book to start with...Damarel or the Duke of Avon? hmm...

18 comments:

Celia May Hart said...

Hi Kate! Great post -- you know I never wanted to be Jane Austen (except, maybe to live in Bath -- love that city), but i'd love to go ona rollicking adventure with Georgette Heyer!

Robin L. Rotham said...

Would you believe I've never read a single Georgette Heyer? I won't, either. Especially having reading you and Jane, there's no way she could possibly hold my interest.

Could you do something Victoria Holt while you're at it?

Colette Gale said...

Oh, Robin, you must read Heyer!

My faves are The Grand Sophy, The Corinthian, and Bath Tangle.

(But only because I haven't read Devil's Cub, which everyone seems to love!)

Unknown said...

Sacrilege! Georgette is spinning in her grave, I'm sure. But the wicked Avon and the feisty Leonie...now that might hold my attention.

Every now and again I have to reread Heyer just to escape from wallpaper historicals and remind myself why I first fell in love with romances. I don't even really mind that there's no sex...you can just imagine how satisactory it would be between her characters because they're so well-drawn.

JRMullany said...

I think Georgette Heyer must be one of my main influences, since I read all of her stuff when I was a teenager and supposed to be studying for exams. I've never re-read her. I'm afraid that she might be one of those writers that I read at the "right" time in my life, and who now I would find disappointing. The same with Hemingway.
But I read and re-read Jane Austen, with the exception of Mansfield Park, which I find a very difficult book.
Jane

Unknown said...

Celia-I used to live fairly near Bath, it's one of my favourite cities. When we were leaving for the USA, my husband booked us into the very posh hotel on the royal Crescent for a weekend-it was fabulous!

Robin!-no Georgette Heyer? You should try one-she is so witty.

Colette-I'm determined to do a post later this year about our favorite Heyer heroes and why we love them!

Maggie-that is so true, for books with no sex in them you can certainly feel a huge amount of sexual sizzle and tension

Jane-I still read them regularly but I find as I get older my favourites have changed-I like the older heroes and the more complex plots more than the comedies. I love Devil's Cub!

Unknown said...

Ooh, I just thought-I could start a whole new generation of internet Fan Fic for my Georgette Heyer project!

But then I might get sued...

The Girl You Used to Know said...

We don't call you Naughty Kate for nothin', my dear.

xx

Pam Rosenthal said...

Hi Kate!
I'm a late-comer to Heyer, and I approach her with delight, admiration, and a measure of horror at her way of turning a contentious, tumultuous period of history into an irresistably entertaining and well-regulated themepark where everyone perfectly well knew his or her own place in the social order. (Everybody except a few silly strivers, of course, who aren't in the least bit like US or anybody WE'D know.)

Thus far in my reading, though, the novel of hers that I actually found quite sexy was Venetia. The device of having the heroine joyfully accept her inner, hereditary, slut is pretty damn cute, I think.

Gina Black said...

>>Damarel or the Duke of Avon<<

That's a tough choice. ;)

G.

Caffey said...

Hi Kate! First congrats on the Aphrodisia book sales!!! I'll be definately watching out for those. I do have down your EC book on my list to get. I recall reading some Georgette Heyer books but not which! One wonderful memory I always remember with my mom was that she loved romance books and I would visit her in her bedroom each night to talk about what she read and what I read. I started her on some I read from the libraries and she would give me one of the Harlequin books to read and I recall a couple of Georgette Heyers. I used to read so much that I never wrote down those I read. So one of my goals is to start reading her re-issues, so if you ever decide to chat about one of them, can you let us know ahead of time and I'll dig for it somewhere and read it before the discussion. I do have Pride & Prejudice right on my keepers shelf along with some sequels that a couple authors wrote to this book. So lots of good reads to come.

Anonymous said...

Jane,

I too go back and back to Austen, except for Mansfield Park. I had a grandmother who was too much like Mrs. Norris, and I've had to kill off my inner Fanny Price. Plus, I just can't get past the cousin thing and a whole host of other issues.

Antonia Pearce said...

Kate,

Congrats again on the book deal and on the new blog! Ah, Heyer. I cut my teeth on her books, but have to admit it's been a while since I've read her. Must get some of the reissues. I'm a Regency-a-holic! Must admit, I do like the more modern, spicier versions, though.

Your fond relative,

Antonia Pearce ;-)

Unknown said...

Pam, I think Georgette Heyer is a reflection of her own time rather than the Regency, and as a Brit, her take on class in all it's marvelous detail is absolutely accurate.
Venetia is one of my favourite GH's. I love the idea of the elderly dissolute rake with a scandalous past finding an 'innocent' who is more than a match for him!

Jane L-I forgot to say-I had to do Mansfield Park for A' level English and I never liked it!

Gina-Damarel or Avon...why choose? :)

Cathie-welcome to the blog and I'm so glad you like the books on offer!

Jane G-I never realized the cousin thing was such a big deal over here until I wrote a book and got slammed in an RWA contest because my hero/heroine were cousins-I'd never heard that before!

Little lamb-read Devil's Cub and come back and tell us what you think!

Antonia-so nice to receive a little 'family' support!

Mel-what can I say? It's true I am naughty.

Keziah Hill said...

I'm with Robin - I tried Heyer and couldn't get into her. Austen all the way for me.

Meljprincess said...

"I’m looking forward to discussing historical attitudes toward contraception"
ME TOO, KATE! And it's funny 'cause I'll be watching a movie that takes place during the 18th century or earlier and I'll say "How did she only manage to have two children? You know they're still doing it."
I think it would be great to read a very erotic Heyer book. Off to check out your site!

Pam Rosenthal said...

Re Heyer -- Kate, I'm sure you're right about her attitudes to class, which I always thinkg of as dovetailing with a romantic (if not a romance-writing) favorite from my youth, Dorothy Sayers. Is that idealized classbound England one of the things we look for in escapist, genre fiction?. . . Sometimes I wonder what shape the Regency romance genre might have taken if liberal Mary Wollstonecraft had been as great and influential a novelist as Tory Jane Austen. (Or whether we would have had one at all.)

And as for the insufferable Fanny Price, it seems to me that the character she will grow up to be is Mrs. Norris.

Pam (indulging her inner litcrit groupie/theory slut this morning)

Elizabeth Parker said...

I also have never read Georgette Heyer. I know she's supposed to be wonderful, but Regency is not my time period. I don't have time to read all I should in my chosen period of late-Victorian. It's just a case of "Too many books, not enough time."