Kat Martin – Romantic Suspense Author Extraordinaire!
June 2, 2018 by Jann Ryan in category Jann says . . . tagged as Kat Martin, new release, romantic suspense
New York Times bestselling author Kat Martin is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara where she majored in Anthropology and also studied History. Currently residing in Missoula, Montana with her Western-author husband, L. J. Martin, Kat has written sixty-five Historical and Contemporary Romantic Suspense novels. More than sixteen million copies of her books are in print and she has been published in twenty foreign countries. Her last novel, Beyond Danger, hit #4 in Mass Market fiction on the Bookscan National Bestseller list.
Kat is currently at work on her next Romantic Suspense.
Several years ago I had the pleasure to meet Kat Martin. I was attending my first Orange County Chapter of Romance Writers of America meeting with two fellow writers. I knew very little about the organization and had no clue what to expect. To my surprise and delight while getting coffee at the refreshment table, I was greeted by none other than Kat Martin, one of my favorite authors. What made it more amazing was that I had just finished reading Gypsy Lord, her latest book, and never, ever thought I would actually meet her. Now here I am today in 2018, doing a Q & A with her. So, let’s get started.
Jann: You have a stellar list of Historical and Contemporary Romantic Suspense novels. May 30th, Beyond Control, the third book in the Texas Trilogy made its debut. How do you do it? How do you keep writing these wonderful books?
Kat: Thank you so much for the compliment. I really try hard to come up with good characters. I try to find a good plot and hope I can make it all come together. I will say it is getting harder and harder to come up with new and interesting stories. But I’ll keep doing my best!
Jann: Where did you get the idea for the Texas Trilogy – Beyond Reason, Beyond Danger, Beyond Control?
Kat: I never really know where an idea comes from. It’s just sort of not there one minute and there the next. It’s just a kernel of an idea to start with then it expands during the course of writing the novel.
Jann: Tell us about Joshua Cain and Victoria Bradford from Beyond Control.
Kat: Tory is a strong woman but she has been beat down by life, losing her husband, raising a child, then hooking up
with a very bad man. Josh is exactly the kind of guy Tory needs because he’s strong and supportive. Coming out of the war in Afghanistan, he’s had problems of his own, but Josh is tough enough to handle them. They made a great couple to write.
Jann: Victoria has a four-year-old daughter, Ivy. When working on your characters and the plot, how do you decide if you want to have a child in the story?
Kat: Putting a child in the story makes the book much more difficult to write–at least for me. I don’t have children so I have to rely on interactions I’ve had with other people’s children and my husband’s sons and grandkids. Usually the story just calls for kids or it doesn’t. I just kind of go with my instincts.
Jann: What profession other than your own would you love to attempt?
Kat: At this stage, there is nothing I want to do I haven’t done–except maybe travel more. I used to joke that if I could start over, I’d be an astrophysicist. I love astronomy. It would have been an exciting career.
Jann: What is one of the craziest thing you’ve ever done?
Kat: We stayed in a house on stilts in the middle of a violently flooding river. It was stupid and dangerous. We were lucky the house didn’t get swept away and drown us!
Jann: If you could travel back in time with whom would you like to meet and why?
Kat: Winston Churchill would be interesting. I’d also like to meet Margaret Thatcher, one of my personal heroes.
Jann: If a spaceship landed in your backyard and the aliens on board offered to take you for a ride, would you go? Why or why not?
Kat: I don’t think I’m ready for a spaceship ride. I’m a little too practical.
Jann: Do you ever run out of ideas? If so, how did you get past that?
Kat: I freak out when I run into an idea roadblock. Terrifying! I usually try to run through ideas with my husband. Just saying everything out loud often solves the problem. Sometimes going for a ride, taking a day off, going to the show will help. Anything to stir up fresh ideas.
Jann: How do you stay motivated? What drives you to keep writing?
Kat: I like the puzzle-solving aspect, the chance to be creative. Earning a living, of course, is part of the reason I write. I don’t think I would keep going if I had to work for free. I like getting rewarded for what I do. I love it when people like my books. That’s one of the best rewards.
Jann: It was great getting to catch up with you Kat and wish to thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. If you have any comments or questions for Kat, please use the comment form below.
Kat has a guest post here on A Slice of Orange, Writing Dialogue. You can also read Geralyn Corcillo’s Book Review: BEYOND CONTROL. And finally, here are all three books in Kat’s Texas Trilogy. If you hover over the cover images a buy link will show up. Happy reading.
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