Welcome to Romantic Suspense Author - Kate Ryder

I’m delighted to welcome Romantic Suspense author Kate Ryder to my blog.

Kate Ryder - Author

Hello Kate - It’s lovely to have an opportunity to chit-chat with you and catch-up on all your news. Since you were last here, it seems a lot has happened in your ‘writerly’ life. But before we discover more about your latest release, Beneath Cornish Skies, here are a few questions which will hopefully give your readers and followers an insight into some of the things that matter to you.

Hi Arabella - Thank you so much for inviting me to your Blog and Chit-Chat and for giving me the opportunity to let readers know about my latest novel, Beneath Cornish Skies.  Published on 7^th January, it is a heart-warming love story about taking a chance on a new beginning… and considering the year we’ve just come through, wouldn’t we all appreciate that chance?

 

Arabella: When writing a novel are there any key traits, such as virtuously good or shamelessly bad, you like to give your characters?

Kate:  Ha!  I tend to play around with this from book to book.  In my debut novel and its sequel, I gave the heroine a free-spirit and a God-given light that touched everyone she came into contact with.  However, one reader thought this was ridiculous and couldn’t possibly be in real life.  To her I would say, why not suspend disbelief and keep an open mind to the possibility?  After all, it’s fiction!

For me, each novel has to have characters you love to hate, adding to the emotional pull and keeping things moving forward with the possibility the story may not work out as the reader expects.  My books tend to fall into the romantic suspense or otherworldy/timeslip genres and, let’s face it; the course of true love never did run smooth!

 Arabella: A book has a beginning, middle, and an end. When penning your latest release, Beneath Cornish Skies, which part did you find the hardest to write and why?

Kate:  To date, I’ve found that when starting to write a novel I have an idea of the story but not the full plot.  The ending comes to me around the middle of the book, and I have to get it down before I lose its essence.  Then, it’s a case of joining up the dots and, hopefully, the story concludes within the prerequisite word count!  If not, a fair amount of tweaking takes place.  With Beneath Cornish Skies, I was so eager for Cassandra to start her journey in Cornwall towards her authentic self that I felt she was inexplicably languishing in Sussex while I wrote her story there!  I had to take a deep breath and not rush that part, as I wanted to portray her life on the South Downs as fully as I could.

Arabella: We all have a long list of books we keep meaning to read but never have the time for --- which book is a must-read for you this season?

Kate:  My TBR list is growing by the minute (groan) but one book I have earmarked to read sooner rather than later is The Secrets of Saffron Hall by Clare Marchant; an enchanting dual-timeline historical novel about love and hope in dangerous times.  I believe it’s the author’s debut, published in August 2020, and already it has over 560 Amazon reviews (at the time of writing).

 

Arabella: Thinking and planning ahead… Your aim is to organise a two week holiday for you and your family. Given the possibility of global travel restrictions, do you:

a) Play safe and camp in the back garden?

b) Take the risk and book a hotel room and flight abroad?

c) Find another solution for a relaxing two-week break?

Kate:  I would choose option C.  I’m lucky in that I live in Cornwall, albeit at the top end, and atmospheric Bodmin Moor and the county’s stunning coastlines are not far away.  Therefore, I’d hire a camper van/mobile home (a few years ago that would have been a tent!) and take off with my husband for a nomadic two weeks in somewhere remote and beautiful, perhaps deepest West Penwith, seeking out various Poldark locations and discovering secret coves at that end of the county.  And if “live” theatre was once more up and running, we’d catch a performance at the gloriously positioned Minack Theatre perched high on the cliffs above Porthcurno, which featured in my novel, Summer in a Cornish Cove!

Minack Theatre

Arabella: Some authors cannot work without a business planner, others cannot write without an editing app…  Are there any “essentials” you need to help your writing move forward?

Kate:  I don’t have any “essentials” as such, apart from always creating a storyboard, which helps if the story starts to flounder.  When I first started writing I definitely fell into the pantser camp, but with time I’ve evolved into being a “plantser”.  I start with a basic plot outline and fill in along the way, or should I say my characters fill in along the way!  However much I try to plot, they definitely have their own ideas, which is the magic of writing IMHO.

 

Arabella:  You’re outside a florist and can’t resist the temptation to buy… Which floral arrangement do you choose?

Kate:  My niece is a talented florist and she uses social media very well to advertise her beautiful displays.  She creates too many glorious creations to choose just one and I often find myself drooling over the various bouquets of locally sourced flowers, many grown in her Devon allotment, which are sold in upcycled jam jars.  For Christmas just gone, she offered the most stunning wreaths using foraged and natural materials, including feathers, silver and gold pepper berries, lichen covered branches, pinecones and local fir.  I will definitely be tempted to have one of these gracing my home during the 2021 festive season.  For more information visit: https://www.facebook.com/wildflowerdevon

 

Arabella: What about your future plans? Any books or series in the making?

Kate:  Beneath Cornish Skies fulfils my four-book contract with Aria and I now have to make the decision whether to return to self-publishing or start the process over again and submit a manuscript to agents and publishers.  I’ve juggled being an author with full-time employment, but in late 2019 I gave up my career selling country property to dedicate more time to writing.  Aria is a digital first publisher and Beneath Cornish Skies was released on 7^th January as an eBook.  However, on 1st April it will be published as a traditional paperback and available through Waterstones, W H Smith, Foyles and other major bookshops.  So, if Covid rules allow, I will put on my “marketing hat”, travel throughout Cornwall and Devon visiting independent bookshops and see if I can persuade them to have the novel on their shelves.

Thank you for being a super sharer on Arabella’s Blog and Chit-Chat, Kate. .It was a treat to learn something about your writing journey. Plantser??? J

Good luck with your latest release, Beneath Cornish Skies

Best wishes and happy-writing…

Arabella

www.arabellasheen.co.uk

 

About   Kate Ryder

Kate Ryder - Author

Kate Ryder is an Amazon Kindle international best seller who writes timeslip and romantic suspense in a true-to-life narrative.  On leaving school she studied drama but soon discovered her preference for writing rather than performing.  Since then, she has worked in the publishing, tour operating and property industries, and has travelled widely.

A member of the Romantic Novelists' Association and The Society of Authors, in 2017 Kate signed a four-book contract with Aria (digital imprint of award-winning independent publisher, Head of Zeus).

 

Keep in touch with Kate:

Website: http://www.kateryder.me

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KateRyder_Books

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kateryder.author

Instagram: @kateryder_author

 

Book Blurb    Beneath Cornish Skies

 

To an outsider, Cassandra Shaw's life looks perfect.  She lives in a beautiful, luxurious house in the English countryside, with a handsome, wealthy boyfriend who insists she needn't do a day's work in her life.  But Cassie knows that something is not right.  Her boyfriend has grown colder, treating her more like a housekeeper than a future wife.  And her time feels empty and purposeless.

Cassandra has always been riddled with insecurities and self-doubt, but, just for once, she decides to take a chance on a new beginning.  She answers an advert for a live-in nanny, horse trainer and dog walker, cook and all-round 'Superhuman' for a family living in a rambling manor house on the rugged North Cornish coast.  The work is hard and tiring, but Cassie has never felt so fulfilled.

As Cassie learns to connect with the natural beauty unfolding around her, Cornwall starts to offer up its secrets.  Soon, Cassie starts wondering if she was drawn to this isolated part of the coast for a reason.  Why was she guided to Foxcombe Manor?  What are the flashes of light she sees in the valley?  Is it her imagination or does someone brush past her?  And who is the mysterious man living deep in the woods?

A beautiful romance with a hint of ghostliness, Beneath Cornish Skies is for anyone who has ever longed to start their lives again.

 

Buy Links

Universal Buy Links: https://books2read.com/u/bMXz1G

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3mNBzVG

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3gmo1OC

Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1530362999

Kobo: https://bit.ly/2JYZV03

 

Summer in a Cornish Cove, a contemporary romantic suspense set on the Lizard Peninsula, saw her nominated for the RNA’s 2018 Joan Hessayon award, while its standalone sequel, Cottage on a Cornish Cliff, reached the heady heights of #2 in Kindle Literary Sagas.

Secrets of the Mist, a mysterious timeslip romance, not only reached #49 on Amazon UK Paid Kindle but also achieved #1 Kindle best-seller in Time Travel Romance in the UK, Canada and Australia.  In its original, self-published version as The Forgotten Promise it was awarded the first Chill with a Book "Book of the Month".

Her fourth book with Aria, Beneath Cornish Skies, is set on the dramatically rugged North Cornish coast.

Originally hailing from the South East of England, today Kate lives on the Cornish side of the beautiful Tamar Valley with her husband and a collection of animals.

Welcome to Romantic Suspense Author - Kate Ryder

I’m delighted to welcome Romantic Suspense author Kate Ryder to my blog.

Hello Kate, I’m always excited when a Romantic Novelists’ Association member steps up to the mark and is willing to delve into their personal and working life in order to share some of their inspirational experiences with readers. But before we discover more about your latest release, Secrets of the Mist, here are a few questions which will hopefully give your readers an insight into some of the things that matter to you.

Arabella: Authors can release books, making them available to readers in various ways…via an agent, or working directly with a traditional publisher, or they can even go the self-publishing route. Which method of publishing do you prefer, and why?

Kate: I don’t have an agent.  Before being traditionally published I was an indie author and there are pros and cons to both.  As an indie you have full control over the finished article and, being a creative soul, I loved this.  However, marketing is tough and this is where having a publishing house behind you comes into its own.  I am happy to say that Aria’s marketing department ensures my books reach a far wider audience than I could ever hope to.

Arabella: Who or what inspired you to write your latest release, Secrets of the Mist?

Kate:  A few years ago, my husband and I moved from Sussex to Cornwall to restore a 200-year-old cottage.  We ended up having to gut it and take it back to four walls – I lived on a building site for 4 years!  During the extensive renovations we discovered a time capsule, hidden by a previous owner, which sparked my imagination and made me consider past occupants and the lives they may have led over the preceding two centuries.  The seeds were sown for Secrets of the Mist during a chance conversation with an acquaintance who told me about a Dartmoor cottage she once owned that had an unusual internal stained-glass window and unaccountable cold corners.  At the time, I was a member of a local writers’ group and I wove all these elements into a short story, which I read out to my fellow writers at the next workshop.  They were all eager to find out what happened next, so I decided to see where the story took me.  Three months and 85,000 words later I had a novel!

Arabella: If the person of your dreams, (husband/wife/partner/or superstar), were to take you out for the night, where would they take you and what would you do?

Kate:  Not necessarily the person of my dreams (although he is gorgeous, just way too young… sigh).  I would like to spend time with Aidan Turner in Dublin.  Not only is he generous with his time with his fans (so far) but also pleasingly easy on the eye and eloquent!  I’ve visited the city twice but I’m sure he’d show me interesting areas I haven’t discovered.  We’d spend the day together while he showed me his city of birth, progressing to early evening drinks at his favourite watering hole.  Then we’d move on to a discreet restaurant where we’d enjoy fine dining while discussing his suitability as the lead character in my novels, Summer in a Cornish Cove and its sequel, Cottage on a Cornish Cliff.  We’d finish the evening off visiting his apartment in Dublin (I’d be sworn to secrecy not to divulge its location) where he’d show me his paintings and present me with a signed original.  I’d say I couldn’t possibly accept such a generous gift, but he’d insist, pointing out that if he was going to be the lead in the screen version of my books I would have to accept.  I mean, how could a girl refuse?

  

Kate…

Just for you (and your readers), I went on Wiki and pinched a photo of Aidan Turner. I hope everyone's hearts are throbbing with passion. :)   

Arabella: A slice of Chocolate Cake, a piece of Fruit, or Burger and Fries?

Kate:  Definitely Chocolate Cake.  I try to eat healthily (most of the time) but a girl has to have the occasional indulgence… and preferably one that looks like this!

Arabella: Currently, what is your most favourite T.V. programme, and why?

Kate:  My life is one huge juggling act and I don’t often watch TV.  However, I am viewing Series 5 of Poldark.  This series focuses on the years between Winston Graham’s seventh book, The Angry Tide, and eighth book, The Stranger from the Sea.  I’m intrigued to find out how screenwriter, Debbie Horsfield, will combine the various elements of social and political history of the time in this missing period of Ross and Demelza Poldark’s continuing story.

Arabella: When writing a book or chapter, which do you concentrate on first: plot, character, or setting?

Kate:  I envy those writers who are plotters because I definitely fall into the pantser camp.  Cornwall is a setting that speaks to me and never fails to provide massive inspiration.  However, once in the creative flow, the characters tend to take over and write their own stories… despite futile attempts to rein them in!

Arabella: How do you research your novels and characters?

Kate:  I thoroughly enjoy researching a novel.  So many doors open, which tend to lead to yet more opening doors, and I find it a highly satisfying source of learning.  I like to spend time in the actual setting, if possible, absorbing the atmosphere and getting a sense of place.  Then I check its history to discover any elements that could be woven into the story.  Once back at my desk, I use Ordnance Survey/Google to double-check that my characters’ actions/journeys are possible.  For instance, in my current WIP, I had the heroine watching surfers in the sea from her car in the public car park, but when I visited the setting I found that wasn’t possible – a building blocks the view of the beach.  I rewrote the scene and the heroine ended up sitting at a table in the beach café, which enjoys uninterrupted views of the sea, while indulging in coffee and cake.  She didn’t complain!

Arabella: What advice would you give to someone who is starting out on their writing journey?

Kate:  To believe in yourself and never give up – the only failure is abandoning your dreams.  Publishing is a huge journey and when starting out you tend to be impatient for results.  My advice is to take a deep breath and keep the bigger picture in sight.  If you write romance, join the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s New Writers’ Scheme, which offers invaluable advice and support.

Thank you so much for joining me on Arabella’s Blog and Chit-Chat, Kate. You've been a fabulous guest and really entered into the spirit of things. Oh...to have been in your shoes when you discovered that time capsule whilst renovating your house. A priceless moment, I'm sure.

And about your evening with Aidan Turner – (apart from saying: “please stand in line to get to him”), I hope your day (and night...) together fulfils your every dream.

Wishing you the best of luck in signing Aidan for a starring role in the film adaptation of Summer in a Cornish Cove and its sequel, Cottage on a Cornish Cliff.

Good luck with your latest release, Secrets of the Mist.

Best wishes and happy writing…

Arabella Sheen

www.arabellasheen.co.uk

About Kate Ryder

Originally from the Home Counties, Kate now resides in the diverse and inspirational county of Cornwall, which provides a glorious backdrop for much of her writing. Her career has encompassed travel, publishing and property, and she currently divides her time between selling fabulous country piles that she can't afford and writing romantic suspense.  Together with her ever-supportive husband, a gorgeous Arab horse and a newly acquired 'rescue' cat, Kate lives in the beautiful Tamar Valley in a 200 year old cottage that she and her husband painstakingly restored and which provided the inspiration for her third book with Aria.

Website and Social Media Links:

www.kateryder.me

http://www.facebook.com/kateryder.author

http://www.twitter.com/KateRyder_Author

Amazon link:  https://amzn.to/2KCSY1J

Blurb: Secrets of the Mist:

A gorgeous timeslip romance for fans of Kate Mosse, Diana Gabaldon and Barbara Erskine.

Maddie is restless in London. She has friends, a job and a sort-of boyfriend, but something in her life is missing. Then she visits the ancient village of Walditch, deep in the Dorset countryside. Something stirs in her, and on a whim she buys a centuries-old cottage and moves there three months later. Her friends think she's crazy, but for Maddie it feels like coming home.

Late at night in the cottage, Maddie hears strange noises and sees mist gathering indoors and out. When she starts investigating the cottage's history, she becomes drawn into the tragic story of a family who lived here 400 years ago. Meanwhile, Maddie starts to fall in love with a local carpenter – but he has a relationship already...

Can Maddie solve the riddle of the past? What is her connection with the family that lived there so many years ago? And can she and her true love ever be together?

Previously published as The Forgotten Promise.

Buy Link: Available for PRE-ORDER on Amazon  https://amzn.to/2KCSY1J

Release Date:  19.09.19