Aphrodisia Authors :: Blog

I finally sat down today and started writing Wolf Tales 12. I’ve been thinking a lot about this one since it’s the final book in the current series, and I realized I couldn’t just start it at a point where Wolf Tales 11 leaves off. I decided to jump five years into the future so that I can show a lot of story lines resolved, but as I was getting set to write, I realized that in five years, there HAD to be more babies born! I mean, I left off WT11 with Tala’s twins and Lisa’s daughter’s birth (both are pregnant in Wolf Tales 10) and Keisha and Xandi both considering having more babies, and a few other characters pregnant, and I had a typical, author-like “OH SHIT!” moment.

That lasted about ten seconds before I sat down with my list of characters and figured out who would have babies in the ensuing five years, what sex they’d be, what their names and birthdays and ages were, and all the details that are required to turn imaginary characters into real living, breathing people. I had NO IDEA how much fun that would be, and I can’t wait for you to meet the rest of the next generation of Chanku…once I get them all written, of course! They’ll all be in Wolf Tales 12, along with, hopefully, the resolution to a lot of issues I’ve raised throughout the series. In fact, if you have any questions you want to see answered, I hope you’ll leave them in the comments section below. I really don’t want to risk missing anything!

I got the cover art for Wolf Tales 11 the other day, and as usual, it’s gorgeous! What do you think?
It’s got a different feel from the others–the color scheme is more along the lines of my DemonSlayers books. Not sure if that’s on purpose or just the current “color of the day” for bookcovers, but what I really love is the female model–she looks exactly the way I picture Liana, who has a fairly good role in WT10 and 11. Of course, the guy looks more like Logan Pierce than Adam Wolf, but I’ll take what I can get…and you KNOW how those Chanku are! I’m sure Liana and Logan have diddled at some point…

Wolf Tales 10 is out, and I’m hearing great things from readers. I was a bit worried about this one–killing off a character is frowned upon in romances, but as I told readers, this IS paranormal. Dead doesn’t necessarily mean gone… I can promise a few tears and a lot of smiles with this one, and you will never again hear the phrase, Louiseville Slugger, in quite the same way…

Anyway, that’s about all the news I’ve got for now. My editor assures me that, even though the series is ending with 12, there’s a good chance I’ll be able to bring it back at some point, so I’m tending to think of it more as if I’m just going on hiatus. You know…sort of like killing off characters in a paranormal romance–they might be dead, but they’re never really gone. And please, let me know what story lines you want to see settled. I really appreciate your input, and I’ve discovered that often my readers have much better memories than I do when it comes to the nitty-gritty about my books! I will be following up on those hieroglyphics that were discovered on the cavern walls in the cave beneath Anton’s Montana home (Wolf Tales VII) and telling you more about Lily and her amazing abilities. She’s definitely her father’s daughter! But remind me, if you will, of other things I need to remember. I’ll be picking a few names from those leaving comments to win a free book, so even if you just leave a post saying “HI!” you’re entered!

If you’re 18 or over (yes, they’re WAY hot) check out first chapter excerpts of Wolf Tales 10 and Wolf Tales 11

>I almost forgot! I just heard from Danielle, one of the reviewers at Coffee Time Romance, letting me know that Wolf Tales 10 has been given the CTRR (Coffee Time Recommended Read) award.

One thing Kensington consistently excels at is extraordinary cover art. I’ve had some absolutely gorgeous, sensual covers for my Wolf Tales series, and there have been others–Elizabeth Amber’s Lords of Satyr series comes to mind–that have been just as beautiful, and every bit as sexy. I’ve never felt there was anything at all offensive about any of the covers, so imagine my surprise when I got a couple of author copies of my latest book, the anthology Sexy Beast V that I’m in with Vonna Harper and Crystal Jordan, and realized the bottom half of the cover had been whited out with some funky, foggy looking smears! It turns out that one of the major bookstore chains disapproved of the art because the model’s hip and thigh were exposed. Now, considering that I’ve had more than one past cover with entirely naked couples on the front, I’ll admit I was really surprised that this beautiful cover, out of all the others, was singled out as one that someone, somewhere thought offensive. I did an obviously skewed poll (I was asking my readers, after all) what they thought of the two covers. I have both of them posted side by side on my website (in case I can’t figure out how to post them here) if you’d like to take a look at them: http://www.katedouglas.com/eroticromance/id57.htm To my surprise, I’ve had almost three hundred responses! A few folks agreed with the bookseller and figured that the original art might be too racy for public display, but the bulk of the replies were in favor of the original. Many of them mentioned Elizabeth’s books, since there is even more nudity on those covers, but a lot of them wondered if the model had been a woman in the same state of undress, if anyone would have complained. In fact, that comment came up so often that it really made me wonder if the decision was, indeed, sexist? Would a naked woman have passed muster where my gorgeous naked guy got covered up? Do sexy covers catch your eye and make you pick up a book, or do you find yourself passing them by, embarrassed by the naked bodies on display? What do you think? Personally, I go for the sexy ones–they catch my eye AND my attention and definitely make me want to pick up the book and at least read the blurb on the back. A vast majority of the readers who responded to my question said exactly the same thing, but, like I said, they’re my readers and already openly admit to liking the sexy stuff! I’d love to hear your opinion…and I’d also like to know what your favorite book cover is by any author in the Aphrodisia line. I think they’re all posted here on the site. Thank you!

Okay, it’s my first time to write a blog on our new Writerspace site, and I’m late, but if I write real fast I’ll get it done before midnight and still be officially on my day…First of all, I really want to add my new video trailer for Wolf Tales VI…

Cool, isn’t it? It’s a mini trailer using nothing more than the graphics from my cover. And this leads me to my topic…friends. As writers, we don’t get out much. We stay in our rooms, glued to our computers and write. Our friends are the ones we know online, the other authors who support us and who understand our weird lives and crazy thought processes, the readers who keep us going with their wonderful letters and the pressure to write MORE, MORE, MORE… (and yeah, we DO love it!) They’re the loyal followers who show up at our chats, the ones who go online and talk about our books. Often our friends are our agents and our editors–and whoever told me it’s a bad idea to be friends with your agent doesn’t know mine! They’re also the people we interact with who help us in our business–publicists, website owners, list owners, and, to come full circle in my case, the one who does my video trailers.

I remember when Sheila Clover didn’t even have English attached to her name (before Ed!), back when she started with book trailers years ago–I think the first ones she did were for Christine Feehan–at least those were the first ones I remember. I wasn’t even published yet, but damn was I impressed! I though how cool it would be to have a book advertised that way…of course, at that point I was still thinking how cool it would be to have a book at all! Now, though, not only does Sheila’s company, COS Productions, do my trailers, I consider Sheila and her husband my friends…business is cool that way.

Anyway, when I was at the RWA conference in San Francisco, hanging out at the Kensington cocktail party and then the PASIC party, I looked around and saw so many terrific people I’ve known mostly online, people who have become my friends. They probably know more about me than the people I see face to face, and they’ve probably heard more of my personal woes and complaints, celebrated my victories and teased me out of my doldrums more often than any of the people I may have known far longer. It’s a special community we have, where we know one another without actually making contact for most of the year, but thank goodness for the occasional conference where we can finally put a face to a name, get a hug and look someone in the eye–after we check out the spot between their boobs where the name tag is hanging–and say hello to a friend.

I want to know about your friends…do you have people in the real world you actually see on a regular basis, people who understand who you are, or do you actually feel closer to the ones you’ve met online in any one of the many communities out there? I just about have to opt for the online friends I’ve made…they “see” me a lot more than the others do, and for some reason, they still manage to put up with me!

Kate Douglas
www.katedouglas.com