Author Spotlight Saturday Part 2 ~ Kate James & Elizabeth Heiter

Welcome to Part #2 of our Author Spotlight Saturday with Kate James and Elizabeth Heiter. Check out the first part from yesterday! We had a lot of fun interviewing these ladies!

Do you ever take characteristics or nuances from close friends or family when working on character development and if so has that friend or family member noticed and what was their response to it?

Kate: I read an article some time ago that referred to fictionalizing facts. I believe every author does this to a degree. I certainly do.

Writing about what I know or have experienced leads to a more genuine, believable story, in my opinion. My background and experiences provide a wide variety of ideas and perspectives, and I hope they serve to enrich my writing. Although I don’t do it consciously, I’m certain I’ve taken characteristic and nuances from people I now and given them to my characters. No one has called me on it yet!

Elizabeth: While I’ve never straight-up tried to write a person I know, I have definitely borrowed characteristics and traits of people and blended them into characters! I think it’s natural – writers are observers by nature, and part of what we see ends up finding its way into our books. No one has called me on it either…except for with Evelyn! I’ve had people tell me they see pieces of me in her! (I choose to believe they’re talking about her determination and not her social skills! )

Kate: I can definitely say that your social skills are far superior to Evelyn’s! You raise a good point, though, because my friends have said that they see pieces of me in my heroines!

What’s your favorite treat?

Kate: Anything with chocolate in it!

Elizabeth: I’m with you, Kate! If it involves chocolate, I’m there.

What’s your favorite place to read/write?

Although we sold it recently, my husband and I were fortunate to own a beautiful cottage in Lake of Bays in Ontario on the shore of a small lake. We had a guest suite on the main floor overlooking the lake. It was one of my favorite places to read or write.

Another favorite spot—weather permitting—is our gazebo in the backyard of our house. You can probably appreciate why this view would be inspiring! That’s me in the picture with my critique team, black Labs Harley and Logan!

Finally, when the snow if falling outside, I like to read or write in my office at home. I love to curl up in a comfortable recliner facing the fireplace with my laptop actually on my lap. As you can see in this picture, my trusted critique team is again close by, even if they are less engaged! This is one of my all-time favorite places to read and write!

Elizabeth: Your writing views are definitely inspiring!! I used to sometimes drive out to my mom’s house and write next to her pool with a cup of coffee and (you guessed it!) some chocolate! There, I’d have a goofy Newfoundland to “supervise” my writing.

At home, I generally deal with marketing and business items in my office, and take my writing into my dining room. I get a lot of “help” from my birds (and by help, I mean sitting on my shoulder, running across the keyboard or flying around the room and making me laugh!).

Kate: Oh, the running-across-the-keyboard reminded of the time Logan became a little too enthusiastic about his critiquing, and I had to buy a new laptop. Yes, that’s a tooth mark on left center of the screen!

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Kate: I’ve been fortunate to live in a number of countries and visit many more. Although I love to travel, I’m very happy living right where I am!

Elizabeth: I have to say the same! Although it would be lovely to live closer to the ocean (the sound of the waves rushing ashore inspires me) or somewhere with a little less cold (Michigan is covered in a lot of snow as I write this), I’m close to family, and that makes it the perfect place to be!

Thank you, again Jennifer, for hosting us on your blog, and a very special thanks to all our readers who make it possible for us to do what we love.

Happy reading!

About the Authors

Kate James Bio

Kate James spent much of her childhood abroad before attending university in Canada. She built a successful business career, but her passion has always been literature. As a result, Kate turned her energy to her love of the written word. Her writing has been recognized with a number of awards, including first place honors for Silver Linings in both the First Coast Romance Writers’ Published Beacon Contest and Ancient City Romance Authors’ Heart of Excellence Readers’ Choice Award. Her November 2014 Harlequin Heartwarming release, A Child’s Christmas, received first-place honors from Southern Magic, the Birmingham Chapter of the Romance Writers of America, for the 2015 Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, placed second in the Ancient City Romance Authors’ Heart of Excellence Readers’ Choice Award, and was a finalist in RWA’s Desert Rose Chapter’s Golden Quill Award and the Colorado Romance Writers’ Award of Excellence. Finally, her October 2015 release, When the Right One Comes Along, the first book in her K-9 trilogy, has received a Best Book of 2015 award in the contemporary category.

She and her husband, Ken, enjoy traveling and the outdoors with their beloved Labrador Retrievers, Harley and Logan.

Kate would love to hear from you. You can connect with her by e-mail (readers@kate-james.com), through her website (www.kate-james.com), her Facebook page (www.facebook.com/katejamesbooks), Twitter (@katejamesbooks) or mail at PO Box 446, Schomberg, ON, L0G 1T0, Canada.

Keeping her safe at all costs

Could their backgrounds be any more different? Rick Vasquez, a K-9 unit sergeant with the San Diego Police Department, fled drug-related violence in Mexico as a boy. Madison Long, who recently became primary veterinarian to the SDPD's canines, is the privileged daughter of a judge. Rick has dedicated his life to curtailing cross-border drug trafficking and preventing other young boys from being drawn into the dark world of the cartels. But everything Rick and Madison value, and the growing love between them, is threatened by the dangers of Rick's job, and the risks he's determined to take…

Buy Links for When Love Matters Most:

Chapters (Kobo)

Elizabeth Heiter - Bio

Critically acclaimed author Elizabeth Heiter likes her suspense to feature strong heroines, chilling villains, psychological twists, and a little bit (or a lot!) of romance. Her research has taken her into the minds of serial killers, through murder investigations, and onto the FBI Academy’s shooting range.

Elizabeth graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in English Literature. She’s a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America and Romance Writers of America. Elizabeth is also a regular columnist for International Thriller Writers at The Thrill Begins as part of "Murderers Row."

Elizabeth's novels have received praise from Lee Child, J.T. Ellison, Jeffery Deaver, Tess Gerritsen, R.L. Stine, Allison Brennan, Laura Griffin, Suzanne Brockmann, Hank Phillippi Ryan and Zoë Sharp. Fresh Fiction called the heroine of her Profiler series "one of the most amazing characters created in print."

Elizabeth loves to chat with readers! You can find her at her website at www.elizabethheiter.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/elizabeth.heiter.author, on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ElizabethHeiter or via email at liz@elizabethheiter.com.

Danger is all around her…

What should have been a routine investigation for FBI profiler Evelyn Baine turns ominous when she's kidnapped by a dangerous cult of survivalists. As her worst nightmares become a reality, she begins to question what she's seeing. Because the longer she's inside their compound, the more she realizes this group is not what it seems to be.

The next terrorist threat is right beside her…

As the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team closes in, Evelyn suspects she's stumbled onto an emerging terrorist threat—and a cult leader who has a score to settle with the FBI. If Hostage Rescue breaches the compound, Evelyn's dead for sure. If they don't, the cult may unleash a surprise attack that could leave the whole country shattered.

Buy Links for Seized