What is your favorite part of writing? I love getting to know the characters and spending time with them. Even after a book is over, they stay with me like old friends.
What is your least favorite part of writing? Proof reading and editing. No matter how many times I go through a book, there’s always something (usually much more than one thing) I miss.
Tell us about your hero. Give us one of his strengths and one of his weaknesses. Jonah is a loyal, hardworking man who has always had a lot of responsibility. His greatest strength is his dedication to his family, but it’s also his greatest weakness because he feels like he has to take care of everyone and doesn’t like to admit when he needs help.
Tell us about your heroine. Give us one of her strengths and one of her weaknesses. Mercy is a compassionate, independent woman. Living in a time when it was harder for women to actually be independent, she sometimes tries too hard to control her emotions. That’s one of her weaknesses.
Has your muse always known what genre you would write and be published in? I was around nine years old when I saw the movie Love at First Bite and ever since then I’ve loved romance and the paranormal. Most of my books combine the two.
What are you currently working on? Right now I’m working on the sequel to Captain’s Mercy. It focuses on the romance between Jonah’s younger brother, Max, and Grace, a governess with many secrets.
What do you have planned for the future? When I finish Max’s story, I’m planning to write about Max and Jonah’s sister, Faith, and her gorgeous husband-to-be, Geoffrey.
What did you want to be when you were a child? Did you always know you wanted to be a writer? Yes, I’ve always wanted to be a writer. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t telling stories.
Describe the genre of this particular title, and is the only genre you write in? Captain’s Mercy is a historical romance. It also has elements of suspense and mystery. I write in many subgenres of romance, though mostly paranormal, historical and science fiction.
When did you start writing toward publication? When I was sixteen I started submitting work for possible publication. It took ten years before I had a story accepted. It was a short, erotic vampire story.
Excerpt from Captain’s Mercy by Kate Hill
On their way downstairs, she asked, “What were you doing in the attic? I thought I heard howling up there a short time ago and then a crash.”
“The wind, I’m sure. No doubt the crash you heard was Michaels. He tripped over an old trunk. He’s up there now, making repairs on a window that was blown open by the storm. He’s also trying to get rid of more unwanted guests of the flying rodent variety, so I remind you to stay away from the attic.”
“Why do you suppose the pests keep coming back?”
“I’m not sure. My expertise is the sea. Ask me about whales and sharks and I could probably answer. Bats are another story.”
“Do you still go to sea?” she asked, eager to keep her mind off the storm.
“Not as much as I used to.”
“Do you miss it?”
“At times. I miss the straightforwardness of being at sea. The simplicity. Aboard ship, a man is valued more for what he knows than for his bloodlines.”
“You don’t have much use for polite society, do you?”
“As long as rich men keep buying my ships, I like it well enough.”
“Is that why you partnered with Max?”
“Partly. Max is intelligent and good at business. He knows how to mingle with those kinds of people and put them at ease so they’ll make the best deal.”
“I see. The business world is all about using people.”
“Precisely.”
“It sounds very cutthroat and lonely to me.”
“Maybe, but playing the game is better than being poor, isn’t it? I know. I’ve been on that side of it too. Faith and Max don’t remember like I do. They were young when we could barely make ends meet.”
They had reached the library and he gestured for her to sit on the couch. He joined her, but kept a respectable distance.
“So you went to sea to take care of them. Do you ever regret it?”
“Not for an instant. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for them. My only regret is what happened to Robert.” Pain glistened in his dark eyes, taking her aback. He always seemed so strong, even cold at times. He rarely displayed any vulnerability.
Strangely, she wished to comfort him.
“I’m sure what happened to him was quite beyond your control.”
“That’s not the only thing, it seems.” He stared deeply into her eyes and edged closer–so near that they almost touched.
“Mr. Barnes, please.” She had intended the words to sound like a warning. Instead they came out like a plea.
At the next clap of thunder, she instinctively jumped and flung her arms around him. He held her snugly and while she knew she should pull away, she didn’t want to. She felt safe and secure in his embrace, but it was more than that. The feel of his body, his heart beating against her cheek and his divinely masculine scent aroused her in a way she couldn’t deny.
“Mercy,” he murmured. When he covered her mouth in a possessive kiss, she didn’t even try to stop him, but surrendered, just like Macie to Captain Bristle.
Available at
http://www.bookstrand.com/book/captains-mercy
About Kate
Always a fan of romance and the paranormal, Kate Hill started writing over twenty years ago for pleasure. Her first story, an erotic vampire tale, was accepted for publication in 1996. Since then she has sold over one hundred short stories, novellas and novels. When she’s not working on her books, Kate enjoys reading, working out and watching horror movies.
Website: http://www.kate-hill.com
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Kate-Hill/e/B002BLS7OW
Blogs: http://www.kate-hill.com/blog
http://www.kate-hill.com/compellingbeastsblog
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16157.Kate_Hill