Kate Hill Newsletter #1
September 2003
Contents
Greeting
Upcoming Releases
Excerpts from the VAMPIRES AT HEART anthology
Welcome to the first issue of my newsletter! Thank you for signing
up for my group and I hope you enjoy yourself. First, I would
like to apologize for any formatting problems. I checked the file but
sometimes the email version doesn't look like the actual file. I will
try to work on any problems so the next issue will appear normal.
A copy of the newsletter is also stored in the files on the group's
homepage.
Right now on the homepage, there are short stories and
excerpts in the files. For any of you who are pet-crazy like me,
feel free to add a picture of your pet in the Pets photo album. I've
added my canine and feline muses, Otis and Rinki Dink and my
"niece" Oreo. The current poll about your favorite type of
paranormal romance will end on October 1st, so take a second to
cast your vote!
Included in this newsletter is the blurb from my upcoming release
"Dream Stallion." This is the first in a new series of books about
shapeshifting winged centaurs (Horsemen) and their human
mates. The next two books in the series "Captive Stallion" and
"Highland Stallion" are completed and being polished up for my
editor.
If you have any comments or ideas about what you would like to
see at the newsgroup's homepage or in the newsletter, please
email me at katehill@sprintmail.com .
Have a great month!
Kate
UPCOMING RELEASES
DREAM STALLION (Tentatively scheduled for release in
September 2003)
Legend states that a Horseman and a human woman who share
dreams are destined to mate for life.
Terra, an elite Fighting Carrier, has spent his nights in delicious
torment, sharing dreams with a woman who stirs his soul like no
other. Unable to control his desire, he travels to her home village
to claim her.
Inez enjoys her freedom too much to chain herself to a husband,
even one as magnificent as the rugged, black-coated Horseman
who visits her dreams. Yet when astride his sleek equine back or
wrapped in his steely human arms, she cannot deny the truest
love she has ever known.
VAMPIRES AT HEART (anthology with Kate Hill and Claudia
Rose tentatively scheduled for release in October 2003)
Much More Than Blood by Kate Hill:
For years Rosa Ferrer has indulged her every whim, no matter
how violent or debauched. What's a spoiled vampiress to do
when she's run out of fun? Seek an unsuspecting mortal and
create the perfect mate for herself.
Royal Marine Commando Alik Lennox faces his ultimate test of
courage against an enemy for which there is no defense. He
cannot escape his fate, or can he? In a Scottish pub he meets a
beautiful woman with whom he expects to have a one-night stand,
a farewell gift to himself. Instead, he finds the impossible. . .
Prey For Me by Claudia Rose
What would you do if you found a handsome vampire in your
basement?
Burnt out from solving one violent crime too many, Detective
Jessica Croft welcomes the chance to take a break from her job
and throw her energy into renovating an old mansion inherited
from her Aunt Rose. But Jess's life takes a bizarre turn for the
worse when she knocks down a false wall in the basement of her
new home and discovers Prey-an enigmatic vampire with a death
wish-interred within. Prey's unintentional liberation attracts demon
vampires like bees to a honeypot. Caught in the middle, Jess
becomes a reluctant pawn in their vicious game. Now she must
fight for her life and for Prey's love while being hounded at every
step. But is she prepared to accept the terrible price she will have
to pay for them to be together?
UNEDITED EXCERPT FROM MUCH MORE THAN BLOOD
BY KATE HILL FROM THE VAMPIRES AT HEART
ANTHOLOGY COMING SOON FROM ELLORA'S CAVE
Desire stirred Rosa’s belly, made her clit throb, and brought
pleased laughter to her throat. Truly the last place she expected to
find just the sort of man she’d been looking for was in a bar. She’d
hung around enough bars – even owned a few – to know the sort of
men generally found there wouldn’t be the kind she’d want to make
immortal. Usually she considered shortening their pathetic lives
rather than lengthening them.
She’d only stopped at the pub to get out of the rain and enjoy a
drink before heading for a more populated town or city where
she’d have a variety of men to look over. After all, she’d been
visiting her Scottish training hall for the past month and knew just
about everyone in town. She wondered how she could have
possibly missed Alik.
One look at the man’s cornflower blue eyes made her pulse race.
His eyes had been almost vampiric in their intensity – a quality
rare in mortals. The rest of him hadn’t been hard to take, either.
His nose was on the long side, but well-shaped, his lips firm, and
his teeth even. Rather than sharp cheekbones and the square jaw
that usually appealed to her, his face was full, giving him a look
of boyish innocence – an intriguing contrast to those bedroom
eyes.
His build had nearly blown her away. Tall and lean with broad
shoulders and long legs of hard, curved muscle, he looked made
to fuck. The rolled up sleeves of his gray sweatshirt revealed
solid, hair-dusted forearms boasting several prominent veins. A
silver bracelet adorned one strong wrist, the understated piece
of jewelry appearing oddly erotic.
When he talked, his deep voice with its thick accent, choppy in
places but with delightfully rolling Rs, sent a passionate shiver
down her spine.
What intrigued her most, however, was his ability to shield his
thoughts from her. Usually she liked to tease men by using her
psychic skills to read their minds for things like their name,
address, phone number, and type of pet. It was a little game she
enjoyed playing with mortals, since most of them were blissfully
unaware of their own telepathic abilities. When she’d tried
accessing Alik’s thoughts, it had been nearly impossible, as if a
physical barrier blocked his mind from hers. She’d nearly
missed reading his name and had decided to stop after that,
since she had no desire to look like a fraud or a fool with a
rotten pick-up line.
Unfortunately he didn’t seem to care much about his lines. He
brought arrogance to new levels for a vampire, let alone a
mortal. What kind of man in the twenty first century still
frowned on females possessing fighting skills? And that
wrestling in between the sheets comment had to go – even
though in some secret part of her mind the image of the two
of them entwined, naked, made her ache with desire.
When she’d huffed out of the pub, she’d hoped he’d follow,
though she couldn’t be sure. She smelled his attraction to her,
but a man like him might not act on impulse. Apparently,
she’d jumped to conclusions, because his body now warmed
hers as she stood in front of her cottage, unlocking the door.
After switching on the light for his sake, she slipped off her
coat and tossed it on a chair. She held out her hand for his
jacket.
Glancing around the small but pleasantly-decorated room, he
shrugged off his brown bomber jacket which she took and
tossed atop hers.
“Would you like a drink?”
He shook his head. “Had enough at the pub. A shower’d
be nice,though.”
Rosa smiled. “Care for company?”
“I was hoping for it.”
UNEDITED EXCERPT FROM PREY FOR ME BY CLAUDIA
ROSE FROM THE VAMPIRES AT HEART ANTHOLOGY
COMING SOON FROM ELLORA'S CAVE
Jess edged closer. Not too close, but enough to play the beam
over every inch of the naked body. It must be a sculpture of some
sort, it couldn't be a corpse. For one thing, no man was this
perfect. He.it.was beautiful, there was no other way to describe
him. A little thin for someone so large perhaps, but still
marvelously proportioned.
Her pulse returning to normal, Jess calmly studied the
extraordinary vision before her. Long limbs, alabaster skin,
slender but powerful hands, large pecs, strong neck, square jaw,
delicately shaped lips, a fine bridged nose,
and eyes a little too deeply sunken and shadowed to be ideal.
"Will you take that light out of my eyes?"
Jess's earlier scream was a whisper compared to the terror-
stricken shriek she gave this time. Her torch clattered to the
floor and went out.
Kate Hill Newsletter #2
October 2003
Contents:
Greeting
Polls
Upcoming Releases
Happy October and welcome to issue #2 of my newsletter!
On the group's homepage, another story has been added to the
files section under short stories. A Tale of Love is a fantasy
about a healer and her warrior husband who are reunited after
he is thought to be killed in battle.
If any of you have visited the Vampire Vixens site, we now have
a newsletter that includes information about new and upcoming
releases as well as other news. If you're interested in the
newsletter or would just like a look at the site or the message
boards, the address is http://www.vampire-vixens.com.
For those of you who are curious about Dream Stallion, I
don't have any definite release information, but it should be
soon. I'm very much looking forward to seeing the cover for it!
The results of the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice awards
are in, and while my book The Immaculate didn't win, I was
thrilled that it was nominated in the Best Small Press
Paranormal category. Congratulations to all the winners. For
any of you who are going to the Romantic Times convention
in Kansas City, I hope you have a fantastic time and I wish I could
be there!
This month at my website, there is a new contest that will end
on October 24th. The prize is a gothic teddy bear. For details
visit the contest section at http://www.kate-hill.com. My site
address has changed because I've finally gotten my own
domain!
In closing, I wish you all a fantastic month and a Happy
Halloween!
Kate
POLLS:
The results of last month's poll question (What is your
favorite type of paranormal romance?) are:
Vampire 48.28%
Shapeshifter (werewolf) 20.69%
Shapeshifter (other than werewolf) 20.69%
Ghost 10.34%
Other 0%
My current work in progress is another installment in my
Ancient Blood vampire series (contemporary vamps Seraphim,
Vincent, Matthew, etc.).
In this book, three male vampire agents from the Network
are assigned to protect three human women from becoming
part of a ritual that could be used to bring more evil into the
world. To keep risks at a minimum, each agent is paired with
the woman he should be least attracted to. Instead sparks
fly between all the couples.
This book will include a triple wedding, but I've had several
ideas about where the wedding will take place. This month's
poll question is:
Where should the triple wedding in Cryptic
Passions take place?
To vote, go to the poll section of the group's homepage and
cast your vote.
The choice that wins the poll will be the one I'll use in the
book. Thank you in advance for voting!
UPCOMING RELEASES:
Dream Stallion
Vampires at Heart (anthology with Claudia Rose)
Kate Hill Newsletter #3
November 2003
CONTENTS:
GREETING
POLLS
REVIEWS
SHORT STORY: BUSINESS AND PLEASURE
Hi, Everybody! I hope you're all doing well. Those who
celebrate Halloween, I hope you had a great one.
October was a terrific month for me. I was thrilled to have
two new releases, DREAM STALLION and VAMPIRES
AT HEART (anthology with Claudia Rose). If any of you
have gotten around to reading them, I'd love to hear
feedback, either good or bad. I also have a flash fiction
story GOD OF FIRE online at http://www.sensualvenus.com,
a website that publishes free sensual short stories and
poetry for women. The site is very nice, if you would like to
check it out.
There's a new section of my website dedicated to the
Horsemen Series (Dream Stallion, Captive Stallion, and
Highland Stallion). It's located at
http://www.kate-hill.com/horsemen.html
and includes information about the books and characters
as well as a quiz to match you up with your most compatible
Horseman. On the main page is the Name the Baby Contest
where you can enter your suggested name for Inez and Terra's
son for the chance to win a $20 gift certificate to Devilish Dot's
(http://www.devilishdots.com).
The short story this month is Business and Pleasure. I've
included it in the newsletter and also uploaded it to the short
stories section under files on the newsgroup homepage.
I have no new releases due out until 2004, but it will be a busy
year, as the following books are tentatively scheduled:
Ancient Blood: The Darkness Therein
Ancient Blood: The Immaculate
Ancient Blood: God of the Grim
Ancient Blood: Cryptic Passions
Ancient Blood: In Black
Horsemen Series: Captive Stallion
Horsemen Series: Highland Stallion
Knights of the Ruby Order: Lock
Knights of the Ruby Order: Mica
Knights of the Ruby Order: Blaze
In closing, I hope you all have a wonderful November!
Kate
POLLS:
For last month's poll question (Where should
the triple wedding in Cryptic Passions take place) the
favorite answer was "in an Eastern European castle"
which took 80 % of the votes. So, the wedding will take
place there. Thank you for voting!
This month's poll question is What kind of chest is most
desirable on a man? To cast your vote, visit the polls
section of the group's homepage.
REVIEWS FROM OCTOBER:
For Dream Stallion:
I wasn't sure at first that I wanted to read about a
centaur-like hero, but I was very quickly drawn into
the story. DREAM STALLION and the Horsemen
series are must- reads!
--Denise Powers (read the full review at
http://sr.thebestreviews.com)
For Deep Red:
4 1/2 Stars!
Deep Red is more than just a vampire romance, it
is also a mystery and a hotly sexy journey where
doing what is right can be very difficult.
--Nicole La Folle (read the full review at
http://www.timeless-tales.net)
For Knights of the Ruby Order: Torn:
In KNIGHTS OF THE RUBY ORDER: TORN,
Kate Hill creates a world that is brutal and colorful,
weaving a story of honor and hope, deceit and
triumph.
--D. Sullivan (read the full review at
http://www.theromancestudio.com)
SHORT STORY:
Business and Pleasure
Kate Hill Newsletter #4
December 2003
CONTENTS:
GREETING
EXCERPT: KNIGHTS OF THE RUBY ORDER:LOCK
POLLS
REVIEWS
SHORT STORY (coming soon)
Hi, everybody! The holiday season is here and
I hope you're all having a great one so far. Right
now there's a blizzard outside and though driving
in it is a pain, nothing looks prettier. My dog, Otis,
just had a blast running around in the snow, but I'm
not quite as enthusiastic about it as he his. :-)
I don't have any new releases this month and
won't have another until 2004. Knights of the Ruby
Order: Lock is tentatively scheduled for release
in February, 2004, and I've included a short
excerpt from it below. This month's short story
"Holiday in Hornview" is about a Horseman and
his mate who finally meet in person on the eve
of Unity Feast, their world's biggest winter holiday.
It will be sent to you in a separate post early this
week. I apologize for the extra post this month for
the story. Also, this month's contest is for a
"Girls Only" holiday package. More details about
it are below. There is another contest at my website
for a different holiday package. Details on how to
enter are at http://www.kate-hill.com/co.html
Also, don't forget The Romance Junkies Christmas
Party Chat (http://www.romancejunkies.com/chat.html)
on 12/07/2003 at 9 pm EST. It sounds like it will be
plenty of fun with lots of prizes from many authors.
I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday season,
Kate
EXCERPT FROM KNIGHTS OF THE RUBY
ORDER: LOCK
The Archipelago of SothSea shone like green jewels
upon rippled blue satin. The most beautiful islands in
the world existed in that tropical sea, but their name
alone raised fear and apprehension in the strongest men
and women. The Archipelago was home to the Pirates
of SothSea, the largest group of thieves and murderers
in the tropics. Their reputation extended to lands far
north, into waters of ice and kingdoms scattered across
the tundra. If the Pirates of SothSea organized, they
would rival the conquering kingdom of Zaltana, but the
seafaring warriors were too independent and greedy to
unite under one ruler, though some were looked to as
unspoken leaders during times of crisis. A few were
grudgingly respected for their prowess and cunning, but
only one was feared by even the worst of the lot.
Lock the White, tall, long-limbed, with a
body formed of big bones and hard muscle, stood on the
water’s edge of a secluded cove behind his home on
SeaSpider Island, south most in the Archipelago. Cutoff
trousers covered his legs just below the knee. As waves
broke on shore, they buried his bare feet and splashed his
calves, pasting sparse, dark hair to the curve of muscle
and bone. Lock’s face remained stoic as he stared at the
sun-speckled water, his eyes, the same clear, pale blue as
the sea, a stark contrast with his dark brown skin. His
face was a sculpture of sharp angles and planes, his
cheekbones like those of some great cat, his forehead
broad. Tendrils of long, kinky hair grabbed the muscles of
his perspiring chest. He wore a beard, wiry in spite of
constant trimming. Though Lock had only recently past is
thirty first year, white streaks had seeped into his
bark-colored hair and beard a decade earlier and had
continued to spread each year since, inspiring his name
among the Pirates of SothSea.
The scourge landed hard across Lock’s broad
back. The blow upon already torn and bleeding flesh should
have staggered him, but his posture remained straight, only
his pale eyes blinking slowly with each strike revealed that
his mind was not floating in some merciful trance.
The whip fell again. Blood sprayed into the sea,
dripped down his back, and stained the waist of his trousers,
belted around his narrow waist with a rope of braided
leather.
“That’s enough,” said Karl, the dark-skinned,
green-eyed first mate of Lock’s ship. The man dropped his
arm to his side, the bloodied whip dragging across the
packed, wet sand.
Lock turned, his blue eyes glistening like broken
glass. “You’ll stop when I say. Raise that scourge, or it will
be the last thing you ever feel on your own body!”
Karl knew better than to hesitate. Lock’s threat
wasn’t empty, and if his order was disobeyed, he wouldn’t
hesitate to have his first mate whipped to death.
Turning back to the sea, Lock counted ten more
blows before he jerked the whip from Karl’s callused hand.
He tossed the leather device back at the seaman and
motioned with his head for Karl to disappear.
The darker man melted into the jungle, his
thickly-muscled body soon indiscernible through the trees
and vines as he took the quickest route to the village.
Lock stared into the water for a moment, willing
his heartbeat to slow. He knew what came next, understood
the pain, as he’d felt it so many times before. He strode
directly into the sea, gasping as his lacerated back immersed
in salt water. He felt momentarily dizzy from the pain, but
recouped quickly and waded in deeper. The water would
cleanse his wounds and help prevent infection.
He knew his sailors and servants thought his
self-punishment was madness, but to Lock it was a way of life.
Pain tolerance was required to survive in a vicious world.
He’d begun with small tests, burning with hot wax and candle
flames, scarring with needles. During his travels to the
Kennas, he learned a system of empty-handed fighting arts
and practiced barefoot on the rocky shore at the opposite side
of the island until his soles were tough enough to walk across
beds of hot coals. For the past five years he’d trained himself
to tolerate flogging, pushing himself to endure past the moment
when he needed to scream, but kept his silence. He’d had a
nightmare years before - a nightmare so real that he’d
awakened gasping, drenched in sweat, his entire body
trembling. He’d been amidst a crowd of foreigners, shackled
to a platform in a village square while bounty hunters’ whips
slashed him nearly senseless. Others were punished with him,
but women paid their fines and bought them as slaves, taking
away their freedom, but also their pain. No one made a motion
to pay for Lock, and the bounty hunters waited to hear him
shriek. . .
They’ll never have the pleasure, Lock thought,
stepping out of the ocean.
UPCOMING 2004 RELEASES:
Ancient Blood: Darkness Therein
Ancient Blood: Immaculate
Ancient Blood: God of the Grim
Ancient Blood: Cryptic Passions
Ancient Blood: In Black
Horsemen Series: Captive Stallion
Horsemen Series: Highland Stallion
Knights of the Ruby Order: Lock
Knights of the Ruby Order: Mica
Knights of the Ruby Order: Blaze
POLLS:
If you have the chance, please cast your vote
in this month's poll. The question is:
Would you be interested in having a serialized
romance story included in the newsletter?
The results of last month's poll question "What
kind of chest is most desirable on a man?" are:
Very hairy: 3.33%
Moderately hairy 53.33%
Hairless 26.67%
Doesn't Matter 16.67%
REVIEWS FROM NOVEMBER:
For Knights of the Ruby Order: Torn:
If you want a story filled with danger, excitement
and passion, KNIGHTS OF THE RUBY
ORDER – TORN is the story for you.
--Robin Taylor from The Road to Romance
For Knights of the Ruby Order: Crag:
I can hardly wait until the third in this fantastic
series, LOCK, to be released.
--Robin Taylor from The Road to Romance
For Dream Stallion:
The love, passion and respect these two characters
have for each other is obvious and lovely to see.
--Carolyn from A Romance Review
For Vampires at Heart:
Both authors bring about a mesmerizing tale of love,
lust and danger.
--Jaymi from Fallen Angel Reviews
SHORT STORY: This month's short story "Holiday in
Hornview," set in the Dream Stallion world, will be sent in a
separate email early this week. I hope you enjoy it!
Note: To read Holiday in Hornview, click here.
