I know we’re already a few days into the month of [Ack!] August, but it’s only just the first Tuesday of the month. And we all know what that means – a special monthly author! And almost inevitably… the author interview. So without further ado… Katharine Ashe answers some questions for my *coughs* super professional on topic author interview!
What’s your favorite drink? (Alcoholic, and non-alcoholic)
Champagne.
A person has you trapped and will shoot you if you do not a) eat yourself sick on something and b) watch a marathon for 72 hours. What do you choose to eat, and what show/series or movie would you watch?
Hilarious question. But I can’t answer “a”. I feel queasy even considering it. As for “b”, the Buffy tv series ties with the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Can I watch both and still keep my life? Pretty please?
Which fairy tale would you most like to be in? Least? Why?
Most: These days, with two jobs and a busy family life, I have to say Sleeping Beauty. All that time to just lay around doing nothing while everyone takes care of troubles, then to be woken by a handsome man! I’m changing my name to Aurora now.
Least: The Little Mermaid. Disney’s happily-ever-after version aside, I don’t care for the idea of drowning my man from love. Now, drowning him in love, that’s another thing altogether.
What five dead authors would you invite to a dinner party if you could? What about general historical figures?
Authors: Jane Austen, Dorothy Dunnett, Virginia Woolf, Virgil and Francis Petrarch.
Historical figures: Gandhi, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King Jr., Boudica and Susan B. Anthony.
If you won the next SuperPowerBallMegaBucks Lottery (whichever), what are the first three things you would do? (And if those things had nothing to do with money – what would you do with the money?)
Pay off all my loved ones’ debts; set up my son, nephews and nieces with money for college; and donate the remainder to local and regional charities that fight child abuse and poverty. I’d also like a red Mustang rag top convertible, but maybe I can buy that with money from all the product endorsement deals I’ll get simply from being the SuperPowerBallMegaBucks winner, right? 😛
What is one question you always wish as an author people would ask but nobody ever does?
I can’t think of even one!
Celebrity/Author death match – who would you most want to take on? [you don’t have to say why ;)]
Cherry Adair because it would be BEYOND FUN. And of course she’d win and that would make me happy. #IadoreCherry
What’s a career you could never do? Why?
Astronaut. Discomfort with enclosed spaces. Desperate need for fresh air, lots of space to run around in, and my dog.
What author promo has been most effective for you?
I don’t know which has been most effective in terms of selling books, but I can tell you what I enjoy the most: while I like chatting and having fun online, I love love love meeting readers in person. In fact tonight (August 6) I’ll be at Lady Jane’s Salon in Naperville doing an advance reading from I Married the Duke and I cannot wait!
What was your favorite book as a child?
There were too many to choose just one! But my favorite series as an older child were the Black Stallion books by Walter Farley. I was in love with The Black. He was pure beauty, speed and wild power, and entirely untamable, but he would do anything – anything – for love. That’s my kind of hero.
Do you like sports- yes or no? which, and college or professional?
I do. My husband writes books about international soccer, so we watch a lot of that, and I teach at Duke, so naturally college basketball is a family fave. My favorite sport to attend live is—hands down—ice hockey.
You have your choice between any of the X-Men’s super powers… or the ability to eat unlimited cake and stay the same size. Which do you choose?
CAKE.
Which would you prefer? Never having to tweeze/brow shape for the rest of your life, or not have to cut your fingernails, or toe nails?
Brows. Nails are easy to do while watching tv or reading a book. 🙂
Hostile alien invasion, or zombie apocalypse? Which one do you think is more likely to happen? Which one is scarier?
As Ellie’s father says in the movie Contact, “If we’re alone in the universe, that’s a lot of wasted space.” So I’m guessing aliens. Zombies are not my cup o’ tea.
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever done for research? What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned while doing research? In general, or for your current book?
The most fascinating—and disturbing—was the transportation of white Englishwomen to the Indian subcontinent to marry army and East India Company men so they wouldn’t be tempted to marry native women or take them as concubines. These women were essentially poor mail order brides, though not hand chosen for specific men, and many of them didn’t really know what they were getting into when they agreed to set sail. I learned that while working on In the Arms of a Marquess.
Fortunately my research isn’t all about the dark secrets of history. 🙂 In researching my new Prince Catchers series, I’ve spent fabulous days and nights at spectacular country houses in England and France. Several scenes in I Married the Duke (coming out on August 27) takes place in a chateau that suspiciously resembles Chenonceau. It’s fairy tale dreamy!
Isn’t Katharine a great sport? Now, you know the drill. Ask Katharine any question you like! About her books, or otherwise. And feel free to ask her ridiculous zany questions as well. I always like to challenge you guys to pull out all the stops. 😉 Someone who participates in the fun will win a signed copy of my novel How a Lady Weds a Rogue plus its companion novella How to Marry a Highlander.
Heads up: at the moment the following two kindle titles are only $2.99 – When a Scot Loves a Lady, How to be a Proper Lady. How a Lady Weds a Rogue and I Married the Duke, Katharine’s upcoming release are both $4.74 while How to Marry a Highlander is $1.99
chocolate or vanilla
Adamantly chocolate. 🙂
agreed
How did you decide what places to stay in when you went to England & France? Were you on a tour?
Generally I research locations that suit my story’s needs–like Scottish estates for WHEN A SCOT LOVES A LADY or French castles for I MARRIED THE DUKE. Then I travel there either alone or with a girlfriend, and we drive drive drive until I find the place that works best for my story. For my road trip novel, HOW A LADY WEDS A ROGUE, I drove back and forth on my hero and heroine’s route for a week, taking every tiny side road and path and getting out of the car and walking as often as I could. It was so much fun!
Where did you put your Oscar? Are they holding up your books on your bookshelf?
LOL, I don’t have an Oscar, ki. But I do have a lovely award for my novel CAPTURED BY A ROGUE LORD that sits on the top of my bookcase beside my mother’s wedding photo. 🙂
Teehee Lime did give us permission to ask ridiculous zany questions! But that lovely award must look really nice right next to your mother’s picture. I believe she really appreciates it. 😀
LOL. Okay, so if I had an Oscar… I think I’d carry it around with me all the time. 🙂
Loved the interview thank you. Loads of fun.
If you were only allowed to wear one color all your life what would it be? Keep in mind that BLACK is NOT a color.
Weren’t Lime’s questions so great, Mary? 🙂
Um… I was going to say black. So I’ll go with green, my favorite color, though honestly I look awful in it. But wearing it would make me happy.
Besides the settings of your books where else would you like to travel to and in what time period – and why there/then?
I’d love to visit St. Petersburg, Russia, in the era of the tsars. Ireland too. And the Eastern Mediterranean. And… I have a long list. 🙂
If you could time travel, would you go back or forward in time? And how far in either direction?
For myself, I’d love to go forward, I think it would be amazing to see where we are 100 years from now.
I’m a historian by both professions, Barbara, so I’d have to say back. But I’d want to come home! I like being able to vote. 🙂
The powers that be have decided that for one week, you will live as someone else. Which would you choose and why: Angela Merkel of Germany, Angelina Jolie, or Angie Hicks of Angie’s List?
Funny question, LSU! I… don’t know. I’m a bit shy of the camera, so Merkel and Jolie wouldn’t work for me, but I’m not a tech person. So if I could just do the people connecting part of Hicks’s life, that might work for me.
Thanks so much for hosting me on your lovely blog today, Lime! Your interview questions are hilarious. Loved them!
Have you ever met a prince?
Only in my dreams, bn100. Only in my dreams. 🙂
I can’t think of any zany questions *pouts*. I love the cover of your latest book!
Thanks, Linda! It’s a favorite of mine, too.
I’m just stopping by to say hi. I love Katharine’s books!! And can attest to her love for sweets. Tweeted.
Thanks, Ella! How kind of you. 🙂
You have been asked to write and produce a reality TV show. What would your show be about?