30 Days of Demons, Day 26: The Demon Next Door Back to Blog
Update: Thanks for all the comments!! Kate’s winners are…Beth and Elaine G! Congrats, ladies!
Our demon time is starting to wind to an end. Just a few more days of fun…but that’s okay. We can make the most of our time!
Today’s guest author is Kate Austin. Welcome, Kate! I’m so glad that you could us today. I’m eager to learn more about your books! 🙂
The Demon Next Door
I’ve just finished my first ever demon book and sent it off to my publisher, Cobblestone Press. Now I just have to wait and see if they enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. If they do, it’s likely to be available in October.
Ali used to be the lord of all the demons and was as mean and nasty as a demon could be, when a little accident changed everything. Now he’s stuck living in a whole different world and doing something no demon has ever done—falling in love with the woman next door.
Ali’s surprised to find that being a human isn’t anywhere near as easy as it looked to his demon self. He has to look after his house and garden, not to mention making sure that Maryalice doesn’t get into trouble—or at least not any more than she’s already in.
Maryalice’s past is returning to haunt her. Her disastrous prom date has returned, after 20 years, to finish what he started. All she can hope for is that Ali, her sweet and shy neighbor, can muster up some nastiness to help her deal with her past.
My biggest challenge with the book was figuring out a way to turn Ali from an evil demon into a relatively good human being. My partner and I had gone away to the Sunshine Coast while I was thinking about this—and yes, it’s almost always sunny, which is odd seeing as it’s not more than 30 miles from Vancouver, where it’s almost always raining—and one afternoon we sat in a lovely waterfront pub and talked about it over a series of drinks. Yep, sometimes alcohol does help in the brainstorming process. He came up with an idea that I loved to solve this problem and Ali and his brother demons were born. This is the view from the pub—you can see why it was so inspiring.
I’ve also been working on a series of short stories for Cobblestone. They’re included in the line called The Pleasure Club and the first one, The Nymph, is available at the beginning of August.
Professor Geoffrey Jones, noted Marlowe scholar, knows everything about pleasuring a nymph but nothing about real women. So he asks The Pleasure Club to find him a nymph so he can test his fantasy skills before he takes them out into the real world. Calliope has wanted Geoffrey for years and when The Pleasure Club comes to the university looking for an expert in nymphs, they end up in her office. She’s going to do whatever it takes to make sure that Professor Geoffrey Jones never forgets their night together.
The second story, The Nun, should be (fingers crossed) available at the beginning of September. No demons in either of these stories, though I think the next Pleasure Club I write will include a demon. In fact, that’s what I’m going to call it. The Demon.
What else am I working on? As always, way too many things, but I’m doing revisions on the first book in The Losers Club series. That book will go out to agents in the next couple of weeks. I’m preparing to act as bookdoctor at the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference. I’m working on four stories to send to Spice Briefs—my first Brief, Dreamer, is available at eharlequin.com. Eleven other writers and I are working on short stories (I’m one of the editors) for our second annual e-anthology (you can still download the first one, The Twelve Days of Christmas, from my website). This year’s is set on New Year’s Eve and so far is tentatively called First Night.
Thanks, Cynthia, I really enjoyed being here and thanks for letting me tell you all about Ali. I’m looking forward to writing about all his brothers—have they got a surprise coming to them!
I’m going to give away a couple of signed copies of one of my books with a little added surprise included. The only book I can’t send you is Summer Fever because even I don’t have a copy! Go to my website – www.kateaustin.ca – and check out the books page. When you blog about this great month of demons, just mention which book you’d like me to send you. The winners will get picked by Cynthia at the end of the day.
Enjoy those demons!
Kate
Kate writes women’s fiction, magic realism, paranormal and erotica. She writes short fiction, poetry and novels. She’s had dozens of stories and poems published over the years, and her eighth book Seeing Is Believing—about a woman who sees death in photographs—was published in October 2007 and her novella Dreamer is online now from Spice Briefs. She has published nine books since 2005 and has had two stories (and possibly one novella) accepted for publication from Cobblestone Press. Kate blames her mother and her two grandmothers for her reading and writing obsession—all of them were avid readers, and they passed the books and the obsession on to her. You can contact her at her website at www.kateaustin.ca.
Tweet It
Welcome Kate.
Thanks for letting us know about Ali…he sounds really interesting and ‘The Demon Next Door definitely is a book I want to read. Will be lookng forward to his story and those about his brothers. Gotta love those demons! Congratulations and Good Luck!
well i am just getting to know you here, and so far love everything i am reading! and smokin covers do you have a lot of say over the covers?
The Demon Next Door sounds great! I’ll look forward to it.
Seeing Is Believing also sounds like a good read. I will have to track down your backlist!
I’m always looking for new authors to read, yours sounds good!
Hello Kate,
Your book on demons sounds right up my alley. The other books sound just plan hot. Have a great day.
I’ll have to look up your books sometimes. Sounds hot.
I love the premise of The Demon Next Door. I hope the editors agree! I’ve love to read it.
Looks like you’ve got a winner with The Demon Next Door. I’m sure Cobblestone Press will pick it up.
I checked your booklist and Seeing is Believing really caught my eye!!! Hehe!!
Welcome Kate,
We’ve been having a wonderful time here with Cynthia and her Demon’s. I think the Demon Next Door sounds really good and would definitely pick it up.
I am also interested in the Nymph that one sounds really good too. Good luck with your future books.
i cant wait to read these book and all the books that have been on the blog all this month i really cant wait for nypth
Hi Kate,
The Demon Next Door sounds like a great read and I’ll add it to my demon wish list! I’ve read your Seeing is Believing and loved it, I’d love to read The Nymph.
The Demon Next Door is soooo original! Now that is a book I would love to read! The Nymph is another book I would love to read 😀
Shari C, thanks for the congrats – I don’t know what got me started writing about these demons but I love them – they’re worldly in a demon kind of way and they’re naive at the same time. Definitely an interesting combination.
Tina – nope, I don’t know anyone except perhaps Nora Roberts and Stephen King who have much say in their covers but I’ve been blessed from the beginning by the cover gods – both at Harlequin and at Cobblestone. They both have terrific artists working for them…
Chris, thanks. Seeing is Believing is one of those books that really came out of a single sentence, and then just kept rolling. Well, actually, every one of my books starts with the first sentence and absolutely nothing else. It’s definitely an exploration!
Kate
Roberta and Raonaid – thanks so much for dropping by. I, too, have been enjoying the blog this month – I’m learning a whole lot about demons…
Kate
Edie, I hope the editors agree as well. It was such a fun book to write and I’d love the write about the other brothers – Reza is the new lord of the demons and I’m just itching to get my hands on him.
Kate
Valerie – thanks, I think Cobblestone will pick it up (I’m walking around with fingers crossed which makes it hard to do anything, though luckily it’s summer and no pantihose are required), and I’m dying to see the cover they come up with.
Kate
Heather, thanks for dropping by and your vote of confidence in The Demon Next Door. I hope you will like it when it’s available.
Kate
Adela, if you think you’ll like The Nymph, just wait until you see The Nun – it’s so much fun. And very sexy.
Kate
The Nymph looks like a great, spicy read! Congrats on you latest book coming out soon!
Eva S – thanks so much. It’s always great to hear that someone enjoyed a book – and I love the characters in that book so much – the whole family really. I hope you do enjoy The Demon Next Door.
Kate
Amy W – Thanks for checking in today – and I hope you do love both books. They were fun for me to write – I spent my formative years as a writer writing short stories and it was truly a joy to get back to them.
Kate
Rebecca Jean – thanks so much for checking in and The Nymph is definitely spicy – nice characters and kind of fun.
Kate
Congratulations on writing your first book on demons. And if do say so, you have come up with a very original approach 😀 Now you said you submitted the story to Cobblestone and if they like it, it will be available to buy in October. How soon will you know because I am very interested 😀
Also interested to know about your short story series The Pleasure Club. Are these stories interconnected or stand alones?
Now you said to let you know which book you would like to have if we won, I would like The Demon Next Door, but don’t think that is available so my other choice would be your first book in The Pleasure Club series, the Nymph.
Hi, Michele – I should know pretty soon about The Demon Next Door. Cobblestone is incredibly organized and pretty fast so I may be able to post the good news on my website when I update it July 1 or 2. So check that out.
As for The Pleasure Club, my friend Anna Leigh Keaton came up with the idea of the Pleasure Club, a place where fantasy meets reality. There are many stories in the series, but there is a tiny bit of continuity in mine. Geoffrey Jones and his nymph Calliope introduce Jake Drummond (the male character in The Nun) to the Pleasure Club. So they are connected, at least that much.
I’m glad, Michele, you’re looking forward to reading The Demon Next Door (and The Nymph).
Kate
The Demon Next Door sounds fantastic! Can’t wait to read it and the Brothers as well! I will be on the hunt for your backlist soon, as many have piqued my interest. Summer Dreams, especially! Thanks for joining us!
The Nymph and The Demon Next Door sounds so good!
Hi Kate,
Congrats on our first demon story. I look forward to reading Ali’s story.
Brandy – you’ll like Summer Dreams, I think – all three of us had great fun writing those novellas and I got to spend a whole lot of time at different aquariums and call it research.
Kate
Beth – I love your pseudonym – I’d love to be known as Kate aka The Warrior. Thanks for dropping by.
Kate
Jane, thanks for dropping by. I think you’ll enjoy both books.
Kate
Hi Kate! The Demon Next Door sounds great! Can’t wait to read it. Your backlist looks and sounds great too, many of them are going on my TBR pile 🙂
And your vacation spot looks great!
Have a nice day!
The Demon Next Door sounds great.I took a look at your other books on your site they all look good,especially Seeing is Believing and Dreamer.
can i have a demon next door? might be better than my landlord.
Hi, Host and Elaine – hope you can find Seeing is Believing. Harlequin isn’t great about keeping those books in print but they’re usually at amazon. Maybe not the oldest ones, though.
Kate
Sarah – After you read the book, you’ll REALLY REALLY want a demon next door.
Kate
Sounds like a great read!
Minna – I’m glad I managed to entice you 🙂
Kate
The Demon Next Door sounds AWESOME!!! A very unique twist on demons. You mentioned brothers, will this be the first book in a series?
Have a great night! Oh, if I could choose a book it would be The Demon Next Door and if that is not available, would love The Nymph 😀 Thanks Kate!!!
Angela M – Yes, he has a whole bunch of brothers and it will definitely be a series. Reza, the new lord of the demons, will be the next in the series – at least I think he will.
Kate
“The Demon Next Door” sounds like a fab story and is definitely the book I want to read. Here’s hoping the October release goes off as planned for this one because for me it’s going to seem like a long wait to finally get my hands on this one. Congratulations in advance!
LadyVampire2u, thanks – I really enjoyed the way this story developed. I had the title and the first line but – you know, the whole HE’S A DEMON? – it was a bit complicated. I had to figure out a bunch of stuff and as I’ve said in my post, my partner really helped with that. Ali ended up being the kind of guy we’d all love to have as our next door neighbor – and I was delighted with that.
Kate
Seeing is Believing sounds like it would be a great read, so I’ll go with it. Wll of your other books, especially The Demon Next Door, also sound really good, though. I think I’ll be picking them up now. lol
Welcome Kate. Your stories sound so interesting!!
Hi Kate,
You are a new to me author. Nice to meet you and I look forward to reading your books. The Demon next door is my first choice.
Good luck with the Demon Next Door. It sounds like a interesting book. 🙂
Your book Dreamer sounds excellent. 🙂
Hi Kate,
The Demon next door sounds really good! I love the spin of how he has to live as a human and deal with everyday life, but also gets to be his alpha self and save Maryalice. It will definitely be one that I look for in the future.
If you choose me to win I would love Dreamer. I love the Spice briefs so will also have to watch for the ones you have submitted. Best of luck with all of these new books!!!
Good luck with The Demon Next Door. It sounds like something I would love to read!
This blog has been a lot of fun this month. You’re a new author to me & your new book looks great! Good luck!
My choice, if I should win, is “Seeing Is Believing”. Thanks!
Karin, thanks for dropping by and thanks for planning to pick up my books. I appreciate it.
Kate
Jamie, thanks for checking out today’s demon writer – hope you’re enjoying the month… I sure am.
Kate