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Guest Author: Summer Devon

Here is an interview with Kate Rothwell slash Summer Devon (by Kate Rothwell herself… huh… like Ben Affleck interviewing himself on Premiere. How meta), whose kickass Samhain book, Revealing Skills, was released in print just this month. If you comment on this post, you will be entered in a contest to win a copy of Taming Him (which I enjoyed and reviewed here), plus a $10 Amazon GC from yours truly. The winner will be announced on Friday.

Let’s talk about your writing. Who’s your favorite character in your own books?

Right now I’d say the Victorian villain I’m writing as Kate Rothwell. He’s based on Walter, the anonymous Victorian pornographer. Complete sleazebag, but the fictional character has to be sort of appealing. Hard to do.

The hero has been hired to make sure the sleazebag never gets his hands on a potent aphrodisiac. The heroine is a hoot. She doesn’t put up with shit. I think I have a young and very polite Mrs. Giggles in mind when I picture her personality.

And I’m also really liking my hero in a paranormal space invaders story. He’s a half human who was brought up with second-hand knowledge of–

Wait, you’re supposed to talk about characters people can actually find in a published book. Not the heroes in books that might never sell. What about Gil, the hero of Revealing Skills? Aren’t you going to mention him?

Gil Who?

Naw, just kidding. I know who he is. Yeah, he’s okay.

Excuse me? Just a couple of months ago you mentioned Gil was your favorite character. You said how much fun it was to write a shapeshifter who doesn’t take himself seriously, but is a true mensch at heart.

Sure, that’s when I was writing and editing him. Once a book is out of my hands, I don’t think about it any more. When I met Edith Layton a few years ago, I went on and on about one of her characters and how much I adored him. She gave me a blank look and admitted she barely remembered him. I get what she means now.

That was the day I met Edith Layton and Barbara Metzger, two of my favorite writers. Wow, they’re lovely people, too. I wish Layton would get more contracts.


Back to Gil. He’s in the book you’re supposed to be promoting–the one that’s officially out in print today.

Ah, see, that’s taken care of with a contest. Other people are supposed to promo my books for me. The contest produced some really great reviews, as in reviews I like. This is the day and this is the blog where I will announce the winners of that contest.

The only review you’ve written about was a meh one from miladyinsanity. What about the others?

I’ll probably get around to posting them on my blog. Or putting in links or something. Here’s one link to a review of Futurelove.


You know you’ll forget to do that in your blog. You kept careful track of the names of the entrants—you wrote down the names on paper–but have lost two actual review entries people emailed to you. Come on, you basically suck at promotion, you know that?

No need to get personal. Yes, I know.

I’m occasionally worse at the slick professional thing in person. But in my own defense, some writers don’t get out much, so we tend to babble in public. I’m surprised the people at today’s meeting didn’t smack me ‘longside the face. They did ask me what diet I’ve been on (calorie-count.com) so I did eventually add something useful to the proceedings.

Do you have anything else useful to add?

Yes, absolutely.

The answers we’ve been waiting for: the names of the winners of the Pimp a Blog and Review A Book Contests!! Each winner will receive a thirty-dollar gift certificate to her choice of Amazon, Barnes and Noble or Samhain.

The Winners:

OOPSY DAISY on the Pimpin’ Contest

And

Book Lover on the Review a Book Contest–phew. She wrote a nice one too. (I did make sure all the reviews were in the hat, even the less than enthusiastic reviews.) Go read her review.

That particular review is not about Revealing Skills.

So? It’s a book by Summer. That’s good enough.

Thanks for coming, Summer & Kate!

And Kate’s contest is now over. Thanks for commenting, everyone!

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This entry was posted on Sunday, June 17th, 2007 at 8:13 pm and is filed under Guest Author. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

26 Responses to “Guest Author: Summer Devon”

  1. Doug
    Posted: Jun 17th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
    1

    I love it. A bitchy interview!

    I first met Summer in a Soho whiskey bar. She’d had one too many and was getting a little too friendly with a one-legged Dane. I mean, Great Dane. To keep her from getting covered with slobbery dog-kisses, I pulled her out of that place, caught a taxi, and took her back to her place.

    Averting my eyes (I’m a gentleman, y’see), I stripped her down and put her in the shower. Such foul language I had not heard since my time in the Navy SEALS, and never from one so beautiful. After she toweled off, she seemed more alert, so I excused myself. And that’s when she clocked me with a jar of bubble bath pearls.

    I awoke to find myself bound to her huge, round bed, rubber hoses binding me at the ankles and wrists. She had another length of hose looped in her hand; the look in her eye would have chilled an Inuit.

    “You’ve been very naughty,” she said.

    And I believe Summer has covered the rest of this story in her new book.

    Buy it!

  2. Carrie Lofty
    Posted: Jun 18th, 2007 at 5:58 am
    2

    My comment’s not nearly so inventive as Doug’s :(

    I just want more Solly. If Solly’s in a book, or some shapeshifting vampire warecat thing that acts remarkably like Solly, then I’m all over it.

    Congrats on the new release, Ka– Summer.

  3. Teresa W.
    Posted: Jun 18th, 2007 at 6:43 am
    3

    Congrats on the release your books sound wonderful!

  4. Wylie
    Posted: Jun 18th, 2007 at 8:07 am
    4

    Hilarious, Kate! Best author interview I’ve had the pleasure of reading (they get rather dry…). Does your keen since of sarcasm/wit come through in your writing?

  5. Ember
    Posted: Jun 18th, 2007 at 8:13 am
    5

    Great interview. I don’t even feel like I’d need to ply you with Mango Margarita’s to get to know you better ;)

  6. Michelle M Pillow
    Posted: Jun 18th, 2007 at 8:40 am
    6

    great interview, kate!

  7. Diane Craver
    Posted: Jun 18th, 2007 at 9:08 am
    7

    Enjoyed your fun interview, Kate! I loved your babbling. LOL

  8. Bonnie Dee
    Posted: Jun 18th, 2007 at 9:17 am
    8

    Can I just say this? Gamahuch! Gamahuching! Gamahuched! Thank you for helping me discover my new favorite word. Of course I couldn’t look at the famous porn-writer link without carefully studying the list of topics he wrote about. This is a term for a blow job. Who knew? I’m gonna be saying it all the time now.

    But back to talking about YOU since this post is all about your wonderful work and not some long dead Englishman. I know what you mean about loving the characters in your WIPs and kind of forgetting about those you’ve written in the past. Nothing like a new love, and isn’t that what each new character you invent is — a brand new lover?

    So, congrats on your Samhain paperback release, and did I ever tell you how much I love the Kate Rothwell covers? They’re so classy.

  9. Crystal B.
    Posted: Jun 18th, 2007 at 10:15 am
    9

    Great interview. :)

  10. kate r
    Posted: Jun 18th, 2007 at 11:00 am
    10

    Thanks Crystal, Diane, Michelle, Ember, Teresa and Wylie.

    Fricatrice, Bonnie!
    one of my favorite conference memories is getting gently toasted in a bar with a bunch of regency writers and talking about all the great terms they used back in the day.

    Doug? I only wish I could do the rubber hoses..in my WRITING, I mean.
    Carrie, You are probably the only person in the world who liked Solly other than me. I had to cut huge chunks of him out of that book which broke my heart only because at that point the book was about word count, babee.

  11. kate r
    Posted: Jun 18th, 2007 at 11:06 am
    11

    speaking of gamahuching, here’s an excerpt from a Kate historical that’s currently being rejected all over the world. The well-bred heroine is applying for a job as a translator in a porn library that’s in the process of being busted by the police.

    “Oh, those are the words that I don’t know.” She hesitated, and then fetched the paper. “Mr. Panz said he’d return to discuss them.”

    Perhaps he could tell her more, though she was growing sure she didn’t wanted to learn the depths of her own stupidity. She handed him the list.
    The large man didn’t answer. For a full minute, he stared down at the scrap in his hand. His face flushed.

    “They are English words, aren’t they,” she said, hoping he would nod or say something, anything but stare at the list with that scowl. “Or perhaps some are Latin?” She remembered three of them: fellatrice, fricatrice and gamahuching.

    I hate not using the research, you know?

  12. Katharine
    Posted: Jun 18th, 2007 at 11:09 am
    12

    Congrats on the new book, and kudos for a fun interview. Usually author interviews are more meh. BTW there is a lot of Victorian porn photos in the Amsterdam Sex Museum, which at E4 per person is one of the only affordable museums in town. I wish you the very best in getting your trip and museum ticket as tax-deductible (here in Europe we can get away with that but we pay tax out the ears…) Actually many of the historical porn pics are for sale, BTW.
    I gotta go blow over to Samhain and pick it up since you can make an interview sparkle, goodness knows what you can do in a book. :) –Kath in Brussels

  13. Lesha Anderson
    Posted: Jun 18th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
    13

    Great interview! :)

  14. Cathy
    Posted: Jun 18th, 2007 at 1:03 pm
    14

    Congrats, Miss Kate! How did you ever score an interview with such an in-demand journalist???

  15. Rosie
    Posted: Jun 18th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
    15

    I’m too entertained by everyone else to be clever myself. Congrats on the print release of REVEALING SKILLS. I enjoyed Gil — rat hair meal in all.

  16. barbara
    Posted: Jun 18th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
    16

    ok kate I’ve read your books and loved them. Now I’m gonna have to break down and read Summer too. she seems like a fun author.

  17. Melva
    Posted: Jun 18th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
    17

    Congratualtions on your new novel. I have met Kate several times, but I have not yet encountered Summer. I look forward to reading the new book near the pool with a cool drink. How else would you spend a “summer” day?

  18. Jaynie R
    Posted: Jun 18th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
    18

    LMAO - well done.

  19. kim h
    Posted: Jun 18th, 2007 at 9:03 pm
    19

    wtg on the new novel, great interview

  20. Sam
    Posted: Jun 18th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
    20

    Waving to Kate!
    Lovely interview, Bam!
    And Barbara, don’t hesitate an instant, go get some Summer books!

  21. Lara Rose
    Posted: Jun 19th, 2007 at 4:55 am
    21

    This was hilarious. Thanks for the laugh :)

  22. Sheila Holloway
    Posted: Jun 19th, 2007 at 7:46 am
    22

    KATE!
    I’m late, but I’m here. Loved the interview. I believe it reflects the true you. :)

  23. Bettie
    Posted: Jun 19th, 2007 at 10:29 am
    23

    The well-bred heroine is applying for a job as a translator in a porn library that’s in the process of being busted by the police.

    I’m sold. Someone has to pick this up, I want to read this book!

    Great interview. I’d like to put in a good word for Gil, too. I don’t think I’ve read a Summer Devon character I haven’t liked, but Gil nicely encapsulated all of my favorite aspects of the characters in Devon’s oeuvre - likable, laid back, atypical. Gil the rat was lovely - way to fuck with the genre tropes :o )

  24. Cherie J
    Posted: Jun 19th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
    24

    Great interview! Congrats on your new release!

  25. SweetNSourGirl
    Posted: Jun 19th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
    25

    I know what you mean when you say you kind of forget about your characters. But I prefer to think they’re all still in my head and hanging out in a bar.

  26. Cathie
    Posted: Jun 19th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
    26

    Hi Kate and all!
    I had the joy to read INVISIBLE TOUCH recently under Summer Devon and wow! If you think you read some similar themes, this one will take you away to something totally unique! She’s been cursed to be invisible to those she has an attraction for and I loved it! I too love her historicals under Devon and Kate! Everythings been a keeper! I’m looking forward to REVEALING SKILLS being out in print. Kate, will you be writing under that name again with your single titles with Zebra too?

    Congrats to the winners on the blogs. I got mine on today since I finally could get to do it! But it basically says go get INVISIBLE TOUCH and read it. I can guarantee its a perfect read! Great to read your interview here Kate/Devon!

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