Dear Reader,
When not writing feisty, intelligent heroines and snarky heroes, today's guest author, Kate Bateman works as a fine art appraiser and on-screen antiques expert for several popular TV shows in the UK. She currently lives in Illinois with a number-loving husband and three inexhaustible children, and regularly returns to her native England 'for research.' Her newest release is the Regency caper This Earl Of Mine, (Bow Street Bachelors #1).
Kate (also writing as K. C. Bateman), is the #1 bestselling author of Regency and Renaissance historical romance, including the Secrets & Spies series. Her Renaissance romp, The Devil To Pay, was a 2019 RITA® Finalist.
Today's guest author is giving away a print or e-book copy (winner's choice) of her latest release, This Earl Of Mine. Say hello to Kate and enter, email: [email protected]
Please welcome author Kate Bateman...
You can't write history without the word story.
Before I started writing historical romance, I spent fifteen years as a fine art appraiser and auctioneer, with my very own auction house. I still have a not-so-secret double life as a TV antiques expert on several British antiques shows.
On the surface, my two chosen professions don't appear to have much in common, but at the heart of each lies the idea of STORY. Stories have value. They're powerful things.
In the antiques world we call it 'provenance.' That vital background information that often adds considerable value to a piece. Consider the diamond and sapphire ring presented for sale at a French auction house recently. In terms of raw materials--actual gold and stone value--it was worth around $2,000. But the owners had evidence it was the engagement ring the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte gave to Josephine Beauharnais. It sold for an astonishing $949,000!
The story behind that piece did something magical. It elevated an ordinary ring to something truly extraordinary.
If history has taught me anything, it's that stories are universal. The human desire for them hasn't changed. We crave stories. It's how we make sense of the world, how we learn and grow.
I recently read a translation of the graffiti found scratched into the walls of the Roman town of Pompeii, which was entombed in the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE. And guess what? Almost every trope and genre that we see in modern novels, films, and TV was represented. There were stories ranging from the sweet; "Marcus loves Spendusa", to the flirty; "Hector, baby, Mercator says 'hello'". There's the classic Enemies to Lovers trope; "Serena hates Isidorus." and unrequited love; "Marcellus loves Praenestina, but she doesn't care for him." There's separated lovers; "Vibius Restitutus slept here alone and missed his darling Urbana." And heartbreaking loss; "Pyrrhus to his colleague Chius: I grieve because I hear you have died; and so farewell." There's even the bitter ex-girlfriend; "Atimetus got me pregnant."
Finally, (and definitely my favorite), there's the ancient version of an awkward Tinder date; "The man I am having dinner with is a barbarian." (Does she mean literally?!)
Each of these brief glimpses into the past tells a story, with goals, motivations, and conflicts, just as in any modern tale. There are no new stories. But there are infinite ways to retell them, and that's the author's job. To bring a new perspective. To enlighten, delight, and entertain. I hope my novels do just that.
Happy reading!
Love, Kate
Email Kate at: [email protected] and enter the giveaway for a copy of Kate's new romp, This Earl Of Mine. (Print or e-book copy, winner's choice).
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.
THE REVERSIBLE MASK: An Elizabethan Spy Novel (Fiction) by Loretta Goldberg
This award-winning debut novel tells the exploits of a dashing Elizabethan double-agent. Come wander his exhilarating world! Love of his Protestant country and a troubled Catholic conscience battle for his heart as he unravels plots against Queen and country while urging moderation on Catholic kings. Meet larger-than-life characters of the day: his lovers, patrons, marks. See an awesome comet from a Sultan's observatory; dust yourself off from the first self-detonating bomb ship in Antwerp.
Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on THE REVERSIBLE MASK to read more and to email author Loretta Goldberg, you'll get a reply.
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