Kate Freiman is the author of a number of romance novels including the Haunting Hearts romance EARTH ANGEL and the Magical Love romance LADY MOONLIGHT.  Both are highly original and riviting reads and it gives me great pleasure to interview this talented writer for the Magical Romance Website.
 

LB    Firstly, could you please tell us a little bit about yourself as an introduction to the visitors to Magical Romance?

KF    I'm originally from Connecticut, and even after spending half my life living in Canada (with my husband and son), I still have a Yankee streak a mile (oops, make that about 1.6 kilometers) wide! I have a B.A. from University of Connecticut in English Literature, and an M.A. from Trinity College, Hartford, also in English Lit. I'm a Taurus, with Cancer rising and Moon in Aquarius, or, in the Chinese Astrology system, a Metal Tiger. (In plain English, a stubborn, sentimental, beauty-loving homebody who wears a lot of amethysts and owns only black shoes and boots... except for this one pair of hot pink cowboy boots!)

Show me a cute and furry, or feathery critter (nothing with scales, please) and my voice will rise two octaves; there's at least one animal in each of my ten romantic novels! Currently, I keep house for 2 Abysinnian cats and 1 Golden Retriever, plus a tank full of fish that keep having baby fish so I won't be able to reclaim their shelf. In addition, I have a lovely black Morgan mare, "Time For Joy," who's also a Connecticut Yankee. Joy is in foal to Trillium Samson of Trillium Morgan Horse Farm, where she lives.  The baby is due mid to end of February, 2000 --- think "pink"! We want a filly!

Although I wrote my Master's Thesis on British detective novels of the 1920s and 1930s, when I decided to take my writing urges seriously, I made a couple of crucial discoveries:

1. Despite the number of major whoppers I told to get myself out of childhood and adolescent binds, I really don't have a devious enough mind to construct and execute a "pure" mystery story;

2. I've never tripped over a dead body and found myself solving the crime for the benefit of the local cops;

3. Everyone I've ever known is, was, or wants to be in a good relationship, was, wants to avoid, or get out of bad relationship;

4. There's nothing more complicated, intriguing, and mysterious to me than human emotions, especially love; and

5. History was never my best subject (although it still beat math all to heck!).

So... out of this emerged an eclectic contemporary romantic storyteller whose work ranges from "straight" contemporary romance novels to paranormal romance novels with suspense/mystery elements, and romantic fantasy.
 

LB    You have written a number of straight romance novels (ie without  the magical element).  While they will not be included on my site as  reviews I am sure that many readers like myself do read them as well.   So perhaps you could tell us a little about some of your straight romance novels....?

KF    I like to say that there's "magic" in all my romantic fiction, because the power of love truly can a magical force, transforming beasts and solving insurmountable problems in the tradition of "fairy tales." Because I won't "include" or "tack on" magic just to make a story seem paranormal, not all my novels have paranormal elements. For me, it's the story -- that is, the particular characters in their situation -- that determines whether or not a magical telling will work. All of my stories, straight and paranormal, have certain themes and elements in common, however: My characters are all relatively ordinary people, like you, like me, who see themselves as pretty normal, doing okay or better, and in control of their lives. However, all of them have somehow become handicapped by the past. In order to find true love and build a future, they have to overcome the often overwhelming grip the past can have on our present selves. Frankly, I think the characters in my non-paranormal novels don't have to work nearly as hard to win as the ones who have magical complications to deal with as well!
 

LB    What are you working on at the present time, and what can we expect to see on the shelves in the coming months and do you have any plans to write a story about the secondary characters Erin and Phelan from Lady Moonlight?

KF    STAR OF WONDER, Jove's 1999 Christmas Anthology (0-515-12653-5) came out in October, and I think readers will love it! My sister authors are Jo Beverley, Tess Farraday, and Alice Alfonsi, and each of these four special novellas is based on a wonderful Christmas legend about a star sapphire worn by one of the three wise men who followed a blazing star across the desert 2000 years ago. Each story is set between Christmas and New Year's Eve at
the end of a century, beginning at the end of the first millennium, in 999 A.D. My story, "Joy To The World," is the finale, set in 1999, and weaves together romance, Christmas, and the Y2K bug that could prove the prophets of millennial doom correct...

LADY MOONLIGHT and EARTH ANGEL are still available, although EARTH ANGEL is getting harder to find. (I have limited stock of all my back list, if anyone wishes to email me for information on how to purchase copies, autographed, of course.)

As for Erin McKeogh and Phelan McDermott from LADY MOONLIGHT, their story, tentatively titled IRISH MOONLIGHT, is my current work in progress, but it's not going to be a "Magical Love" release because it's not a paranormal romance! In fact, Erin is really peeved with me for describing her in what she claims are unflattering terms in LADY MOONLIGHT, and she keeps encouraging Conlan Sloan (hero of LADY MOONLIGHT) to sue me for libel!

The setting is O'Hara House, in Co. Sligo, Ireland, and the story takes place during the two weeks leading up to the wedding of Con and Aisling.  The romance between Erin and Phelan (who has a better sense of humor than Erin does about how he was depicted!) is pretty complicated -- Erin's determined to stop the wedding, because, well... You'll see! You'll also get to meet Erin's brother, Nolan, and Aisling's cousin Oriana. As for magical elements, well, the setting is Ireland, so you just might see... Ah, but don't try too hard! Let the magic come to you.
 

LB    What type of novels do you like to read for inspiration and who are your favourite authors?

KF    For inspiration, I tend to read non-fiction, especially the little odd-ball stories in daily papers! (My study is hip-deep in clippings, filed for future reference!)  I read mysteries, romantic suspense, and literary fiction, but very sparingly in Romance -- it's too hard to turn off the internal editor/critic and just enjoy the flow of words turning into a story.

Most of my favorite authors are women mystery writers -- a who's who of Sisters In Crime! -- because they tend to have a more emotional, community-oriented scope to their stories. Marcia Muller, Julie Smith, Susan Albert Wittig... too many to name! I love Tony Hillerman's mysteries, too.  And, at the other end of the scale, I get a charge out of Elmore Leonard.
 

LB    In Earth Angel, even before the reference to James Dean, Ray reminded me of this actor.  Was this intentional from the start or did he just turn out that way as you were writing?

KF    In my semi-rural (tobacco country!) Connecticut town, there were "greasers," "preppies," and a few early "hippies" (or late "beatniks").  Ray Lowell is probably a composite of every bad boy I ever met, and of course, James Dean was a heavy cultural influence way back then. But Ray appeared on the scene -- or in my mind -- as himself, and made it perfectly clear from the start of our relationship that he was an original, not a James Dean wannabe.
 

LB    Do you have any tips for all the hopeful romance writers out there?

KF    For all writers, I would say: Write what you write, and don't let anyone discourage you. For writers who have hopes of writing fiction for commercial publication, whether it's romance, mystery, paranormal, s/f, or even literary, I would say: Write, write, write, and write some more; read (everything) until your eyes burn; observe, analyze, and learn how to write your stories so other people will relate to them as their own. Also, don't let anyone discourage you, but learn to take constructive criticism as a necessary and good part of the job description! And for writers who's stories tend to revolve around romantic relationships, whether "category" or non-category in scope, join Romance Writers of America, and consider your dues as "tuition"!
 

LB    Lady Moonlight is set in the magical country of Ireland.  Have you ever had the opportunity of visiting there and if so could you tell us a little about it?

KF    A few summers ago, my husband, son and I went to Ireland for several weeks, and I would go back in a heartbeat! (Call me crazy, but I like the way the mist makes my hair curl by itself!) This is a fantastic time for Ireland, with the computer industry  complementing the tourism industry, but Ireland is still a land of magic and greens so intense the sun doesn't dare compete, a land of people who measure time idiosynchratically and measure distance by time, a place where you can hear U2 one minute and ullean pipes and bodhran the next. Between the archaeological artifacts and the geological variety and oddities, there's a sense of timelessness and magnitude that's awesome. There's the mystery and sadness of ruins, some of them 19th century farm houses abandoned during the Famine, and the whimsy of Faery raths and herds of goats and sheep blocking traffic. And there are smokey pubs, some of them quite ancient, as well as some of the finest gourmet dining we've ever had.
 

LB    What do you believe has been the highlight of your writing career so far and which aspect gives you the most enjoyment?

KF    The first part of this question made me think, and the answer I came up with is, I haven't hit the "highlight" yet! Each sale, each award, each positive review, each warm fan letter, each finished work, is a sort of highlight. No question about the aspect of my writing career that gives me the most enjoyment: When all the elements of a story come together in such a perfect way that the characters seem to be dictating their stories to me and I can't type fast enough to keep up with them! It's the most amazing experience, and worth all the struggling that leads up to it.
 

LB    And finally, do you have a message for all the readers out there?

KF    Whether or no you believe in magic, it's out there, and it's in you!   Use it wisely.

I would like to thank Kate for answering these interview questions so fully and frankly.  It has been a great pleasure and I am sure we all hope to read more you in the future.
 

Links to Online Stores

Books by Kate Freiman: Earth Angel and Lady Moonlight