Interview with Cate Masters

Here at the Lark Journals we are thrilled to have Cate Masters as our guest blogger.

Cate Masters’ novels, novellas and short fiction appear at The Wild Rose Press, Eternal Press, Wild Child Publishing/ Freya’s Bower and Shadowfire Press. Her flash and short stories are published with The Battered Suitcase , A Long Story Short, Dark Sky Magazine, Cezanne’s Carrot, The Harrow, Flesh from Ashes, Quality Women’s Fiction, Phase, and The Writer’s online edition. In 2005, Pennwriters awarded her second place in its annual Short Story contest for her literary story, All is Calm, All is Bright. Her freelance articles have appeared in The Sentinel, Carlisle. The proud mom of three adult children, she currently lives in central Pennsylvania with her husband, Benji the dog, their dictator-like cat, Chairman Maiow, and dozens of characters inhabiting her imagination. Visit her online at www.catemasters.com and http://catemasters.blogspot.com, or follow her on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Cate-Masters/89969413736?ref=ts or Twitter: www.twitter.com/catemasters.


Her contemporary romance, Going with Gravity, is now available from The Wild Rose Press: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/going-with-gravity-p-3539.html?zenid=9a21831541a26a30f60bab5323b0f23e

She’d love for you to check out the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9C0LCXFZww
Reviews have described Going with Gravity as: “so compelling I did not want to put it down. The sexual encounters were sizzling and the ending was unexpected. There were moments of poignant emotional conflict.”

And “What happens is what storybook romances are made of and what everyone hopes for in their lives. But, you will have to read this romantic and heartwarming novel to learn just when and why Allison realizes she might have met the right man, and why Wes made sure to meet her on that fateful flight. “

And praised the hero: “Wes, the hero, is so darned sexy, I wanted to take him home. I’m not talking about his finesse with the spicy part of loving; it’s his class, style and solidness of character. Wes struck a chord with me that makes him a keeper. There’s the part where Allison meets him again under somber circumstances. The way Ms. Masters describes the whole scene allowed me to visualize it. It’s hard to find the exact words to describe how it made me feel but it is no surprise to me that Allison could connect with a guy like Wes so readily. He’s written in such an approachable way, I fully believe that love at first sight can happen.”



Here’s the story blurb:

Publicist Allison Morris plans her own life – what’s left of it – around the life of her boss Michelle McCarter, the ex-wife of a famous rock star. When Michelle needs emergency public relations patchwork in Hawaii pronto, Allison arranges a flight to the dream destination. At the airport, she meets Wes Hamilton, a six-foot-three sun-bleached blond whose blue eyes and dazzling smile rekindle her fizzled-out sizzle. A world-renowned surfer, Wes captivates her with his charm and wit, though his easy fame and on-the-edge lifestyle are the polar opposite of her own. When their jet loses its fuselage in mid-air, she takes advantage of what she thinks are her last minutes alive with Wes. The plane lands safely. Wes takes care of her when her carefully constructed life begins to unravel. When Michelle accuses Allison of using Wes to gain fame for herself, Allison’s world falls apart in an explosive confrontation. Wes is waiting with open arms when she has nowhere else to go, but can Allison learn to stop planning and go with gravity?



And here’s the excerpt:

Allison pulled her portfolio from her laptop case and set it on her lap, afraid to open it. As soon as the articles had arrived on her fax machine, she’d shoved them into her bag, then hopped in the shower. Delay tactics only worked for so long. The moment of truth had arrived. She opened it and thumbed through. Eleven pages. Eleven. And these were only the newspaper articles from the past two days. TV and online news sites surely covered more. And then there’d be the inevitable blogger. Uncontrollable, overly opinionated and accountable to no one, they were the worst.

Michelle had arrived on Oahu with a bang, and then had the audacity to blame Allison for not doing her job to quell the media. She held up one photo of a topless Michelle prancing in the surf, laughing. Rumors and innuendo could be stopped with logic and tact, but to downplay this photo, she’d need a good explanation. When Michelle’s logic and tact failed her so obviously, Allison had to wonder about her mental state.

A hulking figure filled the aisle, stowing his bag in the overhead compartment.

Those shorts. That shirt.

It was him.

He checked his ticket, looked at her and smiled. His blond hair fell across his forehead as he sat next to her, his shoulder bumping hers. “Hello again.”

For two years, she’d rubbed elbows with stars of all magnitudes without so much as a blink, and fended off paparazzi following the wife of megastar James McCarter.

With two words, she’d been reduced to the rank of dreamy-eyed teeny bopper.

He smiled, raised an eyebrow.

She realized, then, she hadn’t responded. And her mouth hung open.

Make that drooling dreamy-eyed teeny bopper.

She flashed a smile. Think. Damage control is your business. Put it to good use for once.

“Hi.” Oh, yes. Very witty. What a deft deflection of his charm.

She turned back to her articles, but sensed the weight of his stare.

He frowned at her reading material. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to read over your shoulder. I take it you’re a closet fan of the poor little rich girl?”

“In the same way I’m a closet fan of train wrecks, I suppose. I guess you’re not a fan.”

“Of hers?” He chuckled. “God, no. She’s awful. Her publicist should be shot.”

Shot. Of course. Working fifty-five to sixty-five hours a week wasn’t enough to keep the spin spinning fast enough for the rest of the world. The one guy who’d interested her in the past two and a half years thought she made a good candidate for execution. Her life was in such a rut, she’d need mountain climbing gear to get out.

“If you’re a fan, I didn’t mean to offend.” Sincerity had wiped the smile from his face.

“Actually, I’m..” She turned and smiled, “…her publicist.”