Welcome to Karin Tabke's guest blog!

Welcome Ms. Tabke to Love Romances and More, thank you for joining us.

Thank you, Danny for inviting me to spend the day with you!


Did you always want to become a writer?

Hmm, let’s just say I’ve always written stories, love stories that is, for my own amusement. It began in high school and continued well into my adulthood. I never gave much thought to publication until about eight years ago. Then it was a goal I set for myself. It took almost five years of hard word before I sold my first story.


What is the most, and the least interesting fact about writing?

Weelll, for me the most interesting part of writing is meeting then writing my characters. I love fascinating alpha men and they just seem to pop up all around me. It’s exhilarating. I love my heroes with a passion and finding the right woman for them is almost as fun. But the guys, they are what it’s all about for me. The least interesting part? Promotion. The social aspect I love, for example being here today. I like people. I like to interact, but the other stuff, argh. Hate. It.

How did you celebrate your first release?

A bottle of champagne in the hot tub with hubby.

What was it like to see your book in a bookstore?

Thrilling!

Do you have a special ritual for celebrating a book release?

Nope, not lately anyway. I’m frankly too darn busy writing the next book to throw a party for each release. Sad but true.

How did your family react to fact that you also write romance novels? Have your family read your books?

My mother-in-law is my biggest fan and my husband my biggest supporter. I have four kids and they think it’s pretty cool mom is a published writer. My kids don’t read my books but as I said my mil does and so does my mom and sil. My dad and fil are forbidden to open one of my books.

Most authors are also avid readers. Is this the case with you?

Yes, but so little time! If so, who are some of your favorites? I love Shannon McKenna, her boys are hot. I love the old historicals by Brenda Joyce and Anita Mills. Have any influenced your writing? Yep the afore mentioned, in the sense that they imho were not afraid to write a real story. No fluffy pink stuff there.

Your characters come to life in your books. Do you feel each of your characters live with you as you write?

Yep, I think of them all of the time as I’m writing their story, when I don’t I know I’m off course, and have to go back and recreate them. Do their lives sometimes take over a part of your life? Yep again, when I’m deep into a story there have been many nights where I have called it a night, gone to bed only to be awoken by a character, and have dragged my butt back into my office, booted up the lap top and written to shut them up. Can you name an example? MASTER OF TORMENT, book two in the Blood Sword Legacy series that just happens to release today! is the most angsty book I have ever written. My hero Wulfson de Trevelyn is sent to eliminate Tarian Godwinson, when he finds her near death in a dungeon and is ready to finish her off something inside of him hesitates and in that hesitation other factors come into play that save her, for the time being. While this book was a rare gimme, one that writes itself, it haunted me every waking moment. I knew these two had to end up together but I did not know how it was going to happen. Just when Wulfson told me how, something happened preventing it. He was one of the most vocal heroes in my head. I miss him.

Do you have living role models for your characters?

I write alphas. I’m married to an alpha (a retired street cop) and have raised two alpha sons. And regardless of what time period I write in, an alpha is an alpha is an alpha. I love my boys!


Where do you get the inspirations for your books?

Love. Mad, passionate, in your face I-have-to-be-with-this-person-at-all-costs, love. My characters come to me first, usually my hero, then the heroine, then their story builds from there. But it’s the emotion of the story for them in my heart and soul that breathes life into the story. In MASTER OF TORMENT, Tarian Godwinson came to me first. While she is a fictional character, her parents were not. Her father Swein Godwinson was the oldest brother of Harold the Usurper. Swein was very naughty. He fell in love with a Welsh abbess, kidnapped her, and held her hostage for nearly a year even after the king and his family disowned him. So, I asked myself, “Karin what would have happened if there had been a child born of that union, and what would have become of her?” Tarian (which means shield bearer) Godwinson was born. I have never written such a kick ass I-will-survive-at-all-costs heroine. Because she is such an extraordinary woman, and does extraordinary things, she had to have a most extraordinary mate. It could have been none other then Wulfson de Trevelyn. From the moment they met they are both doomed to either kill each other or love each other. Their path is wrought with angst, and heartache. I love this story.


Do you find it difficult at times to write love scenes?

Hell no! I love that first time my hero and heroine come together, when all of the stars are aligned and magic happens. It always takes my breath away.


What is your favorite book from the books that you have written so far? Who are your favorite hero and heroine, and why?

I love all of my heroes and heroines, but I have to say I loved writing Jade and Jase’s story in JADED, and Wulfson and Tarian in MASTER OF TORMENT. I just wrapped up book three, MASTER OF CRAVING, and well, I’m still breathless over that one.

Which book was the hardest to write and which the easiest?

SKIN took a few tries to get the h/h on the same page emotionally, but once I did, it was a breeze. I had to completely rewrite MASTER OF SURRENDER after I sent in the first version to my editor. The historicals take more out of me writingwise. I do a lot of research. A lot.

If you could change places with one character from your books, who would it be and why?

OMG! Any one of my heroines! And, ah, hem, I think why is a wee bit obvious.

If you could travel through time to visit a special time period or famous person, what or who would it be and why?

I’d love to go back and meet William the Conqueror, so long as I was guaranteed he wouldn’t run me through! It’s such a fascinating time period. I’d like to go back to Rome during the height of the period, again with guarantees I would not get caught up in all of the intrigue. Yanno just to be an innocent fly on the wall.

Do you listen to music while you are writing and if so what music is it?

Yes, I do. I love angsty rock ballads. The iPod is one of the greatest inventions of all time!

If you could choose of your books for a movie, which one would it be and who would you as the cast?

Just one??? Okay, MASTER OF TORMENT, Wulfson would hands down be played by Ioan Gruffund, double swords and all, he played Lancelot in Arthur with Clive Owen but he would have longer black hair and intense green eyes! His lady, Tarian would be played by, hmm, I cannot think of anyone worthy of her character!

Congrats to your new release MASTER OF TORMENT, can you tell us about the book?

Thanks, Danny, here’s the back cover blurb.

Wulfson of Trevelyn, trusted knight of William the Conqueror, has never met a man he could not master. But in the tempestuous young widow Tarian of Trent, known as the Lady Warrior, Wulf may finally have met his match. Ordered by the king to eliminate her traitorous bloodline, Wulf captures the lady but hesitates to execute his orders, falling captive himself to her seductive dark beauty.
To Lady Tarian’s dismay, neither her fighting spirit nor her wiles are sufficient to bend Wulfson completely to her will. As she and Wulfson try to stay one step ahead of the angered King, Tarian vows she will not be the loser in their passionate battle, but her own desire for this overpowering stranger threatens not only her body, and her heart, but both of their lives. “

Sumptuous, Sexy, Superb! Master of Torment grabs hold of you on page one and doesn’t let go.If you’ve been waiting for the perfect Medieval series, this is it. Karin Tabke does for Norman knights what JR Ward has done for vampires, with hot alpha heroes and the fiery heroines who tame them. I can’t wait for the next book!"
Monica McCarty, New York Times Bestselling author




Are you working on anything right now, and can you tell us a teaser about these projects?

I just wrapped up MASTER OF CRAVING, another angst filled love story. It’s based roughly on the David and Bathsheba dilemma. Princess Arianrhod is betrothed to a powerful Jarl, and Stefan de Valrey is obsessed with her as much as she with him. From the moment battle fatigued Stefan spies the lovely princess bathing naked in a pond, he is consumed with her.

Here is a short excerpt from page one:
The Blood Sword Legacy

Eight mercenary knights, each of them base born, each of them bound by unspeakable torture in a Saracen prison, each of them branded with the mark of the sword for life. Each of their destinies marked by a woman.
‘Twas whispered along the Marches that the demon knights who rode upon black horses donned in black mail wielding black swords would slay any man, woman or child who dared look upon them. ‘Twas whispered their loyalty was only to the other and no man could split them asunder, nor was there enough gold or silver in the kingdom to buy their oath. ‘Twas well known each of them was touched not by the hand of God but by Lucifer himself.
‘Twas also whispered, but only by the bravest of souls, that each Blood Sword was destined to find only one woman in all of Christendom who would bear him and only him sons, and until that one woman was found, he would battle and ravage the land...
…but the darkest secret whispered was that there was one amongst them whose violent craving for the one woman he could not have would be the spark that would set an entire region on fire, and nearly bring down a kingdom, with the aftermath to be felt for the next thousand years…


CONTEST: Ms. Tabke offers one winner a book of her/his choice from her backlist, so please stop by and either say hello or ask her a question. The winner will be randomly drawn tomorrow morning. So check back to see if you are the lucky one.