Meet Cate Masters today

Welcome to Love Romances & More Reviews, Cate Masters. Comfortable? Let’s begin, shall we? 

Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Thanks so much for having me back, Dawn! Yes, I’m very comfy, thanks. :)

I’m your typical crazy writer. Conversations sometimes involve people that don’t exist, and worlds that no one’s ever visited – except me, in my head. Luckily, I have a very supportive hubby. We’ll celebrate 36 years of marriage in November!

To get us started, can you tell us a little about what you are working on or have coming out?

I’m so excited that this week, Decadent Publishing will release Claimed, the followup to Charmed and the last in the Vitruvian Man series.

Lined up for later this year are two 1NS contemporaries, Sweet Revenge and The Ex Factor. It’s always fun to write for the 1Night Stand series!

Another contemporary novella, Blue Moon Over Bliss Lake, should release around the holidays.

How do you get yourself in the mood to write?

I go in my office and lock the door. With three grandboys, our household is hectic bordering on manic, lol. I keep notebooks handy so I can jot ideas or scenes when they hit me, and that gives me a good jumping-off point when I do get some quiet time. Ahhhh. :)

Is music a factor for you while you are writing? Do certain songs put you in the right frame of mind to write certain stories?

Absolutely. I don’t keep playlists, but songs often provide inspiration in one way or another. For this series, the song Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls. I couldn’t get it out of my head, especially the line “I’d give up forever to touch you.” Wow. That could inspire at least a dozen stories! But I’d already done the angel-falling-in-love-with-a-human idea, and wanted an immortal who was a little different than most. A tortured alpha male with a secret. So Bruno di Cesare was born, and he absolutely fascinates me.

What is the strangest source of writing inspiration you’ve ever had?

The only time a book title has come to me first, it hit me as I was taking a shower, lol. Not so strange, really, except I have no idea why it popped into my head. But all of a sudden, ‘Death Is A Bitch’ was in my head, and after that, the image of Death began to flesh out. I hopped out of the shower fast, grabbed a notebook and started writing it.

Are your characters able to love or do they need to be taught?

I love this question! Yes, they all have the ability, but because I love flawed characters, I like to make it a little difficult for them. I love the idea of redemption, and love it when two characters help each other find it, and find love along with it.

What can readers expect next from you?

Blue Moon Over Bliss Lake starts another series I’m very excited about. I’ve subbed the second, A Wedding at the Blue Moon Cafe, and have started the third. The series is related by title, but the characters are all unforgettable and really popped. I can’t wait to get them out to readers!

Thanks for coming. Is there anything else you want to add?

In October, I’ll be part of a few author events online and off, so watch my blog for those dates. And my historical novella, Betting It All, will tour the blogosphere in October too!

I’d love to connect with readers on any or all of these sites:

Blog: http://catemasters.blogspot.com Sign up for my newsletter through my blog!

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cate-Masters/89969413736?ref=ts

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/CateMasters

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Cate-Masters/e/B002OBQ98A/ref=sr_tc_ep?qid=1331753999

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2944596.Cate_Masters

You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/user/catemasters

Charmed by Cate Masters

Decadent Publishing

Blurb

Brought together by accident, bound by fate—and magic.  Love works its charm over Bruno DiCesare and Melina Weaver during his transformation from beast to man. But love likewise blinds them to the secrets each holds. Bruno thinks his secret will devastate Melina. Melina’s afraid Bruno will hate her for what she’s become. Neither guess the greatest danger lurks outside their door – and will force them to decide between love and life itself.

Available from

Decadent Publishing:

http://www.decadentpublishing.com/product_info.php?products_id=832&osCsid=hdmana51khc0lq5rr15a5sl3i5 

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Charmed-The-Vitruvian-Man-ebook/dp/B00EUI54FY/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377729192&sr=1-1&keywords=Cate+Masters%2C+Charmed

Barnes and Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/charmed-cate-masters/1116792028?ean=2940148482079

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-charmed-1271532-149.html

Coffee Time Romance: http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/BookStore/pubs_product_book_info/decadent-publishing-c-93/charmed-p-10829

Book Video

Direct link: http://youtu.be/N_Oek_jYrHc

Cate Masters has made beautiful central Pennsylvania her home, but she’ll always be a Jersey girl at heart. When not spending time with her dear hubby, she can be found in her lair, concocting a magical brew of contemporary, historical, and fantasy/paranormal stories with her cat Chairman Maiow and dog Lily as company. Look for her at http://catemasters.blogspot.com and in strange nooks and far-flung corners of the web.

Cate loves to hear from readers! Email her at: cate.masters@gmail.com

Love Romances & More Reviews for Cate Masters:

Cursed

A  Hard Day's Night

CURSED by Cate Masters

Publisher: Decadent Publishing

Date published: 24-Apr-13

ISBN: 978-1-61333-524-6

Paranormal, erotic romance

E-book

Reviewed by Helen

Weblink: http://www.decadentpublishing.com/product_info.php?products_id=767&osCsid=lbc9fvcvktn3ccap6g4j1dnf45

Obtained via publisher

Rating: 3

Bruno diCesare can only take his place in the world for the ten days each year of Carnevale, when people are masked and costumed, so no one can see what he truly looks like. Melina Weaver is a scientist who learned to be a fire dancer to put some excitement in her ordinary life. She is finally taking a vacation and comes to Carnevale. Their attraction can only be short term. Soon they’ll both have to resume their ordinary lives.

Series: The Vitruvian Man book 1.

This book begins brilliantly. Bruno’s sections are first person, and Melina’s are in third. Bruno is tortured by his condition, knowing there’s no hope for him, but drawn by something stronger than himself to Melina and desperate to spend this brief time with her. The world building for his life is very good, with enough detail for the reader to see it quite clearly, yet not so much it slows down the fast pace of the story.

Melina’s life and job becomes clearer to the reader as the story progresses, especially once things start going wrong. She is an intelligent and strong woman, dealing well with the problems she encounters. The passion between them is hot and the secondary characters vivid enough to round out the story.

And then the book was totally ruined for me. Completely destroyed. Why oh why do authors insist on making the heroine do something incredibly stupid? We have a bright, brave, intelligent heroine doing very well at carving out a life, a career, a romance. Then of course she has to do something terribly dangerous all alone without telling anyone what she’s doing because she has to “protect” them. I read this plot line time and time again in book after book and it fills me with despair—or makes me want to throw my e-reader against the wall (or both). There are dozens, possibly hundreds, of ways to solve the plot without turning the heroine into a mindless caricature of a 1950s brainless helpless ditz of a heroine.

The ending was appropriate but I’d totally lost interest in the heroine by then. Nothing could redeem her for me.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

Publisher: Decadent Publishing

Date published: 24-Apr-13

ISBN: 978-1-61333-524-6

Paranormal, erotic romance

E-book

Reviewed by Helen

Weblink: http://www.decadentpublishing.com/product_info.php?products_id=767&osCsid=lbc9fvcvktn3ccap6g4j1dnf45

Obtained via publisher

Rating: 3

Bruno diCesare can only take his place in the world for the ten days each year of Carnevale, when people are masked and costumed, so no one can see what he truly looks like. Melina Weaver is a scientist who learned to be a fire dancer to put some excitement in her ordinary life. She is finally taking a vacation and comes to Carnevale. Their attraction can only be short term. Soon they’ll both have to resume their ordinary lives.

Series: The Vitruvian Man book 1.

This book begins brilliantly. Bruno’s sections are first person, and Melina’s are in third. Bruno is tortured by his condition, knowing there’s no hope for him, but drawn by something stronger than himself to Melina and desperate to spend this brief time with her. The world building for his life is very good, with enough detail for the reader to see it quite clearly, yet not so much it slows down the fast pace of the story.

Melina’s life and job becomes clearer to the reader as the story progresses, especially once things start going wrong. She is an intelligent and strong woman, dealing well with the problems she encounters. The passion between them is hot and the secondary characters vivid enough to round out the story.

And then the book was totally ruined for me. Completely destroyed. Why oh why do authors insist on making the heroine do something incredibly stupid? We have a bright, brave, intelligent heroine doing very well at carving out a life, a career, a romance. Then of course she has to do something terribly dangerous all alone without telling anyone what she’s doing because she has to “protect” them. I read this plot line time and time again in book after book and it fills me with despair—or makes me want to throw my e-reader against the wall (or both). There are dozens, possibly hundreds, of ways to solve the plot without turning the heroine into a mindless caricature of a 1950s brainless helpless ditz of a heroine.

The ending was appropriate but I’d totally lost interest in the heroine by then. Nothing could redeem her for me.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

A HARD DAY'S KNIGHT by Cate Masters

Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Date published: February 2012
ISBN 9781613332153
ASIN B007748KPO
Paranormal, Time Travel
E-book
Reviewed by Helen
Obtained via publisher.


Lance Knight is at a Medieval Merriment, somewhat unwillingly dragged there by his friend Kurt. Tomorrow he leaves for another town and Kurt hopes to convince him to stay. Then Kurt and his girlfriend reveal they’ve arranged a 1Night Stand for him. The girl, Gwyn, is beautiful and reminds him strongly of his lost love, but he’s so angry he almost ruins the night before he finds out she knew nothing about it either.
Then his nemesis Morgan le Fay appears and the evening becomes one of danger and almost disaster.

I was surprised this story was labeled erotic. There was heat, tension, and suggestion, but less than one page to the single sex scene. It is, however an enjoyable quick read, with a hero who develops from one the reader wants to slap upside the head, to one everyone will love and wish success. The villain threw a few neat surprises into the mix too, and the heroine’s growth matched the hero’s step for step. The Medieval Merriment setting and Pirate Dinner are vividly described and fun to envision.

I found it annoying that Morgan le Fay was also called Morganna, whereas traditionally there is only one “n” in her name (Morgana). There were also a few places where the author descended into purple prose (rosette nipples, binding as a silk vine of steel), and a couple of instances of cliché-style repetition (history repeats itself again). However, overall the story was entertaining enough to keep the reader wanting to know what would happen next, and the ending was fulfilling.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.