Welcome contemporary romance author, Kate Hofman, to Love Romances & More. We are excited to have the opportunity to speak with you and learn more about your work. 

How long have you been writing; was it something you have always wanted to do?   

Yes, but I never had the time for it.  On the other hand, my relatives have kept my letters which were typed, long and apparently enjoyable.  I owned an art gallery, and running one is almost a 24/7 occupation.   

Nina Bruhns, for whom I did internet publicity, said I should write.  I thought she was being nice, but she insisted, and one day I sat in front of a blank sheet on Word, and thought, I must be mad.  Then, slowly, I began to type ‘Will and Kiki’, and so began a semi-autobiographical romance of 242 pp. 

I had been writing in seclusion, never submitting (nor intending to) for five years.  One day, Jennifer Mueller, that wonderful writer, said, “You’re ready.  Submit!” 

And I did.  To my surprise the three publishers to whom I sent novels, all accepted them. 

I see you have written more than 20 books. WOW you have been busy. How many of them do you plan on submitting for publishing? 

I had written 25 books by time I ended my five-year period of writing by myself for myself.  Once I was accepted by the Dark Castle Lords, I sent synopses of about 20 of the books to them, and they accepted them all.  The publisher separated them into cohesive groups, and at present is publishing the three books that make up TRIANGLE OF LOVE—Beau’s Quest, Miguel’s Surrender, and Rey’s Indiscretion. 

Then there is a twin pair of novels, the second an exact sequel to the first.

After that, the publisher asked how many Greek tycoon stories I had written.

I counted and said, “I have 5 left.”  He made these into The Aphrodite Affairs, and they will be published later this year. And of course I keep right on writing.   

I see from your website that you write books about Greece and Spain. Did you visit these places? How did you choose these places for settings for your books? 

I was born in The Netherlands, so travel in Europe is almost second nature to me.  I’m interested in Alpha males (I was very happily married to one) and I like the Mediterranean approach to life.  So – since I have a fair amount of Spanish, and a dear friend of mine is a young Greek-American lawyer, I got all the help with Greek that I could want.  Yes, I’ve been to Spain, that’s why I have my heroes and heroines visit there.  It’s quite a few years since I was there, but I can easily revisualize the place, the sun, the soothing heat. 

MY LOVE FOREVER is set during the Greek civil war. Will you give us a brief sentence or two describing MY LOVE FOREVER? 

Sure.  It was a dare from Jennifer Mueller.  She said, Try a non-contemporary novel.  I had my Greek hero firmly in my mind, and thought, if I set the novel in 1949, I can have him an exile from the Greek Civil War (1946-48). 

Homesick, Lysandros, Prince of Pátrai, visits an archaeological lecture about Greece, and likes the young, attractive archaeologist.  They meet again in Paris and passion flares.  Many problems arise for them.  How they deal with these, is the story of the book.  I loved writing Lee, my Greek Prince! 

How did you come up with the storyline for A GREEK LOVE STORY? 

I had wanted to write about a widow, abused in her marriage, friendly with her neighbour.  It suddenly struck me that the neighbour could have a to-die-for brother – ah, but how to make him Greek?  Well, if the mother remarried a Greek, and they had a son:  Alexandros was created.  Usually, it takes me some time to get to know my characters, but both Prince Lee and Alexandros appeared before me, fully grown, as it were.  I knew every last detail about them.  From then on, the story just grew and grew.   

Having them stationary in a Florida cottage seemed a little dull, so I had her go live with him, in his Manhattan condo, his house at East Hampton, his private island in Greece.  I’m not usually too fond of the heroine getting pregnant and the hero offering marriage from a sense of duty, although I have written about it.  This time, however, I had Nissa (h.) decide to wait until her doctor could confirm the pregnancy.  Before that can happen, she miscarries, and Alex is very upset that she kept this from him.   

Their relationship suffers, until one night Nissa takes her courage in both hands and goes to Alex.   

There are more trials ahead, he is so gorgeous, every woman intends to have a crack at him, although he makes it clear their attentions are unwelcome.   

I was so very surprised when A GREEK LOVE STORY won the Reviewers’ Award at CATAromance.  My first published book!  It was about the 10^th book I had written. 

What influenced you to get published? How long did it take you to get your first book published? 

I greatly admire Jennifer Mueller, a writer of boundless talent.  When she said I was ready to submit something, I said, Okay, and sent one to Awe-Struck and three to Romance At Heart.  Jennifer reminded me, about a month later, of a Castle story I had written, and suggested I approach the Dark Castle Lords with it.  I felt so at home with them, I began to wish I had given them all my books.

In any case they have the majority.  I submitted to Awe-Struck in Nov. and they accepted two weeks later.  The three for RAH I submitted early December, and by Christmas they told me they would accept all three. Quite a Christmas gift!  

You have quite a few books listed at your website http://romancenroses.com/katesworld   Which one was your favorite to write and why? 

NAVAJO DREAMS of those at the RAH website.  I’ve spent some time with friends at the Navajo Rez, and I actually learned their intricate, beautiful language.  Not as well as I’d like, but all the Navajo expressions are authentic and checked for correctness by my friends there.  It was nominated for TRS’s Reviewers’ Choice CAPA awards. 

MY LOVE, FOREVER is my absolute fave.  It is at the DCL site. 

THE SPANISH CONQUEST, my first accepted book, Awe-Struck, is dear to me, and I regret now that I didn’t give it to DCL, they work hard for their writers, put us on FictionWise and All-Romance eBooks, promote our work, spread the reviews around.  Of course our sales on FW and Are are discounted.  Well, that’s business. 

Often a writer’s first book is the toughest to write. Was this true for you? If so, what helped you get through it? If it wasn’t the first, which one was the most difficult to write? The easiest? 

No, not at all.  Will & Kiki was 242 pp and I wrote it in 3 weeks!  My second book, Navajo Dreams, was a little harder, because I was writing about a different culture.  I feel very much at home with my Navajo friends, and hoped to let that come through in the book, so that it wouldn’t be a travelogue from a superior viewpoint.  I’ve never felt like that about other cultures.  I just embrace and accept.

I think My Love, Forever was probably the hardest to write, because I had to keep checking with Google, did they have this in 1949?  Did they do that in 1949?  So many things we take for granted, they just didn’t exist then. 

Do you write a first draft before editing or do you edit as you write?   

No, I write straight on.  At the end of the day, I print what I’ve written, and also put it on a floppy disc.  The next morning, I read what I wrote yesterday, and make some adjustments.  Sometimes it’s just that there’s an adverb too many, or I can think of a more descriptive verb or adjective.   Then I start writing again.  I edit as much as I can, so that the editor doesn’t have to correct typos, forgotten punctuation, whatever.  Then, it’s up to her to do the edit.  I get it back and accept the edits I agree with.  Explain why I don’t agree with others.  Sometimes she will insist that I find another expression, and we both have fun with our Thesaurus. 

If you could go anywhere to write your next book, where would it be and why? 

Europe.  I would like to refresh my memories, spend a lot of time around the Mediterranean, experience the notable differences between a Spaniard, an Italian, a Greek, and play off them.  

What do you enjoy doing when you are not writing? 

Reading, listening to music.  In a condominium, it is not a popular move to own a piano!  When I was a young woman, sharing an apartment with 3 others. I played the piano in a private club, 7-11pm, Tues-Sun.  I miss my piano still, but…  

I love music too. What is your favorite genre of music? 

Classical, primarily piano.  Once, my husband had been ill and I was looking after him 24/7, so terribly afraid he would not survive – but he did.  When he was reasonably well again, I was so empty.  I put on a cassette (this is quite a few years ago) of Chopin’s Etudes, and when I had listened to them with rapt attention, I felt completely healed, as it were.  I never have music on when I write.  I need total silence to write, because for me the idea of music asi ‘background’ does not exist.  If I hear music, I listen to it! 

If you could have 3 wishes, what would you wish for? 

1. To be the best writer I can be.
2. That my husband would still be alive.

3.  That my health may get a little better.  

Most authors are also avid readers. Is this the case with you? If so, who are some of your favorites? Have any influenced your writing? 

I don’t know whether any of my favourite writers have influenced my writing.  That is for a reviewer, or serious reader, to decide, I’d think.  Consciously, I try to steer away from anything that I admire in other writers, afraid of adopting their way with words into my work.  My favourites:  P.D. James, Ngaio Marsh, John Irving, Gore Vidal, John LeCarré, Len Deighton, to name but a few. 

I understand you like to write in complete silence. Do you feel each of your characters live with you as you write?  

Oh yes, they do.  When the book is finished, I can’t immediately start another one, although often new characters are clamouring for my attention.  But the previous tenants have to move out voluntarily, as it were. 

If you could write and be guaranteed publication of any genre of book, what would it be? 

The kind I write, Contemporary, sensual romance.  I didn’t pick Romance, it picked me.  What I set out to write, when I began my first book, was a sort of auto-biographical novel.  But as I was writing, the romantic side of the events I was portraying came more and more to the fore.   

Are you working on anything right now? Can you tell us a teaser about these projects? 

Yes, I’ve just come off writing NOT WITHOUT LOVE.  A widow and a writer of psychological mysteries meet on the plane from Seattle to Atlanta, become friends, begin a torrid love affair.  I loved writing Luisandro.   

Then, there was this other guy insisting that I listen to him. 

Finally, Luisandro said goodbye, and I found myself being addressed by a to-die-for Greek tycoon, Jason Gianaris.   

He is being pursued by women, and he certainly does not refuse their attentions, although he has a low boredom threshold, so there is quite a turnover.  His P.A. usually gets rid of these persistent women.  She is a young woman who would be attractive if she didn’t wear such severe suits, didn’t screw her hair up in a tight chignon.   

Jason’s grandfather screams invective at him from far-away Greece, demanding Jason marry the granddaughter of granddad’s crony.  No way.

Jason suggests to his P.A. that they marry, a mere formality, but it’ll get granddad off his back.  Well, what do you think will happen?

Any final advice to aspiring authors? 

Don’t bother to write if you think this is a way of quickly becoming famous and rich.  You’ll have to pay your dues.  Write every day, even if you discard it the day after as not good enough.   You have to get the habit of writing.  If you find, one day, that you don’t know where to take the story, play What If.  Thea Devine, that wonderful writer, taught me this.  Make outrageous suggestions.  What if her mother turns out to be the hero’s lover when he was a teenager?  What if the hero finds out the woman he is interested in has been his father’s mistress?  What if…   See what I mean?  Now, you would not want to write these outrageous suggestions, but it’ll get your creative juices flowing again, and I bet you’ll come up with an interesting twist.

Some people thrive in a critique partners’ situation, where two or three women (or more) regularly send each other what they’ve written, and comment, sometimes suggest changes, some drastic, some mild.

It doesn’t work for me.  I write by myself, and only when I’m satisfied wth the way things are going, I’ll ask a friend, an avid reader, if she’ll take a look.  Of course a rave is great, but you can learn more from points the reader makes.

Above all, write, write!  Discover, while writing, which genre beckons to you – it won’t be your choice.  The genre will tell you.  You won’t be able to help yourself. 

And when your characters start writing their own parts, and all you can do is type as fast as you can, those are the best times. 

Thank you so much for spending time with us at Love Romances and More. We wish you the greatest success in all of your future endeavors.