Please welcome Karin Tabke to the Lair

by Tawny Weber

Karin Tabke's got a gift for rocking the alpha heroes. Whether it's a cop or a knight, she has a solid handle on writing strong, sexy men who take charge - and women who are strong enough to go toe-to-toe with them.

Her latest release, Master of Craving, is the third book of the Blood Sword Legacy - and talk about a legacy... is that one hot cover or what?

The Blood Sword Legacy
Eight knights bound by a brotherhood forged in hell claim their legacies the only way they can: by right of arms, by right of victory, by right of conquest.

Most of England has submitted to King William, but Wales refuses to yield. The King's trusted Blood Swords are unable to prevail, and while Stefan de Valrey is left unconscious on the battlefield, his sworn brothers are captured. Despite terribile injuries, Stefan vows to liberate them. Even rescuing a delicately beautiful -- and naked -- maiden from peril cannot deter him, for the silver-eyed Arianrhod is a Welsh princess, a hostage Stefan can exchange for his brothers...so long as Arian remains as pure as when he met her. But that is a constraint Stefan finds harder to honor with every passing day.

When the scowling knight slings her across his saddle, Arian knows she should fix all her thoughts on escape. But Arian has never before experienced the deep, soul-changing desire that Stefan arouses with merely a glance. Breaking their vows could set two kingdoms ablaze -- can they control the sweet, terrible burning between them?

*sigh* Now doesn't that sound like a fab story? A fairy tale for sure. I was a huge fan of fairy tales as a kid, and still am for that matter. As a child, I think one of my favorites was Snow White and Rose Red. The contrasts, the love story, the flowers (hey, I'm a gardening fiend, what can I say?) I know my love of fairy tales factored into why I write, and why I continue to read voraciously. Which makes it always that much sweeter to find an author who tells a story about a powerful knight, a strong princess and a great tale of love. Did I mention Karin writes great stories?

So I'm curious - what was your favorite fairy tale, then and now?

And speaking of... here's Karin!!!

I’m Late, I’m Late, For A Very Important Date!!

Ah, my constant companion, procrastination.

I want to dump the son of a bitch, but he’s so cute, and cozy and makes me feel so good—for the moment. Then he becomes a royal pain in the ass. Tonight I can blame my lateness in getting Tawny my blog on Lisa Rinna. I was up until 2:30 this a.m. reading her book RINNAVATION. I don’t usually go for this type of book, I mean, I don’t need no freakin’ help!

I lurve me. Seriously, I don’t have any hang ups (well, no serious ones…). I’ve got a good healthy outlook on life. Yeah, I need to lose a few pounds, okay more than a few, but I just wake up each morning and think, Bottecelli, you rock, I am Venus of the new millennia! I love my husband, he loves me, my kids are great, tho’ not perfect, and I’m doing what I am most passionate about: I write romance!! So why would I get anything from a self-help book?

Because I needed the reminder! I needed the spark, because quite frankly, I have been trying to dig myself out of a few ruts. Lisa’s book was like exfoliating my skin. It brought out my glow again. I love to glow! I loved this book! I think--I love her!

I feel RINNAVATED Hah! Seriously, I need to remind myself that I am not an island unto myself. Sometimes, when things get a wee bit stale I need to rejuvenate, and reading a good self-help book that doesn’t preach but brings out the glow is just right for me.

So, what brings out your glow? What do you do when you need to add some pizzzaz or some umph back into your daily grind?

And before I let you go, don’t think I won’t remind you about my hot cops and hunky knights. Those boys will get any girls’ juices flowing and give you one hell of an after-glow! So, you like free stuff? Check out A KNIGHT TO REMEMBER, a free short story. The hunky knight in this free short story is also a character in MASTER OF CRAVING, book three in my Blood Sword Legacy series, out now! Click here for an excerpt and scroll down. And you can always find me blathering away on my blog The Write Life or tweeting on Twitter under Karin Tabke or blathering more on Facebook. friend me.

Ciao, girls! My glowing self will be hanging out today to glow with you all.

Hot Cops. Hot Knights. Hot Author - Karin Tabke

by Tawny Weber

Whoohooo - I'm super excited to share some chit-chat with a great friend of mine - Karin Tabke. Karin is one of those fab authors who writes all over the board. Historical, Paranormals Erotica -this gal does it all. Karin's novella, THE HARD STUF, debuted in January 2006. Her first full length book, GOOD GIRL GONE BAD was featured in the November 2006 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine. Since her debut, she's gone on to sell 11 books so far to two publishers, with her sixth and seventh out this month. Please join me in welcoming Karin -


[Karin] Thank you Romance Banditas for having me as your guest today!

[Tawny] Thank YOU for coming to play with us! Karin, your writing is intense, emotional and so real. Jaded is, in my unbiased opinion, your best cop book yet. Can you share a little about it with us?

[Karin] In my biased opinion I would have to agree with you. I hit my writing stride with this book. This book is about two pretty tortured souls who find each other and run as far and as fast as they can, but don’t get very far. It’s more character driven than the previous hot cop books, and I really dig that. It’s also more plot developed than the previous books, ok, well, maybe not more then SKIN, but it has some killer twists and turns.



[Tawny] Your heroes are hot, sexy and alpha in the true sense of the word. Do you find it a challenge to write such strong men?

[Karin] Nope, I write what I know. I live with a bunch of alphas, kind of hard not write about them when they are in your face 24/7.

[Tawny] How about finding women strong enough to keep them in line?

[Karin] Weeeeel, to survive alphas one must be able to stand toe to toe with them, which I do, so again, I write what I know. I’m a pretty alpha female, hence the interesting tug of war between my characters. So, basically, I just whisper in my heroine’s ear how to handle those bad boys. Most of the time they listen. But sometimes they don’t. I love smirking and saying, “I told you so,” after the fact.

[Tawny] I know for a fact that your cop's are true to life because you have a solid research venue... namely a retired cop by the name of Hubby. Writers are always mining our own lives for story fodder. Have any of your husband's war stories found their way into your books?

[Karin] Yep. The opening scene in GOOD GIRL GONE BAD was ripped from the pages of one of Hubby’s few IA’s. Then there is the whole cop talk and action thing. Camaraderie between cops is tight, and raw. Nobody really gets them except the same animal with the same spots. But they are human like the rest of us, and sometimes that adrenaline is hard to turn down. They do some crazy stuff. And don’t think for a minute that cops don’t cross a line here and there, they do, especially when a female is involved. Those guys love as hard as they work.

[Tawny] How does his being a retired cop influence different aspects of your story?

[Karin] He is a font of information. I’ll run a procedure by him, or ask for the correct lingo, and he confirms facts. The penal code is burned in his brain. But what he does best is help me brainstorm plots for their cop authenticity and integrity. I do take some artistic license, this is after all fiction, but I try to stick as close to real as possible. In fact it makes the story better. More conflict when you have to stick to the rules. Coz then it’s real fun when my characters break them. And just an fyi, some of things I have witnessed? If I wrote about it, no one would believe me. I’m leaving that to hubby and the book he’s writing.

[Tawny] You have another June release that is wildly different than your hot cops. Can you share a little about The Blood Sword Legacy, and book one of the series, Master of Surrender?

[Karin] Can I say I LOVE this series? Here’s a hint:
The Blood Sword Legacy Bound by a brotherhood forged in the hell of a Saracen prison, eight Blood Swords -- mercenary knights for William the Conqueror -- set out to claim their legacies the only way they can: by right of arms, by right of victory, by right of conquest.
The first book of the series is MASTER OF SURRENDER, book two, MASTER OF TORMENT comes out in December of this year. What I love most about writing this series is the rawness of the era. There was so much turbulence and the rules changed for everyone. It’s a fabulous backdrop for conflict and passion.


[Tawny] Hubba hubba... that is one HOT cover!! Karin, often when a writer reinvents herself, its because she's hit a wall or she's burned out writing one particular sub-genre. Your hot cops are doing great, so that's not the issue in your case - what made you shift focus to medieval historicals and where does this leave those sexy cops?

[Karin] I fell in love with romance reading the historicals of yore. When I came back to them a few years ago I was disappointed by how watered down many had become. They seemed to have lost the raw edge of the time. So, I took it upon myself to write the kind of story I love. Hence the series. As to where does it leave my sexy cops? Well, JADED released yesterday, book three in my hot cops series. Book four, HAVE YOURSELF A NAUGHTY LITTLE SANTA, comes out in mass market in November. I have every intention of writing more bad boys with a badge.



[Tawny] Do you find your writing process is any different in working on the cops vs the historcals?

[Karin] Yes. My cops are a part of me. I lived the life by way of hubby for many years. They are contemporary. I can write those guys all day long, it comes easy. It’s what I know. The historicals? Not so easy. It takes me much longer to write because I can only go by what I have researched and the stories told by others. It’s hard to put yourself somewhere you’ve never been and have it just pop out. I’m sure once I get a few more historicals under my belt it will come easier, but for now, the storytelling takes longer. That said, I am dying to cross the pond to England and haunt the sites of my stories. I think that will be an enormous help.

[Tawny] And speaking of writing processes (my favorite hated subject) care to share yours?

[Karin] Um, yes, I have this friend who I IM at ungodly hours of the morning and we push each other to produce pages. Seriously. My best writing time is from midnight to 4 a.m. The house is quiet and I surround myself with my characters. I write almost every day. Sometimes 20 pages, sometimes 2 pages, but with the exception of weekends (and sometime not) I write.

[Tawny] LOL - I love our ungodly middle of the night writing sessions! Like you, I get so much done after dark. Karin -thanks so much for hanging out with us today.

[Karin] T, thank you for taking the time to ask the questions, and to all of the Bandits, thank you for having me as your guest today! I’d love to give away a copy of one of my backlist to a lucky commenter today! So if you just want to say hey or have a question, fire away.

Thanks, Karin for visiting! If you all want to check out more of her gorgeous covers or her books, stop by Karin's website at http://www.karintabke.com/


So, everyone - Karin has a fabulous handle on those sexy alpha males. Care to share YOUR favorite alpha hero? Could be a hero from fiction, television or movies. You name him, I want to hear how hot he is....