Kathrynn Dennis in the Lair

interviewed by Donna MacMeans

Please join me in welcoming my friend and fellow historical romance author, Kathrynn Dennis, to the lair. Her second book, SHADOW RIDER (Kensington, Oct 7, 2008) has just hit the shelves. Here's what the reviewers say about SHADOW RIDER:

"The color, vibrancy, and excitement of the Middle Ages allows Dennis to create a memorable tale of two people whose destiny is tied to a mystical colt. Dennis tells her story with passion, drama, and a love of animals that will enthrall readers." -- 4 Stars! Romantic Times Reviews, SHADOW RIDER

"...a great read for lovers of horses, romance and history" -- Top Pick! July 2008 ParaNormalRomance.org

Welcome, Kathrynn! How exciting to see your book on the shelves this week. What do you do as an author the first week your newest release goes on sale?

First, let me say thank you, Donna, and to all the Romance Bandits, for inviting me to guest blog. Great group here!

As to what do I do as an author during release week? I eat way too much chocolate and spend way too much time checking and rechecking my email. And oh yeah, I surf the net. A lot. ;-)

That’s what it’s like I think, for most authors until they have a few under their belts (books I mean, not drinks).

Sometimes a few drinks don't hurt, especially if served by sexy young Cabana boys (grin). We do like to run out to the book stores and actually see if the book is on the shelves. I wonder if the experience ever truly feels real without that visual confirmation?

I loved Dark Rider (Congratulations, BTW, on the final in the published Maggie contest). It had fabulous medieval atmosphere. Can't wait to read Shadow Rider as well. Where did you get the idea for this unusual medieval romance? The plot involves a “lost and vengeful knight, a horse midwife, castle intrigue, and a colt that barks . . .” to paraphrase a reviewer. A barking horse? Seriously, how did you come up with that?

I eat too much chocolate and drink too much—just kidding. ;-)

I’m a horse veterinarian and you know what they say …“write what you know.” So, I drew on experience and thought “what if” a foal born in the 13th century was affected by a real-life neurological condition that resulted behavioral abnormalities, made him do strange things like gaze at the stars, sit like dog and bark? Wow. Drop that scenario right into the hey-day (pun intended) of superstition in history—the middle ages. My heroine, of course, is a 13th century horse midwife who delivers the foal and then gets accused of all sorts of misdoings and witchery. She needs a hero. Enter Guy of Warwick, who thinks the “magic” horse is meant for him. He saves them both, but things go down hill from there. Turns out, everybody wants that magic horse. The bad guy in this book is pretty bad (will not tell how for fear of spoilers). I had fun writing him.

I remember from the last time you visited that you like to say you write “horsetoricals,” all about heroes, heroines, and horses. Is there any story connection between this book and your first, DARK RIDER?

Not really, but they are both set in the middle ages, have mystic elements and the development horses as characters who are pivotal to the plot. I’ve done a bit of research lately on animals and pets in romance novels and find they run the gambit from decoration, to strong secondary characters who move the story along. In my books, I wrote them to do just that.

Also, the kind of animal a character owns tells you a lot about their personality. Writers use this to layer their character’s development. The heroes and heroines in SHADOW RIDER and DARK RIDER are just as pet-owner profiles suggest they would be: male horse-owners are dominant and high in autonomy, aggressive, and less expressive in general. Female horse-owners tend to avoid aggression and are easy going, but limited in cooperativeness and warm human relationships.

Sounds like a true romance heroes and heroines to me! If you’d like to dig a little deeper into pet-owner profiling, check out Word Wenches today: http://wordwenches.typepad.com/word_wenches/. I have a post there which goes into pet owner-profiling a little deeper.

This, by the way, was one of Kathrynn's horses, Jawknee Reb, the love of her teenage life. So Kathrynn, what’s next?

I have another book brewing, The Horse Lord, a story about a horse wizard in ancient England who seeks a soul mate, a true horsewitch. She, of course wants nothing to do with him. But they are destined (cursed?) to be together and the journey they must travel as they fall in love tests their magic beyond belief.

A horse wizard and a horsewitch? Who knew? Sounds like great fun! To read more about Kathrynn and her horsetoricals, be sure to visit her website http://www.kdennis.com/.

Thank you, Romance Bandits, for having me.

I’d love to hear about the most memorable thing your pet did—a strangely human act of love? Was he/she weirdly smart? One commentor, randomly drawn, will win a free copy of SHADOW RIDER!

Kathyrn Dennis is in the lair

Author Kathrynn Dennis will give away three signed cover flats of DARK RIDER. Names will be drawn from those who post comments.

Welcome to debut historical author, Kathrynn Dennis and congrats! Your first book, DARK RIDER (Kensington, ISBN 1420100475) is available now and is getting great reviews. I've heard your stories referred to as “horsetoricals.” Tell us more, please!

Thank you, Donna, for inviting me on Romance Bandits. I can’t take credit for the “horsetorical” term, but I wish I could. I met a fellow attendee at the National RWA conference in Reno, 2006 and we struck up a conversation. She asked me what I wrote and I told her “medieval historicals---romance with dashing heroes, determined heroines, and destriers!” She laughed and said “Oh, you write horsetoricals.” We talked for awhile, but never introduced ourselves, so I can’t write her and say thank you. Hoping we will meet again someday. ;-)

Perhaps she'll post a comment! Wouldn't that be fun. I know you are a horse veterinarian and horses play a big role in DARK RIDER. What kind of research did you need to do to give the story a period-feel?

Well, I took common horse aliments we see today and weaved them into a romance set in 13th century England. Three things have always plagued the equine species: bad guts, bad feet, and bad attitudes. In the 13th century, the common diagnosis for most any horse aliment or behavioral disorder was “he’s been elf-shot.” Elves with arrows were evidently a big problem for livestock in medieval England. ;-)

I understand the heroine in Dark Rider is a horsewitch. Care to elaborate?

A horsewitch is half horse-whisperer and half horse-healer. She’s a telepath (she can commune with horses) and she has a good clinical intuition when it comes to healing. You can see why that would get woman of ye olde days into trouble---and boy does she get into trouble. What she needs, of course, is a good hero-horseman to get her out of it, so I gave her one. But let’s just say it wasn’t love at first sight for the horseman or the horsewitch. He has issues---with horsewitches and with his own unbridled ambition---but the man can ride!

Tell use about your writing process. Are you a pantser or a plotter and how long does it take you to finish a book?

I wing the first 15 pages, then I stop to plot. I finish a book in about a month and spend the next year revising and rehashing. The trouble with this approach is that invariably, I get distracted by a niggling of an idea for another story and over the following 10 months it can be tough to keep focused on the revisions of the work-in-progress. At some point, as a writer, you just have to put it down and say “I’ve given all I can to this book. Time to move on.” Then you get all excited again and start to write the next one!

You write a book in a month!!! I'm so jealous! What’s next?

Next up is SHADOW RIDER (Kensington, Oct 2008). This one was especially fun to write. The opening starts with the heroine who is a medieval theriogenologist (a fancy word for livestock obstetrician) who delivers a foal that’s affected with a real-life condition that makes him bark, sit like a dog, and stare at the stars. This would have caused a stir in medieval times, so accusations fly---he’s possessed, she’s a witch---things look pretty grim for both of them. Enter the SHADOW RIDER, the tortured, hero knight who believes the little horse is the mystical beast born who can offer him redemption. The hero has plans for the horse and for the heroine. You can bet she’s is not gonna like them!

Sounds like another great read. Thank you, Kathrynn, for blogging with the Romance Bandits!

Thank you, Donna, for inviting me. Tomorrow I’ll be blogging over on the History Hoydens (http://historyhoydens.blogspot.com/) about the trials and tribulations of making a historical novel video trailer. Anyone who wants to stop by (more drawings for prizes) is most welcome!

Book Trailers are all the buzz at the moment. I'll have to stop by. Just a reminder that Kathryn can be found on the web at www.kdennis.com