Introducing Award-Winning Modern Heat author Kate Hardy!
21 Comments July 25th, 2008 in Modern Heat, author Posted by Amyby Kate Hardy, author of One Night, One Baby
Hi – I’m Kate Hardy, and I write for both the Modern Heat (Presents in the US and Sexy Sensation in Australia) and the Medical Romance lines. I’ve written Medical Romances since 2001, and I was thrilled to be in Modern Heat right from the start in 2005.
My story’s a little different from the other authors in the line in that respect; I used to love reading Temptations, and then my editor rang me at the end of 2004 and told me that Temptations were moving to London. Then she asked if I’d like to write one for her. I was absolutely delighted, especially because when we talked it through I discovered I also got to keep the bits I love most about writing Medical Romances – the sensuality and the secondary characters.
Although Modern Heat books are glamorous, with handsome and wealthy heroes, there’s also a ‘real world’ feel to the line – it’s something that really could happen to you. The judges for the Romantic Novelists Association’s Romance Prize agreed when they announced that my “Breakfast at Giovanni’s†(aka “In Bed With Her Italian Boss†in the US) had won this year’s award; they said, “This book was so warm, believable and engaging, that not only did we entirely forget our inner critics, we couldn’t put it down until we got to the very end!â€
Winning the RNA award has definitely been the highest point so far in my career – especially as “Breakfast At Giovanni’s†was my 25th title for Mills and Boon and it’s also the company’s centenary this year.
Modern Heat really seems to have struck a chord with readers and judges alike, and all the authors have been thrilled at the way the last year’s shortlists have panned out. Julie Cohen was shortlisted along with me for the RNA award this year; in 2007 Anne Oliver won the Australia R*BY with “Behind Closed Doors†and this year she’s been shortlisted with “One Night Before Marriage†(aka “Marriage at the Millionaire’s Command†in the US); and Heidi Rice and Kelly Hunter have both been shortlisted for the RITAs this summer. So we’re really hoping to make it the Modern Heat awards treble between us!
Writing for the line is an absolute dream. Although I love Medical Romances, I’m also enjoying being able to play with different sorts of characters, as well as the kind of conflicts and resolutions that maybe wouldn’t work so well in a Medical. However, sometimes I get a bit carried away with the background, so my editor has a “nerd radarâ€; the stories really need to focus on the relationship between the hero and heroine. Sadly, I had to lose the microwave grape racing from “One Night, One Baby†(yes, really!), although I’m very pleased that I’ve been able to keep the big noisy families (especially as I’m writing one at the moment as the second of my duo about a very modern Sheikh and his best friend) and the fun, flirty flatmates.
And best of all I get to keep strong, sensual heroes – clever men with a heart. (I’m still working on having Antonio Banderas as my cover model, but that’s another story…)
Kate will be back in early August to share some insights into the Modern Heat hero!
Kate Hardy’s next book is One Night, One Baby (August 2008, Harlequin Presents), available now on eHarlequin.com!
Just wanted to say I ABSOLUTELY love your books Kate and am not at all surprised that Giovanni’s was a WINNER!!
RACH!
Ha, I knew you were going to get Antonio in there somewhere!
Thank you, Rach!
)
Heidi – course I was going to get Antonio in there! The perfect hero. (He’s even inspired a scene that I think my editor might just cut…)
Hi Kate,
It’s wonderful to see you here, I’ve been waiting patiently since the contest was announced to see the modern heat authors show up on this site. Probably because I want to bombard ye all with questions.
I love reading this series and I’m gonna give the competition a go.
I think submitting is an achievement in itself regardless of the outcome.
Having something to aim for and/or a dead line is quite the incentive to get those words down on paper.
So my question to you is this:
If you had to sum up the flavour of a modern heat book, what one word springs to mind?
Obviously I have tonnes more questions but I read on your blog that you are ‘AWOL’ and so I’ll wait until your back here before I put your brain through the mill.
All the best,
Aideen.
Great question, Aideen.
I think Kate’s away on hols so I’m going to pipe up and say ‘cosmopolitan.’
I love writing for Mod Heat for that very fact. The scope of plots and characters is fabulous
Hi Nicola,
Thanks so much for your chosen word. I had planned on going through all the modern heat authors, one by one, so you’ve gone ahead and started the ball rolling for me. Cosmopolitan.
Great start.
I think the scope you speak of is one of the reasons I love this line. That and the hotter than hot guy who can make me stay up till the small hours of the morning reading and reading…till I get to ‘the end’.
(Like Judd! What a man).
Of course I love the heroines just as much. They are certainly women to admire and great role models in my opinion.
(Like Abby! Great character).
Anything else that you would care to add would be much appreciated,
Aideen.
Kate, I’m with you and Antonio! I even adored him as Puss’n'boots. Another congrats on your award for Giovanni – a truly special hero and book.
Aideen, Nic’s “cosmopolitan” is right on the mark! I would add “sexy, relevant and real”. Fun yet with an emotional edge women of today can relate to on a number of levels.
Well, I’m inspired! Back to my WIP.
Robyn
Hi Kate! I can’t wait to see what all the Modern Heat gals have to say about our fabbo line either!
Aideen, the first word that came to me was RICH. And I don’t mean that in the moula sense (though I guess that helps too
) Modern Heat books are rich with wonderful lead characters, with the added complexity of friends and family, with dialogue, intense situations, and locations that make you ache to visit them.
Hope helps. And good luck with the contest.
Ally
ww.allyblake.com
“THE MAGNATE’S INDECENT PROPOSAL” out now in Aus/NZ
Aideen,
Great question, and it looks like my other Modern Heat colleagues have picked some great words already to sum it up.
But if I was going to pick just one I’d have to go for the obvious and say HOT. Hot heroes, hot-headed and feisty heroines, lots and lots of extremely steamy sexual tension, heated, sparky dialogue and – as you can tell from Kate’s post – this is a hot line at the moment. It’s certainly really exciting to be a part of.
Best of luck with your submission.
Heidi
Hi Kate. I’m absolutely with you about what a dream it is writing for this line. I can hardly believe my luck at the scope open to us.
As for a word, Aideen…
I think I’d have to throw ‘quirky’ into the ring. All the Mod Heat books I’ve read so far have been different, from other lines and from each other. Fresh and original, with strongly individual characters–often even the supporting actors have star quality.
Maybe this is why some people have described them as being grounded in reality. There’s no-one quirkier than a real human being! Take Antonio Banderas, for example…
LOL. Just kidding. That boy is already well and truly taken! (sigh)
Best of good luck with your comp
Anna
http://www.annacleary.com
‘TAKEN BY THE MAVERICK MILLIONAIRE’ out NOW in the UK, North America in August
Great to have you here, Kate.
You once said that your book, The Cinderella Project, (written for Modern Extra) wouldn’t fit today’s Modern Heat line
What is it about the book that wouldn’t be quite right?
Oh Wow,
Thanks so much to all of you for responding to my ‘one word’ question. Ye have given me some fabulous insight into how these books are brought to life and I’m so grateful.
And yes to every single one of the descriptions posted. These are exactly why this line is so appealing to me, I love Modern Heat.
The stories are wonderfully possible and the characters are so real that I feel I personally know them. My only problem with reading these books is that they end!!! I have no patience waiting for new releases, I’m practically sitting on the doorstep of Eason’s come release date and the girls on the tills even know me by name now.
I can’t wait for follow up blogs (that’s my way of asking politely for you gals to inspire us with your dazzling minds) and look so forward to attempting this competition.
Its such a fantastic opportunity to be given this chance, regardless of the outcome.
Much thanks again,
Aideen.
Great post Kate – its wonderful to see these Modern Heat books getting recognition
Hello my friend Aideen! the other authors have come up with a fab list of words already – one to add to the list would be ‘aspirational’ – ie its the kind of guy/career/lifestyle we’d love to have ourselves… and I really wish I could snap back with some of the sparky dialogue like these heroines do! In real life it always takes me till the next day AT LEAST to think of something vaguely witty and then of course its far too late
Hi Alice – I know that Kate is away for a few days so let me try to help with this one. I’m not sure what she was meaning about The Cinderella Project exactly (a FAB book btw!!) so I can’t comment on that one directly – but I do know that since it launched the line has been ‘refined’ a little.
From my point of view (and some of the others might pipe up too!) its the heroes who’ve been toughened up – they guys we’re writing now are strong alphas and already successful. They’re still younger and DEFINITELY fun but have that steely core once you start digging. Also 50,000 words isn’t much to play with so those secondary characters are there to help paint the picture of our heroine’s life (ie don’t let them try to take over – give them their own book one day!). Ummmm, hope that helps a bit but as I say, we’ll leave it to Kate to respond to re The Cinderella Project when she’s back – I’m interested to hear her reply too because that was one of the first books I read in the line and for me was a wonderful representation of it – it made me want to write for the line even more and luckily I got to!
Oh and Aideen – rest assured, plenty more blogs are coming
Best of luck with the competition!!!
~Natalie
Aideen,
I’m so glad you enjoyed Hot Nights with a Playboy.
Judd and Abby are favourites of mine
I’m smiling at you sitting on Eason’s doorstep waiting for the next batch of Mod Heats to be released…now that’s dedication to a series
Nicola
Oh, Aideen. I know exactly what it’s like haunting the shop for the next release of your fave authors. I’ve done it myself. In fact, when I first fell in love with M&B, every month I devoured all the new releases on the shop shelves, then started on the ones held in the local library. I borrowed so many hardcover editions at once that I strained my shoulder carrying them home!
And Nat. I definitely agree with you about not allowing your secondary characters to take over. Don’t know what others think, but in the books I remember best, even the supporting characters have unique personalities, within the limitations, of course. I suspect the trick is to somehow, in as brief a way as possible, paint even them as individuals.
I think this contributes to the authenticity of the entire story, and that enhances the ‘reality’ of the heroine’s world.
I’m not sure if I can always do this absolutely successfully myself, but I’m striving for it.
I have to admit I was thoroughly chuffed a few days ago when I read a comment in a chat room from a reader about my first book, ‘My Tall Dark Greek Boss.’
She said she loved Irene, (the hero’s clever, devious mother), and wished she could have someone like Irene in her life!
Wow. Baby, that gave me a boost! That sure suggests a reader totally absorbed in the world created by little old moi! So from now on, for me, Irene is the way to go!
What do you think yourself, Aideen?
anna.
Oh, I do love chatting about Modern Heat and we’ve got a right old royal chin-wag going here now haven’t we.
I had to just pip in on the secondary characters thing. I love writing them myself, I think they give the stories texture and context and lots and lots of believability but you have to be so careful not to let them run away with your story. I had an Elvis impersonator who popped up in The Tycoon’s Very Personal Assistant and pushed the whole story completely out of whack (turns out he was the Devil in Disguise) – suffice it to say he got the boot at the revision stage. Another thing I’ve been told to watch out for (in no uncertain terms by my editor) is cute-kid-syndrome. You have been warned.
I think the rule of thumb with secondary characters is that they have to be there for a purpose, ie they should be impacting on the central relationship when they appear. That’s not to say that they shouldn’t be individual, fully rounded personalities, just that they shouldn’t have their own agenda or take the focus away from the H and h. That said, the heroine’s best friend in my RITA nominated book The Mile High Club became such a nuisance I did just what Nat suggested and gave her her own story. So that’s your get-out clause, if need be.
Nat, loved your comments about the direction of the line. It’s definitely true that our heroes have become more alpha and aspirational, but not in an unbelievable or autocratic or humourless way (I hope).
And Anna, all the secondary characters of yours I’ve read have been 100 percent successful. The formidable Irene included.
Heidi
THE TYCOON’S VERY PERSONAL ASSISTANT, out now in the UK, Sept in the US
Aspirational and addictive!
Yes Natalie, aspirational is definitely another word that applies to this series. I’ve yet to read a Modern Heat where I didn’t want the heroine for my best friend. No, I’m lying, I’ve yet to read one where I didn’t want to be the heroine myself!! They absolutely rock. They’re funky, fun, flirty and contagious. Which brings me to say to Nicola, I’m dedicated to this line only because ye write it so magically, it’s 100% addictive.
And Anna, secondary characters are so important to me when I read a book. Regardless of the genre I’m reading in, I have to have a connection of some sort with these people. They allow us, the readers, to see into the world of the H/h without rose tinted glasses. I love how they drive the story and I adore watching the H/h interract with each other’s friends/associates/family members. I think Modern Heat offers excellent scope in this regard and is just one of the many reasons it’s so hot right now.
Heidi, I love the sound of your Elvis impersonator, maybe you can work him into another story at some point? And your get out clause is brilliant. Because more often than not when you do get to meet a friend of the H/h, you end up wanting to know their story too.
Then I’m back on Eason’s doorstep waiting for their book!!! Oh, the fun never stops.
So, go on, all of you, write some more stories please.
Aideen.
Kate, I just read the excerpt of One Night, One Baby and it looked terrific–can’t wait to read it!
I’ve really enjoyed this conversation about Modern Heat and some of the nuances that make it a little different from the classic Modern line–as well as the similarities, since they’re both Presents! Great discussion. Thanks!!
Kate, Congratulations! I love your books — it is wonderful to see that Giovanni’s book won the prize!
I have “One Night, One Baby” in my TBR pile and hope to read it soon.
First of all, so sorry for my absence. Mix of various crises (the last three weeks really have been among the worst of my life) and holiday (very bad timing!). Thanks for bearing with me on that.
Aideen – one word. Now that’s a toughie. Can I do a compound word and say ‘wide-ranging’? Because ours are all so very different. (That’s one of the strengths of the line, in my view.) Just as all of us came up with different words to describe the line… and it’s all of them! All the best with your comp entry.
Alice – why wouldn’t Cinders work now? It’s hard to put my finger on it, but the line has moved much more towards the Presents hero – so I’d say that Max wouldn’t be quite alpha enough nowadays. (And thanks, Nat, for the compliment!)
Jennie – thanks for the compliment!
Lidia – thank you. And I hope you enjoy One Night, One Baby
Hi Kate,
I hope you find the next three weeks treat you better than your last three. I’m sorry to hear that you are going through a rough time. If my mother was here she’d tell you that ‘what doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger’ but I sometimes wonder where it is she finds her wisdom!
Yes, wide ranging definitely covers the one word question I posed and I’ll tack that along with the others to my notice board above my lap top. (notice board that is currently falling down beneath the weight of hints and tips you girls are so generously sharing).
Thanks,
Aideen.