Author Genre: Romance
Website: Kathryn Shay
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Author Description:
A NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestselling author, Kathryn Shay has been a lifelong writer and teacher. She has written dozens of self-published original romance titles, print books with the Berkley Publishing Group and Harlequin Enterprises and mainstream women’s fiction with Bold Strokes Books. She has won many awards for her work: five RT Book Reviews awards, the Bookseller’s Best Award, Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year and several “Starred Reviews.” One of her firefighter books hit #20 on the NEW YORK TIMES list. Her novels have been serialized in COSMOPOLITAN magazine and featured in USA TODAY, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL and PEOPLE magazine. There are over ten million copies of her books in print and downloaded online. Reviewers have called her work “emotional and heart-wrenching.”
SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author
Congratulations on your book: Alessia. What do you have on the drawing board next? Rumor has it that you have another book on the horizon called Gideon. Actually, Gideon is available for pre-order and scheduled for release 10/20/20. Can you give us a little tease?
The Casella Cousins follow six family members, all in different professions, through their joys and struggles. In book 5, Gideon Casella is a single-dad police officer. He and his family are trying to make a life together after his ex-wife suddenly moves to Europe. There are intense family dynamics and extremely dangerous police incidents in the book. When Gideon falls for his boss, the sergeant of his task force, romance finds a way into every aspect of the story.
Ronan, in the final book, is the prodigal son who returns to Hidden Cove to reveal all the secrets he’s kept for years.
Do you do any book signings, interviews, speaking and personal appearances? If so, when and where is the next place where your readers can see you? Where can they keep up with your personal contacts online?
I rarely do personal appearances and wouldn’t consider them now because of the coronavirus. I do often present classes online to writing groups. You can reach me through my website at www.kathrynshay.com, and Facebook.
In both places you can find a button to receive my newsletter twice a month .
You have great covers. They carry a theme and your brand with them. How does your book cover creation process work? Do you hand over the basic theme or do you have more of a hands-on approach? Do you get your readers involved in its development?
My covers have been consistent with my brand since day one. I do take a hands-on approach in developing them, finding my own images then sending them to a designer. When she finishes the first trial copy, I ask for changes. This goes on for several revisions.
Several of your novels have been converted into audio books. What has been the impact on your regular sales? Has the audio books gained a new audience for you?
I have decent sales in audio and assume they increase my audience.
You have written several short stories and novellas including The Lucky Lady Casino series. Can you tell us if they had an impact on the sales of your novels? Are shorty’s one of your styles of writing or are they created to give readers a sample of your work?
I thought I’d try some short stories, which is the genre I started out in. I remembered how much I liked the challenge of completing a full narrative in such a limited format. So far, they’ve more than paid for themselves. I do think they lead readers to my longer books.
I like the idea of Author bundles. You are a part of a collection called Heart Stealers. What was the impact on your other sales? What was the main objective of bundling your works with other romance authors? How did you put something like that together?
Heart Stealers was the very first bundle of different authors in one anthology, back in 2013. We’ve taken it down because one author wanted to withdraw her entry, but it was hugely successful and had over 200K downloads. I know it led to other sales because the novel I included was the first in a series.
I pulled this together by getting all the information and manuscripts from the authors, compiled them and sent the anthology out for formatting. But this question is timely because I’m involved in another author bundle called CUPID TO THE RESCUE, to be releases in January.
Eight different authors provided original, brand new work to be included. In the anthology as a whole, there are seven dogs and one donkey who help bring the couples together. My story, “Teacher’s Pet” involves a therapy dog in a classroom for troubled kids. Rosie helps the couple, but even more so, is able to aid the kids in dealing with their emotions. It’s a really cool story.
What has been your experience in giving your books away free? Have you been involved in any other type of giveaways and how did that work out? What was your main goal in doing this? Did you run into any obstacles?
I put my work free mostly for specific promo like Bookbub, Freebooksy and Book Sweeps. I have one novella permanently free, because it leads into my NEW YORK TIMES bestselling work, AMERICA’S BRAVEST.
How do you start your book launch process for a new book? Give a brief outline of the steps you go through to get your book to market. What methods were the most successful?
I do what is called a soft launch. I get the book out there and send my newsletter announcing it. I also use Enticing Journey for one day release blitz across several blog sites. This has been very helpful. www.enticingjourneybookpromotions.com
What is your primary genre? What has been your best marketing approach to this group?
Reviewers have called my work “heart wrenching and emotional,” often dealing with controversial contemporary issues. Lisa Gardner, the well-known thriller writer, described one of my books as “ripped straight from the headlines.”
What is the objective for your newsletter? Do you try to build a list of readers? Do you see a carryover to the sales of your novels?
The answer to both is yes, I build readers with it and see lots of sales after I send it. Sometimes I ask for input with questions about non-writing stuff, like “How are you handling the quarantine for Covid-19?” I answer each email and then post some replies in the next newsletter. This is a great opportunity to talk directly to readers.
Author's Book List
Ronan - The Casella Cousins Book 6
Ronan Casella left home at eighteen. He could never tolerate his mother, and he was sorry to abandon his beloved sister and brother. But he couldn’t stay there any longer after his father died and after Ronan’s girlfriend was involved in a fatal car crash. He heads to Hollywood where he becomes a television and movie star. After ten years, he disappears from that job, too.
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Gideon - The Casella Cousins Book 5
So, crucify him for it. He doesn’t like working with women in the harsh world of police law enforcement.
She sees herself as tough as any man. Then she becomes his boss.
Hidden Cove Police Officer Gideon Casella is a hard man. A divorce three years ago still has him grumpy and out of sorts. But he’s a top cop, which is why he thinks he’ll get the promotion to sergeant that’s being announced soon.
Anabelle Sanders is on her way up the law enforcement ladder right to the commissioner’s office. But she’ll settle for one step at a time, even if she does have to walk all over Gideon Casella’s ego and his barely-concealed chauvinistic attitude. Man, she’s been dealing with men like him all her life.
It comes as a shock to Gideon that the brass gives the position to Sanders, a tough-as-nails female in the department. When he’s assigned to work on a special task force with her—under her—he’s furious at the department, at her, and at life in general.
Will these two hardened-by-life cops be able to find a soulmate in each other?
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Alessia - The Casella Cousins Book 4
She married the love of her life at nineteen—and then he died.
He knows he’s not somebody she should get involved with. But he can’t seem to leave her alone.
Alessia Casella Benatti had her happily-ever-after and now at thirty-four, is only interested in finishing up college and taking care of her three rambunctious boys. But when she enrolls at City College for her courses, she meets Dylan Davidson and finds him interesting, smart and, well, flirtatious. Which makes her start thinking again about love. And sex. Both in short supply.
Dylan Davidson hates what he’s come to do at City College. Sure, it’s a boy dream to flirt with every available girl on campus. Nobody would guess that big, tough Dashing Davidson wants a woman in his life, one who’s all grown up and not concerned with her looks or the color of her nail polish. But his uh-oh alarm goes off when Ali Benatti befriends him. She doesn’t fit into the job he’s here to do, and not only will he break her heart, but he’ll jeopardize a very important mission.
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Finn - The Casella Cousins Book 3
He prefers older, sophisticated women who know what they want. Or at least he did, until he begins to see his assistant in a different light.
But she’s done with her stupid crush on her boss. Done, done, done!
Finn Casella was always the shy, reticent one in the midst of the lively, outgoing Casella cousins. When he was young, he liked books and writing more than he liked people. Now a successful independent bookstore owner in the heart of New York City, he’s settling into his life and wants to get back to his unfinished novel.
Millie Morrison worked her way through a college degree in literature and a Masters’ Degree in business by supporting herself with her job in the bookstore. She's generous and sensitive to her friends and customers. But each overture to her boss has been met with cool professionalism. Well, she’s overcome harder things in her life than unrequited love.
Can these two people, with more in common than they realize, forge something new out of his emotional baggage and her starry-eyed optimism? Some interesting plot twists will keep you guessing and rooting for them to make it—together.
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Seth - The Casella Cousins Book 2
He took her for granted in their young life together but now he wants her back. She's having none of his pleas for a second chance, not after he broke her heart in a million different ways.
Legal Aid Attorney Seth Casella is a truly good guy. Or so everybody thinks. But he’s got a darker side, one that surfaced when he repeatedly betrayed his former girlfriend, Julianne. He tells her he’s changed, but she doesn’t buy it.
Music therapist Julianne Ford is sick of being the forgiving, good girl next door. Not only does she reject Seth’s overtures—again!—but she's taking her own walk on the wild side now, and she likes it. Most of the world sees them as defenders of the poor and neglected, and they are, but together they just can’t get it right.
A heart-breaking legal aid case for Seth and the challenge of helping her dysfunctional students using her beloved music background complicate their search for the way back to each other and a reunion that will last forever.
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Hayley - The Casella Cousins Book 1
She drives him crazy in court. He’s the most irritating, self-absorbed defense attorney she’s ever met. What happens when a couple like this goes from enemies to lovers in one moonlit night on his boat?
Assistant District Attorney Hayley Casella wants to tear her hair out whenever she has to argue against her nemesis, Paul Covington, in court. She’s battled the white-collar defense attorney for a year and their appearances together are only getting more emotional and tinged with sexual tension.
Hot shot attorney Paul Covington is not letting DA Casella ruin his chances of becoming a partner in the prestigious law firm he joined last year. She’s a looker and smart as hell, but he’s as determined to show her up as she’s determined to put him down.
This heartfelt legal drama is backdropped by the glamor of New York City galas, restaurants and boat trips on the ocean. Will Haley and Paul be able navigate the murky waters of competing careers and baggage from their childhoods to make a life together?
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Take Me Back - Hidden Cove Firefighters Book 9
Six years ago, Kate Cassidy broke Rafe Casella’s heart by abandoning him a few months before their wedding. Now she’s in town with the gut-wrenching news that she had his baby, in secret, and she wants Rafe back. She has to be kidding!
But Kate is deadly serious. She made the worst mistake of her life when she left Hidden Cove and she’s determined to fix it. She plans to reinstate herself in the fire department and raise her son in a loving family—one that includes his father.
A rollercoaster of emotion, devastating fires, a stalker targeting Kate and a sizzling attraction that never diminished, set the two of them on an irrevocable course to reunion. That is if they can all stay alive.
If you liked the face-paced events, breathtaking tenderness, uplifting messages of forgiveness, as well as on-the-edge-of-your-seat fire scenes, all characteristic of the Hidden Cove Fire Department Series, then you’ll love New York Times bestselling author Kathryn Shay’s ninth installment
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Bon Appétit - The Lucky Lady Casino Short Stories Book 7
Some call him the chef from hell. Some call him a genius. Known only as Garrick, this remarkable artiste is on his way to even more stardom than he achieved in the TV cooking show he hosts.
A culinary school graduate, Chloe Masterson is thrilled to be sous chef to this legend. Garrick may be insensitive, arrogant and stubborn, but she vows to find a way to work with him.
When a mutual attraction hits them both, their worlds tilt: he’s got other plans for his future and she’s a hometown girl. A relationship between them is out of the question. Or is it?
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The Reckoning - The O'Neils Book 6
As the illegitimate son of the famous O’Neil clan, Kinley Moran bursts into their lives and it’s vengeance he wants--not to be accepted in the family he detests. Now a billionaire entrepreneur/investment broker, he plans to destroy them all with his wealth and power. Little does he know that Bailey and the boys are magnets who could lure him into changing his life’s purpose.
Jamie Ralston is a single mother and waitress at Bailey’s Irish Pub. At thirty, she has one goal--to graduate from college and become a teacher. But when another O’Neil brother shows up, she senses her plan for her future is about to change. Just how much, though, she has control over. She fights Kinley on many issues, but there’s one battle she cannot win: she’s irrevocably drawn to this wounded man.
Will Kinley resist the charm of the O’Neils? Will Jamie resist Kinley’s charms? Read THE RECKONING, a heartbreaking story that will make you cry, make you laugh but also make you cheer for this unlikely couple, and for the O’Neils.
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The Winning Ticket - The Lucky Lady Casino Short Stories Book 6
He’s the head cashier at The Lucky Lady Casino, supervising twenty-five people.
She’s one of those cashiers, just trying to earn a living for her daughter and stay away from trouble.
Trey Sutcliff finally took the plunge and ditched his boring accounting job to get on the administrative track at a casino. But when he meets Annie Evans, one of his employees, he’s attracted to her sweet ways and selfless manner. Annie feels the same about Trey. He’s the kindest man she’s ever known. Despite their best efforts to stay away from each other, their relationship grows. But how can they be together when the revelation of their feelings will get her fired from a job she desperately needs and simultaneously ruin his career?
Fans will root for Trey and Annie and their desire to be together despite the impossible odds, even at The Lucky Lady.
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Jackpot - The Lucky Lady Casino Short Stories Book 5
She’s the gorgeous Jackpot Lady who makes winners’ dreams come true. But underneath her veneer is a very troubled young woman.
He’s a lonely firefighter who’s inexorably attracted to the lovely casino worker while still mourning the loss of his colleague and friend in a fire.
Alyssa Smith is biding her time. All she has to do is finish her nursing courses and get her beloved son off to college and then she can leave her very troubled marriage. But when sexy firefighter Zach Deluca sets his sights on her, suddenly she wants more in her life—him!
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All In - The Lucky Lady Casino Short Stories Book 4
He’s everybody’s favorite bartender, but hides his inner turmoil.
She’s a former doctor who’s looking for a different way of life.
Eric Wolfe gave up a lucrative investment-broker career to get out of the rat race. Beth Sterling quit traditional medicine because red tape caused a patient to die. And abandoning their chosen professions isn’t the only thing they have in common.
But can they ignore their considerable age difference and give into their white-hot attraction?
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Lucky Me - The Lucky Lady Casino Short Stories Book 3
She’s a high-profile New York model who wants to come home and be with her brother, who’s suffering from PTSD.
He’s director of security at The Lucky Lady Casino, whose big nose and imposing height make him doomed to live his life alone.
Stacey Steele loves spending time with Sammy, her twin, at The Lucky Lady Casino. When they befriend Cy Conklin, the big man with a gentle way, she wants to spend more time with him, too. Their lives become inextricably bound, and when Stacey wants a romantic relationship, he rebuffs her.
Will Cy ever accept he’s good enough for Stacey, and will Stacey make some important decisions now that Cy is in her life?
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Bet On It - The Lucky Lady Casino Short Stories Book 2
She’s a young, bright-eyed nursing student, working at The Lucky Lady to pay her bills.
He’s a jaded undercover cop, scoping out the casino for drug trafficking.
Cara Romano has high hopes for her future and is optimistic in her daily life. While waitressing at The Lucky Lady, she meets Nick Lancaster, a grimy, homeless man who spends pennies on a bet, but frequents the casino regularly. Nick can’t believe Cara actually likes the personality he’s donned, but he’s more concerned when his investigation hits close to home for her.
Nonetheless, these two are irresistibly drawn together until the explosive revelation shatters any hope of being together.
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The Big Gamble - The Lucky Lady Casino Short Stories Book 1
He’s a lonely single dad who frequents the casino to escape his dreary life.
She’s a full-time caregiver for her beloved mother and seeks a night of respite at a gaming house.
In “The Big Gamble,” Jane Remington and John Murphy meet one Friday night while playing slot machines. At first, they don’t share personal information and know each other as Jane Doe and John Doe. Then they get close. But can a guy with too much responsibility as it is, and a woman who has already given up her freedom for another, find happiness together at The Lucky Lady Casino?
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I Think I Love You! - The Gentileschi Sisters Book 6
The Gentileschi Sisters are daughters of a king, princesses who come to the U.S. to pursue their careers and fall in love with seemingly unsuitable men.
Ravenna Marcello Gentileschi can’t be in love. She just can’t. She’s a die-hard rebel and he’s Mr. Straight Arrow. But when she books a show of her post-modern art work at the prestigious Parkers, a gallery that bears his family name, she’s forced to work with him and eventually, she her attraction to him can’t be denied.
In Blake Parker’s world, Ravenna Marcello is an aberration of nature. She’s as unsophisticated as they come, she dresses like a biker’s moll and she shows no respect for anything or anybody—including him. So what if he’s forced to work long hours with her setting up her show? So what if she helps students in her art therapy practice? So what if just a glance from her makes him hot under his starchy white collar? The thought of falling for such an inappropriate woman is untenable.
But fall in love they do and the question becomes, “Where do they go from here?” Readers will enjoy watching these two opposite people come together in both tender interactions and red hot sexual encounters that terrify them both.
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Love Will Keep Us Together - The Gentileschi Sisters Book 5
The Gentileschi Sisters are daughters of a king, princesses who come to the U.S. to pursue their careers and fall in love with seemingly unsuitable men.
After the untimely death of her young husband, Mariella Gentileschi Moretti has had enough heartache in her twenty-three years. Now at Georgetown Law School, she’s determined to protect herself and her daughter from the perils of the world. But when she takes a class from law professor and Pulitzer Prize winner Dr. Jordan Dubois, she finds herself drawn to him.
Jordan’s life is a mess and he grabbed the chance to become a visiting professor at Georgetown to get away from his problems. More complications face him when he meets the lovely young widow. He’s captivated by her gentle ways, so different from the women he left behind in France.
She’s in his class so he can’t avoid her. Their six-year-old daughters become best friends at an after school program at the university. And they simply can’t stop the moving forces that seduce them into a doomed relationship. A guaranteed tear-jerker, their story will move the reader to cheer for their reunion.
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How Deep is Your Love? - The Gentileschi Sisters Book 4
The Gentileschi Sisters are daughters of a king, princesses who come to the U.S. to pursue their careers and fall in love with seemingly unsuitable men.
The last thing Brie Gentileschi wants is to deal with someone who reminds her of her kidnapping last year. But when Dante Federico comes on as the new gym teacher in her school, she keeps flashing back to an event that could have ruined her life.
Flummoxed by fourth grade teacher Gabriella Gentileschi’s cold shoulder, Dante has never had to deal with her kind of animosity. He’s just your all-around guy, looking to get along with his colleagues, teach little ones to stay fit and live a normal life.
But when Dante discovers a young student in need of help, he and Brie must work together for the welfare of the child. Who knew he’d be the one, not all the counseling and yoga she’s done, to help her heal from her wounds? Their journey will make readers ache for both of them.
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Can't Help Falling in Love - The Gentileschi Sisters Book 3
The Gentileschi Sisters are daughters of a king, princesses who come to the U.S. to pursue their careers and fall in love with seemingly unsuitable men.
At a Major League Baseball game, the stray pop-up ball is aiming right at neonatal nurse Evvie Gentileschi and hits her foot. Writhing in pain, she allows a complete stranger to help her, but she’s stunned when she discovers he’s the very batter who caused her injury. She has no idea one foul ball will change her life forever.
Star player Mike “The Jag” Jagielski leaps over the dugout, climbs into the stands, scoops up the woman his ball hit and carries her to the medical tent. And damned if she doesn’t turn out to be a smart, witty and surprisingly sensual woman. But there’s no way he’ll let her alter the course of his future.
Despite their protests, the princess and the ballplayer fall madly in love and lose all control of over what comes next.
The glamor of Major League sports and the inner workings of a NICU are the landscape on which the two radically different people struggle to make an impossible relationship work.
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This Guy's in Love - The Gentileschi Sisters Book 2
The Gentileschi Sisters are daughters of a king, princesses who come to the U.S. to pursue their careers and fall in love with seemingly unsuitable men.
An affair with a married man has driven Detective Sergeant Francesca Marcello Gentileschi to a new task force where she intends to keep her head down and avoid befriending her coworkers. She’s determined to build a pristine reputation, even if she has to insult and ignore one fellow cop who is determined to get under her skin.
Picking on Francesca becomes a way of life for Tyrell Beauregard Collingsworth, and he enjoys their sparring—probably because he’s always gotten his way with women. But eventually he finds himself irresistibly drawn to her. When he proposes a relationship between the two of them, he’s confounded when she absolutely refuses!
Follow these two likeable people as they navigate new territory for them both. Emotional and tender moments along with sexual tension that’s off the charts are the hallmarks of this gripping book.
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I Will Always Love You - The Gentileschi Sisters Book 1
The Gentileschi Sisters are daughters of a king, princesses who come to the U.S. to pursue their careers and fall in love with seemingly unsuitable men.
Seriously? Alexandra Marcello Gentileschi thinks when she’s contacted by one of the biggest publishers in New York City. The man actually wants to buy the children’s book she wrote. She’s innocent and naïve in the ways of publishing and in the ways of the world, but she’s determined to make it on her own and not because of the Gentileschi name. She chooses instead her mother’s surname.
Ryder Reynolds is using Alexandra Marcello to get what he wants out of life. Ten years older than she, and technically her boss, he regretfully finds himself enticed by the Italian beauty. But after he falls in love with her, he’s is forced to make an impossible choice that could alienate her forever.
Backdropped by the splendor of an Italian island and the glamor of New York City, Ryder and Alexandra’s struggle will tug at your heartstrings and move you to root for them.
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Post Created by: James Moushon
Mystery Author, Industry blogger and Author Advocate
James is the author of the following blogs:
HBS Author’s Spotlight
Indie Author's Corner
HBS Virtual Bookshelf
Mystery Reader’s Circle
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