Anniversary Celebrations: Author Visit and Give-Away: Kaje Harper


Today one of the most loved M/M authors is in the clubhouse. Kaje Harper is as skilled at writing short, poignant stories as she is writing full length crime, fantasy, sci-fi and, of course, romance novels. Personally, Mac - from her Life Lesson's series - is one of my all time favourite characters (in book two...well I think it is the most romantic scene I've read, ever. I love love and it shows in that book, in that scene, boy does it show...but I digress)... So basically, it is a huge honour to have Kaje join us for out anniversary celebrations. To get to know this amazing author better, we chucked a few questions at her...

Welcome, Kaje. Straight in with the questions... What are your favourite M/M themes? 
I'm a big fan of hurt/comfort in stories - I love seeing two men deal with tough times and pain, and turn together to hope and love. I like established couples and sequels, watching the guys grow and become more than they thought they could be as they overcome external obstacles. And I enjoy a book that has a second genre - mystery, fantasy, SciFi, historical - to give the plot added density.

What books do you consider Desert Island Keepers?
I have almost 300 books on my Goodreads "favourites" shelf, but if I had to choose a dozen M/M books... "Sidecar" and "Chase in Shadow" by Amy Lane, "Scrap Metal" by Harper Fox, "Forget Me Not" by Jordan Castillo Price, "Turbulence" by Lyn Gala, "Muscling Through" by J.L. Merrow, "The Magpie Lord" by K.J. Charles, "Faster Than the Speed of Light" by Lucius Parhelion, "The Butterfly King" by Edmond Manning, "The General and the Horse Lord" by Sarah Black, "The Student Prince" by FayJay, "Whistling in the Dark" by Tamara Allen... damn, that's already twelve, isn't it. So many other great books. Could I just bring my Nook and a solar charger to that desert island?

What's your go-to tasty beverage?
I drink pots of black tea (usually Strong Assam) with milk. My husband refers to me as a device for turning tea into words.

Do you have any secret talents? Inquiring minds want to know!
Not really. I'm pretty good at making weird Halloween costumes (from the years when my kids wanted to be things like an active volcano or a jellyfish or a refrigerator. I miss those years.)

If you had to choose to be one magical beast, what would it be and why? (You don't have to say unicorn...but we won't say neigh either). 
A cat. What, you think they're not magical? They get fed twice a day, soft places to sleep, never have to work, make toys out of anything, are allowed to have attitude and sneer at their humans, and seem to understand everything you say. (Insult a cat and see what happens. A dog will go by your tone of voice and not care. A cat will get back at you someday.) They are totally hiding their true nature and the fact that no one suspects and everyone treats them as harmless and cuddly? Totally magic.
Cats are totally magical creatures!!! 

Who's your favourite porn star? 
I'm afraid I don't watch porn so I don't know. There are some pretty guys who go by on my Facebook feed pictures, though. I'm a sucker for high cheekbones, dark hair with fair skin and blue eyes.

Do you have author envy? Whose words do you read and think, "GAH, I wish I wrote that!"? In general, Lois McMaster Bujold creates characters who have such humanity combined with bone-deep integrity, that I wish I'd written them so they'd live in my own head. In M/M, Amy Lane for the heart-grabbing emotion and characters I love, Harper Fox for the lyrical narrative voice, K.J. Charles for the way her characters interact on multiple levels, with snark and heat, and for the great lines.

Any new projects you're currently working on? 
I'm wrapping up the sequel to "The Rebuilding Year" - off to beta readers soon (and I'm still trying to find a title for it.) Then I've started a new mystery with a hint of paranormal, maybe first of a new series. The sequel to "The Family We Make" is percolating, but hasn't come together enough to write it yet.
Oooh - yay, LOVED The Rebuilding Year! Thank you so much for joining us today Kaje, it really has been a pprivilege.
BMBR would like to offer an e-copy of any of Kaje's already published books to one lucky winner.To enter to win please leave a comment on this blog post and let us know (1) your name and a means of contacting you (e.g., email, Twitter handle, link to Goodreads account, etc.) and let us know (2) Who your must read author is and why. The giveaway is open until 10:00PM (Pacific time) on November 15th. Shortly thereafter, we will contact a winner whom we will select using a highly scientific "names in a hat" method (or, you know, an internet randomiser). 


Good Luck!

24 comments:

  1. My must read authors do include Kaje (yes to TRY2!) - loved Life Lessons!
    Also KJ Charles, Jo Myles & JL Merrow for their Britishness in the stories!

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    1. I adored Life Lessons (as I said, Mac <3), as the only British uni in the stable, I love that you love the Britishness in these authors novels. Fab choices...now, cup of tea??

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  2. Fun interview!
    Mac & Tony are my all time favorite couple. Those two make me giddy every time I think of them. And a sequel to The Rebuilding Year ...yay! I was hoping for more after the ending book 1 had. :)
    Oh question..Must read author. Hmm....Andrew Grey. I just love everything about his characters, they always stick with me.
    (Rissa an M/M kinda girl)
    raynman1979 at yahoo dot com

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    1. They are mine too Rissa. I adore them! I'll have to check Andrew Grey out.

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  3. Must read author...actually I have a few that I love and buy when I have the money. I love Andrew Grey, I love his characters and how he tells a story. Life Lessons, all 4 books, are in my pile of comfort reads. I love Mac and Tony. Thanks for the interview and a chance to win a book.

    redmd@juno.com

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    1. You're welcome. I really must try Andrew Grey as that's two votes to him! Mac and Tony are well read here too. They never fail to me me feel better.

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  4. As I write this, it's Lyn Gala. Tomorrow it could be someone else, as the more I read your blogs, the more authors I find.
    l.lesar@sky.com

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    1. Yay to new authors! Lyn Gala is great, I agree and I love the fact that you're finding new stuff to read from the blog, this was exactly why we started it, to share the love of books and authors. :)

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  5. I have several must read authors including Cardeno C and SE Jakes.
    jczlapin@gmail.com

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  6. Great interview! I really enjoy Kaje's books! Some of my other must read authors include TJ Klune, Kindle Alexander, and Alexa Land.
    aegger.echo(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  7. Oh, dear. You're asking a very tough question here. There are so many great authors out there it's hard to decide on just one.
    Let me go with what I've read recently. I just finished reading The Slave and The Soldier by Kate Aaron. These books were simply fabulous and I'm looking forward to book 3 coming out later this month. Also, Project X by Nephylim. That was an excellent read as well and this author should be known by many out there, her books are quite good. There are many more great authors who I'm always watching for their new publications.
    Does that help? Hah!
    taina1959@yahoo.com

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  8. Some of my must read authors would be Megan Derr, Amy Lane, Josh Lanyon, Sasha L. Miller, Ava March, Kaje Harper, K.J. Charles, Jordan L. Hawk, Rhys Ford etc. I enjoy many different genres such as fantasy/ paranormal, contemporary, historical, mystery etc, so there are different authors that are must reads.
    strive4bst(AT) yahoo(Dot) com

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  9. These days two of my must reads are Charlie Cochet and Piper Vaughn. I love their characters.

    sabrinasmadrina@gmail.com

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  10. Usually my top 3 are Amy Lane, Kim Dare, and Erica Pike.

    toastmasterkatherine@gmail.com

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  11. My top 3 are
    Xanthe Walter -- wonderful free fanfiction mostly
    Kaje Harper -- and why wouldn't she be
    Nalini Singh -- I love a good paranormal and she's prolific

    T.A. Chase is a close 4th -- I enjoy her stories very much.
    & is tied with
    Jack Campbell -- Military SciFi is something I like very much.

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  12. I forgot the email.

    alishead1@yahoo.com

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  13. I like reading C Cardeno, Piper Vaughn, Kindle Alexander, Kaje Harper and anything by Sean Michael. So my taste are all over the place!
    juliesmall2016(at)gmail(dot)com

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  14. Thanks for the interview and contest! Looking forward to the sequel to The Rebuilding Year.

    Some of my must-read authors include: Kaje Harper, Jordan L. Hawk, K.J. Charles, Charlie Cochet, TJ Klune, Amy Lane, Jay Bell, Rhys Ford, Angel Martinez, Heidi Cullinan, Harper Fox, Abigail Roux, Sara Alva, JP Barnaby (I know - long list)

    jen.f {at} mac {dot} com

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  15. Other than Kaje, you mean? :) Jordan L. Hawk is an insta-buy for me these days. Gray is like crack.

    ashley.vanburen[at]gmail[dot]com

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  16. Sandrine Gasq-Dion is an auto buy author for me! Kaje is also a must read as well as SJ Frost and SE Jakes :-)

    wendynjason04 at gmail dot com

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  17. mmm this is a tough question. I can tell you three new authors (to me) I really loved: JH Knight, Renae Kaye and Kelley York.
    Thanks for the giveaway
    cvale1@virgilio.it

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  18. Looking forward to a sequel to the Rebuilding Year! I have many must read authors, but two are Jordan L Hawk and KJ Charles amaquilante(at)gmail(dot)com

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  19. Wow - I almost missed this :) Love Kaje's books - have read most of them but there are a few still on my wish list so thanks for the chance of winning one. I'm a huge fan of the genre so have so many must read authors: Cardeno, Mary C, ML, Josh, Taylor, Kaje, SJ, SE, Charlie, Amy, Kindle, Alexis, Abigail, Lane, Jay, Rhys......

    lgrant1@san.rr.com

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  20. Thank you everyone for entering, we've had some great authors mentioned. The winner, picked using an internet randomiser, is Lynette Michelle. Congratulations - we will contact you by the email supplied. :)

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