I write spicy contemporary romance and romantic comedy with big ensemble casts, lots of heat, heart, and humor, and always a happy ever after.
As I reader, it’s no surprise that I love interconnected series where stories have long tentacles from one to another, with hidden gems studded throughout. I’ve been reading contemporary romance since I was able to lift my grandmother’s Danielle Steel novels without attracting notice. By comparison, I am relatively new to historical romance though I’ve unhinged my jaw to gobble it up whole.
Plotter or pantster?
I’m an intuitive writer so I know where I’m going and I know when I have it right. What happens after that is a combination of mystery and magic.
With most of my recent books, I’ve started out with a few pages of handwritten scribbles where I drop all the seeds of the story that I’ve cultivated and then start framing a first chapter. I always have a very clear vision of the first chapter but it always takes me the longest to write. This is what I mean about mystery and magic.
After I nail that first chapter (or talk myself into believing it’s good enough for now and I have time to come back and revise), I wander around the next ten thousand words or so as I get to know the main characters. By that point, I usually stop, go back to those seeds, and then organize the moments and emotional beats of the story onto post-it notes. They sort themselves into an order and then I write the moments in an entirely non-linear order. Preference always goes to the moments that infiltrate my dreams. The spicy bits usually get written all at once and the emotionally grueling bits usually come last because I’m an empathic sponge and know I’ll cry the entire time.
Synopses, love them or hate ‘em?
I love a synopsis when a brilliant new idea stabs me in the brain and I can pull together the perfect words like an out of body experience. I hate a synopsis when I’ve either partially or fully written the book and now have to explain what it’s about. I’m the wrong person to ask at that point, LOL. I have no clue!
Do you have a writing playlist or a vision board? If so, what’s on them?
I’m an Enneagram 4 and high in Individualization from the Clifton Strengths (IYKYN) so every single book is different. I am different. So I piece together playlists for each book as I write and it comes to echo the emotional current—in my opinion—of the story. I do the same with images. Sometimes I grab images of people, places, clothes—and sometimes I grab memes quotes or other bits that feel like the story.
Drink of choice when writing? When not writing?
I made the courageous choice to give up coffee several years ago and while my soul misses it very much, my body is more happy with this choice. These days, I am never far from my emotional support water bottle.
Day or Night writer?
Yes. LOL.
Every book is different and the routines around writing each book is different too. It takes a few weeks to figure it out every time.
Twitter or Instagram? Or Facebook? Where can we find you?
Instagram and TikTok are where I hang out the most. I’m also on Facebook and have an incredible reader group over there, The Canterbary Tales.
If you could meet any author, living or dead, who would you want to meet and why?
I am not comfortable limiting this to one author! The short list would have to include Nikki Giovanni, Nora Roberts, Louisa May Alcott, Lisa Kleypas, Geoffrey Chaucer, bell hooks, Amy Tan, Sandra Cisneros, Danielle Steel, and Jhumpa Lahiri.
Where can readers find you on the web and social media?
Name:
Kate Canterbary
What you Write:
Spicy contemporary romance
Agent:
Jessica Alvarez
Why BookEnds?
A recommendation from my friend Pippa Grant.
What genres do you write? Read?
I write spicy contemporary romance and romantic comedy with big ensemble casts, lots of heat, heart, and humor, and always a happy ever after.
As I reader, it’s no surprise that I love interconnected series where stories have long tentacles from one to another, with hidden gems studded throughout. I’ve been reading contemporary romance since I was able to lift my grandmother’s Danielle Steel novels without attracting notice. By comparison, I am relatively new to historical romance though I’ve unhinged my jaw to gobble it up whole.
Plotter or pantster?
I’m an intuitive writer so I know where I’m going and I know when I have it right. What happens after that is a combination of mystery and magic.
With most of my recent books, I’ve started out with a few pages of handwritten scribbles where I drop all the seeds of the story that I’ve cultivated and then start framing a first chapter. I always have a very clear vision of the first chapter but it always takes me the longest to write. This is what I mean about mystery and magic.
After I nail that first chapter (or talk myself into believing it’s good enough for now and I have time to come back and revise), I wander around the next ten thousand words or so as I get to know the main characters. By that point, I usually stop, go back to those seeds, and then organize the moments and emotional beats of the story onto post-it notes. They sort themselves into an order and then I write the moments in an entirely non-linear order. Preference always goes to the moments that infiltrate my dreams. The spicy bits usually get written all at once and the emotionally grueling bits usually come last because I’m an empathic sponge and know I’ll cry the entire time.
Synopses, love them or hate ‘em?
I love a synopsis when a brilliant new idea stabs me in the brain and I can pull together the perfect words like an out of body experience. I hate a synopsis when I’ve either partially or fully written the book and now have to explain what it’s about. I’m the wrong person to ask at that point, LOL. I have no clue!
Do you have a writing playlist or a vision board? If so, what’s on them?
I’m an Enneagram 4 and high in Individualization from the Clifton Strengths (IYKYN) so every single book is different. I am different. So I piece together playlists for each book as I write and it comes to echo the emotional current—in my opinion—of the story. I do the same with images. Sometimes I grab images of people, places, clothes—and sometimes I grab memes quotes or other bits that feel like the story.
Drink of choice when writing? When not writing?
I made the courageous choice to give up coffee several years ago and while my soul misses it very much, my body is more happy with this choice. These days, I am never far from my emotional support water bottle.
Day or Night writer?
Yes. LOL.
Every book is different and the routines around writing each book is different too. It takes a few weeks to figure it out every time.
Twitter or Instagram? Or Facebook? Where can we find you?
Instagram and TikTok are where I hang out the most. I’m also on Facebook and have an incredible reader group over there, The Canterbary Tales.
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@katecanterbary
Instagram: www.instagram.com/katecanterbary
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kcanterbary
If you could meet any author, living or dead, who would you want to meet and why?
I am not comfortable limiting this to one author! The short list would have to include Nikki Giovanni, Nora Roberts, Louisa May Alcott, Lisa Kleypas, Geoffrey Chaucer, bell hooks, Amy Tan, Sandra Cisneros, Danielle Steel, and Jhumpa Lahiri.
Where can readers find you on the web and social media?
Office Memos Newsletter: https://geni.us/officememos
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@katecanterbary
Instagram: www.instagram.com/katecanterbary
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kcanterbary
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/8345486.Kate_Canterbary
BookBub: www.bookbub.com/authors/kate-canterbary
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