Spotlight on Escape Publishing

Today, I am excited to welcome Kate Cuthbert here to visit with us all in her capacity as Editor of Escape Publishing, a newly launched digital imprint of Harlequin.  I am excited about the prospect of seeing what is published on this imprint, especially seeing there is a strong focus on Australian authors!

Welcome Kate!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kate Cuthbert

Hi Everyone! I'm so happy to be here. Thanks for your interest in Escape Publishing. We've been working behind the scenes for ages now, so we're super excited to get to put it out into the world and set it free!

Marg knows that I've been talking up our launch books for the last week, so she decided to go in a slightly different direction and asked me to talk about our launch authors, which is a fabulous idea because they're all such fabulous people. I'll let you know a little bit about each of their books, but probably the most important thing for you is that they are all on sale right now for a very limited time to celebrate the launch. You can get Chaos Born, Christmas Wishes, Grease Monkey Jive, and In Safe Hands for $0.99 each, and Chains of Revenge, our erotic fantasy novella for free! So if you're interested in seeing what we've got, then now's the time to take advantage! Hop on our website www.escapepublishing.com.au for all the details.

On to introductions!

Ainslie Paton is not at all used to being on this side of the camera – she works in a corporate setting in marketing, public relations and advertising. If you're wondering if she knows the dance scene first hand, the answer is yes, though she only dances for herself now. Ainslie lives in Sydney, and her launch title Grease Monkey Jive is her debut novel. I loved it because I love big stories with ensemble casts and relationships outside the main love interest and lovely, long, building relationships. Plus ballroom dancing. And a hot surfer hero. Really – what's not to love? You can learn more about Ainslie on her website: http://ainsliepaton.com.au/

Keziah Hill used to work in the criminal justice system (though I imagine she never had 'justice' quite like it pans out in her launch novella Chains of Revenge!). Needing a tree change, she decamped to the Blue Mountains north of Sydney to focus on writing. As well as steamy erotic romance, Keziah also writes romantic suspense and takes care of her garden. Chains of Revenge is an erotic fantasy novella, and I loved it because even though the hero and heroine were always at odds power-wise, their relationship and their feelings for each other also meant they were always on even footing. Also, it was hot. You can find out more about Keziah here: www.keziahhill.com

Lee Christine revealed to us during the launch celebrations that her first stories were actually songs – when she was a teenager, she dreamed of being a singer/songwriter. Which naturally prompted us all to plan a karaoke outing quick smart. Lee lives in Newcastle with her husband, and has two grown children. She's worked in a number of settings including law and software training. In Safe Hands is her first novel and did very well on the contest circuit before I snapped it up for Escape because it's smart, it's savvy, it's suspenseful, it's sophisticated, and it scared the pants off me. You can find out more about Lee on her website here: http://leechristine.com.au/

Rebekah Turner works as a graphic designer and admits to an addiction to stationary (which, honestly, is a vice I share). She lives in Brisbane with her husband, two kids, and a dog that you can see pictures of if you follow her on Twitter, which you should. She also loves 80s action movies. She calls them trashy. I substitute 'awesome'. Chaos Born is Rebekah's debut novel and I couldn't accept this manuscript fast enough. The world-building is incredible, complex, deep, dark, sinister, yet familiar. Her heroine, Lora, limps but in a total bad-ass way. And, while there's technically a love triangle, I'm currently recruiting everyone I know to Team Roman. Rebekah's website is here: http://rebekahturner.net/

Rhian Cahill will already be familiar to readers who like things a little hotter – she's multi-published in erotic romance, and chose Escape Publishing when she wanted to take her writing in a different direction. Rhian lives in Sydney with her husband and those of her four children who have decided not to leave home yet. When she approached me with her idea for a holiday-themed novella that would still carry her trademark heat level but move away from explicit erotic romance, I made her send it to me the next day. Christmas Wishes is still steamy, but it's incredibly sweet, with a light-hearted touch and a sigh-worthy ending. Best of all? The sequel, New Year's Kisses is available from Escape in December. You can learn more about Rhian on her website: http://rhiancahill.com/ Cool Rhian fact: she also has her own app, which can be downloaded via iTunes or Google Play for info, new releases, and contests.

So now you know a little bit more about each of our launch authors – and Escape Publishing! Thanks for having me to visit.

Kate

The Escape Publishing team with the authors at the launch in Sydney last week.

Thanks for visiting Kate! I am read Rhian's story yesterday and I am especially happy to hear the news that there will be a follow up coming next month!