Dear Author: Romance Book Reviews, Author Interviews, and Commentary

Dear Ms. Smith:

This was an interesting departure from the historical paranormals you’ve written and I think the setting and characters are a good fit for you. The voice sounds very natural. Before I Wake is more of an urban fantasy with a dash of romance than a true romance. It features Dawn Riley, a Nightmare. She is able traverse between the corporeal world and the dream world. She is an anomaly, one that both frightens and attracts those that inhabit the Dreaming.

Dawn can affect the dreams of others and did so once with terrible consequences. Since then she has hidden from her talents and rejected her Dreaming abilities. She doesn’t totally get away from dreams, though and is currently neuropsychologist studying under a top researcher in the field of sleep research.

One of Dawn’s clients, Noah, is an artist. She finds him attractive, but the client/patient relationship prevents any type of consummation of her feelings. Noah and Dawn flirt, though, and when his dreams and her dreams begin to overlap, the client/patient relationship walls fall down.

Dawn is being stalked in her dreams, as is Noah …

Kathryn Smith aka Kate read her first romance, a classic Woodiwiss, at age 10 and decided then and there to be a romance writer. She began to fulfill her dream in 2001 when Avon published her first romance, Elusive Passion. Since 2001, Kate has published over a dozen books and recently became a USA Today bestselling author. Her June release was part of her Brotherhood of the Blood series, Let the Night Begin.

What Kate’s bio doesn’t tell you is how nice and genuine a person she is. Her newest writing foray is into urban fantasy with the August release of Before I Wake.
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Back in ‘ 97 I was working at a photo-finishing store. My manager was a real piece of work who liked to call me ‘lardy.’ When I complained, I was moved to another store, in the bowels of hell — a mall people rarely visited and required me to take a very long bus ride. I was miserable. Even the photos pudgy middle-aged men took of themselves naked couldn’t cheer me up. My boyfriend (who I later had the good sense …

Dear Ms. Smith:

When I read the setup for this story, I had to read it. I love the reunited lover storyline. Olivia and her husband, Reign, have been separated for over thirty years–since their wedding night in fact. Reign, a vampire, bit Olivia and turned her against her will. She was angered and betrayed and tried to kill him. When she failed she fled and they’ve not had any contact since.

Olivia receives a note that her nephew, who she raised as a son, has been kidnapped and the ransom for his return is Reign. Olivia goes to Reign and explains the situation (except the ransom). Reign agrees to act as her husband to ostensibly search for Jmaes in exchange for conjugal rights. Olivia doesn’t care. She’s more than willing to trade her body for the life of James.

I liked the core of the story alot. Reign isn’t exactly remorseful for his actions, but in the results of them. He would do anything to make it up to Olivia and win her back even if he doesn’t trust her. I didn’t mind that Olivia …