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Kate Bateman | Exclusive Excerpt SECOND DUKE’S THE CHARM
Author Guest / January 2, 2024

From SECOND DUKE’S THE CHARM by Kate Bateman. Copyright © 2023 by the author and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.     Chapter 4   Was she really doing this? Tess shook her head in disbelief as she followed the handsome stranger through the crowded rooms. The force of her attraction was both wonderful and terrifying. His opponent had called him Thorn, but was that his surname, or a nickname? Either way, it seemed oddly appropriate. There was a sharpness about him; a dangerous kind of beauty, like the perfectly-honed edge of a blade. Perhaps it was better not knowing his name. He still held her hand. He glanced over his shoulder with a smile that made her belly flutter. The crowds thinned out as they ventured deeper into the house. Couples pressed together in darkened alcoves. Tess glanced around for Ellie and Daisy, but there was no sign of either of them. The first room they entered was occupied. Tess heard a male bellow of outrage as the door slammed shut again, and she sent a silent apology to whomever they’d inadvertently interrupted. The second room was empty, lit with a solitary lamp. She glimpsed tall…

A Wicked Game by Kate Bateman – Exclusive Excerpt
Excerpt / December 21, 2022

A WICKED GAME – Kate Bateman, teaser exclusive excerpt for Fresh Fiction.   The carriage gave a jolt, and Morgan caught her eye. “My business with Mister Crusoe might be done,” he said softly. “But there’s another matter between you and I that needs to be resolved. I seem to remember a certain bet we made, before I left for war.” He made sure to hold her stare. “Since I’m here, safe and well in London, I think it’s fair to say that you owe me three kisses.”       Harriet’s heart was pounding with a strange mixture of dread and relief. At last. She hadn’t stopped thinking about their foolish wager since the moment she’d heard Morgan was back in England. Or for any of the months before that, if she was being honest. The secret, scandalous part of her had fantasized that he’d come to her immediately on his return. That he’d be so desperate for her kisses that he’d gallop up to Bloomsbury on his fastest horse, hammer on her door or clamber in through her window, and claim his prize. That, of course, hadn’t happened. She didn’t live in a fairytale. Morgan had been back…

Kate Bateman | 20 Questions: A DARING PURSUIT
Author Guest / May 24, 2022

1–What is the title of your latest release? A DARING PURSUIT 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Sleeping with the enemy has never been such fun! The Davies and Montgomery families have been locked in an ancient feud for centuries, but it’s a thin line between love and hate. When fiery Carys Davies and wickedly proper architect Tristan Montgomery make a scandalous enemies-with-benefits agreement, the sparks of passion really begin to fly . . . 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? All three books in my Ruthless Rivals series take place on the border of England and Wales. The Davies and the Montgomerys have been neighbors-and adversaries-for generations. Think Hatfields and McCoys, but in the Regency. All of which, of course, leads to forbidden passions, teasing rivalries, and plenty of snarky, enemies-to-lovers shenanigans. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Absolutely. Carys is my favorite type of heroine – a badass in a bodice! She’s daring, witty, brave, and incredibly loyal. She’s making the best of a bad situation and hiding a secret that could ruin her family, but she can’t resist needling her old nemesis, Tristan Montgomery. He’s…

Kate Bateman | Exclusive Excerpt: THE PRINCESS AND THE ROGUE
Author Guest / December 23, 2020

Chapter Two Anya quelled a spurt of incredulous anger. “I most certainly will not. My father denied your suit three years ago. As did my brother, when you persisted. You want my dowry, Vasili. You have no regard for me at all.” A cynical smile curved the corners of his mouth beneath his blond mustache. She’d always disliked men with mustaches. “I don’t deny it,” he said coolly. “Why should I apologize for being ambitious? We’ll make a good team, you and I. You’re intelligent, for a woman. You know how to run a household, order servants. You’ll make an excellent hostess.” His gaze swept her features and a greedy, lecherous look kindled in his expression which made her skin crawl. “You know full well you’re beautiful. Admit it, you loved having all the boys panting after you at court, didn’t you? And this ice princess facade? I’ll melt it. Bedding you will be no hardship at all.” Anya snatched her hand away from his. Her expression must have shown her disdain because he raised an amused brow. “What’s the matter? I’ll make you like it.” She sent a panicked glance at the door. Where was Elizaveta? Vasili was watching…

Kate Bateman | First Love
Author Guest / June 24, 2020

All right, let’s talk first loves. No, I don’t mean that sexy bad boy from school. I’m talking about the paper kind. Those first, unforgettable books that were your introduction–your gateway drug, if you will–into the wonderful world of Romance. Was it that illicit stash of Harlequins you discovered at your grandma’s house? The dog-eared bodice-ripper you reluctantly started because it was the only book in the vacation rental that wasn’t by Stephen King? Whatever it was, it changed your life for the better. I was, I admit, a latecomer to romance. I’d studied ‘Serious, Proper Literature’ at University–which generally meant books written by men. I’d read everything from Chaucer to James Joyce, Shakespeare to Kafka. And I’d noticed how few of the women in those ‘classics’ ever achieved success or received any pleasure. If they did, they were usually punished, or ended up dead. I clung, ever hopeful, to the sparsest of romantic threads, but ended up shouting at my paperbacks instead; “Forget the train station, Anna Karenina! Run off with Vronsky and bloody well live happily ever after.” “Step away from the poison, Madame Bovary, he’s not worth it!” Don’t even get me started on Tess of the…

Kate Bateman | Exclusive Interview: THIS EARL OF MINE
Author Guest / October 30, 2019

Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Kate! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, and your new book, THIS EARL OF MINE? Hello and thank you for having me! I write historical romance as both Kate Bateman and K.C. Bateman. I’m originally from England, but now live in the USA, and I’m a complete history geek! Before I started writing romance, I spent fifteen years as a fine art & antiques appraiser in the UK, running my own auction house, and I still have a not-so-secret double life as a TV antiques expert/appraiser on several British antiques TV shows. In 2011 my husband’s job moved us to the USA and I decided to try my hand at writing historical romance, (I was already an avid reader.) Now I get my history fix by sneaking real historical facts into my plots. My latest release, This Earl Of Mine, is a marriage-of-convenience with a twist. It features my favorite kind of independent-minded heroine and a sexy, snarky, Bow Street Runner who turns out to be her nemesis/perfect match. There’s lots of flirty banter, unresolved sexual tension, and a true historical plot to rescue Napoleon from exile on the island of St Helena…