I love to write novels that revolve around interesting subjects.  The bad news is, it’s usually a subject you don’t know anything about or you wouldn’t find it interesting.  That involves a ton of research. My latest release, THE PERFECT MURDER, the final book in my Maximum Security Series, is set around the offshore oil drilling industry.  Since I couldn’t actually visit a platform off the Houston, Texas coast, I had to dig into the subject extensively.  It’s a difficult, dangerous life, I learned, one that takes the men and women who work on the platforms away from their families for two or more weeks at a time. I learned a lot and I’m hoping readers will find the subject interesting as well In THE PERFECT MURDER, Reese Garrett, CEO of Garrett Resources, a billion-dollar oil and gas corporation, is a man with a past who is determined to retain his hard-earned reputation by avoiding an affair with the beautiful woman who works for him, a valued and trusted employee. When McKenzie Haines is accused of murder, Reese is forced to make a choice–one that could destroy his career or get him killed.  It’s a fast-paced, high-stakes action-adventure as well…

My new novella, COME MIDNIGHT, is one of my personal favorites, though I have no idea where the story idea came from.  Breanna Winters, seated on an airliner next to a good-looking man in an expensive suit, finds herself kidnapped by Honduran terrorists.  She doesn’t expect Derek Stiles, a corporate executive, to put his life at risk by volunteering to go along when Bree is dragged from the plane and marched into the jungle. Fortunately, Derek is a former Navy fighter pilot with extensive survival training and has spent time in the jungle before.  Still, it’s soon clear they’ll need to depend on each other if they’re going to survive. I loved writing this high-action adventure, and I particularly liked the interaction between the two main characters.  Though at first Bree and Derek seem to have nothing in common, in the end they discover they are the perfect fit. I hope you enjoy COME MIDNIGHT and that you’ll watch for Derek again in THE PERFECT MURDER, Reese Garrett’s story, the final book in my Maximum Security series. Till then, all best and happy reading, Kat *** Read on for an exclusive excerpt from COME MIDNIGHT by Kat Martin:  The sound…

I love to read novels set in interesting places.  Currently, I’m reading a historical romance that takes place in Nazi-occupied Paris during WWII.  I’ve always loved Paris, which makes the book even more fun to read.  Being able to recognize the settings where the action takes place, as well as the names of restaurants and streets I have visited. As a writer, going to the place your book is set, or choosing a place you have actually been, is the best way to make your book seem real. In THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL, the novel takes place in Colorado, a state I love to visit.  After I’d concluded my second Maximum Security novel, THE DECEPTION, which was set in Texas, I was looking for someplace different for book number three.  Colorado, with its wide variety of landscapes and extreme climate conditions, seemed perfect. Having been to Denver a number of times, street names were familiar, parks and airports, locations of smaller towns, and rural mountain communities. Since this was a Maximum Security novel, a romantic thriller, I began by researching crime in the state.  I had digging and digging and finally stumbled onto an article about the U.S. Army chemical weapons…

1–What’s the name of your latest release?   THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL. It’s out July 28. 2–What is it about?  It’s about the theft of chemical weapons from an army depot in Colorado. Jessie Kegan, the heroine, is determined to prove her father, an army colonel, is innocent of the crime. 3–What word best describes your heroine?  Determined. 4–What makes your hero irresistible?  His strength and loyalty, and the military background that give him and Jessie a chance to survive the powerful enemies they confront. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?   They depend on the strength and intelligence of each other. And Brandon can count on his brothers to help him no matter what. 6–What do you love about the setting of your book?   I love Colorado. Beautiful mountains and extreme climates provide plenty of interesting scenery and challenges. 7–Are you a plotter (follow an outline) or a pantster (write by the seat of your pants)?  I do a little of both. I’m no longer able to just follow an outline. Much of the story depends on the clues that are uncovered as the hero and heroine try to solve the deadly problems they are…

As a writer, I’m always looking for new story ideas. For most writers, past experiences can be a very big help. Have you ever survived a dangerous situation? How did you do it? When I was first learning to snow ski, I got caught on top of Stowe Mountain, Vermont in a blizzard, after the lifts had closed. It’s a huge ski area. It was my first day on skis and somehow I got separated from my friends and wound up on a black diamond run. Of course, I started falling, and falling, and falling. Throwing myself down in the snow was the only way I knew how to stop! By the time I got halfway down, it was pitch black and freezing cold. I tried taking off my skis and walking, but the snow was deep and it was even harder than trying to ski. The clothes I had on weren’t nearly thick enough for a New England winter and I was afraid hypothermia would set in. I knew I was in big trouble. Maybe the reason I started writing Romantic Suspense had something to do with that day. Just when I was ready to give up, just sit…

Sometimes what you think is going to be a great idea for a novel turns out to be a whole lot of work!  That’s what happens when you realize the idea you are now in the middle of isn’t going to work the way you thought it would. In THE CONSPIRACY, I got the idea for a book that started in Texas, moved to the Caribbean, and ended up in Venezuela.  With all the trouble country is having, I thought it would be a great setting for a Romantic Thriller. Unfortunately, after I was well into the book and started doing the necessary research for that segment of the story, I realized the geography I needed and the rural setting didn’t exist in Venezuela.  I I spent days digging around in South America, looking for a rainforest that could be reasonably reached from the Caribbean island of Aruba.  Nothing worked. Finally, I realized there actually was spot that exactly fit the image in my head.  (This happens to writers all the time. No one knows why.) The spot was in Colombia, a place I had no desire to write about, but fit the story exactly.   So I went to…