Since meeting Mr. Darcy in English 101, Kate Cole hasn’t managed to shake her obsession with all things happily ever after. A sucker for romance, this Canadian bibliophile is a buttoned-up bureaucrat in the street, spicy rom-com writer in her desk seat. When she isn’t reading or writing, she’s also a wife and mom in suburbia who can’t get enough of Duran Duran or pedicures that match her current reads.
Under Construction is the first novel in Kate’s Women in Trades Romance series. Stay tuned for more!
Keep up on all things Kate by following her on Instagram.
What’s the strangest thing you searched for on the internet for your novel?
I’ve actually warned my spouse that, should anything unfortunate happen to me and he scrolls through my search history or photo albums, not to be alarmed. Writers need a free pass in this regard. I’m a prolific googler. It’s not unusual for me to have 200+ tabs open on my iPhone at one time (oops) and the strangest searches usually relate to technical aspects of the trade work I’m describing, like “DC current” or “mason’s mallet” or “mortar recipe”. But I’ve also been known to search up various anatomical features, to make sure I’m getting them right. Last week I had to search “transverse abdominis images” for science. It was awful. 😉
What book (or author) made you fall in love with the romance genre?
I’m a long-time lover of romance. Love stories have always pulled me in. It goes all the way back to Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe. (That’s an Anne of Green Gables reference, folks!) I may be dating myself by mentioning this, but Sweet Valley High books were practically a food group for me in my early teens. But if I had to name a single book as the one which influenced me most it has to be Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. She’s the Rosetta stone for romance. All tropes link back to her, don’t they? I remember reading P&P in first year university English Literature and that book was like a tonic. A refreshing drink after the long, dry desert of Beowulf and Chaucer. Once I met Mr. Darcy, there was no going back.
What is your favourite trope? Why?
Without question, enemies-to-lovers is my favourite. To me there is no trope that measures up to the tension and passion that’s created by that scenario. Watching how the characters navigate those strong emotions, how they come to terms with their true feelings, then being witness to the switch-flip from loathe to love, it’s such fun. Not to mention the fireworks that usually result. Kaboom!
It’s the morning after, and a lover is making your main character the perfect breakfast in bed. What is it?
It has to be pancakes, positively dripping with pure, unadulterated Canadian maple syrup. So sweet and sinful, they’re a 100% carnal carb creation. In Under Construction Avery and Kent make pancakes together. The carbs are meant to be heavy, to tamp down their lust, but it doesn’t quite work out that way.
What book are you reading currently?
I’ve been on a real fantasy kick lately. I’m working on book two in my Women in Trades series, and I find that when I’m writing I need to read books that are very much outside of my genre or writing style. If I don’t, it can really impact my creativity. Right now, I’m working my way through the From Blood and Ash books by Jennifer L. Armentrout. It’s been such a fun escape. I haven’t read a lot of fantasy or “romantasy”, so it’s been really fun to discover the genre, dive into its world building, etc. Next up: A War of Two Queens.
