Notes From Kathy

FATAL AS A FALLEN WOMAN EBOOK NEWS

1/29/12:
The second book in the Diana Spaulding 1888 Quartet, Fatal as a Fallen Woman is now available at the usual ebook outlets. Click on the cover and it will take you to one of them, Belgrave House, which also features many other ebooks from my backlist. In Fatal as a Fallen Woman, 19th century journalist Diana Spaulding returns to her home town of Denver, Colorado when she learns that her estranged father has been murdered. Things have changed a good deal since the now widowed Diana eloped with an actor. For one thing, there's been a nasty divorce. For another, Diana's mother, Elmira Torrence, has been forced to work for a living. When Elmira disappears, everyone is certain it's because she's the one who murdered her ex-husband.

Look for the last two books in the quartet, No Mortal Reason and Lethal Legend, to appear in ebook format soon. The first book in the series, Deadlier than the Pen is already available.

HISTORICAL BLOG TOUR AND OTHER NEWS

1/6/12:
For the schedule of blogs I'm visiting to talk about various aspects of my latest historical novel, written as Kate Emerson, click on the title. At the King's Pleasure . There are free autographed book offers at some of these locations if you're willing to leave a comment.

Meanwhile, in other news, I've turned in The King's Damsel, which will be out in August and deals with the period of King Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn. The protagonist is the "unknown mistress" of 1534. Since she IS unknown, for a change the heroine of one of my novels is entirely fictitious. Just about everyone else, of course, really lived.

I'm also still writing under my other pseudonym, Kaitlyn Dunnett. I've just seen the cover for my August book in the Liss MacCrimmon Scottish-American Heritage series and it's gorgeous. This one, despite the title (Bagpipes, Brides and Homicides) actually has a great deal of history in it, using some of the same myths and legends that I've worked with twice before, in Face Down Across the Western Sea and in Lethal Legend. In particular the story of Henry Sinclair's discovery of America a hundred years or so before Columbus, and the "Westford Knight" make an appearance, but of course I put my own twist on the story and had a great deal of fun making up additional bits to suit my plot. Don't worry. There will be an author's note to sort out the alleged facts from my fiction.

MORE EBOOK, PUB DATE and OTHER NEWS

11/28/11:
The collection of short stories, Murders and Other Confusions is now available from Belgrave House and will be in all ebook outlets soon. Click on the cover for the link to Belgrave House.

The latest pub date for Kate Emerson's At the King's Pleasure is now January 3, 2012, but an omnibus ebook edition of the three novels in the Secrets of the Tudor Court series will be available tomorrow in all the usual online bookstores. It includes a sneak peek at At the King's Pleasure. Here's a look at that cover.

EBOOK, PUB DATE and OTHER NEWS

9/17/11:
First up: I've added Face Down O'er the Border, Book Ten in the Lady Appleton series, to the lineup at Belgrave House (and ultimately to other outlets). Click on the cover for the link to Belgrave House.

There has been some confusion over pub dates. My next historical novel written as Kate Emerson, At the King's Pleasure will now be out December 27, 2011. The paperback of the Liss MacCrimmon Scottish-American Heritage Mystery, The Corpse Wore Tartan, written under the pseudonym Kaitlyn Dunnett, will be in stores October 4, 2011, with the new hardcover in that series, Scotched following on October 25, 2011.

In blogging news, see the post below. I'm also guest blogging at FreshFiction.com on September 19. And I'll be doing a blog tour in late December/early January, when the historical novel comes out. More on that later.

BLOG AND EBOOK NEWS

7/9/11:
As Kaitlyn Dunnett, I am one of ten mystery writers involved in a new blog launched on July 6th. All born in Maine and/or living in Maine now, they can be found at Maine Crime Writers. The other nine are Gerry Boyle, Vicki Dodera, Paul Doiron, Kate Flora, Sarah Graves, James Hayman, Barbara Ross, Julia Spencer-Fleming, and Lea Wait. There will be individual blogs, group discussion blogs, interviews, and guest posts from Maine librarians and others conncected to our favorite subject . . . murder in Vacationland. Kathy Lynn Emerson will make occasional appearances. Kate Emerson . . . not so much. My first post went up on July 8. I'm participating in the group blog on July 10, and my next individual blog will be on July 21. Toward the end of the month, I'll be interviewing one of the other writers, followed by an interview with me. Since I haven't blogged on a regular basis before (only guest blogs) I find myself looking forward to this new experience. Future topics will include something on Maine Coon Cats and a look at life in rural Western Maine.

And on the ebook front, I've added Face Down Beside St. Anne's Well to the lineup at Belgrave House (and ultimately to other outlets) and Face Down O'er The Border will follow in the near future. Click on the cover for the link to Belgrave House.

EXPANDED AVAILABILITY OF EBOOK

5/27/11: Face Down Below the Banqueting House has been available as an ebook since 2010 at A Writers's Work. I've now made it available in more formats through Belgrave House and it will show up shortly at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Click on the cover for the link to Belgrave House:

CURRENT STATUS OF FACE DOWN SERIES

5/22/11: I've had several requests lately for updates on the Face Down novels, specifically: Will there be more? That's a tough question to answer, since I can't predict the future. I certainly wasn't through telling stories about Lady Appleton and her friends when I wrote the most recent novel, Face Down O'er the Border. The problem is one of time. And, I admit it, of money. Since my husband's retirement two years ago, I've become the primary breadwinner in our family. Trust me, no one can live on the income from the Maine State Retirement System! Fortunately, his retirement coincided with an increased demand for the novels I write under my two pseudonyms, Kaitlyn Dunnett (contemporary cozy mysteries) and Kate Emerson (non-mystery historicals). Unfortunately, my current contracts to write more books under each name leave me without enough time to also write another Face Down novel. And, at present, no one has shown any particular interest in publishing another book in the series. It is also difficult to find time to write short stories featuring these characters, since short stories takes me almost as long to write as novels do. Short stories are tough to write! I have a couple of short story ideas in mind, and an idea for a novel featuring Rosamond Appleton with Susanna as a secondary character, but it will definitely be awhile before I can do any more than think about them. In the interim, I hope readers will seek out my non-mystery historicals, both the old ones written as Kathy Lynn Emerson and the new ones being published by Gallery Books as Kate Emerson. And if you've missed any of the ten Face Down novels or the collection of short stories, many are still available in print format and all are available as ebooks. Check out my ebook page by clicking here:

NEW EBOOKS; FREE SHORT STORY; NEW CONTRACT; COVER PROOF

5/6/11: There's all kinds of news to report today. Let me start with the blurb announcing that two more of my backlist historical mystery novels are now available as ebooks:

Kathy Lynn Emerson has made two more of her backlist historical mysteries available as ebooks at http://www.awriterswork.com. In FACE DOWN O’ER THE BORDER, book ten of the Face Down series, sixteenth-century gentlewoman, herbalist, and sleuth Susanna, Lady Appleton travels to Scotland in search of her dear friend Lady Glenelg, who has disappeared after being accused of murder. Not only must Susanna discover who the killer really is, she must cope with the disadvantage of being English in a land that mistrusts anyone from south of the border. In LETHAL LEGEND, book four of the Diana Spaulding 1888 Quartet, scandal-sheet journalist Diana Spaulding and her fiancé, Ben Northcote, are back in Maine, getting ready for their wedding, when an old friend of Ben’s asks for his help. From murder on an island off the coast of Maine to archaeologists, deep sea divers, and a duel with fencing foils, the action never stops. Add in the long anticipated meeting between Ben’s mother and Diana’s and the return of other characters from earlier novels and this is a book fans of the series won’t want to miss.

In addition, I've put the short story "Lady Appleton and the Yuletide Hogglers," which was published as a Christmas card by Crippen & Landru last December, on my website as a free read. You can find it by clicking here:

Next up, in news for Kate Emerson fans, the fifth and sixth books in the Secrets of the Tudor Court series are a go. I'll be starting work soon on THE KING'S DAMSEL, which features Henry VIII's unnamed alleged mistress of 1534. This will be much more fictionalized that the first four books, since there is literally nothing known about this woman, but the background, during Anne Boleyn's tenure as queen, will be as accurate as I can make it. The protagonist of the sixth book is not yet decided.

And, still on Kate Emerson, look for AT THE KING'S PLEASURE to hit stores on September 20, 2011. I've seen an early version of the cover and once again it is gorgeous. I'll post it when it's final but I can give you one hint now: at long last the model is a brunette. Nothing against blondes, but it's nice for the author when the hair color on the cover matches that in the text.

NATIONAL HISTORY DAY CONTEST

4/14/11:

I had the great pleasure of meeting the five young ladies pictured above, all students at Buckfield High School, when they visited me to ask questions about England in Henry VIII's day. They went on to take first place in the Maine competition for National History Day at the end of March, portraying (from left to right) Katherine Parr, Anne Boleyn, Anne of Cleves, Katherine of Aragon, and Jane Seymour/Catherine Howard. They used these historical figures to express various sixteenth-century views, particularly on the controversial topics of religion and divorce. On June 12-16, they will represent Maine in College Park Maryland in the Kenneth E. Behring National History Day Contest. Between now and they, they will be spending their April school vacation in London. I applaud their dedication to history and wish them the best of luck in June. For those interested in the competition, you can find more details by clicking here:

In other news, there are now more than 1200 entries at the Who's Who of Tudor Women. Also, I've updated my tour page with the two conferences I'll be going to in the next couple of months. You can check that out by clicking here:

UPDATES TO THE WHO's WHO

3/13/11: I've been adding more Tudor women to the Who's Who (what else is new?) but the big news is that I've also done a major revamping of the list of women at court. You can check it out at

. The next entry in the "Secrets of the Tudor Court" series, At the King's Pleasure, written under my pseudonym, Kate Emerson, has now been turned in and is scheduled to hit stores on September 20, 2011. I'm working on a proposal for a fifth book in the series, but it is too early to talk about that one yet, other than to say that it will probably be set during the one stretch of the reign of Henry VIII that I haven't yet touched upon, the years during which the king was in love with Anne Boleyn.

NEW GUEST POST ABOUT BY ROYAL DECREE

2/13/11: For those interested in reading blogs, I've just done a guest blog at "Book Drunkard," writing about Bess Brooke, heroine of By Royal Decree, my latest historical written as Kate Emerson. You'll find the text at

TWO NEW EBOOKS UP AT AWRITERSWORK.COM

1/14/11: Two more of the historical mysteries I wrote as Kathy Lynn Emerson, Face Down Beside St. Anne's Well and No Mortal Reason are now available as ebooks at A Writer's Work. Click here to find them, see a more detailed description and reviews, and read sample chapters:

And don't forget that you can get the ebook of Fatal as a Fallen Woman for free, one day only, January 22, 2011. See the entry below for details on this offer.

BY ROYAL DECREE IN STORES; NEW "ASSORTED BLOGS" PAGE; FREE EBOOK OFFERS

12/14/10: Today is the day By Royal Decree, the new Kate Emerson historical novel, hits bookstores. Yea! For more details about this one, click here:

On the Kathy/Kate/Kaitlyn front, I've set up a new page containing a collection of blogs I've done as a guest blogger and articles I've written on various occasions under all three names. It's a random assortment of thoughts, but I hope some readers may find it interesting.Click here to go to the "Assorted Blogs" page:

And finally, the group of professional writers who make up A Writer's Work.com are making a couple of special holiday offers to our fans. First is a free book day on December 26, 2010 and the second is a "Free Book a Day" promotion for the entire month of January. Here's how they will work. On the day after Christmas readers will be able to one free book per author. If a reader orders more than one book from the same author on that day, they will get the MOST expensive book for free. Because of the way the site is set up, this has to be done on a "pay and then get a refund" basis. Buyers will have their purchase price refunding via PayPal by December 29th. The "Free Book a Day in January" offers one specific book free each day of that month. There will be a list on the website to tell you which book is offered on each day. Readers who order a free book in the first half of the month will have their payment refunded via PayPal by the 17th of January. Readers who order a free book in the second half of the month will have their payment refunded via PayPal by February 2nd. I have two books in the offer, Face Down Beneath the Banqueting House will be available for free on January 5, 2011 and Fatal as a Fallen Woman will be free on January 22, 2011. Both were written as Kathy Lynn Emerson. Click here to reach A Writer's Work:

ALMOST HERE: BY ROYAL DECREE

11/16/10: In just a few more weeks, BY ROYAL DECREE, which I wrote as Kate Emerson, will be in stores. As of today, I've added a sneak peek at Chapter One to my KateEmersonHistoricals.com webpages. You can reach it by clicking here:

. In other news, I'll be blogging about that book at Writerspace.com on the day after Thanksgiving. And, for those of you with Kindles, we are busily making the first seven Face Down novels available in that format, along with other books (mystery, romance, and nonfiction) from my backlist. Happy Reading!

NEW BOOKS IN STORES

10/6/10: The mass market paperback of A WEE CHRISTMAS HOMICIDE is now in stores, to be followed on October 26 by the new Liss MacCrimmon Scottish-American Heritage Mystery, THE CORPSE WORE TARTAN. I write this series as Kaitlyn Dunnett. In my other life, as Kate Emerson, my non-mystery historical novel, BY ROYAL DECREE, third in the "Secrets of the Tudor Court" series, will be released in trade paperback format on December 11th. I've been doing more interviews, the latest at the Pittsburgh Historical Examiner, and I'll have a blog up at Writerspace.com on October 25th, talking about Liss's latest mystery and the role my husband played in writing it.

NEW EBOOKS ADDED

7/12/10: More of my ebooks are now available at the A Writer's Work web store.There are five books for young people (ages 10 and up), four of them previously published (JULIA'S MENDING, THE MYSTERY OF HILLIARD'S CASTLE, THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING BAGPIPES, and, in nonfiction, MAKING HEADLINES: A BIOGRAPHY OF NELLIE BLY) and one (SOMEDAY) that is an ebook original. For grown-ups, there are two titles, the eighth book in the Face Down Mystery series, featuring 16th century gentlewoman, herbalist, and sleuth, Susanna, Lady Appleton, FACE DOWN BELOW THE BANQUETING HOUSE, and the Agatha-award winning nonfiction, HOW TO WRITE KILLER HISTORICAL MYSTERIES: THE ART AND ADVENTURE OF SLEUTHING THROUGH THE PAST. I hope to add more mystery titles before the end of the year.

CHECK OUT WHAT'S NEW AT THE WHO'S WHO

6/26/10: I've just added a section titled "How the Who's Who Came to Be" at my A Who's Who of Tudor Women. You can go directly to it by clicking here.

In other news, I'm still adding to the Who's Who (it has over 900 entries now) and working on the next Kaitlyn Dunnett mystery and doing research for the fourth novel in the Secrets of the Tudor Court series, which will be titled At the King's Pleasure. The next books coming to stores will be The Corpse Wore Tartan in the Liss MacCrimmon series, which will be out in October, and By Royal Decree, w/a Kate Emerson, scheduled for December. This is the story of Elizabeth Brooke, marchioness of Northampton, who appears briefly in Face Down Beneath the Eleanor Cross. By Royal Decree begins late in the reign of Henry VIII, when Henry is looking for a sixth queen, and continues until the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth I. During that time, Bess Brooke led a fascinating and controversial life. She fell in love with a married man in a country where there was no divorce unless you were the king. William Parr, brother of Queen Kathryn Parr, secured a separation from his adulterous wife, but he was forbidden to remarry. The only solution was to persuade the king to grant a royal decree permitting them to wed. In the course of their relationship, Bess and Will find themselves married under one sovereign and unmarried under the next. Bess goes from being the mistress of a married man to a position as the highest ranking lady at court and back to being a mere mistress again. More than any of the other books in the series, this is a love story, and one of hope and triumph over tremendous odds. And of course, there's plenty of political intrigue and danger, too. It's not a mystery, but you still might like to check it out.

MISCELLANEOUS NEWS

5/11/10: For those of you interested in A Who's Who of Tudor Women, the online version, I've restructured the text into smaller sections. Some of them were getting really unwieldy to add to! Most are now separated into letters of the alphabet, except for a few letters that just plain have a lot of people in them. Who knew so many women had maiden names that began with B? Anyway, if you bookmarked one of the sections, just go to the index for new links.

In other news, I'm getting ready to go to Mayhem in the Midlands in just two more weeks. I'm presenting a solo program on Historical Mysteries and also participating on two panels. This may be my only foray into the world of fan conventions and writers' conferences this year as I have two new books to write, one as Kaitlyn Dunnett and one as Kate Emerson, and a 45th high school reunion to go to in the fall. And, of course, I keep adding to the Who's Who, which is fun but time consuming.

NEW GUEST BLOG

3/26/10: I have a new guest blog up at The Lady Killers, a group blog that includes several of the mystery-writing ladies who contributed to HOW TO WRITE KILLER HISTORICAL MYSTERIES. I hope you'll take a look.

MORE NEAT STUFF AT AWRITERSWORK.COM

3/11/10: I've just added three e-book originals to my listing at the A Writer's Work web store. I'm really excited about all three of them. A Who's Who of Tudor Women is a text-only version of online Who's Who as of the end of February 2010. That's 622 mini-biographies plus a section on titles used in Tudor times. Yes, the information is available already and for free, but for those who want the convenience of having the information at their fingertips, and all in one file, I'm making this version available. A list of additions and corrections made from March 2010 onward will be posted on a Tudor Women Additions List.

Also new is Crimes and Confusions: Five Historical Short Stories, a never-before-published collection of novella length. Included are "The Reiving of Bonville Keep," "The Kenduskeag Killer," "The Tell-Tale Twinkle," "Any Means Short of Murder," and "The Curse of the Figure-Flinger."

And last but not least is the historical novel for young readers, Shalla. Set in Colonial Rhode Island it is based on real events in the year 1643. Click on the link above to go to the A Writer's Work homepage or below to go directly to my page there.