E.E. Burke's Best of the West with Kathleen Bittner Roth

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For today's BEST OF THE WEST, I'm featuring a luscious historical romance set in old New Orleans. JOSETTE, a brand new release from Kathleen Bittner Roth, is Book Three in her series, When Hearts Dare.

Across the oceans, between worlds old and new—two lost souls find themselves at a crossroads. 

Josette LeBlanc left behind her poverty-stricken life in a Louisiana bayou after marrying the wealthiest man in New Orleans. Now a widow living in luxury, Josette should have it all. Nothing could be further from the truth. Polite society's scorn has forced her into a lonely existence. When a wayward niece overwhelms Josette, she grudgingly turns to someone she once adored—the man she believes to be the girl's father.

Wealthy shipping magnate Cameron Andrews possesses everything a man could want, but tragedy shrouded his heart in darkness. He has every intention of escaping a life more suffocating than the sultry heat of the French Quarter. Fate, however, has something else in mind when a precocious young girl storms into his life claiming to be his daughter. Not only is the girl a Cajun raised in the bayou backwaters, she is also the granddaughter of a wicked voodoo priestess.

Like a rose bush filled with prickly thorns, an unwanted attraction blossoms between Josette and Cameron. While denying the passion that sparks between them, their verbal sparring heats their blood as nothing ever has, but treacherous forces are at work. Soon, Josette and Cameron are caught in a tangled web of passion and betrayal that could cost Cameron his life.

Here's a book trailer and excerpt:

 
   “Monsieur Andrews, welcome to my home.”

    At the smoky, velvet sound, Cameron swung around. Every function in his body—heart, breath, blood—ceased to function.

    She was lovely. 

    More than lovely.

    Tendrils of raven hair framed a face so exquisite, it disarmed him. Her mouth, a soft, dewy pink, as though she’d pressed rose petals to her lips, parted. And those eyes, as dark as Creole coffee, intelligent and assessing, roamed over him and then back to take hold of his. But it was her complexion, as flawless as a newborn’s, and with a soft glow to it that mesmerized him, that made him want to step closer and stroke her skin.

Meet Kathleen

Kathleen Bittner Roth creates evocative stories featuring characters forced to draw on their strength of spirit to overcome adversity and find unending love. Her own fairy tale wedding in a Scottish castle led her to her current residence in Budapest, Hungary, considered one of Europe’s most romantic cities. 

A PAN member of Romance Writers of America®, Kathleen was a finalist in the prestigious Golden Heart® contest. 

Contact information:

Website: www.kathleenbittnerroth.com

Facebook: facebook.com/Kathleen.bittnerroth.author

Twitter: @K_BittnerRoth

E.E.: How is it working with hot guys and sexy women all day?

Kathleen: When I’m writing a story (which is all the time—one after the other) I live with my characters 24/7. I reside in Budapest, Hungary which has one of the finest public transportation systems in the world along with some of the best sidewalk cafes around. Both are perfect venues for people watching. I’ll purposely ride the trams and trolleys around town and hang out at the cafes so I can watch people and pick out strangers 

E.E.: What’s the best birthday (or any holiday) present you ever received? 

Kathleen: Oh, this is easy. I sent a query to Jill Marsal of the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency early December of 2011, never expecting a quick response, if one at all. She wrote back that week asking for a partial. A few days later, she requested the full. The week before Christmas she emailed wanting to talk about representation. I signed with her agency on Christmas Eve, 201. My best present ever! A DUKE’S WICKED KISS went on to become a Golden Heart finalist and my first publishing contract. 

E.E.: Which of your characters would you most/least to invite to dinner, and why?

Kathleen: The two secondary characters I would most like to invite to dinner would be René and Bastien Thibodeaux, Josette’s hot, bad boy brothers from the bayou. They are wicked, wily, sexy and conniving, but oh, what handsome and enticing rogues. They were so entertaining in JOSETTE that my editor asked me to write their stories. Who would I least like to invite to dinner? Their mother, Odalie. She’s a voodoo priestess with a heart as hard as stone

E.E.: Can you tell us about a real-life hero you’ve met? 

Kathleen: My friend, Janos Horvath. In 1944 he was a leader in the Hungarian Student Resistance Movement against the Nazis. He was captured and endured unbelievable torture for nine days. He was to be executed on Christmas Day but the Russian army moved into Budapest on Christmas Eve. As the Russians advanced through the city, Janos managed to escape in all the confusion. After his escape he was elected to the Hungarian Parliament at the age of twenty-four. When the communists began their takeover, he was charged with conspiracy and again tortured and sentenced to four years in prison for being "an enemy of the people". In 1956 he became a political leader of the Hungarian Revolution. After the Soviet army crushed the Revolution, he escaped to the United States to tell the true story of the Revolution to the U.S. Congress and to the United Nations so as to challenge the lies that were being perpetrated by the Soviets. He hoped to seek help for the Hungarian cause and return home within a few weeks but he was not permitted to return until the wall came down many years later. He remained in the United States, earned a PH.D in Economics at Columbia University, and taught at the university level until his retirement in 1997. In January 1998 he returned to Hungary, and was again elected to the Hungarian Parliament. Last year at the age of ninety-two, Janos Horvath retired as the oldest Member of Parliament. A true survivor and hero if I ever met one.

E.E.: What turns you off like nothing else?

Kathleen: Cigarette smoke. I love living in Budapest, the most romantic city I’ve ever spent any time in. Unfortunately, Hungarians are heavy smokers. It’s been outlawed in restaurants so they smoke on the street in droves. Ugh. I’ve lost loved ones due to the awful stuff. If I could rid the world of tobacco, I would.

E.E.: What sound or noise do you love?

Kathleen: I love the sound of running water—a babbling brook, waves lapping on a sandy beach, a water fountain in a park or even a small table top fountain on my desk—they are all soothing. I once read that if a person were to sit on the beach for three days running, the flow of blood in the body would match the rhythm of the waves in the ocean. I lived for four years in Opatija, Croatia, a lovely baroque town along the beautiful Adriatic. My memory of my time spent there is always one of a sense of tranquility because of the lovely scenery and the calming waters.

E.E.: What’s the first thing you do when you finish writing a book?

Kathleen: I start the next one, even if it’s only the first paragraph. I make sure I get something nailed down before I go to bed. Or I’ll fiddle with the title and characters’ names. Once I get those and a bit of a bio on each person, they come alive for me and write the story themselves.

E.E.: Where do you read and how often?

Kathleen: I like reading in bed and I do so every night without fail. Three years ago, I had a freak accident where a metal pipe dropped on my eyes. I endured some scary weeks of not knowing how the surgeries would turn out and having to face the notion of “what if I cannot see?” Fortunately, there is a genius of an eye surgeon here in Budapest who restored my eyesight (when others said it was impossible). I take good care of my eyes now.

I mentioned I live in Budapest. The Hungarian language is considered the second most difficult language in the world to learn, yet I have managed to live here quite contentedly for five years.

My question for the reader: How do you think you’d fare if you were to suddenly find yourself living in a country where you didn’t know anyone and did not speak the language?

Kathleen is giving away a digital copy and a print copy (mailed in the U.S. only) of her new release. Just let a comment and enter the raffle.

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