Claiming Kara ~ Fate Harbor ~ Book #3
Publication Date: June 11, 2014
Five years ago, Kara Johansen met and fell in love with brothers Ben and Quinn Shotbrook while on vacation with her fire fighter brothers in Sitka, Alaska.They planned to marry, when tragedy struck the Shotbrook family, leaving the brothers to care for their mother and younger brothers again. They sent Kara back home to Fate Harbor, Washington, promising that one day they would reunite. Years later, Kara has made the decision that she wants to marry and start a family of her own. She has put away her dreams of ever being with Ben and Quinn and instead focuses on men who are available to her here and now. Her meddling brothers inform Ben and Quinn of her plans. The brothers Shotbrook rush to Fate Harbor to do whatever it takes to reclaim the woman they never stopped loving. Has too much changed between them to save their love?Buy Claiming Kara on Amazon!
DID I ALWAYS WANT TO BE A WRITER?
The idea of being an author has always been a something too out of reach. I focused on climbing the corporate ladder instead. When I got this job doing project management where I could telecommute….Well, why not take that time I would normally be in the car and see if I had what it takes to actually be a writer. After all, reading 500 books a year costs quite a pretty penny!!! LOL ;)
WHY WRITE A SERIES? WHY WRITE FATE HARBOR?
Out of all the books that I read, I love it when an author will give me a series. When a really good book ends, but then I realize I will have an opportunity to dip back into that world, I am SO happy. So that’s what made me decide to write a series. As to why I wanted to base my series in Fate Harbor, Washington, well I LOVE the Pacific Northwest. The people and landscape are so diverse and welcoming. I grew up there, and I’m always so happy to be welcomed home when I go for visits. The only two things I might not accurately portray in my books is just how many MFM relationships there are, and how often it DOESN’T rain. LOL (People, to be as green and pretty as it is, it rains….A LOT!)
WHICH HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE BOOK TO WRITE?
I love them all. Claiming Kara has a lot of my family in it. I’m the oldest of five children, and we meddle in one another’s lives a lot. So it is definitely near and dear to my heart. Trusting Chance is nearest and dearest because it is the first book I have ever written. Part of the reason I wrote Trusting Chance was to show that you could build a family even if it isn’t through blood. That people care for one another, that they really can support and love one another. Also, I wanted to show that even if bad things happen in childhood, that you can heal and grow from it, and become a strong person because of it.
WHY HAVE YOU CHOSEN TO WRITE EROTICA?
Erotica is sensuality. It is something that makes me squirm in my seat and get hot and bothered. It revs me up so that when I see my husband I’m ready to grab him and rip his clothes off. My readers often tell me the same thing. They definitely enjoy my stories and they relate to the characters. When they think about the characters, they agonize over the situations that they go through and in some cases readers have actually been moved to tears on their behalf. But when it comes to the sex scenes, many claim that that a good “hot flash” would provide them with blessed relief from the steam generated by my characters channeling their passions.
I used to read the old style romances. You remember—the ones where the sex scenes were done behind closed doors, and the reader was not privy to them. But to tell you the truth, I wasn’t satisfied with them. I’m a caring, empathetic person, so I wanted to know that the heroine was sexually satisfied. After all, she’d usually gone through hell and back to be with her lover. Was he worth it? Inquiring minds want to know!!!
As a writer, however, one of the things I want to do is show my readers how my characters could learn and grow to overcome personal obstacles and become better people. I wanted to show real life situations in which people solved their problems to claim real life rewards. Why wouldn’t I want to discuss how a woman could bring pleasure to a man performing oral sex? Why wouldn’t I want to I want to say it was healthy and right for a woman to expect a man to return the favor? Sex is a wonderful part of life and should be celebrated. I want to show that to women. That said,it also wouldn’t hurt if the men in our lives read these books.
GOOFY STUFF ABOUT CAITLYN THAT PEOPLE HAVE ASKED AND I’VE ACTUALLY ANSWERED.
Boxers or briefs? Well, I like the boxer briefs, but my husband goes commando, so I’ve found I like that best.
Tall, Blonde and Muscular or Taller, Dark and Handsome…..Hubby is number #2, so I need version #1 for a good menage….Hubby keeps saying no.
What’s your favorite sport? Love watching basketball, these days my favorite game to play is probably golf. Sometimes I graduate from putt putt to an actual course.
What’s your favorite swear word? “The Eff Word” it has many uses, it can be used as a noun, a pronoun, an adjective, a verb, an adverb, etc., etc. etc.
What’s your favorite food? Froot Loops, like the Eff Word it has many uses, it can be used as breakfast, lunch, dinner, an afternoon snack, a midnightsnack, etc. etc.
What was your worst vacation? A 9 day family road trip, five kids ages 5-14, over 100 degree heat, no air conditioning in the family station wagon. The highlight was visiting a copper mine in Utah.
What was your best job? My company sent me over to Brussels for almost a year to help set up Belgacom Yellow Pages. It was great!
What has been your best inspiration lately? Navy Seals from San Diego have actually commandeered the swimming pool at my community complex a couple of Saturdays, so I couldn’t swim my laps. I was initially pissed off. HOW STUPID WAS THAT?! I then sat down and enjoyed the show.
From my 3 books, one of my favorite excerpt is really one between Chance Reynolds and Sam Booth. So often the men have to help one another and depend on one another. Their friendship is critical to this kind of story.
Chance leaned back on the dock, admiring how clear the day was now that the clouds had disbursed. “Did you ever consider the possibility that you might have an inferiority complex? That somehow your parents fucked you over into believing you weren’t worthy of anything good? So whenever something bad happens, you blow it out of proportion and let it justify your underlying belief system?”
“Jesus, Chance, are you planning on putting out a shingle? I already have a shrink.” Sam took a long pull from his beer and reached for another.
“Nope. I just figure it’s time I said my piece, because this is important, and I want it to work. You and Josie fit because you both come from the same fucked-up childhoods. You can really relate to one another, and help one another. I fit, because I can lighten the mood. You both need me. Not to mention the fact that neither of us is going to let the other one have her to himself.”
“There is that. You try to take her away from me, and they’ll never find your body,” Sam said in a pretty serious tone that made Chance laugh.
“You could try, brother. You could try,” he said, still laughing.
Sam looked over at him, and realized it might not be as easy to take down Chance as he would like to think. “Yeah, yeah, I’ve thought about why I have a glass-half-empty outlook,” Sam admitted.
“No, you don’t have that at all. You always see the good in others. You see the good in a lot of different situations. But when it comes to yourself, you have a broken mirror. You, son, don’t think you are good, nor do you think you deserve anything good.” Chance paused, letting his words sink in. “Do you want Josie?”
“I’ve had Josie,” Sam said with a great deal of satisfaction.
“Do you want Josie for the long haul?” Chance asked. Sam took another swig from his beer, trying to picture his very long life without Josie in it.
“Yeah, I want her. But I don’t know how I can do it.”
Caitlyn O'leary
I write the Fate Harbor series for Siren. Fate Harbor is based on the Pacific Northwest town where I grew up, and filled with the same kind of quirky, loving people I remember. My books are filled with men and women who aren't perfect. They have problems, issues, angst, but every single one of them are good people who are deserving of love, (and steamy ménage sex.) On May 23rd 2014, USA Today Recommended "Protecting Olivia" in their Hot New Romance Books. "Protecting Olivia" is book number two in the Fate Harbor Series. I hope you'll take your time to explore the site, check out the books and excerpts and sign up for the newsletter. You can also send me comments. I would LOVE to hear whose story your think should be next.
Caitlyn is giving away a $50 Amazon Gift Card
JA Huss is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than twenty romances. She likes stories about family, loyalty, and extraordinary characters who struggle with basic human emotions while dealing with bigger than life problems. JA loves writing heroes who make you swoon, heroines who makes you jealous, and the perfect Happily Ever After ending.
