Where the Wild Ideas Are and How I turn them into Romance Novels.

Four years ago, while hiking behind Bartholomew Park Winery, (Bartpark to locals), in Sonoma Valley, a what if moment occurred. 

I was on a dusty incline where the trail bumps up against the Buena Vista Winery property, peering through blackberry bushes.

From that unusual vantage point, I had an amazing view of Bartholomew Winery and could imagine how the rolling acres of vineyards might have looked  in 1857, when Agoston Haraszthy purchased the property and dubbed it “Buena Vista.”

After the hike, I didn't go straight to my car and detoured to the villa, the replica of the beautiful home Count Haraszthy built for his family. I walked around the property and then sat on its front steps and looked out over the vineyards.

And then I wondered what if:

The property wasn't a winery and was still a home?
What if a relative of the original owner lived there?
What if the relative fell on hard times and needed to rent rooms to keep the villa running?
What if three single friends, lived in those rooms?
What if each of those women found their happily-ever-after in Sonoma Valley?
What if there was another family (of sexy, sweet, and smart brothers) in Napa Valley. What if they owned a winery?

... And that is how the story of Sarah Dupont, Danica Vargas, Juliet St. John and their landlord, Lulu Castelli came to be.  Count Harasthy's villa is called Bella Villa in my story. And the sexy men of Napa Valley Winery fame are called the Santino brothers. :-)   

Here's a snapshot of Just a Kiss, book #1 in my Wine Country Romance Series and the first book I've ever written. 

Just a Kiss

Three roommates
One wine country villa
Six Santino brothers

Reeling from the loss of her mother, Sarah Dupont catches her fiancé doing the nasty on top of her pastry table at their San Francisco Bakery. Devastated, she calls her best friend, reporter, Danica Vargas. Danica convinces Sarah to start fresh and move in with her at Bella Villa mansion in rural Sonoma Valley.

With two roommates who act like the sisters she never had and a feisty landlord to stand in as the grandmother she always wanted, Sarah’s opens a café on the Sonoma Plaza. 

Her life changes the moment the little bell on the door rings and the notoriously sexy actor Jamie Santino, swaggers in.
Jamie, one of the six wealthy Santino Brothers, of Napa Valley Winery fame, needs baking lessons for his new movie and Sarah is just the woman to teach him. Wine flows and their love seems undeniable until a femme fatale from Jamie's past enters the scene.

Can Sarah believe Jamie isn't acting, when everything he says sounds too good to be true?

Each book in the series is a standalone read. There are no cliffhangers.

Thank you so much for reading.
To learn more about me, visit my website:
www.katekisset.com

Until next time,

xo Kate





 

Crushing on Napa Crush on the Fourth of July

Happy Almost Fourth of July! I have a new book coming out with the sweetest Fourth of July scene I thought you might enjoy.
The book is called #NapaCrush and will be available on Amazon July 20th. Although each book in my series is a standalone read, with no cliffhangers, Napa Crush, is book #2 of my Wine Country Romance Series.

Happy reading.


There are several twists in the story and I don't want to spoil it for you, so I'll keep the set up brief.
In this scene, the heroine, reporter Danica Vargas, is recovering from a scorching and surprising kiss from her childhood sweetheart, the indie baseball star, Luca Santino. She, and a group from an earlier party, caught a ride from Luca to the river to watch the fireworks:

Pre-Order NAPA CRUSH: https://www.amazon.com/Napa-Crush-Single-Country-Romance-ebook

She’d lost sight of Luca after the group’s Frisbee game. Although the Santino clan, and practically everyone else from the gathering, played, Danica couldn’t bear the awkwardness of being around him, and stayed on the sidelines. Even if she had managed to corral enough courage to strike up a conversation with Luca, she couldn’t have pulled it off in front of Michael.

It didn’t matter, though. Luca hadn’t noticed her. She doubted he’d given her a second thought after helping her out of his truck.

Zzeeee-zzzzz. A test firecracker launched over the Napa River, illuminating the rapt crowd with red bursts of sparkle. As if on cue, Luca’s unmistakable silhouette popped up near the river’s edge, flanked by two female forms, one on each side. Danica shifted on her blanket for a better look. The figure on his right leaned, tilting her face up to his.

Remembering the taste of Luca’s kiss hours ago, she felt a hot blush sear her cheeks, and clutched the sweatshirt at her neck. Danica wriggled away from Juliet and leaned forward for a better look. What would he do now?

Luca adjusted his blanket so his cuddling companions were covered and protected from the cold breeze coming off the water. She’d have to wait for her own up-close view of him next week unless he cancelled their interview.

Even though they’d kissed, she changed her mind about finding another source for the baseball story. It wasn’t professional to kiss the subject of an interview, and god knows she shouldn’t have with Michael. But Luca? Her first kiss? They had too much history between them. She would talk to Mr. Harvey, and if she had to pass the story on to someone else, she would.

BOOM! A spray of red, white, and blue glittery light exploded over the park. A surge of excitement rushed through her. Luca Santino was back. Although she wasn’t sitting next to him, after all these years, they were together in the same place, looking at the same sky, seeing the same fireworks, at the same time.

I hope you have a safe and happy Fourth of July!

Until next time,
Kate xo

Book #1 Wine Country Romance:https://www.amazon.com/Just-Kiss-Single-Country-Romance-ebook/dp/B00ZH4W0WU

Dancing with the Stars of Wine Country in Kate Kisset's Two to Tango

Hi everyone!  This is going to be a quick blog post because it's release day here in wine country and no matter how much I plan ahead, there's always more to do when a book finally goes up for sale.

I'm waltzing around my office with Lucy the-wonder-pup because Two to Tango broke the Top 100 in KW Romance hours after its release! 

I'll write more when I have minute, but didn't want to wait before saying thank you!

If you're reading my blog for the first time, and need a wine country getaway loaded with romance, family and giggles, you'll probably like Two to Tango. 

Read the reviews and buy the book: Two to Tango: http://bit.ly/KissetTwoToTango

An unexpected roommate. An unlikely dance partner. A match made in wine country.

Sexy veterinarian Scarlett Halle jumps at the chance to move home to St. Helena and start over after being dumped by her fiancé. She's determined to break out of her timid shell and go after what she wants, but the fear of failing still stands in her way.

While staying at a friend's vineyard retreat arranging her relocation, she discovers an unexpected roommate. Not just any roommate, but a man she spent an unforgettable evening with years ago.

San Francisco sportscaster Jake Martelli will do anything for his family, but this time his aunt ChiChi has gone too far. After being publicly humiliated by a geriatric mod squad, he’s forced to hide out in wine country. This time the punishment for his loyalty is learning how to tango in order to win a local dance competition. He's not looking for a partner, but when he finds he's hiding out with someone from his past, it would seem fate has other plans.

With Scarlett by his side, will Jake discover a three-minute tango is the dance of a lifetime?

Wine Country Romance author Kate Kisset joins Marina Adair's St. Helena Vineyard Kindle World

A few of my favorite things...

(St. Helena Vineyard Kindle World author Reina Torres interviewed me about my upcoming novella Two to Tango!)

  

Q: How did you first hear about St. Helena Vineyard Kindle World?

Kate Kisset:  First off, thank you so much for asking Reina. 

I met Marina Adair several years ago at a conference my local writer’s group puts on in Santa Rosa. I had just read Kissing Under the Mistletoe and was a die-hard fangirl.

Although a little star struck, I found the courage to introduce myself to her.  I shouldn’t have been nervous because Marina Adair is as sweet and funny as she writes! I was on cloud nine for weeks after meeting her and still have the business card she gave me all those years ago.   

About a year after our meeting, (the timing is a little fuzzy), Marina contacted me and invited me to write in her St. Helena Vineyard Kindle World. 

Although I was thrilled, the Kindle World concept was just launching, and I didn’t understand it completely. I was in the midst of writing my own Wine Country Romance Series and was worried some of my Santino brothers would accidentally run into her DeLuca brothers. In the Kindle World, that's a no-no.

After learning more about Kindle Worlds and enjoying last fall’s SHVKW launch, I reached out to Marina and am so happy I’m finally on board.

The series that started it all for me! Find Marina Adair's books on Amazon here.

Q: Based on the set of eight romance books created by Marina Adair, the SHVKW revisit the places and characters we know and love and give us some new to enjoy. Which Hero from her series is your book boyfriend? (And why?)

Kate Kisset: Gabe DeLuca would be my book boyfriend because we would be perfect together. :) I also lost a parent at a young age and am the oldest in my family. I related to his need to take care of his younger siblings and his love for his family. I so wanted Gabe to get that happily-ever-after.  Gabe is such a sexy, sexy man… Then, again, I also adored Trey… Let’s just say I’d never say no to a DeLuca…in my dreams.

Q: Which Heroine would be one of your besties?

Kate Kisset: Regan and Lexi would be my besties. I love those characters so much that I wrote them into my upcoming story.

Q: You’re going to be part of our mini-release for April 2017. Where did you get your inspiration for your story? What familiar characters and locations are likely to make an appearance in your novella?

Kate Kisset: Everything about Marina’s St. Helena Vineyard Kindle World inspires me.  I live in wine country, and my hubby and I spend a lot of time in that sweet town.

In my upcoming novella, I’m going full-immersion into the DeLuca clan.  I’m half-Italian, so it wasn’t too much of a stretch. ChiChi DeLuca was my ultimate inspiration and had a blast writing her. She’s one of the lead characters in my story, and most of the DeLuca's make appearances. There are also plenty of new characters that I can't tell you about yet. As I mentioned, Regan is my heroine’s best friend. Plan on a few surprises. :)

Q: Writing in a world created by someone else can be exciting and a little scary at times…  How are things going? Do you have any questions that need to be answered about the world or the process?

Kate Kisset:  Two to Tango is finished.  I waited so long to be a part of this world; I couldn’t wait to dive in. And I’m so excited about the story, I've decided to start a series! It's called Heart Strings and I’m writing the second novella now.

I wouldn’t say I was scared to write in Marina’s series, but I do feel a sense of responsibility to Marina, her characters and the vibrant world she created.  I want to make sure all the details and character’s mannerisms are correct.  I reached out to her several times along the way. As I mentioned before, Marina really is super supportive, and nice. I don’t think people get enough credit for being nice, but that’s another story. 

Marina is the only person (besides my editor) who knows about a secret aspect of my story, and she loves it.

Thank you so much for having me here today Reina!

Two to Tango, book #1 in the Family Ties series releases April 5th as an Amazon exclusive.

Sign-up for advanced copies of my latest releases and join my readers group here: 

Kate Kisset ARC READERS GROUP (Sign-Up) https://bit.ly/KateKissetReaders

Tag me on Social Media here:

Kate Kisset FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/KateKisset/

Kate Kisset INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/authorkatekisset/

Kate Kisset TWITTER: https://twitter.com/KateKisset

Kate Kisset Website: http://www.katekisset.com/

  

Kate Kisset Books:

Kissing Mr. Mistletoe: Christmas in Napa

https://bit.ly/KissingMM-Kisset-Kindle

Just a Kiss: Wine Country Romance Book #1

Amazon US https://bit.ly/JAK-KISSET

Amazon Ca http://bit.ly/JAK-KISSET-Ca

Amazon UK http://bit.ly/JAKKissetUK

Add Kate Kisset to your Goodreads “Want to Read” List:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/13469395.Kate_Kisset

Two To Tango~ Unexpected Romance in California Wine Country

Happy first day of March!  I can't remember if I told you what I'm up to these days... I can barely remember what season it is! As usual, I've been writing hot, summer love scenes with wind and rain battering my windows, but the sun is shining today in wine country!

I have two new contemporary romances with my editor now. NAPA CRUSH, book two in my Single Girls Wine Club series is coming out in June.  Thank you so much for hanging in there and waiting for the sequel to JUST A KISS. I think you'll be thrilled with this story...it's HAWT!

And... there's more big news! Coming up on April 5th, I'm releasing TWO TO TANGO, the first book in a brand new series in Marina Adair's St. Helena Vineyard Kindle World.
I loved Marina's St. Helena Vineyard series and read every one of her books, the moment they came out.  I can't tell you how happy I am to be a part of her writing community and had a blast writing the story. If you happen to be on Facebook this Friday, I'm hosting a party in the St. Helena Kindle World group! I hope to see you there!
 
If you'd like to meet Jake Martelli, the gorgeous hero of my story and get a first look at TWO TO TANGO, I'd love to have you! Sign up for an ARC here: 
https://bit.ly/KateKissetReaders

 
ARC stands for Advanced Reader Copy and in most cases means the book has only gone through a rough editing pass.  It isn't the final version of the book but is very close. 

Until next time- Happy reading!
xo Kate

PS: Please feel free to get in touch, I love hearing from you. 
https://www.katekisset.com

Autumn in the Vineyard greetings

Autumn is one of my favorite seasons in wine country and I couldn't resist sharing this scoop with you!

Marina Adair is another author who writes romance set in wine country. She's a doll, one of my favorite authors, and a friend who's been very supportive of my writing career.

Marina sold her book, Autumn in the Vineyard to the Hallmark Channel and the movie airs tomorrow night, Saturday October 7!

The story is set in St. Helena just a few miles from where I'm writing this blog. I think you'll a kick out of watching it.

Here's the youtube preview: [Autumn in the Vineyard ]

I loved her book and can't wait to see how they make it into a movie!

Here are a few of my Autumn in the vineyards photos:
 

Peek-a-boo

Look at the colors!

The sky is cobalt blue this time of year!

I love reading romance set in wine country so much, I wrote my own story. It's called Just a Kiss. It's set in Sonoma and Napa and many scenes take place in the fall. Read the blurb on Amazon here. 

Let me know what you're reading or watching. I love hearing from readers. Happy fall y'all!

Until next time, Kate

Here's where to find me: 

www.katekisset.com

 Twitter 

 Facebook

Instagram  

  

Author's Dear John Letter to a Boring Character

 

THE NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED TO PROTECT INNOCENT CHARACTERS I HAVEN'T CREATED YET.

Dear John,

    I really didn't think it would come to this. Quite frankly I'm surprised. Over countless hours together, and thousands of words, I've given you more than enough time to resolve your issues and yet, you continue to disappoint me. 

You've had a tough time recently. I realize you are still grieving over the loss of your parents.  I agree, the horrific head-on collision they were in on Route 29 in Napa, wasn't fair, and I know you are traumatized because I wrote you to be that way.  But, here's the deal John, you're boring. YOU, my friend, are the lead in every scene I want to skip over. 

Now, I know,  you're going to say that this is all my fault and on some level, I agree with you. However, I've worked with many characters before, and none of them have led me to the dead ends you have John. 

Usually, after five thousand new words, and a little more development,  they get back on track, but not you.
 
I'm very well aware of how much you were looking forward to a relationship with Jane. You were planning on that feisty, gorgeous creature to finally heal your heart. It's not going to happen.
John, I'm sorry to say Jane doesn't want you and neither do I. 

I've already packed your suitcase. If you hurry, you can catch the afternoon flight from San Francisco to New York.
Please know, I'll save some of your words. There might still be a happy ending for you yet, with someone else.  

Warm regards,
               Kate 

If you are looking for non-boring characters who find love in 

 California wine country :-) or want to find out more about me,  please visit my website:  www.katekisset.com

 Just a Kiss Book #1 Single Girls Wine Club is available here.