Author interview: Erin Moira O'Hara with THE KNIGHT OF CASTLE KILDARE

Welcome to my friend Erin Moira O'Hara with her new ghost romance, THE KNIGHT OF CASTLE KILDARE.

Firstly, as always - check out the hot dude:

Mmm. Ghostly-moon-mist-dude-castle! You can see what to expect from this book, eh? Clean, simple, but effective. Nice work!

In case you needed more clues, here's the lowdown:

Modern woman Kate Manning has always been fascinated by Sir Caleb, a fifteenth century knight whose portrait hangs in the mysterious Castle of Kildare. Now the new owner of the castle, Kate finds herself even more drawn to him, until one day the unbelievable happens: Caleb steps out of the portrait.

Frozen in time since a gypsy cursed him hundreds of years ago, Caleb awakens at the touch of the most desirable woman he's ever seen. Yet to end the curse and free himself from the portrait forever, he must claim the heart of a woman with Romani blood – not this flirtatious blonde who tempts him beyond belief.

As Caleb fights against his growing feelings for Kate, he must also find a way to keep her safe from those obsessed with the castle's hidden treasure. There are some willing to do anything to unearth it, no matter who gets in their way…

Portrait-stepping ghosts! The claiming of tempting hearts! Time travel-ish shenanigans! Hidden treasure! Sounds cool, eh?

Now, I have a few burning questions for Erin:

Tell us about the characters in The Knight of Castle Kildare. What inspired them?

The knight of Castle Kildare was inspired by an old TV series called The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. It always frustrated me that Captain Greg (the ghost) and Mrs. Muir (a widow with two children) could never actually get together.
My story is based on a sexy young knight called Caleb from the sixteenth century and a modern day, independent woman, called Katrina who has never had a serious boyfriend.

Your hero in Knight is a ghost, of sorts, and an Elizabethan ghost at that – what challenges did that present for you, in writing a romance with a modern (and living!) heroine?

My biggest challenge was to restore Sir Caleb, a supposed ghost to life. Aha, he could have been cursed by a gypsy, not actually killed. This frustrates him greatly as he hates the gypsy who cursed him and vows to wring the neck of any gypsy who crosses his path. Big problem.
Another challenge was coming up with a good reason for Katrina to be such an innocent in this day and age. After a bit of thought, I realised it’s Katrina’s infatuation with the handsome Knight and her grandmother’s enthralling stories that have prevented her having a normal relationship with any other man.

Is Knight a steamy story? Do you like to read/write erotic romance, and if so, what’s the appeal?

I normally write spicy romantic suspense with sensual love scenes and gritty action, although humour always seems to sneak in. I do read some erotic romances by authors who write them well and have good storylines.

Are you a history fan? What kind of research did you do to write this book?

I’m not a big history buff, although I used Queen Elizabeth I in The Knight of Castle Kildare, so I needed to research her reign and pilgrimages through England. I also needed to research the Romani Gypsies around that time. I was astonished to discover the Romani people (as they liked to be known) were often executed or chased out of the country. It amazes me what humans will do to each other, even in this day. However, this fact helped greatly with my storyline.

What’s next for you – what are you writing/publishing now?

At the moment I’m working on suspense series based around six ex-SAS soldiers, who have formed a security protection service. They will do whatever it takes to get the job done. Their assignments take place in Australia and other parts of the world, wherever the job requires them to be. Each of my heroes has his own demons to deal with and a woman who will tie him in knots and frustrate him in everyway possible.

What do you like most about The Knight of Castle Kildare?

It’s a light fun read with a little suspense, passion and a twist or two. The main characters just clicked, even Miles (the butler) with his dry sense of humour. I based him on Colin Firth in a very straight-laced way.


Well, any kind of Colin Firth - strait-laced or otherwise - is good with me. Thanks, Erin :)

You can check out THE KNIGHT OF CASTLE KILDARE ebook here:

Amazon  ~  Penguin Books  ~  Kobo

And check out Erin's website

So, do you enjoy ghost romances? Kind of an old-fashioned thing, right... or do you say NOT, and bring back the ghostly hero?

Free stuff!! and a new Shadowfae book

Creeping out of deep lurkdom... to squee about a few freebies!

First of all, CHERRY KISSES is free on Kindle to US readers. Yay! It's also free on Kobo right now.

I'm getting a great response from readers on Lena and Ethan's story. If you love witches, demons, sword-fighting and hot ninja guys? Go grab yourself a free one!


Also, without further sekrit squirrel ado... the new Shadowfae book is here!


Check out this brilliant cover art from Ravven. Isn't it gorgeous?

A snarky, sexy undead hero. A feisty djinni heroine. A jealous fairy best friend... oh, my. This book is juicy. And yes, before you ask - Kane is in it.

Check out the deets on Goodreads, and add it to your TBR! I love love love this story, and I'm so happy to be able to bring it to you at last :D

You can already pre-order it from Kobo (yay!) and other sites will soon follow. Release day will be 18 September.

For reviewers? It's up on NetGalley, so flip me a request and I'll oblige.

Cover art... and a free story!

Check out my awesome new cover art!

From Ida at Amygdala Designs, for my Shadowfae novella CHERRY KISSES. Isn't it gorgeous?

Sexy con-artist Lena Falco isn't a witch, not technically. She uses her cache of stolen magic tricks to seduce and bedazzle her marks. When she's hired by a demon to steal a cursed magical amulet from a monstrous tower in Hell, it must be her lucky day.

The prize? A single wish—whatever she wants. The catch? There's competition: Ethan Benford, swordsman and enchanter, arrogant, maddeningly sexy and the only incorruptible man in town.

Lena's been burnt before by Ethan's easy charm, and she vows he'll meet his match this time. But is ultimate power worth betraying the only man who truly believes in her?


It's so pretty! This 11K novella was previously published in the HEX APPEAL anthology from St Martin's Press, edited by PN Elrod. But this is my fancy new ebook edition. It's an urban fantasy, not a romance. Just so you know.

Where can I get one? I hear you ask. Well, that's the cool thing. Right now, I'm giving CHERRY KISSES away free! to my email newsletter subscribers. One day soon, I'll put her up for sale on Amazon, but for now... she's all yours!

You can sign up here, or use the form on my website. I hope you enjoy!

Kick-ass chicks in space!

I promised I'd tell you about my December release, DRAGONFLY.

Conveniently, I've been tagged for The Next Big Thing by Areteus, so here goes:

The Next Big Thing ~ kick-ass-chick space opera! (well, we can hope...)

What is the working title of your book? 
DRAGONFLY. It used to be called quite a few other things, including 'that sci-fi manuscript' and 'the short one' (it used to be a novella; now it's a full-length novel).

Where did the idea come from for the book? Space pirates!! Cool bad guys in spaceships. We need more of them, I thought. This book is what happened. It now has secret agents, super-intelligent terrorist geeks and space marines, too. And an evil empire. Yay!

What genre does your book fall under? Romantic sci-fi? Space opera? Spaceships and rayguns, anyhow, with a cool kick-ass heroine. That's her on the cover. Like, y'know, an urban fantasy heroine. Except in space. Geddit?

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie? Oh, I hate this question :) Um. In my head, the heroine, Carrie, looks a bit like Jodie Foster, or maybe the actress who plays the futuristic cop in Continuum. For anyone who follows cricket, Lukas the space pirate looks sort of like Chris Gayle.


How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? This one kind of developed over a couple of years. It was shorter at first, and then I returned to it months later to make it novel-length.
 If it seems episodic, that's because it is :)

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? 
Er. It's a bit like a flip version of Anne Aguirre's Sirantha Jax books. Either that, or it's a female James Bond in space.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?
 See above on space pirates.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? It's awesome. You should read it. No joke. And my mum loves it!! (Actually that's not true. My mum hasn't read it. Sorry, Mum, you'll have to get an e-reader!)

How about a teaser? Well, soon you'll be able to read a big fat juicy excerpt, courtesy of the publisher, Momentum. For now, here's the cover copy:

Carrie Thatcher is a tough Imperial counter-terrorism agent. Her mission: pose as a sexy cyber-thief to entrap the notorious rebel Dragonfly, who’s planning a heist on the space station Casa de Esperanza – an orbital casino on the fringe of Imperial space.

And this assignment’s personal: Dragonfly murdered her closest friend, and she’s in no mood to show him mercy. Even getting stuck with the partner from hell—Malachite, her sociopathic ex-lover and the Empire’s most dangerous agent—can’t dampen her relish for the kill.

With Carrie’s expert weapons skills and penchant for cracking codes, insinuating herself into Dragonfly’s confidence should be easy. But is he the ruthless killer she was led to believe? Or has her precious Empire deceived her? With Malachite watching her every move, the slightest flinch in loyalty means death.

Carrie is soon racing to uncover an audacious treachery that will shock the Empire to its core … if she can stay alive for long enough to expose it. 

Cool, eh? Release date is 1 December, in e-book for Kindle, iBooks and whatever else. There's also a paperback version, if you're really keen.

So there ya go. The Next Big Thing: kick-ass-chick space opera. With pirates, and math-geek terrorists. You heard it here first.

P.S. I'm supposed to tag some folks for this meme... I think I'll ping you folks on FB. Seems easier that way...

Cover art: REVELATION

So... a lot's happened since I last dropped by. Christmas, and all that. I've moved to England, in the middle of winter {waves through the icy mist. Seriously? It is really cold here.}. I've been sorta-writing a bunch of stuff.

And I have a fabulicious new cover and release date for my next book, REVELATION, first in a new series from Berkley Sensation. Is he not scrumptious?

A fallen angel with a mission and a medical examiner who’s lost her faith are fighting for their souls in a glittering, near-future Manhattan…

Blind faith is for fools. That’s what Dr. Morgan Sterling believes. And she’s going to prove it by curing the zombie plague ravaging her city’s slums. She’s certain it’s not a sign of the End of Days, but a nasty disease—until an angel appears in her morgue in a flash of glory.

Luniel is not just a fallen angel. He’s a powerful warrior sworn to fight evil in hopes of a chance at redemption. He’s after the demon princes who are stealing the seven vials of holy wrath which, when perverted, will unleash eternal hell on earth.

To stop the plague, Luniel needs Morgan’s help, and her faith. But Morgan believes science is their salvation. If the zombie plague is a demonic curse—and if Luniel is true—he’ll have to prove it. Even if he loses his heart to true love or his soul to Hell…

Cool, huh? It's due out 2 October. Says so right here at Amazon. Can't wait :) now I've gotta get onto writing the next one, REDEMPTION.

Blood Cursed cover art

Is this awesome? Or is it, like, totally awesome!?!

This is my fourth Craig White cover and I love it. Love, love, love it. It is so much what the book is about that I can't think of anything I'd like better.

"Sigh. So... what's the book about, then?" you ask patiently? Behold, cover copy.*

Enter the fierce, fantastical world of the Shadowfae, where blood is a drug, magic is a crime, and love is the most dangerous weapon of all…

To a vampire, nothing is sweeter than bloodfairy essence -- and Ember is the most sought-after fairy on the underworld circuit. Selling her blood to the highest bidder -- and robbing her clients in the process -- Ember has unwittingly become a target of dark and dangerous forces. Her enemies are everywhere. And if she hopes to survive, she needs protection...

Diamond is a glassfairy who, for better or worse, knows his way around the vampire underworld. Smooth as silk and tougher than trolls, Diamond is Ember’s only chance to keep her magical blood inside her body, where it belongs. But he also poses a threat to Ember, a strange kind of danger she’s never experienced before: She’s falling in love with him...

Yay! I'm so excited. Release date is 2 August 2011, US and UK and Canada.**

And if anyone out there's doing their Cool New Covers of the Week post, or Awesome Homicidal Chicks in Tight Dresses or suchlike, please feel free to plaster this one all over it, should you so choose :)

In other news:

Today, I finished my demon-hunting witches short story! Yay! It's tentatively titled CHERRY KISSES. Coming soon to an anthology near you.

And lastly: remember, you've got until midnight Friday West-Coast-US-time to enter last week's Friday Fancies giveaway of Eve Silver's SINS OF THE HEART. It's a great book. You know you want it.

*This may not be the final cover copy. But it's near enough.

** Those are pre-order links. The more orders, the more copies they print. If you enjoy my books, you'd really be doing me a favour...