Sheikh Akbar needs a hostage... Sarah Greenwich needs to escape. A Book by Katheryn Lane.

Could tell us about your bestselling romance, The Desert Sheikh in 30 or less words?

It's a 3 part sheikh romance. If I had to summarize The Desert Sheikh in just a few words, I would say:  “The desert is an exotic wilderness where anything can happen”
 The Desert Sheikh is a series of novellas: Kidnapped By The Sheikh, Married To The Sheikh and The Sheikh’s Son. Here’s what they’re about:

PART 1 - KIDNAPPED BY THE SHEIKH

Sheikh Akbar needs a hostage.

Sarah Greenwich needs to escape.

But sometimes what you need is not what you want.

When a powerful sheikh kidnaps Dr. Sarah Greenwich, she leads him to believe that she is the wife of the British ambassador, but how long will she be able to keep up the deception and what will happen to her when the sheikh finds out that she has been lying to him?

Sarah is about to discover that the desert is an exotic wilderness, where anything can happen…

PART 2 - MARRIED TO THE SHEIKH

When Sarah Greenwich marries Sheikh Akbar, her life is full of wedded bliss in the arms of a loving, passionate man. However, not everyone shares her happiness and Sarah soon discovers that when you’re married to a powerful warlord, problems can come from the most unexpected sources.

 Can love overcome the obstacles that are placed in front of it?

PART 3 - THE SHEIKH’S SON

When Sheikh Akbar manages to track down his long-lost wife, he also discovers the one other thing that he has always wanted: a son. However, reclaiming what he wants and loves is not as easy as he first thinks.

Who will win in this renewed battle of wills and what lengths will Akbar go to in order to keep his child?

I would just like to add that each book stands on its own and each one is available as an individual novella for $1.99. However, romance lovers can save money by buying the entire series in one book, The Desert Sheikh, for only $3.99!

Is there an Author that you would really like to meet?

I would love to meet Nora Roberts. She’s such a prolific romance writer. I also think that lunch with Jackie Collins would be a lot of fun!

Do you prefer ebooks, paperbacks or hardcover?

I love books of all sorts (and most genres) and read books in various formats. Also, because I live in the Middle East, it isn’t always easy to buy books (we don’t have that many bookshops), so I’ll read books in whatever format I can get hold of.

What book are you currently reading and in what format (ebook/paperback/hardcover)?

I’m currently reading The Shoemaker’s Wife. It’s a paperback that my husband bought for me on a recent trip to the UK. I’m only part of the way through, but so far I’m enjoying it very much. It’s a love story set in Italy in the first part of the twentieth century. So far it’s very sad, but I’m hoping there’s a happy ending.

Who designed the cover of your book?
I’ve used a couple of different book designers. The covers for The Desert Sheikh series were done by RaeAnn Inc and I love the way they used lots warm colours to suggest the heat of the desert. When I first started publishing, I tried to design my own book cover and it was a complete disaster, so now I leave it to the professionals. By the way, I love your book covers Patti - they are absolutely stunning!

Patti Says - Thank you!!

Do you have any advice for other writers?

Write and read, and then write and read some more. Like any job, or any craft there is always more to learn and I believe that you learn by practising it. It doesn’t necessarily get easier, and there will always be days when you have blocks, but you have to work through those and keep going. Also, don’t underestimate the need to market your books. People won’t buy books that they don’t know exist.

Do you ever write in your PJ’s?
All the time! Sometimes I wake up full of ideas and go straight to the computer, but only at weekends. The rest of the week, I have to get ready for work and a lot of my ideas just get lost . . .

Coffee or tea?

I like both, but coffee doesn’t like me, it gives me a stomach upset, so I stick to tea and drink lots of it!

Vanilla or chocolate ice-cream?

Both! I love ice-cream, vanilla and chocolate, though my favourite flavour is coffee (despite what I said above about coffee not agreeing with - I seem to be okay with coffee flavoured ice-cream). I bought an ice-cream maker a few years ago and love experimenting with different flavours, such as mango.

Your thoughts on receiving book reviews - the good and the bad -

Reviews are great - good or bad as long as they’re honest. Obviously I love good reviews, but getting bad reviews are an inevitable part of the job as everyone has different tastes and opinions about things. I try to accept constructive criticism and be grateful that someone has taken the time to write up their opinions of my book. However, a bad review does hurt. To help ease the pain, I go and read the one and two-star reviews for my favourite books on Amazon and remember that not everyone has to love every book that is published.

Here are a few of my favourite 1-star reviews from Amazon:

“I think I got about a quarter of the way through it and hoped it would get better. The story is hard to follow, too detailed about mundane things. The story line is so slow I just gave up. I enjoy historical romances and I figured a classic, right? Should be good. Nope, it was a waste of my time.” - 1 star review of Pride and Prejudice

“Boring, pointless story of a pathetic imbecile whose life seems to be not much more than a bizarre journey through an insane asylum.” - 1 star review of Great Expectations

“I just read this book. everybody like always talks about how great it is and everything. but I don't think so. like, it's been done before, right?? soooo cliched. omg.” - 1 star review of Romeo and Juliet

“Sleepy. Not much plot. Bad use of vocabulary” - 1 star review of Harry Potter

Patti Says: I am laughing right now! Thank goodness those reviews didn't work for a publishing company, they would have been given the boot by now!

Where is one place in the world that you would really love to visit someday?

I’d love to go to the Maldives to one of those resorts where the guests stay in villas set out in the water accessible only by boat - so romantic!

One of your favorite quotes -

I have several. Can I mention more than one? I especially love Mae West and Oscar Wilde. They were both so brilliant! Tying to chose just a few of their wonderful quotes is hard, but here are a few:

‘I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.’ (Mae West)

'I can resist anything but temptation.' (Oscar Wilde)
'I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train.' (Oscar Wilde)

An actor or a book character you have a crush on -

I just love Antonio Banderas, even as Puss In Boots in Shrek. So sexy!

What is a movie or TV show that you watched just recently and really enjoyed?
Black Gold, a sheikh movie set in the Middle East in the first part of the twentieth century starring Antonio Banderas - perfect!


If your book was made into a TV series or Movie, what actors would you like to see playing your characters? Feel free to add pics.

I would love to see Antonio Banderas playing any of my characters, but he would be perfect as the hero, Paulo, in Her Latin Lover. He would also make a great sheikh - he was wonderful as one in the movie Black Gold.

Where can your readers stalk you?

My blog: http://Katheryn-Lane.blogspot.com

My facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/KatherynLane.Author

My Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/KatherynLane

Twitter: @KatherynLane  http://twitter.com/KatherynLane

Amazon: http://amzn.to/WvNyo8

Smashwords: http://bit.ly/VbC885

Is your book in Print, ebook or both? So far, just as ebooks, but that might change in the future.

The Desert Sheikh is available on all Amazon sites, for example:

http://amzn.to/VeHMve (USA)

http://amzn.to/VbCBqA (UK)

It’s also available from Smashwords where readers can download it in any online format: http://bit.ly/UpIAef

Thank you so much Patti for the great interview questions! It’s been loads of fun!

My pleasure, Katheryn.

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