About the new FADE book....

Some background for readers who are new to the FADE series: when first released, it came out in three parts. FADE INTO YOU, FADE INTO ME and FADE INTO ALWAYS. Each installment was around 20,000 words. Not long after the third part came out, all three were combined into one novel-length ebook and paperback called FADE. That is the only version available now. (And the price is the same as if you had bought all three separately when they were for sale.)

The original edition of FADE ended with a short epilogue that is set two years after the book ends, giving a few details of what happens to some of the main characters in the book, as well as where Max and Olivia are at that point in their lives.

The epilogue in the new edition is even shorter, giving very little away. If you bought FADE after April 2013, you probably haven’t seen the slightly more detailed epilogue, so none of this will matter to you. If, however, you do have the edition with the slightly more detailed epilogue, you only know a few “big picture” facts. You don’t know how those things came about, though, or what Max and Olivia had to go through to get to that point.

Since FADE was published, I’ve received literally thousands of emails, Facebook messages and tweets asking for more about Max and Olivia. I didn’t want to write about them just for the sake of it, so I was reluctant, and wrote LAYOVER RULES instead.

Writing about Max and Olivia again would hinge on whether I thought there was a story worth telling, and whether there was enough about their characters to explore in a new book.

After much consideration in the seven months since FADE came out—and some sporadic writing about them—I've decided to go forward with a new book, and it will be released this summer.

Thank you for reading,

KD

LAYOVER RULES Release Day!

LAYOVER RULES is out!

Get a copy here!

Amazon US

Amazon UK

B&N

LAYOVER RULES cover reveal and giveaway

LAYOVER RULES will be released on Thursday, May 2. In the meantime, check out the giveaway on the What To Read After Fifty Shades of Grey Facebook page. Don't miss out on some great prizes.

I thought it would be a good idea to kick off release week by sharing the cover with you. I'm really excited about this book, and I couldn't be happier about the cover.

LAYOVER RULES excerpt

As always with early excerpts, what follows is subject to change. Here's the book description, followed by an excerpt from LAYOVER RULES.

From the New York Times bestselling author of FADE….

Blair Dyson found her dream man—the sexy, wealthy and powerful Trevor Baker—a real-life version of all the alpha males she read about in countless romance novels.

But the relationship is nothing like those books led her to believe it would be, and now she wants out. A stunning discovery of one of Trevor’s secrets gives her the push she needs to make the final break.

Free of Trevor, she vows to focus on her rapidly advancing career and to put men to the side for a while.

Then Sam Vonn, an acquaintance from Blair’s past, enters her life again, just at the wrong time.

Or could it be the right time? A casual arrangement with Sam might be exactly what Blair needs as she reclaims her life.

Before long, she finds keeping things casual with Sam more complicated than she expected, and erasing Trevor from her life more difficult than she hoped.

EXCERPT:

I was exhausted by the time our flight from Atlanta landed in New York. It wasn’t too late in the evening, but I was always tired after a trip. That’s also why I didn’t eat much, despite Trevor’s encouragement. I took a few bites of the potatoes, but that was all I could manage.

Later, after taking a shower and getting ready for bed, I didn’t see Trevor anywhere so I walked out of the bedroom, looking for him in the den, the kitchen, and finally finding him in his home office.

The door was open just a sliver, which was more than it usually was. I rarely, if ever, went in there. Actually, I think I smelled it more than I saw it. The room had that new house smell, the kind that comes from the carpeting and the paint. Trevor's office also had the scent of expensive leather.

His desk faced the window so he would have a view of the city skyline -- I guess so he could sit there and dream of one day owning the entire city. Looking in from the doorway, I could only see the chair and the back of his head. He would almost always turn around, either having heard me or caught my reflection in the window.

But I didn’t get that far this time. I stopped before my hand could even touch the door.

I could hear Trevor’s voice. He sounded angry, frustrated, and anxious.

“Let these fuckers roll the dice and try it. I’ve got enough money to fight it.”

There was silence as Trevor listened to the person on the other end of the line talking.

“Fuck.”

More silence.

“How long before this gets out?”

What the hell could he be talking about? I wished he had the other person on speaker. My curiosity piqued, I was holding my breath to stay as quiet as I could so I could hear everything.

“How did…you know what? Let’s not talk about this on the phone. I’ll come and see you in the morning…Right…Okay, see you then…I will.”

I heard the beep as he ended the call.

I stood there for a moment, debating whether to go into his office or back to the bedroom.

“Fuck,” he said, again, and I looked into the room. He had his head in his hands, looking down at the desk.

I didn’t want him to know that I had overheard anything. I’d caught snippets of many stressful conversations coming from that office before, but there was something different in Trevor’s voice this time. This wasn’t just anger. It was fear.

I softly walked across the hardwood floors back to the bedroom, got into bed, and waited. And waited. And waited. The last time I looked at the clock, it was just after 1 a.m. I’m not sure what time I fell asleep.

When I woke up in the morning, Trevor wasn’t in our bed. He was still in his office, in the same position, but sleeping. Having had my own troubled sleep, I figured Trevor had had an even later night, and certainly more stressful from what I’d heard, so I didn’t wake him.

I went through my morning routine, getting ready for work. I rushed through my shower, dried my hair, put on my make-up, and dressed in the clothes I’d picked out the night before.

Before I left, I looked in the office and he was still in the same position—sitting in the chair, slumped over, head resting on his arms on the desk.

Fear struck me. Had something terrible happened? So awful that he would commit suicide?

As quietly as I could, I crept into the office, got about five feet away from him, and finally saw him breathing. He stirred, repositioned his head on his folded arms, and resumed shallow breaths.

I left.

LAYOVER RULES will be available May 2, 2013

LAYOVER RULES book description

From the New York Times bestselling author of FADE….

Blair Dyson found her dream man—the sexy, wealthy and powerful Trevor Baker—a real-life version of all the alpha males she read about in countless romance novels.

But the relationship is nothing like those books led her to believe it would be, and now she wants out. A stunning discovery of one of Trevor’s secrets gives her the push she needs to make the final break.

Free of Trevor, she vows to focus on her rapidly advancing career and to put men to the side for a while.

Then Sam Vonn, an acquaintance from Blair’s past, enters her life again, just at the wrong time.

Or could it be the right time? A casual arrangement with Sam might be exactly what Blair needs as she reclaims her life.

Before long, she finds keeping things casual with Sam more complicated than she expected, and erasing Trevor from her life more difficult than she hoped.

Available May 2

LAYOVER RULES Update

The manuscript for my new book, LAYOVER RULES, goes to my editor tomorrow. I've spent so much time writing this one, reworking it (changes both big and small) and now I can finally see the finish line.

Going into it, I had the two lead characters in mind as well as the theme of the book. Just a general idea. No real plot. I knew who Blair and Sam were, and I knew the big picture of what was going to happen to them, but I didn't know how it was going to play out.

So I let them lead the way, and after three drafts of the first two chapters over the course of about a month, it became clear just how it was going to happen, and the story rolled out.

Now that I know their story, I really like it and I hope you will as well. This book is quite different than FADE, as I attempted to do something different with the genre.

One more minor note: if you were under the impression that the male lead in this book was named Simon, that's because at one point he was, and I probably mentioned it here or on Facebook or Twitter. I changed his name to Sam, not only because I happen to like the name, but as I was writing I kept getting distracted when I wrote things like "Simon said." I pictured readers' minds drifting back to their childhoods when they played "Simon Says" and decided to change it. Maybe having mentioned this, you'll still think of that game. Oh well. Simon says, "Don't."

So tomorrow Phase Two of the process begins and you'll have a chance to meet Blair and Sam at the end of April, first week of May at the latest. (Yes, this release time has been pushed back a couple of times, but this one is firm. I wanted the book to be right rather than fast.)

As always, thanks for reading.

-Kate

New book title reveal

I'm excited to announce the title of my new book, which is now approaching the final stages to get it ready for release. It's a busy time, but an exciting time. I'm looking forward to introducing Simon and Blair to you.

I'm also running a giveaway that will coincide with the release of the book. You can find all the details here on my Facebook page.

This is not what the final cover looks like, but it's close...