When Love Matters Most by Kate James Giveaway & Interview

On Tour with Prism Book Tours.

Now More Readily Available in Print

This is an exciting time for Harlequin Heartwarming. Thanks to the loyalty of our readers, for the first time, our January releases, including When Love Matters Most, are available as mass-market paperbacks through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Harlequin.com. Also, When Love Matters Most will be available in select Walmart stores in the United States in February! Please check the Harlequin website for the location nearest you. Thank you to all our readers who made these advancements possible for us!

— Kate

When Love Matters Most

(K-9 Trilogy #2)
by Kate James
Adult Contemporary Romance

Paperback & ebook, 368 pages
January 1st 2016 by Harlequin Heartwarming

Keeping her safe at all costs

Could their backgrounds be any more different? Rick Vasquez, a K-9 unit sergeant with the San Diego Police Department, fled drug-related violence in Mexico as a boy. Madison Long, who recently became primary veterinarian to the SDPD's canines, is the privileged daughter of a judge. Rick has dedicated his life to curtailing cross-border drug trafficking and preventing other young boys from being drawn into the dark world of the cartels.

But everything Rick and Madison value, and the growing love between them, is threatened by the dangers of Rick's job, and the risks he's determined to take…

Amazon - Barnes & Noble - Harlequin

Kate James spent much of her childhood abroad before attending university in Canada. She built a successful business career, but her passion has always been literature. As a result, Kate turned her energy to her love of the written word. Her writing has been recognized with a number of awards, including first place honors for Silver Linings in both the First Coast Romance Writers’ Published Beacon Contest and Ancient City Romance Authors’ Heart of Excellence Readers’ Choice Award. Her November 2014 Harlequin Heartwarming release, A Child’s Christmas, received first-place honors from Southern Magic, the Birmingham Chapter of the Romance Writers of America, for the 2015 Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, placed second in the Ancient City Romance Authors’ Heart of Excellence Readers’ Choice Award, and was a finalist in RWA’s Desert Rose Chapter’s Golden Quill Award and the Colorado Romance Writers’ Award of Excellence. Finally, her October 2015 release, When the Right One Comes Along, the first book in her K-9 trilogy, has received a Best Book of 2015 award in the contemporary category.

She and her husband, Ken, enjoy traveling and the outdoors with their beloved Labrador Retrievers, Harley and Logan.

Kate would love to hear from you! You can connect with her by e-mail, through her website, her Facebook page, Twitter, or mail at PO Box 446, Schomberg, ON, L0G 1T0, Canada.

Interview from Victoria @ Deal Sharing Aunt

Thank you for hosting me on your blog, Victoria. It’s nice to be back, visiting with you and your readers!

How long does it take you to write a book?

On average, it takes me three months to write a book.  With the timing of my recent releases, this includes doing revisions and edits on previously submitted manuscripts while I work on my next novel.  Since When Love Matters Most is the second book in my K-9 trilogy, it was particularly helpful to switch back and forth between the three books, to ensure continuity.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Hmm . . . that’s a fun question! Since nothing came immediately to mind, I posed the question to my husband. If anyone knows my quirks, it’s him! He might have been diplomatic, but he said he couldn’t think of anything. That put the ball squarely back in my court. So I will say this: I love writing on planes. I especially like long-haul flights where I can curl up in a pod with my laptop, a glass of wine and spend quality time writing! Fortunately, I don’t need to be on a plane to be able to write . . . or it could get very expensive! J

Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?

I am bombarded with story ideas just about everywhere I go and with everything I do! Once I settle on an idea for my next book and it’s accepted by my publisher, I research the subject matter thoroughly.  The most fun I’ve had doing research is for my K-9 trilogy for Harlequin Heartwarming.

After securing the requisite security clearance and necessary approvals, I had the great pleasure of spending a considerable amount of time with Police Constable Jim Hilton of Ontario’s York Regional Police Department. PC Hilton is a K-9 officer and trainer, and is partnered with explosives detection dog Max. PC Hilton was extremely generous with his time, knowledge and expertise, and I loved meeting Max.

PC Hilton also gave me some “light” reading material!

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?

Doing the research for the K-9 trilogy, I learned that K-9 officers and their dogs have one of the most dangerous jobs in law enforcement. I would have assumed that officers in the tactical team or vice squad would have the most dangerous jobs, but I learned that that was not necessarily the case. For example, a tactical team is dispatched to high-risk situations, but they have full-body armor, are heavily armed and they minimize risk with every move they make. The K-9 Unit works with the tactical team quite often. They’d get called in if there’s a dangerous suspect or potential explosives in a building, or a suspect has escaped and they need to track him. In those situations, the canine and his handler lead the tactical team. For the dog to be effective, he often runs fast and directly toward the target he’s pursuing. Unfortunately, this can make the canine and his handler a ready target. Also, until recently, police service dogs could generally not wear body armor, since the weight of it could cause considerable risk to the animals with the exertion often required to perform their duties. The risks associated with overheating or heart attack were considerable. I was thrilled to learn that body armor is now available for them that mitigates such risks.

What do you think makes a good story?

I personally like a story that is both emotionally and intellectually satisfying, has relatable, likeable characters who overcome both internal and external conflicts, and they grow as a consequence. Very importantly—I like stories that aren’t predictable. I would love to hear from readers as to what they think makes a good story!

What would you like my readers to know?

I would like your readers to know how much I sincerely appreciate that they choose to spend their valuable and limited leisure time reading this post or one of my books. I am also very grateful when a reader posts a review or reaches out to me to let me know how they enjoyed one of my books.

Thank you, again, for hosting me on your blog, Victoria. I hope you and your readers had a wonderful holiday season, and I wish you a happy and healthy 2016!

Tour Schedule

January 4th: Launch
January 5th: Katie's Clean Book Collection

January 6th: Becky on Books & Sunrise Avenue

January 7th: Reading Is My SuperPower & Singing Librarian Books

January 8th: Getting Your Read On & deal sharing aunt

January 10th: Colorimetry & I Am A Reader

January 11th: Mel's Shelves & Slice of Life

January 12th: Thoughts of a Blonde & Falling Leaves

January 13th: underneath the covers & Teatime and Books

January 14th: Rockin' Book Reviews

January 15th: Enthralling Dimple & Love, Laughter, Friendship

January 17th: Grand Finale

Tour Giveaway

- $40 Amazon eGift Card & signed copies of The Truth About Hope and When the Right One Comes Along
- 3 winners of signed copies of When the Right One Comes Along
Open US/CAN only
Ends January 23rd

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