Casey Dembowski, Author

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Author Spotlight - Kate Pembrooke

Debut author Kate Pembrooke shares her journey to publication, the plight of being a pantser and a bit about her novel Not the Kind of Earl You Marry, which comes out on July 27.

Tell us about your novel.

Not The Kind of Earl You Marry is built around one of my favorite romance tropes—fake engagement/fake relationship. Also, the heroine, Charlotte, is a wallflower/bluestocking, which just happens to be my favorite type of Regency heroine. (If you can’t tell, I originally started writing this story for my own amusement and just threw in many of my favorite elements of historical romance.)

Here’s the blurb:

The one woman in London who doesn’t want to marry him is now his fiancée.

William Atherton, Earl of Norwood, is as shocked as the rest of London to discover his betrothal via an announcement in the morning paper. Furious at what appears to be a shrewd marriage trap, William tracks down his alleged fiancée before her plans can affect his campaign for a coveted political post. But then William realizes an engagement, however fake, may benefit them both . . .

Miss Charlotte Hurst may be a wallflower, but she’s no shrinking violet. She would never attempt such an underhanded scheme, especially not with a man as haughty or sought-after as Norwood. Yet his suggestion to play along with the betrothal has its merits . . . and the longer they pretend, the more undeniably real their feelings become. But when the true culprit behind their engagement is revealed, can their newfound happiness survive the scandal?

What do you hope readers take away from your debut? 

I hope that when someone picks up my book and reads it, that it brings them a few hours of entertainment and joy because that’s what my favorite books do for me. Entertaining readers is my definition of success as a writer.

Share your publishing story.  

In late 2017, I entered a well-known writing contest for unpublished writers of romance. I didn’t final that year, so I entered it again the next year, and this time I was a finalist in the historical romance category. In July 2019, I headed to NYC to attend a writing conference where the winners of the contest would be announced. Turns out one of my fellow finalists (in a different category than mine) had judged my manuscript the previous year when it didn’t reach the finals, and loved it. So she reached out to me and offered to introduce me to her agent. And thanks to that introduction, I signed with my agent, Rebecca Strauss, and a few months later I got a book offer. It’s been a surreal couple of years as I navigate the journey to published writer!

What’s your writing style? Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I always say I’m a pantser who desperately wants to be a plotter, but my natural writing process seems to be writing by the seat of my pants. I can’t seem to plot out my books ahead of time to save my life. Believe me, I’ve tried! Prior to starting a manuscript I create character profiles of my main characters and any secondary characters that I know will be in the story. Once I have a good idea of who the main characters are and what their backstories are, I start writing and I discover the story as I go along.

What are you currently working on?

I’m currently working on Sweet Dreams Are Made of Dukes, the third book in the Unconventional Ladies of Mayfair series. It tells the story of Phoebe Talbot, who is a secondary character in the first two books, and Simon Trentwell. She’s a bookish beauty who must marry well to rescue her family’s finances and he’s a rake trying to reform his ways. I’m early in the drafting process, so I’m not sure what shape this story will take. (The curse of being a pantser; it’s difficult to talk about a book until I’ve written it.)

Buy Not the Kind of Earl You Marry.

ABOUT KATE

Kate Pembrooke lives in the Midwest with her husband and two adorable pups. When she's not tapping away at her keyboard, she enjoys reading, puttering amongst her flowerbeds, taking beach vacations, and adding to her already extensive collection of cookbooks.

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