Read an excerpt from The Fireman and the Ice Queen
Visit Dee S. Knight's web site
About Dee S. Knight
A few years ago, Dee S. Knight made a career move that finally made getting up in the morning fun. During the day, her characters killed people, got married, became drunk with power or sober with responsibility. And sex. They had sex, over and over. What fun! On her word processor anything could happen to anyone. Writing about sex—and all that other stuff—was so much fun, Dee decided to keep at it. Sex, murder and mayhem is how she spends her days. Her nights? Well, that’s between her and her dream man/childhood sweetheart/long-time hubby. They now reside in the Great Midwest, happily sharing the adventure they call life.
Backlist
Liquid Silver Books:
Impatient Passion
It’s All Relative
The Man of Her Dreams
The Cinderella Curse
Passionate Destin
Baer and the Three Goldilocks
The Nature of Nature
“Weighing Anchor” in Afternoon Delight
“R. A. Punzel Lets Down Her Hair” in Ain’t Your Mama’s Bedtime Stories
“That Scottish Spring” in Resolutions
“Awards Night” in Your Desire
“Safe Sex” in The Zodiac Series: Taurus
“Candy Hearts and Flours” in I’m No Saint, Valentine
"The Fireman and the Ice Queen" in Hearts Afire - June
Samhain Publishing:
“Second Wind” in Heat Wave
Whispers Publishing:
Coming Home
If Only For a Night
BookStrand:
Burning Bridges (non-erotic)
Siren-BookStrand:
"The Elixir" in Tasty Treats, Volume 1
An Interview with Dee S. Knight
By Holly Hewson for The Romance Studio
HH: Dee, thank you for talking with us at TRS BLUE. Please tell us about your featured story, The Fireman and the Ice Queen.DSK: Holly, thank you so much for inviting me back. It's always a pleasure being here with you and your readers.
In The Fireman and the Ice Queen, Harm Reynolds isn't afraid of a challenge. So when he's elected by his firefighters' union to negotiate their contract with the new assistant mayor, he steps up to the plate. The previous negotiators fell out in a neighborly squabble just a few days before the contract's end, so Harm feels his duty strongly. Too bad he has to contest differences with a woman called the Ice Queen. Harm hasn't met Beth Williams, but based on rumored behavior of her actions in Tidewater Virginia, she's a real ball-buster. Then Harm meets her and falls into lust faster than a spark lights up a pile of sawdust. She feels the same about him. There are a few problems: her failure to come to terms with Harm's demand that the town supply new emergency radios, their conflict of interest affair, his attachment to his deceased wife, and the arsonist who's determined to record his name in the town's history in flames.
HH: This story is part of Hearts Afire. How did this anthology come to be? DSK: I'm not sure how the anthology series came to be. Liquid Silver Books came up with the concept of twelve volumes all based on firemen, and I was lucky enough to be invited to be part of it. I'm thrilled to be part of a Liquid Silver endeavor again! And I thoroughly enjoyed being part of a book with the talented Colleen Love. The series features a volume a month of two novellas.
The story is based on actual events. When we lived in Kansas City, the city's firefighters were truly having the kind of troubles with their radios I describe in the story. Men would go into burning buildings and lose contact, or messages would be garbled or filled with static. The city argued with the men who were hired to protect the population in the hardest of conditions--can you believe it? And as I recall, it was (as in my story) over money they'd already spent on the radio system. I thought a problem of that magnitude would be a good foundation for a story.
HH: What do you like best about the very sexy Harm? DSK: Well, isn't the fact that he's very sexy enough to like? LOL! I think that he loved his wife enough to feel guilty that he was attracted to another woman after almost two years, and then that he honored her memory enough not to keep himself cut off from love. Plus, he grills a great steak!
HH: What do you like best about Beth and how does she present a challenge to him? DSK: Beth is a woman who knows her own mind. She's set a career path and doesn't let petty things like name calling upset her. She knows her strengths and limitations. She's not a woman without flaws, but she accepts accountability. All in all, I think she's realistic and I like her as a character.
HH: What did you enjoy most about writing this story? DSK: I love writing character-based stories and I think this one is, but it also has more action than most of my work. It was fun stepping outside my comfort zone a little and writing scenes that had to evoke more than emotional dialogue. They had to convey some sense of urgency and movement. I have ideas now for more action stories--like two westerns I'll be writing this summer.
HH: What else do you have in store for lucky readers? DSK: Lucky readers! =) Thank you, Holly.
Well, first, I hope folks will take a look at another anthology I'm part of, Tasty Treats, Volume 1 (with Jenny Penn, Amber Carlton and Eve Adams). Tasty Treats, Volume 1 (a #1 bestseller!) also came out on June 1, the same day as Hearts Afire - June. My contribution, The Elixir, is my first attempt at a ménage. I was nervous, and I hope readers like what I've written.
This summer I'm working on two more ménages, both westerns, though one is contemporary and the other is futuristic. Hopefully, if they find a home, they'll be out in the fall or early next year.
HH: What in your career, to this point, are you most proud of?
DSK: Gosh, hard question! There are maybe two things. First, that (I think--I hope!) I've made good friends in this business which is a pretty solitary working environment. I hope readers and authors alike can turn to me with questions, or conversation and feel that I'm here for them. Second, that readers come away from my books with a satisfied, emotional ending, and usually with a little twist. I like the surprise ending and I try to provide that bonus for the reader. I think I succeed. If a writer can fulfill the reader's desire in a book, what better accomplishment?
HH: What goals have you set for yourself at this point in your career?
DSK: You know, when I started writing, I had no career goals. All I wanted to do was write the best book I could and have fun doing it. I still hold those to be the most important, and I hope I can keep on doing it.
HH: What do you enjoy reading? DSK: I love romance (big surprise, huh?)--historicals (have you read Lindsay Townsend's Flavia's Secret? It's great!), contemporaries, paranormals, all kinds, almost--mystery, thrillers, and women's fiction. I really enjoy biographies and histories in non-fiction.
HH: What are you doing this summer? DSK: I think I'm going to be moving--yuck, ick, gag, gag! That will be quite enough excitement for me! But I also hope to complete my two planned books and spend some time with my mom, maybe alongside a kiddy pool somewhere, lol.
Thanks so much for the chance to share with your readers, Holly! I love being a part of TRS!!
HH: Thank you!
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