Best Series of 2014: Free Men by Kate Aaron

I don't know of many, if any, authors who have released an entire series in not just a year but released all 3 of those books in one month. I also don't recall a time an entire series has captivated me in the way the Free Men series has.

It was a no brainer for me to decide what the best series I read this year was. It's really awesome it happened to also publish in one year.

Book 1: The Slave
Book 2: The Soldier
Book 3: The Master

At twenty-seven, Tamelik has been a slave more than half his life, having witnessed his family being murdered in front of him when he was just a child. Naturally submissive, although with a petulant streak, he can’t help but fall in love with the master who treats him kindly.

Tam's dreams come true when his mistress walks out, leaving her husband behind. For six glorious months, he and his master get to be together. Then Tam is ordered to purchase another slave.

He wants to hate Kai for being unruly and ungrateful. For being of the same race as the men who murdered his family. For being his eventual replacement in their master’s bed. But it’s hard to hate a man who cries himself to sleep, flinches at the slightest touch, and blushes beautifully when he’s kissed.

Seducing Kai has suddenly become more challenge than chore, and with his master’s encouragement, Tam finds himself falling for his new companion. Except... nobody can be in love with two people at once, can they?

MY REVIEW:
Kate Aaron, without a doubt, has outdone herself! The Slave is a captivating tale about a slave named Tam. A slave who has had his world turned upside down and inside out and yet finds hope and love in the life he's been given. I fell in love with this character from the beginning. As Kai and Master enter the story, the ensemble grew not just in numbers but in fabulous substance. Each bringing so much to this already fascinating story. The Slave (Book One of Free Men) starts off this series with a bar leveled so high you are eager EAGER to see where Kate will take the rest of this tale. If there's one series you should fall into IT'S THIS ONE! It will blow your mind, have your heart pounding, and every fiber of your being vibrating. I loved every second of this amazing story! Every second!

Three months. That’s all it took for Kai to forsake freedom and learn to love his new life as pleasureslave to a wealthy Thirskan Underlord.

Finding himself surrounded by his own people once more, Kai should have been happy: relieved to be rescued from slavery, and out of the clutches of a man who was the sworn enemy of his people. Yet his people are not how he remembers them. Distrustful of Kai, and disgusted by his relationship with not one man but two, they make it abundantly clear he no longer fits in.

Beaten, starved, and tortured, when the chance comes to escape, Kai is barely strong enough to make the journey. Even if he succeeds, how could anybody ever love the thing he’s become in order to survive?

MY REVIEW:
There are no words to describe this book, but I will try. This is book 2 of the Free Men Series (Book 1 is The Slave) The Soldier is written in Kai's POV. The Soldier is heartbreaking and soul cleansing. Kai is so brave, so giving. I was somewhat shocked as I meandered through his mind in this book. In the first one we are in Tam's POV so we can only guess where Kai's mind is at. Kai is sacrificial is so many things in this tale. I cried CRIED reading this. You want to protect Kai and many times throughout you feel he is forgotten. That was the hardest part for me. I was overcome by the loneliness he carries. The second book in this saga is the meat to this story. Book 1 we were swept away in the pureness, hope, and love that is Tam. In The Soldier we are left breathless by the darkness, despair, and unknown adoration of Kai. God only knows what Kate Aaron has in store for us in Book 3. EXCELLENT BOOK!  

Being rescued was only the start.

Otiz lies in ruins. As underlord of the region, Lysander knows where his responsibilities lie. He has an obligation to the survivors to rebuild their homes and their lives. But what about his home, his life?

Kai needs help. The damage inflicted on him goes beyond the marks left when he was tortured, but healing him might require more from Lysander than he’s capable of giving. Of one thing he’s certain: Tam and Kai will never be endangered again because of who he is, even if saving them means setting them free.

All Lysander wants is to be left in peace. To recover from the horrors of his experience at the hands of his enemies. But with pressure piling up from every angle, peace is the last thing he’s likely to find. Suffocated by guilt, Lysander begins to spiral. How can he hold everything together, when inside he’s falling apart?

MY REVIEW:
Free Men, Book 3 The Master ended this series perfectly. Kate Aaron, has yet again, mastered the written word. Her creation of a world and the characters in it is breathtaking. Book 1 (The Slave) we followed Tam's POV and Kate whisked us away into a world where boundaries were pushed, love truly is stronger than anything, and the impossible is challenged. In Book 2 ( The Soldier) we were sucked into Kai's world, and the darkness that consumed him. His past, as horrible as it was, had nothing on what awaited him at the hands of his own. But, again, love was a huge healer in that book. Now, The Master, book 3 to this marvelous series brings it all full circle. Finally, we hear from Lysander. FINALLY we truly understand his feelings for Tam and Kai. The purpose of Kai's purchase, and how every sacrifice he made, and makes, is selfless.

I was blown away and left breathless by this book and this entire series will go down as an all time favorite series! I applaud Kate Aaron.

Kate Aaron has all of her books, buy links, and even a place to read for free... Hmmm!!!! 
BUY LINKS FOR FREE MEN SERIES 

 
I highly encourage you to purchase this series. I'd give it a million stars if I could. It truly is one of those books you wish you could do all over again. OUTSTANDING, BREATHTAKING! 

Remember to review what you read... It matters!
 

Release Day: The Master (Book 3 of Free Men) by Kate Aaron *Awesome Giveaway*

BOOK 3 OF FREE MEN IS OUT! What a ride!!!! Book 1 (The Slave) Book 2 (The Soldier) and now The Master! Kate Aaron has delivered the trilogy to ALL OF YOU in ONE MONTH! DAMN! That is impressive!

Being rescued was only the start.

Otiz lies in ruins. As underlord of the region, Lysander knows where his responsibilities lie. He has an obligation to the survivors to rebuild their homes and their lives. But what about his home, his life?

Kai needs help. The damage inflicted on him goes beyond the marks left when he was tortured, but healing him might require more from Lysander than he’s capable of giving. Of one thing he’s certain: Tam and Kai will never be endangered again because of who he is, even if saving them means setting them free.

All Lysander wants is to be left in peace. To recover from the horrors of his experience at the hands of his enemies. But with pressure piling up from every angle, peace is the last thing he’s likely to find. Suffocated by guilt, Lysander begins to spiral. How can he hold everything together, when inside he’s falling apart?

MY REVIEW:
Free Men, Book 3 The Master ended this series perfectly. Kate Aaron, has yet again, mastered the written word. Her creation of a world and the characters in it is breathtaking. Book 1 (The Slave) we followed Tam's POV and Kate whisked us away into a world where boundaries were pushed, love truly is stronger than anything, and the impossible is challenged. In Book 2 ( The Soldier) we were sucked into Kai's world, and the darkness that consumed him. His past, as horrible as it was, had nothing on what awaited him at the hands of his own. But, again, love was a huge healer in that book. Now, The Master, book 3 to this marvelous series brings it all full circle. Finally, we hear from Lysander. FINALLY we truly understand his feelings for Tam and Kai. The purpose of Kai's purchase, and how every sacrifice he made, and makes, is selfless.

I was blown away and left breathless by this book and this entire series will go down as an all time favorite series! I applaud Kate Aaron.

BUY LINKS:
AMAZON US
AMAZON UK

And so the series is complete! Of course Kate Aaron is as generous as she is talented. She has a special giveaway for ONE fan!

ONE FAN has the chance to either win:
PACKAGE A) The ENTIRE series Book 1, 2, and 3 of this series via ebook.
 PACKAGE B) If you've purchased 1 you can have 2 and 3... Basically win them all or win what you don't have of this collection. Easy Peasy!

Contest will run until Monday, December 1st! Winner will be contacted via email. PLEASE respond to email asap.





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The Soldier (Book 2 of Free Men) By Kate Aaron *Bonus Scene and Giveaway*

BLURB:
Three months. That’s all it took for Kai to forsake freedom and learn to love his new life as pleasureslave to a wealthy Thirskan Underlord.

Finding himself surrounded by his own people once more, Kai should have been happy: relieved to be rescued from slavery, and out of the clutches of a man who was the sworn enemy of his people. Yet his people are not how he remembers them. Distrustful of Kai, and disgusted by his relationship with not one man but two, they make it abundantly clear he no longer fits in.

Beaten, starved, and tortured, when the chance comes to escape, Kai is barely strong enough to make the journey. Even if he succeeds, how could anybody ever love the thing he’s become in order to survive?

BONUS SCENE:

The man I loved was dead. I’d held Maal’s crumpled body in my arms, slicked myself in his blood, kissed his closed eyelids and cold lips. Even in death, he’d been beautiful. Even in death, I’d been too afraid to whisper the three most important words I’d  never said to him. He’d never known I loved him, and now he never would.

I hadn’t deserved him. I’d twisted our friendship into something rotten, something as foul and flawed as I was myself. Had Maal known the truth, he’d have distanced himself from me, cast me aside with revulsion or—more likely—looked at me with pity in his moss green eyes, unable to understand or return my feelings. I’d always thought it best he never knew. Yet the moment his death removed the possibility of someday telling him what was truly in my heart, I regretted every second I’d spent lying to him.

Maal was dead, and I no longer had reason to live. I was done with fighting, done with war, done with the endless marching, trooping, camping, the monotony of a soldier’s days, the horrors revisited in soldier’s dreams. I wasn’t a hero. I was cannon fodder, the same as all the rest.

I lay in the dirt beside Maal’s corpse and waited for the enemy to strike me down.

Why they hadn’t, I’d never know. I’d never heard of the Thirskans taking prisoners of war, but then again, I doubt the generals would have warned us. I was unprepared when they grabbed me, my sword lost, dagger flung from my side for fear when it came to the crux, I’d want to defend myself.

Ending up in this place hadn’t been a consideration. If I’d thought for a moment, I’d have taken my dagger and finished what the Thirskans had started.

If I had been a braver man.

Instead I found myself carried away, kicking and screaming, the men jeering at me, their tongue alien to my ears but the meaning of their words as clear as day.  When I became too troublesome they beat me unconscious, and I awoke naked in a small, dark cage in a stifling room with other cages all around me. Upon running a hand through my hair, I discovered somebody had cut it off.

The cages were built into the walls, sides open so I could see my fellow captives beyond the bars. Children, mostly, terrified boys with snotty faces and red-rimmed eyes. Not a man among them who looked capable of fighting. The centre of the room formed a corridor between the cages, down which burly guards patrolled, short bullwhips affixed to their belts. They paid little heed to the other prisoners, but the stoutest man amongst them took up position outside my cell, his dead eyes fixed on me with grim resolve.

Floorboards creaked above my head, some commotion in an upper room as men moved about. Still I had no idea where I was, or what this was all about. The children weren’t soldiers—they didn’t even appear to be Granthian, so not war trophies, either. Most looked like the offspring of the Northern kingdoms.

As I made the connection, a tendril of fear curled in my gut.

The Thirskans kept slaves. Of course they did: they were barbarians to a man, a rough and dangerous race. Was that what this was? Was I about to be sold like some common animal, just another chicken for the pot?

Even as the realisation sank home, movement at the end of the corridor caught my eye. More men entered though a doorway adjacent to the upward flight of steps leading out of the room. Common servants, by the look of them, not as well built as the guards, and each carried a pair of pails. The first set one bucket down outside the nearest cell, held the other with both hands, and soaked the occupant, a boy of at most twelve or thirteen. He shrieked, the water obviously being cold, cowering in the back of the cage as the guards laughed nastily at the way his pudgy flesh quivered. Unmoved, the man who had doused him picked up his second bucket and repeated the action with the kid in the adjacent cell.

When it came my turn for a dousing, I stood with my hands on the bars of the cell door, staring down the scrawny man who was to soak me. If I was free I could snap his neck with my bare hands. I could make the whites of his eyes turn red with blood, make him choke on his own tongue. He should have feared me. Instead, he barely gave me a second glance before sluicing me with the contents of the pail.

The water hit me with the shock of a thousand dagger pricks, my skin shrinking with the sensation of how very, very cold it was. I shook my head like a dog, spat out a mouthful which ran down my face, and threw myself at the bars.

The guards reacted in an instant. They couldn’t get at me with their whips, and they weren’t stupid enough to open the door, but the moment I lunged forward the burly man who’d been watching me reached between the bars and seized me by the back of the neck, holding me in an uncomfortable headlock against the cold iron. I struggled against his grasp, but my poor position made me ineffectual, my attack thwarted by my own blind rage. He kept up a steady pressure on my windpipe until I rasped for breath, my limbs hung limp, and my vision spotted, on the very cusp of passing out.

When he released me I fell to my knees, and watched through lowered lids the sandal-shod feet of the servant as he paused to collect his bucket.

I didn’t look up again until the first cage was opened with a squeal of rusty hinges. The tubby boy was dragged out, blubbering like a toddler. I curled my lip. At his age, he should have been tougher.

They walked him up the flight of steps and pushed him through the iron door at the top, sealing it with a stout wooden bar. I heard him cry out on the other side, and wondered what fate had befallen him.

The whole room fell silent, all of us listening intently for any clue what was happening to the boy. What was about to happen to us.

We released a collective breath when the iron door opened and the boy was readmitted and bundled back into his cage, shocked but seemingly unharmed. They dragged out the one next to him and the process repeated, working its way steadily down the line to where I was being held.

When it came my turn to be taken out, I met the eyes of the man standing guard and sneered, bracing myself for a fight. The man beckoned and three more guards approached, the four of them forming a tight wall around the door to my cage. The moment it was open I sprang back, hoping to lure them inside where I had the advantage.

The biggest man entered, his bullwhip uncoiled, fingers flexing around the handle. I rushed him, crashing my shoulder into his stomach, seizing him around the waist and managing to push him a pace or two before he planted his large feet and pushed back. Great Overlord in the sky, it was like trying to move a mountain.

The man took me by the wrist, swung me free like I was nothing, and flung me out of the door and into the waiting arms of his companions. I thrashed as hard as I could, but with one man holding each limb, I was half-carried, half-dragged through the corridor and up the stairs. At the top they tossed me through the doorway and slammed it shut, leaving my ears ringing with the long note of the metallic clang.

No sooner had I found my feet than I was being manhandled by more guards and pushed onward. I was in another corridor of sorts, almost perfectly dark, steel bars enclosing the sides from floor to ceiling. Ahead of me the bars opened into a large, circular cage, lit from in front by strong lights. Beyond the cage’s edge I sensed movement, but I couldn’t have said how many men were there. This, then, was to be how I was sold. I wouldn’t even have the luxury of seeing my purchaser.

I slipped free of the man holding my right arm, twisted away from the one on the left, and raced back towards the door. The crack of a whip sang in the heavy air, and pain blossomed along my spine. I bit my tongue to contain the cry, the tang of copper filling my mouth. The men didn’t give me a moment for the pain to subside before they grabbed me again, more firmly this time, and hauled me onward to where I was supposed to go.

At the cage’s edge I shook them loose, glowering darkly at their shadowed forms. I spat the blood from my mouth at their feet. So they were going to sell me like a common animal. All right. I’d show whichever bastard purchased me what a wild brute I could be.

There are no words to describe this book, but I will try. This is book 2 of the Free Men Series (Book 1 is The Slave) The Soldier is written in Kai's POV. The Soldier is heartbreaking and soul cleansing. Kai is so brave, so giving. I was somewhat shocked as I meandered through his mind in this book. In the first one we are in Tam's POV so we can only guess where Kai's mind is at. Kai is sacrificial is so many things in this tale. I cried CRIED reading this. You want to protect Kai and many times throughout you feel he is forgotten. That was the hardest part for me. I was overcome by the loneliness he carries. The second book in this saga is the meat to this story. Book 1 we were swept away in the pureness, hope, and love that is Tam. In The Soldier we are left breathless by the darkness, despair, and unknown adoration of Kai. God only knows what Kate Aaron has in store for us in Book 3. EXCELLENT BOOK!

Did you catch the trailer? Check it out, click on the link :D The Soldier Trailer

The Soldier is available now from Amazon, AllRomanceEbooks,  B&N , Smashwords, and iTunes

If you haven't purchased The Slave yet:  The Slave is available now from  Amazon, iTunes, AllRomanceEbooks, Barnes&Noble, and Smashwords.

***GIVEAWAY***
One lucky fan will win an ebook of The Soldier by Kate Aaron. Contest will end November 10th!

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Release Day for The Slave by Kate Aaron *Excerpt* Review* Giveaway*

The Slave (Book One in the Free Men Series) IS OUT! Kate Aaron has been posting about this book, people who pre read it have been and I HAVE! Now, it's available to buy! YOU MUST BUY!

I have for all of you today: An excerpt, the trailer, my review of this amazing book, and a giveaway! ONE of you will have the chance to WIN a copy of The Slave!

At twenty-seven, Tamelik has been a slave more than half his life, having witnessed his family being murdered in front of him when he was just a child. Naturally submissive, although with a petulant streak, he can’t help but fall in love with the master who treats him kindly.

Tam's dreams come true when his mistress walks out, leaving her husband behind. For six glorious months, he and his master get to be together. Then Tam is ordered to purchase another slave.

He wants to hate Kai for being unruly and ungrateful. For being of the same race as the men who murdered his family. For being his eventual replacement in their master’s bed. But it’s hard to hate a man who cries himself to sleep, flinches at the slightest touch, and blushes beautifully when he’s kissed.

Seducing Kai has suddenly become more challenge than chore, and with his master’s encouragement, Tam finds himself falling for his new companion. Except... nobody can be in love with two people at once, can they?

Master made an impatient clucking sound. “I don't have time for this today,” he said, his tone weary. “I have to go out today, and I don't want you two fighting while I'm gone.” He grinned, a sudden flash of teeth. “You seemed to be getting along all right last night.”

We both scowled.

“So that's what's wrong with you.” He smiled broadly, sitting a little easier in his chair. “Tam, tell me truthfully, did you dislike Kai touching you?”

I mumbled a negative somewhere in the direction of my toes.

“Kai, honestly now, did you not want to touch Tam?”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Kai shake his head.

“Well good, because from where I was sitting, you two looked gorgeous together. Perhaps it's something you can explore while I'm away.” He rose, dropping his napkin onto the tabletop as he moved towards me, his gaze intense. “You could teach him, Tam. Teach him everything you know.”

He hooked his thumb under my chin, tipping my mouth towards his. His lips hovered over mine, so close I could feel the whisper of breath as he spoke. “Show him what your clever little mouth can do. See how he reacts when you suck on those lovely nipples, taste him, make him hard.” He gripped my chin, twisting my face so I looked at Kai, standing startled on the other side of the table. Master’s teeth scraped over my cheekbone, and I groaned. “Yes, you like that idea, don't you? How big do you think he is, Tam? Big enough to fill you up, to stretch your tight little hole until you squeal? I think he is.”

My breaths came quicker, the wicked words blazing a trail straight to my groin. I locked eyes with Kai, the two of us flushed and uncomfortable in our arousal. Apparently neither of these men had to love me to make me hard.

“And then what?” Master purred. “Once you’ve taught him everything you know, perhaps he can teach you something. You can learn from each other, Tam. Don't tell me you haven't wondered how it feels to be inside another man. You could spread his cheeks and lick and rub his hole, play with it the way I play with you, revel in the noises he makes. Do you think anyone’s ever touched him there before? Do you think he has any idea how good it feels?” We both looked at Kai, lust rolling off us in waves. “Do you think he’s ever penetrated himself?”

Kai curled his fingers around the back of a chair and whined, unable to stop himself.

Master snickered. “I don’t think he has. I think he’s a sweet virgin, just ripe for you to pluck. And oh, Tammy, the noises he’ll make. Can’t you just hear them? Do you think he’ll be quiet, the first time you fill him with your lovely prick, or do you think he’ll whimper and groan and beg you not to stop?”

He pulled away, looking from one to the other of us. “Yes, I think he’ll respond beautifully. Just like you do.” He cradled my face as he planted a soft kiss on my temple. His next words were for me alone, whispered directly into the shell of my ear. “You picked him, Tammy. Now make him yours.”

Kate Aaron, without a doubt, has outdone herself! The Slave is a captivating tale about a slave named Tam. A slave who has had his world turned upside down and inside out and yet finds hope and love in the life he's been given. I fell in love with this character from the beginning. As Kai and Master enter the story, the ensemble grew not just in numbers but in fabulous substance. Each bringing so much to this already fascinating story. The Slave (Book One of Free Men) starts off this series with a bar leveled so high you are eager EAGER to see where Kate will take the rest of this tale. If there's one series you should fall into IT'S THIS ONE! It will blow your mind, have your heart pounding, and every fiber of your being vibrating. I loved every second of this amazing story! Every second!

If you haven't had a chance to check out the trailer for this wonderful book, check it out now:

BUY LINKS:

AMAZON US
AMAZON UK

***Giveaway Time***
Contest will post until Monday, November 3rd! Winner will be notified by email!
Good luck and remember IF YOU READ IT, REVIEW IT! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Talking Slaves With Kate Aaron *Cover Reveals and Interview*

Many people have heard of, even read Kate Aaron's books. Whether it's been her Puddledown, Lost Realm, Brian & Lexi Series, or one of her stand alones: What He Wants, The Rest of Forever, or Danny's Boy, she has proven her brilliance and talent with the written word.

One day she said the magic word that gets my head spinning, tummy twirling and heart pumping. That word? MENAGE!

I was like, "Please please PLLLLLLLLLLLLLEASE can I pre-read for you?" She said yes... Let the dying begin.

The series is called Free Men and it is 3 glorious books long. Only 2 of them are complete and I have had the tremendous honor of reading them. YOU are ALL in for one hell of a treat.

She agreed not only to do an interview about this amazing series but is also doing the cover reveal for Book 1 and Book 2 RIGHT HERE!

Let us start with the interview, shall we?


***INTERVIEW***

  You are currently in the process of writing a trilogy. Let's have you start off by telling us, as best you can, what the trilogy is about?

 

Well it's a slaveworld menage set in an alternate universe. Each book is narrated by a different character. We start with Tam, a pleasureslave in love with his master. The story opens the day he is ordered to purchase the man he thinks is his replacement. However, the story is bigger than the dynamic between the three of them. Their master is a powerful man in a nation at war, and his past is about to catch up to him.

 It's focused around 3 main characters. So now let's talk about them. Each has a different personality. Describe them to us?

 

The first book is narrated by Tamelik. At twenty-seven, he's been a slave more than half his life, having witnessed his family being murdered in front of him when he was just a child. Naturally submissive, although with a petulant streak, he couldn't help but fall in love with the master who treated him kindly.

Kai was a foot soldier before being captured and sold into slavery. He's strong and brave, and hides behind his quick temper because he doesn't want anybody to see how broken he is inside.

Their master... What can I say about him? Heh, the man is an enigma, even to me. He always tries to do the right thing, but the constraints of his position in society make him more a prisoner than either of his slaves.

 How did this idea of a menage trilogy come to be?

 

I began writing the first book well over a year ago. Tam simply came to me and started talking. I got about 30k written and then set it aside for the longest time. Eventually I realised I was stuck because the story arc was bigger than his relationship with Kai and his master. That's when I decided to give them all a voice.

 How are you releasing it?

 

I'm releasing the books fairly rapidly. Commencing in October, each book will be released in one-week intervals.

 What has been the biggest challenge writing these books?

 

I think writing the same story across three narrators, because each character has his own individual voice. Then again, first person narrators are notoriously unreliable, so it's been fun playing with that, and having them discover each other's flaws.

 Having pre-read the first book *Smiles big* and  the second... I'm trying hard not to spoil much about it. I'll say that you give each of your MC's a voice in this trilogy. Can you explain why you chose to write the books this way instead of just 1 POV?

 

The way the story develops, I needed to switch the narrators in order to follow everything that happens. Each character goes through his own growth in his story, with their relationship as a threesome growing through the series. Different things break different men, and then they all need putting back together ;)

 Where did Tam come from? He's unbelievably unique and I'm constantly drawn to him. You teased on your timeline about him by showing us all his picture, but his culture all of it. Explain?

 

I'm not entirely sure. There's different elements to his personality that have always fascinated me -- his inherent submissiveness, without being weak; intelligence combined with naivety. He's a mass of contradictions. Despite being a slave since he was twelve years old, in many ways he embodies what freedom really is, which is definitely an idea I wanted to explore over the course of these books. We think we're free, but we spend most of our lives as wage-slaves, owned by our possessions. With Tam, I stripped all that away and he's better for it. There's a saying I like, "Freedom is doing what you like; Happiness is liking what you do."

 I wouldn't so much describe these books as a period piece though I get the whole Spartacus/ Gladiator feel about it. I never see a date mentioned as the readers will notice. Did you do that on purpose, and if so why? If I'm off base ignore the question.

 

The stories are set in an alternate universe -- the planet has two suns, and rings instead of a moon, for example -- but in many ways it does have an older-world feel to it. I didn't actually watch Spartacus until way after I'd started writing the first book, but it's not far off base with the desert atmosphere and slaves, which always seem to make people think of the Romans anyway. Really, I'm a big apologist for Alexander the Great, so if anything influenced me it was reading contemporary accounts of his life. I did use some elements of that in there, for example the battlefield where Kai was captured was Gaugamela, which is where Alexander routed Darius of Persia.

 Let's talk covers. Do you design them? And what will each cover tell us before we open the book?

 

I found the models, but it was the immensely talented Elizabeth Mackey who designed the covers. I wanted something simple, which also referenced the darker elements of these stories. They're not your traditional romance novels, and they go to some pretty bleak places.

 What fascinates you about menage?

 

I love the psychological aspect. How do you add a third to a couple without someone getting jealous? How do you cope with loving two very different people? Is there any guilt? It's just so much fun to write that kind of internal conflict.

 

 Talk to me about the research you had to do for this trilogy... Just tells us, what did you have to do? How much did you already know?

 

It was more a case of keeping track of the world building than doing much research. What I did research, I can't really talk about without spoilers :P

 Do you have a favorite of your three MC's?

 

I love them all. I like Tam's feistiness, and I love Master's noble suffering. But if I had to pick a favourite, it would probably be Kai. He wants so badly to be loved.

 How will your readers be able to follow you and these books so they don't miss the releases??? Provide all your links!

 

People can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and my Website. Or sign up to my Mailing List and I'll contact you! (I promise, no spam.)

 

Make sure you follow Kate through these so you don't miss out on this series or any of her other future releases.

 

NOW!!! I truly am honored to present to you the covers of 2 of the 3 books in this series...

 

BOOK 1: The Slave

 

BOOK 2 : The Soldier

 For information on book three, well, you'll just have to tough it out a bit :) 

I want to thank Kate for this awesome interview and for showing off these GORGEOUS covers. They are a work of art. Having read these 2 books I can easily say it is already a top favorite series for me.