First, if we were meeting at a coffee shop I’d be drinking a Latte 🙂
What would you order?

I was born and raised in Ireland where we are tea people, through and through. So I would order an Earl Grey tea, hot.

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer a few questions. Your Hot In Chicago series is a steamy must read! I love how each book in this series updates the reader on where past characters are, as well as introducing us to another fabulous Dempsey sibling. I love a great firefighter series and the foster family is a great spin. Each sibling has his/her own challenges and I’m thrilled that you never leave the reader wondering what happened as the story progresses into the next chapter. Yet, each book can be read as a stand alone – it’s brilliant!

Thanks so much for having me! And thank you for your love of the Hot in Chicago books. It’s definitely a series that’s close to my heart. I love the dynamics and how it’s about the family you make rather than the one you’re born into.

As a reader who loves a great book cover I must give a shout out to whoever designed your covers. They are fabulous. I have to say that the model on Flirting with Fire reminds me of a young Jon Hensley from As the World Turns. There are details on the cover that the reader will enjoy after reading the story, appreciating the cover even more.

Yes, I’ve been blessed with great covers for this series. Luke’s cover is so apt, a dirt-streaked, muscled bruiser for whom family comes first. Though I have to say that Playing with Fire’s cover is my favorite of them all. I love that pose and how vulnerable she looks in his arms. Eli and Alex are such a great couple and I think the cover captures their dynamic perfectly.

Congrats on your newest release, Playing With Fire. My review of Playing with Fire was posted yesterday and I absolutely loved it!
As release day is always filled with lots of reviews and visits across the web, I’m thrilled that you are hanging out with me today! I was super excited to read Eli and Alex’s story. This is one that doesn’t disappoint and in fact will keep readers guessing till the end – well done 😉

Thanks so much! Eli and Alex are my favorite couple, and Playing with Fire is probably the best book I’ve written to date. I love the enemies-to-lovers theme and these two go at it hammer and tongs, both in and out of the bedroom 😉

The Hot in Chicago Series takes place at one Engine Company in Chicago how did you prepared for this series? Were you able to hang out with any firefighters to gather research?

Well, to prepare I watched A LOT of Chicago Fire TV episodes! Actually, that’s not far off, but I also did some web research about the Chicago Fire Department and watched videos about rescues, firefighter gear, and how to don a mask, for example. But that kind of research is no replacement for talking with someone in the business. I’m so lucky to know a fire captain who invited me to spend a day with him and his crew at a Chicago firehouse. I couldn’t go out on any runs (most of which are paramedic calls these days) but I listened in on dispatch calls, got a tour of the house including the hose drying tower (insert filthy joke here), and talked with guys about the job. I brought cake to bribe them into honesty and they cooked for me, too. CFD firefighters are amazing chefs (as Gage Simpson, one of the Firefightin’ Dempseys will no doubt tell you!)

Can you tell us how many books and/or novellas we can expect in this series?

As for how many novels/novellas are planned, it’s five – one for each sibling. By the time Playing with Fire releases, four of the stories will be out in the wild, leaving one—Wyatt’s tale, which will be out in Spring 2016. There are no plans now to expand, as the series was always intended to focus on the Dempsey family rather than the firehouse. But you never know what the future will hold, especially if some more foster siblings crawl out of the Dempsey woodwork, soap opera-style.

By now in the Hot in Chicago Blitz I’ve posted my reviews for each book in the Hot in Chicago Series. For those readers who missed any or all of my reviews, I’ve included the links below.

Thanks again for hanging out – I had a blast! Happy Writing!

Thanks so much for having me!

9 Tantalizing Tidbits

1. A Must read book and why?

The last book I read that blew my mind was Everything I Left Unsaid by Molly O’Keefe. This is a darker romance, very atmospheric, suspenseful, and sexy. I was lucky to score an ARC and I highly recommend it.

2. What is one place that I should see if I visit your hometown?

My original hometown is Dublin, so if you go there, I’d say you have to walk around my alma mater, Trinity College. Now that I live in Chicago, I’d say no visit to Chi-town is complete without a visit to the Bean in Millennium Park.

3 . Castles or Beaches?
Living in Ireland, you can’t spit without hitting a castle, so I’ll go with that.

4. What is one thing readers would be surprised to know about you? 

I have a masters in medieval history. My concentration was twelfth century nuns and how they used their connection to God to forge new paths to female empowerment. The first feminists, yo!

5. What are you afraid of?

Creepy crawlies. I know, cliché, but that’s my biggest fear.

6. Organized or Free Floating?

Free-floating. I wish I could be more organized as it would make my writing easier but it can’t be helped.

7. What’s your favorite movie of all time and why?

So, so many, and often times, it’s a decade thing. So my favorite from the 60s is North by Northwest, from the 70s The Godfather, Part 2, from the 80s, Back to the Future, and from the 90s The Shawshank Redemption.

8. What is one thing you can’t live without?

My Kindle!

9. Do you love to cook or go out to eat?

Eat out. I used to cook more but I don’t have much time these days with my writing schedule. Eating out is probably my favorite thing to do.

**********GIVEAWAY***********

Kate Meader is giving away TWO signed print copies of Flirting With Fire.

Tell us…what’s in your mug right now?

Contest ends 9/30 at 12 noon. Winner will be randomly selected. Prizes are provided and sent by the author.  If winner can’t be reached BILA has the right to draw a new winner.

In Case You Missed It:

Day 1 – Rekindle the Flame
Day 2 – Flirting With Fire
Day 3 – Melting Point
Day 4 – Playing With Fire

Author Info:

Originally from Ireland, Kate cut her romance reader teeth on Maeve Binchy and Jilly Cooper novels, with some Mills & Boon thrown in for variety. Give her tales about brooding mill owners, oversexed equestrians, and men who can rock an apron or a fire hose, and she’s there. Now based in Chicago, she writes sexy contemporary romance with alpha heroes and strong heroines who can match their men quip for quip.