Episode 12: Welcome to the Equestrian Author Spotlight podcast! In each episode, you’ll hear inspirational stories from horse book authors including writing advice and marketing tips to help you write your own horse book. If you are an author, aspire to be an author, or simply love horse books then you are in the right place!
In this week's episode, you'll meet Equine Author Katherine Kayne. You'll learn ...
Watch Katherine Kayne's Interview on YouTubeOr Listen to the Audio Only VersionAbout Equine Author Katherine Kayne
Raised on a cattle ranch in Washington state, Kayne always loved horses, romance and writing. When her father’s accidental death changed her family’s circumstances Kayne put her writing aside. Now in the third chapter of her life she has found her voice again. With fast horses and fearless heroines and a very special kind of hero. Bound in Flame is the first of a series to chronicle the history of horsewomen in Hawaii.
Read Katherine's Talk Story here: https://katherinekayne.com/talk-story/ Katherine Kayne Interview Excerpt
Carly: You grew up on a ranch. Tell us about ranch living and your involvement with horses.
Katherine: Our ranch, an old homestead near Olympia Washington raised purebred cattle. We had horses and ponies, mostly for pleasure. Carly: Now you live in Hawaii a part of every year. Lucky you!! Tell us about how this came to be and what living part-time in Hawaii is like. Katherine: Hawaii happened almost by accident. Besides horses, my other great love is the ocean. We have been many places in the world to snorkel, but something about the big island of Hawaii just felt like home. We kept going back and going back so we finally bought a place! The thing about Hawaii is that most visitors never really see it, they stay inside the bubble of tourism. Early on we began to get more involved with the community and to study the history and culture. We made friends. I learned about pa‘u riding and Bound in Flame was born. It took five years of research and writing to bring this first book about. 
Katherine: Don’t get me wrong, I like a good tiki drink as much as the next gal. But that is not the real Hawaii. On Hawaii Island most of the Hotels have cultural practitioners that offer tours. You will enjoy it. You will also be humbled by all that Native Hawaiians have endured. Some of the history with the United States is troubling at best.
Another great place is the Paniolo Preservation Society up in Waimea, or Anna Ranch or …. Don’t get me wound up on this! 
Carly: You created the world of the Hawaiian Ladies’ Riding Society to tell the stories of the fearless horsewomen of the islands’ ranches. Tell us more!
Katherine: Hawaiian cattle ranching predates Texas. Back in the day, some sources claim Parker Ranch (on the big island) was the largest ranching operation in the world. It was one of many in the island chain. There still are major ranching operations on all the islands. 
A Hawaiian Horsewoman Riding in a Pa‘u
Katherine: Hawaiian women were talented horsewomen almost from the moment horses were introduced to the Islands (early 1800s). They created a way to bundle up their dresses under an overskirt to ride astride even through dense brush. This is called a pa‘u (pronounced paw-ooo). Hawaiian women worked alongside the men. Often using bull whips instead of instead of lariats.
Today this tradition is commemorated in floral parades. The photo of the young women on my website is prepared for a parade. 
Carly: Tell us about your book Bound in Flame.
Katherine: You will be sorry you asked me! I can talk about it for hours! Here is the official version: Letty Lang is a suffragist of the most fearless kind, with a bullwhip, big plans, and ancient power she doesn’t understand. Will a fast horse and a stubborn man derail her dreams? Banished to boarding school to tame her wild temper, Leticia Lili‘uokalani Lang sails home to Hawaii, bringing her devotion to animals with her. She’ll be among the first female veterinarians in history—most remarkable in 1909 when women still cannot vote. With one mad leap into the ocean to save a horse, Letty sets another destiny in motion. She is a mākāhā, a Gate to the healing fires of the land, her beloved ‘aina. Letty must fight to harness the ancient power that lives within her, fueled by her connection to the islands. But the price of power is steep. Her inner flame burns hot—hot enough that her kisses can actually kill, a precarious inconvenience since the horse’s owner, Timothy Rowley, lights another kind of fire. Can Letty learn to master her power to have a chance at life and love? Or is the danger of the flame too great? 
Carly: How did you research your novel? Tell us how you found inspiration in many wonderful pieces of Hawaiian history.
Katherine: I spent a lot of time in dusty basements and reading old books. But mostly I listened to what people had to say. Carly: What excites you about writing horse books with the elements of romance and fantasy? Katherine: I NEVER got over being a horse-mad girl. I know that lots of women never did either! This book is for all of us!!!! Carly: What was your inspiration for the leading man/woman in your book? Katherine: Letty is an amalgamation of many women that I met. The most single thing that stood out is that they never stopped trying. Hawaiian women are relentless and determined. 
Carly: Is there a message in your novel that you hope readers will grasp?
Katherine: Yes, I hope what they see is a heroine who struggles with her own power only to finally learn that it is good to be a powerful woman. We all need to embrace our inner flame.
Carly: Do you have any writing rituals or routines?
Katherine: KONA COFFEE and wearing my MUUMUU! 
Katherine Kayne in her Muumuu
Carly: Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?
Katherine: I am learning to plot right now. For this last book my pants were on fire! Now I am storyboarding. Carly: What advice can you share that might help aspiring authors? Katherine: Hire an editor. I learned SOOOO much from the editing process. It will be the best investment you can make in your success. Carly: What are your thoughts on good/bad reviews? Katherine: I read them lots of authors don’t. I think you can learn from all criticism, but you can’t learn if you ignore it. Carly: What do you wish you had known when you started out? Katherine: How to story board. I wish I had joined RWA sooner. Connect with Katherine Kayne
Author Katherine Kayne
Website: https://katherinekayne.com/
Blog: https://katherinekayne.com/talk-story/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KatherineKayneAuthor Twitter: @k2writesbooks YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/KatherineKayne Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/Katherine_Kayne
Watch the Bound in Flame Book Trailer!Check out Katherine's Tiki Mugs!!
Katherine's Bound in Flame Tiki Mugs
What a spur jingling author interview!
I learn so much from other equine authors and appreciate how unique each of our writing journeys are. I love that all the authors featured in this series are linked through our creativity, passion for writing, and love of horses. I think it is so important to support each other. I appreciate the support of a fellow author. Thank you for giving me the gift of your time, Katherine! #authorsunite
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I LOVE HORSE BOOKS! If you are an author who writes about horses and would like to be spotlighted let me know. I’d be happy to include you, too. Sharing about fellow horse book authors makes my spurs jingle! Visit my contact page at https://www.carlykadecreative.com/contact.html to fill out a request.
About Your Host and Author Carly Kade
Carly Kade is an award-winning equestrian author and the host of the Equestrian Author Spotlight podcast. Creative writing makes her spurs jingle! She writes fiction about horses, horse shows, Western pleasure and a handsome cowboy or two. Her books are for people just like her — crazy about reading, horses and cute cowboys!
In the Reins, the first in Carly's series of novels inspired by the equestrian lifestyle, has been an Amazon best seller for more than 10 weeks, is an EQUUS Film Festival Literary Award Winner for Best Western Fiction and has earned two Feathered Quill Book Awards in the Romance and Adult Book featuring Animals categories. The In the Reins equestrian romance series is available now in Audiobook, Paperback and eBook on Amazon, Audible, Barnes & Noble, Apple iBooks and Kobo. 
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Books by Carly Kade
In the Reins is an EQUUS Film Festival Official Literary Award Winner
In the Reins earns TWO Feathered Quill Book Awards
Cowboy Away Earns Carly Kade Second EQUUS Film Festival Literary Award
In the Reins is the Self Publishers Association Book of the Week
Book TrailerAuthor InfoCarly Kade writes for anyone who loves horses, handsome cowboys and a great romance. Creative writing about horses makes her spurs jingle! Archives
October 2023
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