What are you in the mood to read?
I write historical fiction and romantic comedy under my own name and contemporary stories under the name K.D. H
ays.
A Certain Want of Reason, The Appearance of Impropriety, Deceptive Behavior, Change of Address, and “Dinners with Mr. Danville” are lighthearted English Regency romances that probably show too much P.G. Wodehouse influence to please pure romance fans, but they are a lot of fun. Avery’s Treasure is pirate adventure – wild, crazy and a little dangerous. Restitution is my most serious book, set in Maryland as colonists are choosing sides for the coming revolution. Langley’s Choice is what you get when you put Jane Austen type characters on the frontier of early colonial Maryland. And “Bride of Belznickel” takes a heroine from Maryland and shoves her unwillingly into Regency England where she eventually seeks revenge against some English cousins who are not so nice. It’s my first ghost story.
Not in the mood for period dialogue? Take a look on the “Books by K.D. Hays” page.
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Change of Address
The set is familiar to anyone who’s ever read Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility: a widow and her daughters must leave their ancestral home and move to a small cottage in a strange part of the country. But that’s where the similarity ends. In this story, Amanda, her eccentric mother and headstrong sister move to a remote area just before Christmas. The neighbors are not quite as genteel as the ones in Austen’s work.
From Blush Cotillion. Availble as an ebook or in print as part of the Cotillion Christmas Surprises anthology
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ISBN – ebook 978-141-994-2853
ISBN print anthology 978-141-996-6934
What reviewers are saying:
“It may be short, it may be sweet, but it is fully formed, and peopled with believable characters, a few somewhat unbelievable plots that still work beautifully and a setting so vivid I could feel the damp chill of the new home…A Change of Address tugs at both laughter and tears and was a thoroughly enjoyable Christmas read.”
–Long and Short Reviews
Deceptive Behavior
Geni Bayles has made some pretty poor choices when it comes to men. So she finally agrees to meet the suitor her mother has chosen, a painfully shy baronet from the country. When she encounters Sir Richard Latimer, however, she finds him witty, considerate and charming—but only because he thinks she’s a maid. She decides to continue the deception for just long enough to learn his true personality.
Richard knows he has a duty to marry a rich woman to restore the estates on which so many people depend. But he would give anything to marry a fun, clever girl like the maid he’s just met. And just kissed.
He’s fallen for the right girl for the wrong reason. She’s made the wrong move for the right reason. They just might be perfect together—if it weren’t for the complete lack of trust.
____
A modern re-telling of Oliver Goldsmith’s classic farce, She Stoops to Conquer
From Blush Cotillion
Print ISBN – 978-141-996-8112 Ebook ISBN 978-141-993-4803
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What reviewers are saying:
“Dolan pens a delightful Regency farce. Fans of the genre will enjoy the case of mistaken identities that Geni (aka Lizzie) and Richard land in. While the hero and heroine are both interesting and sympathetic characters, it is the secondary cast that truly steals this show. The eccentric siblings Helen and Geoffrey and the parents of all of the families attending this small house party create moments of comic genius that make this story stand out from the crowd.”
–Kate Girard, RT Book Reviews
“This has to be one of the funniest historical romances I’ve read in months. From the beginning you become enraptured with a cast of characters that are truly eccentric”
–Angieleigh, Romancing the Book Reviews
“Dinners with Mr. Danville”
Love is the delusion of fools. Helen has watched the illogical emotion turn her sister into a mindless mooncalf who ruins Christmas every year by descending on the household with her husband and an ever-growing menagerie of disruptive children. So when her sister has the nerve to suggest that Helen is in love with her neighbor, Mr. Danville, Helen sets out to prove her wrong. But Helen isn’t prepared for the truth—and, as it turns out, neither is Mr. Danville.
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Avery’s Treasure
Pirate Henry Avery disappeared with one of the largest fortunes every taken on the high seas, but he’s afraid to spend it for fear of attracting too much attention. Tired of living like a pauper, his daughter sets sail with Captain Charles Vane to follow a map to the hidden treasure. Missionary Charles Carter, and sometime pirate Edward Talbot (from Langley’s Choice) follow her and the map for their own reasons. This story follows the accounts of real pirates including Avery, Vane, Calico Jack Rackam and even Blackbeard.
Zumaya Publications
ISBN: 1-934135-66-6
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“Avery’s Treasure is a riveting tale of historical fiction, sure to please.”
–Midwest Book Review
“…some unexpected pairings, a bit of Treasure Island excitement, entertaining friendship and high adventure.”
–Molly Martin, The Compulsive Reader
…”romance” in the nineteenth century sense, in the subject matter of authors such as H. Rider Haggard and Robert Louis Stevenson… I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. I only hope that Kate Dolan continues to write more historical romances from this perspective of high adventure. You can be sure I’ll have my hand out to eagerly grab the next one. Well Done!!!”
–Janie Franz, MyShelf.com
“Dolan’s research into the Golden Age of Piracy is evident throughout this adventure. Pirates abound, and the imaginary situations that bring those from history together are realistically portrayed. Avery’s Treasure is a tale with serpentine twists and turns where dreams do come true, but not always in the ways we expect.”
– Cindy Vallar, Editor of Pirates and Privateers”
A Certain Want of Reason
A farcical romp through London in 1816, from the drawing rooms to Bedlam — A young woman who has devoted her life to caring for her eccentric siblings meets a lord feigning insanity in a desperate attempt to avoid an unwanted marriage.
A Cotillion Traditional Regency Romance
from Ellora’s Cave/Blush
ISBN 978-141995-0551
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“…a magnificent spin on a regency romance… Ms. Dolan takes a bad situation among families and spins a most stirring read on redemption, romance, and understanding ones self in this recommended read.”
–Linda L, Fallen Angels Reviews
“A CERTAIN WANT OF REASON is truly exhilarating, one of the best regency romances I have ever read.”
–Bonnie-Lass, Coffee Time Romance
“… truly delightful.”
–Jane Bowers, Romance Reviews Today
The Appearance of Impropriety
When Sophie Bayles inadvertently ruins a young man’s chance for employment, she sets out to find him a new position. Even though he doesn’t want her to.
With the war over, Lieutenant Heyward Elliott needs work. The job hunt is made no easier by the meddling of Sophie, who is all smiles and helpfulness one minute and snobby and argumentative the next. Complicating matters is her constant companion Helen, a strange young lady with a propensity to drop eggs on people in the name of science.
Sophie tries to do the right thing, but gets all the wrong results. Her attempts to find employment for Lieutenant Elliott produce one disaster after another, until he finally orders her never to help him again. But when he is arrested on false charges, she and Helen at last see a way to even the score, by clearing his name and reputation.
Unless they lose their own in the process…
A Cotillion Traditional Regency Romance
from Ellora’s Cave/Blush
January 2009
ISBN# 978-1-419958-22-9
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“…a very good Regency told from a slightly different perspective with a great deal of humor.”
–Maura, Coffeetime Romance
“I could not put the book down. This was my first time reading Ms. Kate Dolan’s work. Let me assure you, it will not be my last.”
–Brenda Talley, The Romance Studio
“The Appearance of Impropriety is a Regency comedy of errors… Sophie’s determination to assist Heyward in locating a suitable position and her consistent failures to do so will have you shaking your head.”
–Stephanie, Simply Romance Reviews
Bride of Belznickel
Before there was so much emphasis on presents and inflatable light-up reindeer, the Christmas season was often a time for gathering to share stories, including scary ones involving the supernatural.
So authors from the Cotillion line of traditional Regency romances were challenged to create a series of Christmas ghost stories. I was inspired by stories of “the Belznickel,” a Christmas demon who is essentially the evil twin of St. Nicholas. He punishes the bad instead of rewarding the good – sort of an Anti-Claus.
Bride of Belznickel
A Cotillion Traditional Regency Romance
from Ellora’s Cave/Blush
ISBN# 9781419944192
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“Bride of Belznickel” tells the story of a lonely girl forced to spend the Christmas holidays far from home with cousins who ridicule her at every opportunity. To get revenge, she tries to scare them by making up stories about the Belznickel, the Christmas demon. Then her stories start to come to life…
“I enjoyed this old-time ghost/fairy tale story…”
–Clayton Clifford Bye, Alternative-Read.com
Restitution
Western Maryland and Annapolis 1774 — A peddler paid to deliver potentially treasonous correspondence entices a Moravian widow and her sons to move to Annapolis. She becomes entranced with the refinements of English civilization while he grows committed to the patriot cause.
Free Sample Pages!
Cloonfad Press 2006
ISBN# 0-9769404-5-0
Note: This book is out of print but I do have a limited number of signed copies available for purchase. Contact me directly for more information.
“Laced with humor and unusual characters that crackle off the pages, Dolan’s novel will enchant you….I found this book hard to put down.”
–Diane Scott Lewis, Historical Novels Review
“Kate Dolan, a volunteer living historian, uses her knowledge of the time period to construct a believable historical scene.”
–Bill Scurlock, Editor in Chief, Muzzleloader
“…a story of adventure, double agents, villains, and romance, in the years just preceding the Revolutionary War …intriguing, fast moving, entertaining, and informational.”
–Richard R. Blake, Reader Views
Langley’s Choice
Tired of the secluded life on her father’s Maryland tobacco plantation, less than thrilled with her engagement to the diffident, awkward Josiah Throckmorton, Caroline Carter decides to masquerade as a boy and sneak into tavern displaying a sailor’s treasures from ancient Greece.
But the adventure proves to be more than she bargained for when Caroline awakens the next day as a prisoner aboard the Osprey, a privateer headed south to capture pirates. While Josiah reluctantly joins her brother on a rescue mission, Caroline starts to wonder if she really wants to be rescued. And Josiah wonders just what he will do he does catch the blackguard and the woman who is ruining his life.
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Zumaya Publications
December 2003
ISBN# 1-894942-42-6
“Kate’s ability to allow us a snapshot of what colonial life was like is a tribute to her research and writing abilities… LANGLEY’S CHOICE is full of subtle humour and subtle romance… gives you a sense that everything will work out for the better if you trust in yourself and in God.”
–Tanya Blake, Romance at Heart
“Perfectly crafted…a five beacon review.”
–Ramona, Lighthouse Literary Reviews
Non-fiction
Everyday Life in 18th Century Maryland:
A Companion Guide to Restitution and Langley’s Choice
This booklet provides an amusing look at many aspects colonial life, with information collected from studies of probate records and other primary sources, archaeological sites and living history experience.
Contact me directly for purchase information.
Family Heart Moments
This book from the National Center for Biblical Parenting feature a story about my son (on one of his better days).
Contact me directly for purchase information.
“Planetary Romance” by Catherine Asaro and Kate Dolan in The Sub-Genres of Science Fiction: Strange Divisions and Alien Territories, edited by Keith Brooke. Scheduled for release in 2011 from Palgrave Macmillan.
Words to Write By
Ecclesiates 11:6 was the verse I used for inspiration for my contribution to this wonderful, uplifting collection prepared by Robin Bayne for Treble Heart Books.
Contact me directly for purchase information.
Coming Soon:
Planetary Romance
By Catherine Asaro and Kate Dolan in The Sub-Genres of Science Fiction: Strange Divisions and Alien Territories, edited by Keith Brooke. Scheduled for release in 2012 from Palgrave Macmillan.
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