Red by Kate SeRine – Transplanted Tales 10 Year Anniversary Blog Tour + Giveaways
Today I am excited to be a part of the Transplanted Tales 10-Year Anniversary Blog Tour. The year long event kicks off today with Red by Kate SeRine. Kensington is giving the series a fresh new look and Kate is hosting a year long giveaway in addition to tours for each book. Come check it this fantastic paranormal romance series featuring Tess “Red” Little.
How RED almost didn’t happen…
Sometime in 2009, my son Ethan asked, “What if fairy tale characters lived next door to us?” We began to riff about what they would do for a living, and an idea immediately popped into my head. I rushed to write it down before it slipped away, and, before I knew it, I had the first four chapters written. The words just flowed. The characters were vivid and sassy and mysterious. And I was having SO MUCH FUN!
But then I set it aside.
I was 200 pages into another project that I’d been working on for a few months and didn’t want to get side-tracked. I mean, the new shiny project is always lurking in the shadows, waiting to lure away an author about two-thirds of the way into a manuscript when it suddenly seems impossible to string two words together in any meaningful way. And I would not be defeated!
A few months later, I finally wrapped up that project (it’s still unpublished, by the way), and the quirky little project about fairy tale characters started jumping up and down, waving its hands, screaming, “Oh! Hey! Pick me!” So I dove back in, finishing the entire manuscript in what was record time for me. It was an absolute joy to write, surprisingly effortless.
After that, everything seemed to fall into place: RED placed 2nd in a contest. That helped me win a scholarship to attend a writers’ conference where I pitched the story to an agent for the first time. She requested a partial manuscript. Then the full manuscript. Many of my queries to other agents resulted in requests to read more. RED placed second in another contest, resulting in a request for the full manuscript from an editor at Kensington Books.
OMG – this was HAPPENING!!!
Right???
Wrong.
Suddenly, everything just stopped. I’d queried all the agents on my list, including the newer agent at the Seymour Agency with three asterisks by her name on the spreadsheet where I was tracking all my responses because she was my absolute first choice. She had requested to read the full manuscript, but I hadn’t heard back from her, so I could only assume she hadn’t been impressed.
Incredibly disappointed after what had seemed so promising, I tried to tell myself I’d had a good run, that I needed to move on to the next project (which I did), that RED just wasn’t THE ONE after all.
But, wow, it sucked.
Then, one day, an email appeared in my inbox from Number-One-Top-Choice-Agent that said something to the effect of, “Hey, I’m still interested in reading your manuscript if it’s still available. Were you planning to send it?” Long story short: She’d never received the manuscript I emailed! Elated and encouraged, I immediately sent it her way.
Okay, this was it!! OMG—this was HAPPENING!!!
Right???
Wrong.
She passed. Kind of. She loved the story but couldn’t take it on at that time because it would conflict with another project she was actively shopping.
And that was that.
Until…
Fast forward a few months to December 2011. I received an email message from Alicia Condon at Kensington Books. Remember the editor who’d requested to read the full manuscript almost a year earlier? Well, she was reaching out to see if RED was still available…
When I finished freaking out (in a good way), I immediately emailed the agent who’d kind of passed on RED a few months earlier. She emailed me back right away. She’d actually planned to reach out to me that same week to see if RED was still available…
Two days later, I signed with Nicole Resciniti at the Seymour Agency and signed a contract for a three-book deal with Alicia Condon at Kensington books. Talk about an amazing Christmas present! In August 2012, RED debuted, kicking off an amazing, delightful, fun-filled journey to share Tess “Red” Little and the rest of the Transplanted Tales to readers.
Ten years later, the series is still going strong, finding new audiences not just with the books but with the interactive games, and getting a fresh look with all new covers. I’ve now worked on seven books with the fabulous Alicia Condon. Nicole Resciniti is still my agent and my very dear friend. And that sweet little boy who asked “What if…?” so many years ago? Well, he’s a sophomore pre-med student/epidemiology major whose curiosity and inquisitiveness continue to inspire those around him—especially his very proud and very grateful mom. 😊
Red
(Transplanted Tales #1)
Author: Kate SeRine
Goodreads Link: Goodreads
Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks
Fairytale characters meet the mean streets of Chicago in this gritty paranormal romance featuring Little Red Riding Hood as a tough-as-nails detective.
Once upon a time, a spell went awry, stranding Make Believe characters in the ordinary world. Since then, Tess “Red” Little has worked as an Enforcer for the Chicago branch of the Fairytale Management Authority. All grown up and with nothing to lose, she’s not some waif with a basket of goodies. Guns and combat boots are more her style now. And on her latest assignment, no one’s living happily ever after.
Someone is viciously murdering transplanted Tales, and the list of characters capable of such grisly violence includes more than one of Red’s old flames. To make matters worse, she’ll be working alongside sexy, enigmatic Nate Grimm, the FMA’s lead detective and part-time Reaper. Red normally prefers playing the lone wolf, but Nate’s dark side makes him perfect for this case. That is, if she can trust him. As she learned long ago, believing in the wrong person can have big, bad consequences.
- Red
- Grimm Consequences
- The Better to See You With
- Along Came A Spider
- Ever After
- Better Watch Out (Fall 2022)
I threw the covers back and stormed down the stairs, braushing past Gran in my fury. I charged into the kitchen, fully expecting to light into Nate about barging into my house—okay, well, not technically my house, but still—but when I saw him I slid to a halt, briefly wondering if I’d wandered into a parallel dimension.
Nate had discarded his omnipresent suit jacket and fedora in exchange for one of Gran’s pink frilly aprons with a creepily cheery gingerbread man embroidered on the front. His shirt sleeves were rolled up to the elbow, revealing muscled forearms and intricately drawn tribal-style tattoos that were completely out of sorts with the girly cooking attire.
When he heard me come in, he turned away from where he was scrambling eggs with peppers and onions and offered me a wide smile. “Good morning, sunshine,” he called over his shoulder.
I intended to stun him with a witty comeback that started with Piss and ended with Off, but before I got the chance, he added, “Breakfast will be ready in a sec. I hope you like your eggs loaded. I didn’t figure you for a cinnamon roll kind of girl, but Gran insisted I whip some up when she heard my recipe.”
I blinked at him, now certain about my alternate reality theory. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Nate added some shredded cheese to his concoction and gently folded the eggs a couple of times before responding, “Thought we’d get an early start.”
I hopped up onto one of the stools nestled around the kitchen bar and gave him a wary look. “Start on what exactly?”
“I figured we’d drop in on Wolf,” he said. “Get it out of the way.”
I felt my stomach flop ominously. Probably just the hangover. “He’s nocturnal,” I muttered. “Maybe we should wait until later in the day.”
“Or we can catch him unawares so he doesn’t run,” he rejoined.
I bristled a little at his tone. “Seth won’t run.”
Nate shrugged. “Because he has a history of sticking it out when things get rough?”
“Fine,” I snapped, having to admit he had a point. “But he’s not the guy.”
“So you keep saying. As soon as he’s cleared, we’ll move on to Caliban.”
Nate scooped the eggs onto a plate and arranged a few slices of crisp bacon, perfectly toasted sourdough, and a sprig of parsley around them before setting the lot in front of me.
I stared down at the beautifully arranged food before me and wondered if I should eat it or take a picture of it. My stomach grumbled in spite of its queasiness, which really left only one option. I shoveled a bite of eggs into my mouth and had to stop myself from moaning with delight as Nate set out a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.
“So what do you think?” he asked, studying me in that über-intense way of his.
“I think Caliban can be an arrogant, foul-tempered asshole,” I mumbled around my eggs, “but I don’t think he’s your perp either.”
Nate laughed. “Not what I meant. The breakfast—do you like it?”
I swallowed, lifting my face from the trough—uh, plate—and meeting his gaze. “Yeah, it’s great. Thanks.”
He gave me a wink and went back to the stove, gathering up the frying pans and utensils and loading them into the dishwasher. Bemused by the decidedly surreal experience, I continued eating and was just polishing off the last of the most delicious cinnamon roll I’d ever consumed when Gran came bustling in.
“Well, I’m off!” she cried cheerily, her cheeks aglow with excitement. “Wish me luck, my darlings!”
Darlings? Plural?
Nate hastily dried his hands on the edge of his apron and shook Gran’s hand warmly. “Best of luck, Tilly—”
Tilly?
“—I’m sure your interview will go swell.”
Swell?
Gran tittered like a schoolgirl, blushing at Nate’s encouragement, then good-naturedly batted at his shoulder. “Oh, Detective, if all my audience was as kind as you, I would never worry about ratings!”
Dear God, it was a morning person conspiracy.
About Kate SeRine
Kate SeRine (pronounced “serene”) is a hopeless romantic who firmly believes in true love that lasts forever. So it’s no surprise that when she began writing her own stories, Kate vowed her characters would always have a happily ever after. She’s the author of the award-winning TRANSPLANTED TALES paranormal romance series as well as two romantic suspense series: PROTECT AND SERVE and DARK ALLIANCE.
Kate lives in a smallish, quintessentially Midwestern town with her husband and two sons, who share her love of storytelling. She never tires of creating new worlds to share and is even now working on her next project — probably while consuming way too much coffee.
Giveaways
Red Blog Tour Giveaway
Enter to win a $25.00 eGift card from retailer of your choice (Amazon, Apple, B&N or Kobo). Ends March 10th.
Link for Rafflecopter: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/ac1cf6fd80/?
10-Year Anniversary of the Transplanted Tales Giveaway
Join Kate SeRine’s newsletter for the chance to win a US Amazon eGift Card. Winner will be selected at random from active subscriber list on December 16, 2022.
Enter here: https://www.subscribepage.com/w8n0q1
My obsession with reading started over 30+ years ago when I went to my first Scholastic Book Fair and found R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Later, I came across Anne Rice's novels at my public library when I was fourteen when my obsession with vampires started. I was the girl who preferred to be a vampire over a princess any day. My husband says I would leave him a heartbeat for a vampire that looked like Spike or Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. (It's true, though, and he's accepted it.)
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