Kat Black
In Melting Ms Frost, London restaurant manager, Annabel Frost, has a reputation for being as chilly as her name implies. Independent and career focused she has no problem with that at all; people can either respect her authority or keep their distance – preferably both. But when her new barman arrives, he’s intent on doing neither. Darkly handsome and shockingly sensual, Aidan Flynn makes it clear from the start that he wants her surrender. On his terms. With the heat of his passion sparking more than her temper, and threatening to set the wintry festive season ablaze, Annabel faces a battle of wills like no other…and with his compelling grey gaze and persuasive Irish lilt, Aidan proves a force to be reckoned with.
You’ve been criticised for being a daydreamer, but how much does this actually help writers?
The process works very differently for every writer, but for me, it’s without doubt the most important part of what I do. Those daydreams are where the spark of creativity ignites and takes hold. Behind that seemingly vacant stare, I’m watching a cast of characters and their stories play out. It’s a bit like having a portable cinema inside my head and being front row at my own private film screening.
When did you first know that you wanted to write?
From pretty much the same moment I discovered the pleasure of reading fiction and felt myself swept away by the power and magic of storytelling. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t feel the urge to weave some of that magic myself.
When you set out to backpack around the world, why was London your first port of call?
It was the Eighties. London was the centre of the universe for music, fashion and club culture, and in those pre-internet days being in Sydney felt about as far removed from the action as living on the moon. Also, I loved the place. It had always played a big part in my life as my father had been born and raised in London before being uprooted from the mods and rocker scene of his youth by his parents’ relocation to Australia.
Why are frosty women appealing for men?
In general, I’m not really so sure they are! But I guess the idea presents the same sense of thrill and challenge that makes the quintessential bad-boy type so attractive to a lot of women – there’s definite appeal in the romantic notion that just maybe you’re the one special person who could redeem a lost soul, tame a wild spirit, melt a frozen heart.
Please tell us about the inspiration behind this particular tale.
Sex! Or more specifically, a discussion I’d been having with one of my editors about the dynamics of sexual attraction typically portrayed in romantic/erotic romance fiction. As it’s nearly always the hero who gets to play the boss, the alpha, the dominant, we considered how interesting it would be to change it up and give the heroine that sort of power – put the woman on top for a change. It didn’t take long for the aloof, fiercely driven character of Annabel to spring to life, and it soon became apparent that it would take an equally strong and very special kind of man to meet the challenge to the male ego she represented. She certainly gets that in the form of Aidan Flynn.
Who are your favourite reads in your genre?
I love all types of women’s fiction and am happy getting lost in anything from Elizabeth Chadwick’s historicals, through Freya North’s contemporaries, to Jacqueline Carey’s sweeping fantasies.
How do you juggle your writing around your family life?
Not very well at all. I’m too much of a perfectionist to be any good at multi-tasking, so one thing or the other always ends up suffering a degree of neglect. Realising this, I made a conscious choice to hold off on pursuing writing as a career until my children were at least old enough to organise a pizza delivery for themselves if the fridge was found to be bare at dinner time yet again! My husband, for his part, views the strange new order of domestic delinquency with good-humoured resignation.
What is next for you?
Although Melting Ms Frost is a stand-alone novel, I’m already busy working on a follow up, as Annabel and Aidan’s story proved to be far from over at the point at which I typed ‘The End’. Beyond that, I have three further books outlined which are linked via some of the secondary characters who appear in Melting Ms Frost. So plenty to be getting on with…