Wednesday, April 4, 2012

WWR Wednesday: Katie Reus

In honor of Werewolf Week and the release of Protector's Mate, Katie Reus has graciously agreed to join me at What Women Read as the first guest contributor to the new weekly Wednesday feature.  So without further ado, let's give Katie a warm WWR welcome!  WooHOOOOOO!!!  ::waves arms wildly::



What does this woman read?

Katie Reus: I read across a broad spectrum, but I’ll freely admit that romance is my go to genre. While I’m not big on the straight contemporaries (I need outside action), I tend to read a lot of paranormal romance and romantic suspense. Oddly enough, even though I write about shifters I read a lot more about vampires and other different supernatural beings. I also tend to gravitate toward series books, especially in pnr. If I like a world I want to keep revisiting it! Other topics I enjoy reading about are: military memoirs, military history, the ecology of various animals especially apex predators, world mythologies and criminal behavior to name a few.

What turns you on as a reader?

Katie Reus:  First, a really good back cover copy description will suck me in and make me pick up a book. But it’s all up to the characters to keep me hooked. I love a strong heroine, but the hero has got to be well, a hero. While I prefer my guys to be alpha, I also love a good beta now and then (Charlotte Stein writes some amazing betas). A hero can be a complete alpha but still respectful of his significant other. If he’s not then I don’t think he deserves the title ‘hero’. He deserves something more along the lines of a**hat. In romance it’s all about that chemistry and heat. I can overlook a lot of things including okay world building if the characters jump off the page. That’s not to say I don’t like action driven stories because I’m also a really big fan of external drama and I love it when things blow up or a couple is on the run from an evil villain, but I’ve got to connect with the main characters in some way. So…my rambling answer boils down to one thing: likeable characters.

5 comments:

Cynthia Eden said...

Yay! for werewolf week! ;) And, Katie, I'm so glad you mentioned betas. I would love to read a good beta story.

Katie Reus said...

I know! There aren't enough out there, though I think Nora Roberts writes some pretty good betas (it's been a while since I've read her).

Shannon said...

I think good betas can be as challenging to write as a well balanced Alpha. He needs to be strong enough not to fall into doormat territory, but not so strong as to become an Alpha.

Katie Reus said...

Exactly, Shannon! It's such a fine line :)

The Bookworm said...

Great post :) I do agree, a hero can be alpha but still needs to respect his lady.