A Different Kind Of Pride
by Katherine Blakeman
Released: Aug 27, 2024
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Why this book and why now?
I first had the idea for this book around December last year. At this time, I was desperately scrambling to finish Love You However, and coping with enormous personal stress. However, Victoria and Anastasia wouldn’t stop prodding me for attention, and so when everything calmed down again in February this year, I got writing.
Their story was taking shape beautifully – it’s based partially on my own experiences of spinal fusion surgery (although mine was planned, unlike Victoria’s), with a dollop of romance thrown in (that bit from my imagination). And then I changed job in April. My mental health went down the toilet, and I just kept thinking, ‘One day I won’t have to do this. One day I’ll be able to make a living just from my writing. Surely. One day.’
The natural plan of action, therefore, was to throw myself into the WIP I was writing. That became A Different Kind Of Pride, which I finished in June. It was originally intended to be my 2025 release, but I loved it so much that I couldn’t wait. It’s my first stab at an ice-queen romance, and I loved gradually defrosting Victoria in her own way.
So that’s ‘why now’. As for ‘why this book’… well, if you know me at all, you’ll know I tackle meaty topics that some authors wouldn’t touch with a barge-pole. I had long been intending to write a romance based around my own experience of spinal surgery, but it was always on the back-burner. Then, when I was nearly done writing Love You However, I realised I had the perfect vehicle. Victoria’s accident was the inciting incident for Petra and Jean’s story – all I needed was to change it in the draft from a leg injury to a back injury. Drastic turn of events, I know, but it’s allowed me to run the two books parallel to each other, which was surprisingly fun. (I like to put my characters through the wringer. Can you tell?)
Would you and your main character(s) get along?
I don’t think I’d get on with Victoria. Too taciturn. I can cope with people being closed-off if I feel like there is something under there that I can eventually connect with… but I don’t think I would have felt that with Victoria. As it turned out, it took a very special person to get to the kernel of Victoria’s personality. So I think I would get on with Anastasia. Her love of flowers is a huge plus for me, as is her love of cooking, and I think we have a similar sense of humour.
One of your main characters is planning a romantic night. Tell us about it.
I had to think long and hard about this question. The obvious answer would be to explain what Anastasia would do for Victoria. Since she’s the natural romantic. But that’s too easy. So what would Victoria do for Anastasia…?
I think she’d go very traditional, having researched it beforehand. After all, she’s never been romanced, nor has she ever done any romancing. So she’d follow tradition. Candlelit dinner. Homemade, with all the things Anastasia likes. Quite possibly Ukrainian-themed – Anastasia is Ukrainian, and feels very strongly tied to her home country, particularly now it’s at war. So perhaps Victoria would try her hand at something Ukrainian. Galushki, perhaps, which is what Anastasia has for dinner in the book’s opening. There would be soft music in the background, all the cooking would go exactly to plan because even the food would submit to Victoria’s steely stare… in short, probably the opposite of what would happen if I tried to cook a romantic meal under pressure!
Publishing a book is a huge accomplishment and it’s time to party! Choose a celebratory beverage for one of your main characters to toast the release of your new book.
Probably a smoothie for both of them. Anastasia introduces Victoria to smoothies shortly after her surgery, since she finds eating difficult (as I did when I had the operation). I’m not sure how celebratory it is, but it certainly suits them both.
