Sharon Kayne
Historical Romance and
Rom-com/Romantasy Novelist
Novels - Coming Soon!
Kate Palmer wants to pursue a career as a poet. As society life in Philadelphia—not to mention the expectations of marriage and motherhood—strictly limits her independence, Kate has taken a job as a schoolmarm in the Oklahoma territory. While she embraces her new freedom to write, her chosen life presents more difficulties than she’d anticipated. Primary among them is an abrasive relationship with Thomas Newhall, the man who hired her.
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Thomas, a still-grieving widower with two school-age children, finds Kate both extremely attractive and surprisingly prickly as she has the audacity to stand up for herself and her ideals. Their verbal skirmishes notwithstanding, Kate’s biggest challenge comes when a tornado destroys her little cottage, unexpectedly twisting their lives together as Kate is obliged to move into the Newhall family home. When Thomas declares his love for her, Kate must face her own feelings for him and decide if she can remain true to her dreams while accepting the fulfillment that comes with love.
Novels - Still in the Works
Photo by James Feaver on Unsplash
Emily Miller wants to marry for love—but she certainly doesn't love the man her father is pressuring her to marry. But she begins to see other possibilities for herself when two interesting customers enter the family flower shop where she works. One, an artist, asks her to sit for his next portrait. The other, a suffragist, invites her to a meeting. As Emily begins to forge a close and romantic friendship with the portrait painter and hears new perspectives from the suffragist about the civil rights she is denied because of her sex, she becomes determined to take charge of her life.
When she is sexually assaulted, Emily feels she has no choice but to make her own way in the world. With help from the suffragist, she begins to carve out a new life. While it gives her much more autonomy than she’s ever known, the life of a factory worker is not what she would have wished for herself had she other options. When she is given a new option, Emily must discover if she has the courage to eschew social standards and set her own terms for her future.
Photo by Esmee Batchelor on Unsplash
Lily Cavanaugh wants very much to fall in love with her husband. She was, by all accounts, madly in love with Peter when she married him, but a horse-riding accident has left her with partial amnesia—she has no recollection of the past two years, which includes all of the time she’d known Peter. Immediately after the accident she only wants to go back home and live with her parents, rather than stay with the stranger who claims to be her husband. But her parents insist that her place is with the man she married, even if he is an enigma to her now. Her only clue as to her lost feelings for him is the thrumming she gets in her gut every time he touches her. Lily’s desire to fall in love with him becomes even more desperate once she discovers she’s carrying his child.
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Peter Cavanaugh had always been a quiet man and courting Lily—allowing himself to be open and vulnerable—was difficult enough the first time. But he will do whatever it takes to win her heart again. Running his ranch can’t just stop for a second courtship, and when he loses one of his cattle to a wolf attack, Peter finds he has other matters—and dangers—to face. Eventually separated by the annual cattle drive, Lily and Peter must each discover on their own if they can reconnect as husband and wife. Remember Me takes a look at where the real foundations of love are, set in 1899 Colorado against the backdrop of the rugged West.
Photo by Jonathan Kemper on Unsplash
Crown Prince Tagert is a putz. At least that’s what his father, King Ripley, thinks of him. The young man simply lacks passion. Drive. Zip. Luckily, a noble quest has arisen—the need to rescue a lovely maiden from an old crone and her dragon. Prince Tagert, who certainly has passion for playing his lute and writing songs, is busy inventing musical theatre. Still, wanting very much to win his father’s approval, Tagert takes on the quest.
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Lovely Aria, the kidnapped maiden, also loves music and has a stunning singing voice. A candlemaker’s daughter, she has no greater goal in life than to marry for love. But the young man who has asked for her hand—Bernard the woodcutter—neither makes her heart soar nor her maiden parts quiver.
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When Bernard and Tagert meet up at the old crone’s cave, only one man will prevail to win beautiful Aria’s heart (not to mention, have the opportunity to make her maiden parts quiver). And while the quest changes Tagert—just as the King hoped—everyone may end up getting more than they bargained for.
Prince Laird, second in line for the throne, is an unapologetic womanizer. Or at least he was until he saw lovely Plié dancing with all the alure of a seductive sea siren's song. His desire for Plié has pushed thoughts of all other women from his mind. For her part, Plié wants nothing to do with a man who will surely break her heart, but she allows him to court her so long as he keeps his hands—and other body parts—to himself. Unless he can change and prove that he is worthy of her, Laird is destined to love Plié in vain. When a foolhardy plan to dose Plié with a love potion backfires, Laird believes he has lost his chance with her. Then, bad news of a former conquest is brought to him by an angry brother bent on revenge and, suddenly, Laird stands to lose much more than just his heart.
Bio
Before retiring to pursue novel writing and publication, I had a 30-plus year career as an award-winning writer/editor of non-fiction, working both in journalism and nonprofit advocacy. I’ve written journalistic pieces—from straight news to arts, features, and human interest—for print and television broadcast, I was an award-winning humor columnist and managing editor for an alternative weekly, and was the communications director of a nonprofit advocacy organization for 18 years.
Photo by Marie-Pier Frigon
My dialog and lyrics have been performed on stage and in night clubs. My writing has won awards from the National Federation of Press Women, New Mexico Press Women, and the New Mexico Music Industry Association. I am a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) as a lyricist and SouthWest Writers. I have a BA in Theatre from Arizona State University and live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with my husband and two cats.
Columns
I wrote the popular, award-winning humor column "Citizen Kayne” for the Albuquerque-based alternative newspaper Crosswinds Weekly from 1999 to 2006.
Breaking the Gender Code
I’ve never quite understood men. Mostly because, often – even though I see their lips moving – I don’t get what’s coming out of their mouths. And it seems that he will have similar problems understanding me. I suspect this is due to the fact that men and women speak in code. I have to run everything a man says to me through the decoder cycle of my brain. Any man with half an ounce of sense knows he has to run whatever women say to him through his decoder cycle. Unfortunately, the decoder cycles we’re born with are pitifully slow, incomplete programs. But they’re all we’ve got. I do believe, however, I’ve broken small parts of the code. And I think what I’ve deciphered is helpful, so I’ve decided to share it.
Man Mechanic
It occurred to me recently that I understand men about as well as I understand cars. I have a vague idea how they operate, and I know the basics to keep them going: give them fuel and every once in a while grease ‘em up. But when they stall out on me, I have no idea how to get them going again. I do know this: what is fundamentally true about cars is fundamentally true about men. Namely that you never appreciate how useful they are until you’re stuck without one; and even if you do have one, they’re not worth a damn if they’re not working properly.
Photo by Isabela Kronemberger on Unsplash
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash
The Perils of Pee-Marking
I got peed on at the park the other day. I had taken my dogs to the park so they could romp and play with the dogs that other people had brought to the park. We were all standing around chatting and watching our little ones play when Toby went behind one of the women, lifted his leg and left his scent. Then, not too long after that, he did the same thing to me. I know what you’re thinking. How could anyone just stand there and let themselves be peed on by a dog? And the answer is: it was a hit-and-run peeing. We were caught off guard and completely by surprise. Toby snuck surreptitiously up behind us where he was shielded by our summer skirts (which were billowing gracefully in the breeze), and by the time the warm, wet feeling hit our skin he was done and trotting off.
Fan Fiction
Before I began writing novels, I wrote one piece of fan fiction. At 39,000 words, it is based on the characters and plot lines of the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended.
Autumn Equinox
Claire, who was just 2 years old when Quil imprinted on her, is all grown up and ready for romance – but maybe not with Quil. To add to Quil’s frustration over Claire, the werewolf pack discovers that a vampire is in the area – and this one has killed a camper. This puts the pack on alert, which means that Claire and Quil have little time to themselves to explore this new chapter of their relationship.
Photo by Jack Taylor on Unsplash
