Today I'd like to welcome Katherine Lowry Logan to an Impromptu "Thursdays" with Taryn visiting. Thanks for joining us and- Yay!
1 commenter will win a FREE copy of The Ruby Brooch, so make sure to use your blogger sign in or leave your email addy as You (@) Whatever (dot) com so I can contact you.
I will notify the winning commenter tomorrow morning with the Smashwords coupon code for your free download in the format of your choice.
What book(s) most
influenced you as a writer?
In September 1996, I read my first Elizabeth Lowell’s book Winter Fire. I loved it. Over the next
several weeks, I read her entire back list. Then I moved on to Linda Howard,
Beatrice Small and several other romance authors. A year later, I’d read over
250 romance novels and had convinced myself I could write one, too. Without a
plan in mind, I sat down at my computer and started writing. Ten weeks later, I
wrote The End to a 115,000-word, time-travel
romance. Of course, the story went through a dozen rewrites before it was
published last month.
What book do you read
over and over again?
I really don’t read anything again. There are so many books
on my TBR list that to reread a book deprives me of the joy of discovering
something new. I remember reading the Tolkien Trilogy in the 1970s. I cried
when I read the last page, but oddly, I never wanted to read the books again.
The first experience was too incredible to replicate.
Tuesday Trio-
1)
Movie-
My favorite movie of all time is Gone with the Wind. Second would be Somewhere in Time
2)
Music-
I love Adele when I’m running, but I listen to all kinds of music, except
hard rock. While I’m writing, I listen to Michael Dulin Radio on Pandora.
3)
Decadent
Dessert- I’m hooked on Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt. I like to mix vanilla and
chocolate and sprinkle chocolate chips and strawberries on top.
What’s the most
interesting or bizarre bit of trivia you’ve learned from researching for a
novel?
A week before Christmas 2010, I was researching guns and
decided to visit one of our local gun shops. I walked through the front door of
a very crowded gun store and stood there not sure where to go. A young man
working the cash registered asked if he could help me. I said, “I need a gun
that will shoot as many cows in the shortest amount of time.”
The store fell silent. A couple dozen men stared at me like
I was crazy. I cleared my throat and
explained that I was a romance writer and that my heroine was caught in the
middle of a buffalo stampede and needed a weapon. The shock wore off and
answers started flying. “She’s needs . . .” I still laugh when I think of that
visit.
Novel on your Nightstand:
Who/what are you
currently reading?
I’m always reading several books at the same time—fiction,
non-fiction, and craft or marketing. The
three at the top of my Kindle list are:
Fifty Shades of Grey (I
have to find out what all the fuss is about!)
Mile Markers by
Kristin Armstrong (A book about running and relationships)
How to Market Your
EBook by Mike McCann
Whom would you cast
as your Hero & Heroine if your book became a movie?
I’m open to suggestions:
·
Cullen is from Scotland and graduated from
Harvard. He’s a lawyer, 6’2, 180, black hair and blue eyes, born in 1822. He
has a Kennedy-esque charisma and a terrible temper.
·
Kit is 5’2”, long blond hair, green eyes, a
paramedic with extensive survival training, and an expert equestrian, born in
1987, or so she thought. She’s spunky. Not particularly caught up in
appearances, although she is an heiress to one of the top three Thoroughbred
operations in the world.
BLURB:
From the white-plank fenced pastures of Lexington, Kentucky
to the beautiful Bay of San Francisco, The Ruby Brooch, a saga rich in detail
and mystery, follows a young woman’s physical and emotional journey as she
searches for her identity in the mid-nineteenth century.
As the lone survivor of a car crash that killed her parents,
paramedic Kit MacKlenna makes a startling discovery that further alters her
life. A faded letter and a well-worn journal reveal that she was abandoned on
her father’s doorstep as a baby. The only clues to her identity are a
blood-splattered shawl, a locket that bears a portrait of a nineteenth-century
man, and a Celtic brooch with mystical powers. Following notes in her late
father’s journal, Kit sets out on a quest to solve the murders of her birth
parents and discover her true identity. Under the guise of the Widow MacKlenna,
Kit calls on the power of the ruby brooch and is swept back in time to
Independence, Missouri in the year 1852.
Upon arriving in the past, she encounters Cullen Montgomery,
an egotistical Scotsman with a penchant for seducing widows. The San
Francisco-bound lawyer happens to resemble the ghost who has haunted Kit since
childhood. She quickly finds the Bach-humming, Shakespeare-quoting man to be
over-bearing and his intolerance for liars threatens her quest.
If she can survive his accusations and resist his tempting
and passionate embrace, she might be able to find the answers she seeks and
return home without changing history or leaving her heart on the other side of
time.
The Ruby Brooch is available at-
KATHERINE
LOWRY LOGAN
Katherine is a long distance runner and an avid reader who
turned her love of reading into a passion for writing contemporary and
historical romances.
A graduate of Rowan University in New Jersey, she earned a
BA in Psychology with a minor in Criminal Justice. Following graduation,
Katherine attended the Philadelphia Institute for Paralegal Training earning a
General Practice Certification. She returned to Central Kentucky and worked for
twenty years as a paralegal and law firm office manager. With an educational
focus on psychology and the law, Katherine’s plots typically involved a mystery
for the hero and heroine to solve while on an emotional journey seeking love
and forgiveness.
She is currently working on a contemporary story that is a
companion book to
The Ruby Brooch. She
plans to release the ebook on September 15, the same day she runs the Air Force
Marathon in Dayton, OH.
Katherine lives in Lexington, KY. She is a widow
and a grandmother, and spends several weeks every year in New York City with
three of her five grandchildren. The other two live in Northern Kentucky,
making it possible to attend ballgames and Grandparents’ Day.
You can find out more about Katherine at the following places-
I was thinking about my journey toward self-publication and those I have surrounding me, who encourage me that it CAN be done and it's worth it and I feel a surge of appreciation for the outstanding company I keep. We're an eclectic group of authors, who've all chosen differing paths for our writing career.
Some have gone through publishers, big and small and others have struck out onto the Indie path full speed ahead. It's amazing to hear what's going on, and sometimes overwhelming, too, to hear about the numbers, the rankings, Amazon's bizarre algorithms, and the tremendous hard work that goes into taking on being the writer and publisher of your own work.
I find it refreshing and inspiring to feel I'm part of a new generation of revolutionaries in the publishing field. We're all heading toward the same goals~ To reach readers and touch hearts, to bring laughter and joy and even yes, sometimes sorrow, but happy endings and satisfying conclusions.
Well, I'm sure for most of us, it's more like a bookshelf. I know mine is. I've written 11 manuscripts already, but I know I'm far from done. I have more to tell, but if I'm going to take this journey into self-publication, some of those stories will have to wait until I can get a few of the finished ones polished and out there in the world, in the hands of people who love books as much as I do.
Our stories span all kinds of genres and themes from edgy inspirational to historical, to contemporary romance and young adult, to erotica and women's fiction, military, suspense, horror.
They cover themes such as dystopian futures, time-travel and reincarnation...from reuniting with their soulmate from the very distant past, to finding love the second time around. I think books are food for the soul. Without the great and wonderful stories of authors the world over, I can only imagine what a dull and dreary life we would lead.
These authors with whom I share email conversations, the joys and pains of writing, the highs and lows of self-publishing and the pleasure of their online company are dedicated and full of determination. Their persistence encourages me, driving me forward toward my own goals. They are writerly inspiration and amazingly talented!
They are not only my friends, but my people, for no one quite understands a writer's mind or a writer's journey in life like another writer can.
