Yesterday on the morning news show the weatherman said it was going to be blustery. I have only ever heard that word in the wonderful world of Winnie the Pooh. And it tickled me. Its a word I hardly ever get to use and I have to say I over-used it all day yesterday. :)  Its odd because the wind kept gusting but it was a beautiful sunny day.

Another word that I love is assuage. I just like the sound of it as it rolls off my tongue. There aren't a lot of chances to use it in everyday life. Both my husband and my son roll their eyes when I get on my ooo, I love that word kick. So I sometimes sneak it into manuscripts.  Yesterday while listening to Former President George W. Bush read a letter that Lincoln had sent to a widow who had lost five sons in the civil war, he used this word.  It was magnificent and brought tears to my eyes.  Here is the sentence...I pray that our heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement.

There just aren't enough instances in every day life to use words like that but when they come along I can't resist.

What about you? Are their words you love to use? I get vexed when I can't use my favorites! Just kidding.

Kathy :)

It’s back to school time again and I’m not ready for it. It could be because this time my daughter is starting her second year of college and I know I shouldn’t be as concerned for her because she’s already got one successful year under her belt, but I am. I’m worried that she’ll think she’s got college all figured out and start making stupid mistakes.
I worry about this because I can vividly recall being 19 and know the kind of dumb things that I did. I have always wanted better for my kids and to be honest I still do, but I especially want more for her at this age. I think I look back on my cusp of being an adult and see all the avenues I didn’t take. I’m not someone who looks back on the past with regrets but I think I could have chosen an easier path and that’s what I truly want for her.
Plus I’ve moved and this year I will be five hours ahead of her instead of three hours behind her. I was living in California and now I’m in England…she goes to school in New York. I was lamenting to her, how will I know you are back in your dorm safely? I made her call and talk to me any time she was walking back to her dorm and she said I will text you and I will be fine.
And she will be. I just have to trust her to make all the right decisions even in the midst of those dumb mistakes that are bound to happen at her age.
The thing that I remember most about that age was that I thought I was more mature than everyone else my age and that my parents just didn’t get it. Its so sobering to see my daughter do the eye roll thing that I know I did to my mom when she was trying to give me advice at the same age. I warned her she will become me as I am slowly becoming my mom but she doesn’t believe it.

What about you? Did you know it all when you were an “adult” and maybe make a few mistakes? Or did you really know it all? If so, don’t tell me I don’t want to think I was the only one who didn’t have a clue!

Happy Reading!
Kathy

My latest release from Harlequin Desire is The Rebel Tycoon Returns. It is the second book in the Texas Cattleman’s Club (a long-running Desire mini-series). Macy and Chris both grew up in Royal, Texas and if I learned anything from the five years I spent living in Texas its that life there is different. Macy was the head cheerleader, beauty queen who only had to whisper a desire and her father gave it to her. Chris was the son of a wildcatter from the wrong side of the tracks but he had the smarts, the good looks and the football playing skills to wow Macy and for a short time she and Chris were one hot item. But then Macy in her shallowness dumped him because he didn’t have enough money to run in her circles. But that’s the past and present day Macy is dealing with body image issues and Chris has more money than Midas.

These characters were so much fun for me to write because I share something in common with each of them. The first one is Macy and I have battled my entire life with my weight and have been heavy and thin by different turns but it doesn’t matter what’s on the outside, inside I always feel like the fat girl. Macy’s issue is beauty because she was once a beauty queen but a horrible car accident left her scarred and though her daddy’s money paid for the best plastic surgeons so that she is that pretty girl once again–Macy still sees the scars when she looks at herself.

For Chris he grew up poor–something i did as well. And though he has enough money to hold his own with the wealthiest residents of Royal, he still feels he’s lacking and that makes him just a bit arrogant and edgy being back home.

In both of these characters cases they are dealing with not feeling like the people they present to the world. That’s something I think many of us deal with everyday. I’m not sure about you, but I always try to look the part when I leave my house. If I’m doing an “author event” I like to look like a successful writer. If I’m going to a PTA function, well then I try to look like the picture perfect mom and the burden of looking right falls to my husband and kids as well. But at home is the only place that I’m really me. Crazy curly Medusa hair, jeans and a ruffly blouse (its odd how much I love ruffles!)

What about you? Do you wear a “mask” in public? Where do you feel most comfortable?

I’m in the midst of a deadline and normally that means butt-in-the-chair and fingers-on-the-keyboard, but I’m in a place and am so distracted by things that aren’t that exciting.

I am excited about walking to the little grocery store and going to the pub at the corner for lunch. I’m distracted by watching the morning news shows because the presenters are different than Matt Lauer and the Today Show gang.

Normally the pressure of the looming deadline and my reluctance to call an editor and ask for more time is motivation enough to get myself in gear but this time I’m struggling. Any tips for getting it done? I already decided to stay off Facebook and my Zynga games!

Kathy

I’ve just touched down in England where I will be living for the foreseeable future. Its been a crazy-exciting two months as my son graduated from the 8th grade (or as he said, got promoted like I always do), packed up my entire house and had it loaded on a on container, drove across the country with my kids and my mom (Cali to Florida) then attended RWA in NYC. I’m tired! And so glad to be in one place with the knowledge that I don’t have go anywhere for at least 6 weeks!

Moving to England seemed like a fun idea in theory, I mean we speak the same language sort of and its a cute country with castles and gardens galore. But there are a lot of differences and I’m sure they will be more obvious to me the longer I am here.

Have you ever tried something new and found it was more than you were expecting? I’m thinking kids were!

Happy Reading,
Katherine

Four years ago I got divorced and I found myself for the first time in my adult life alone for a few weeks in the summer as my kids went to visit their father. It was odd to the say the least and not at all what I’d anticipated for my life. But I adjusted and life moved on.

I’m working on a book right now where my heroine has a plan for her life. She’s done everything she’s suppose to and somehow the plan isn’t working out the way she wants it to. I guess I’m using some of my own “reality” on her. But I think it is true for all of us. Its like John Lennon said “life is what happens when you are busy making other plans”. I honestly didn’t get that until my divorce.

Since then I’ve traveled and tried new things. I’ve fallen in love so deeply I can’t believe it some days. I’ve watched one of my kids become and adult and am awestruck at what a wonderful person she is.  And have found a new idea of what a family can be.

What about you? Have you ever found yourself suddenly in a life you didn’t plan to live or expect to have?

Happy reading!!
Katherine

My upcoming release from Harlequin Desire deals with one of my biggest issues, image. I have always felt like the fat average girl in the room and my heroine was always a beauty until a horrible accident left her scarred and in need of lots of surgery and though the doctors have returned her to her former beauty when she looks in the mirror all she sees is scars.

What about you? Does the outside mirror the real you or do you feel its just a facade?

Happy Reading!

I used to be in choir when I was in high school and in college and the first time I sang that song I fell in love with it. It would have been nice if I’d heard it prior to singing it, but really that was a mixed blessing because if I’d heard the original in all its soulful beauty I’d have known we were bound to fail to live up to it, but I didn’t know about it, and thankfully our version was pretty darn good!

In writing I think I’ve had the same experience. When I wrote my first book I had no idea what I didn’t know and blissfully wrote a story that involved the things I liked in books. Some suspense (with an obvious bad guy), great clothes for my heroine, and hot sex with the hero! That first book was so easy to write. I guess my writing voice was dying to get out and I produced 30 pages a week easily.

But there was so much I didn’t know. Like question marks which I slighted and never used. Can you imagine? One of my critique partners flat-out asked me what’s your deal, why do you hate question marks?

I learned so much from that book and I was hooked on writing. After that I knew I had to keep writing because I loved it so much. And each new manuscript I produced made me learn more. But I never felt inadequate to the task and two manuscripts after my first attempt I made a sale.

I still think there is a lot I don’t know about writing but I also get really close sometimes to something beautiful and I’m so thankful for the journey each book sets me on.

Have you ever done that? Tried something without realizing how much you didn’t know?

Katherine Garbera has signed a new 3-book deal with Harlequin Desire and a 2-book deal with Harlequin Blaze!

My husband is working away from home and my daughter is at college finishing up her first year there. So at home its just been my son and I. When he was little (he’s five years younger than his sister) we’d have these pockets of time together while she was at school but mostly I was writing at my computer and he was playing on the floor at my feet. This is our first time alone and I’m enjoying his company so much.

He’s funny and sarcastic the way a teenaged boy can be but he’s also very good at making sure I’m not alone. Every night after dinner, he sighs and says fine I’ll watch your show with you tonight. Like he’s making a sacrifice but he enjoys it. I tried giving him an out the other day but he said no, he’d stay and watch whatever I wanted. And I was struck by how mature that was.

I’m always amazed at my children. From the earliest moments of their lives I’ve felt so blessed to be their mother and to be able to kind of guide them through life. They are better people than I am, I’ll freely admit that. When others have asked me for advice about how I deal with my kids I really don’t know what to tell them. At their core they have always been the people they are. I just listened and laughed and pointed them in the right direction at times. And now I’m seeing firsthand how much that patience paid off with both of them.

Happy reading!
Katherine