Happy Halloween, readers! Since childhood this has always been a favorite holiday for me and my family. My sisters and i trick-or-treated through high school and as soon as our kids were born we had them in a costume and knocking on doors. I think to be honest it was the lure of candy. My mom was very strict when it came to sugary consumption when we were growing up and the only time during the year we got any was Halloween…I’m happy to report I’ve made up for that in my adult life!

My favorite Halloweens have been as a mom watching my kids search for the perfect costume and then getting all excited about the amount of candy they received when we got back home. My favorite Halloween memories are of a blustery Halloween in Chicago when my son was four and his Peter Pan hat kept blowing away and when my daughter was five and it was her brother’s first Halloween–she told each house we went to that he was just a baby and she’d probably have to eat his candy for him.

What’s you favorite Halloween memory? I have a treat for two blog participants today a copy of my latest release from Harlequin Desire THE REBEL TYCOON RETURNS.

Happy Halloween!
Kathy

You know how sometimes you just hit on something at the right time and suddenly everything else just starts clicking around you and its like magic? Well that's happening to me right now. I'm working on the second book in a series I'm doing for Desire next year and the characters are just so much fun. In part I was inspired to write this story by the great classical romantic comedies of the 30s and 40s.  I know that I'm not anywhere near as talented as Dashiell Hammett, but I have always loved The Thin Man and I am getting the same feeling from my characters--Nichole and Conner as I do from watching those movies.

Real fun guy vs girl stuff--both of them using every asset at their disposal to best the other one.  The dialogue is snappy, the characters are bold and just this side of too outrageous. It doesn't happen all the time when I'm writing but it has happened before. Its like I'm not even writing the book, the words are flowing as if they are already there. Its all finished in my head and I'm just doing time at the keyboard everyday, enjoying the ride and ready to get back there the next day.

I didn't realize it when I started writing this book (I'm calling it Indecent Proposal) that it would be as much fun as it is.  Basically its the second book in a series and it was the weakest idea of the three that I had.  Originally I wanted to do something very dark like Absence of Malice but that wasn't in line with the rest of the series and as I was tweaking I decided to write a couple of scenes with the characters and voila, magic.

I'm reminded of Amadeus and the way they portrayed him writing music. I'm even dreaming about the characters and hearing snippets of their conversation as I'm doing the school run or dashing into the grocery store to pick up dinner ingredients.   There is something about this story that reaffirms for me why I'm a writer.   A lot of times writing is really hard work and my parents would say that's because anything worth doing takes effort.  And I agree but when you get a book like this one--its just a gift and I couldn't resist sharing!   Its such a high to be doing something that I love as much as I love writing.  I guess today I just feel like I'm a genius!

Seriously though I love it when everything comes together and writing can just be fun! I hope that whatever you do, today is magic for you!

Yesterday was beautifully sunny in the Midlands of the UK and I couldn’t resist putting the top down on my convertible as I drove around doing errands. I save them for Monday because then I don’t have to do them on the weekends when my boys are home.

I’ve always had this vision of myself as a European women with dark sunglasses and a scarf around my neck driving around in a sporty little convertible listening to some arty music and as luck would have it La Vie En Rose came on my playlist as I was driving. It was for me a perfect moment. I didn’t have the scarf on, I still looked like me but I just had to laugh at the pure joy of a moment that would seem like nothing to someone else but to me was on my bucket list.

Another one for me is hearing my favorite songs back-to-back on the radio. My son will sometimes groan and say “oh no, all of mom’s favorite songs” as I sing loudly along with them. But there is a simple joy in those moments that somehow refill my well.

And I love it when a song comes on the radio that my kids and I all love and we sing it together. Sometimes we even just sing the wrong words or make them…who can understand all of the words that Billy Joe Armstrong sings?!

Do you have any moments like that? Things that are on your bucket list but don’t involve sky diving or seeing Machu Picchu.

Kathy

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!