Welcome today's guest, Katherine Lowry Logan, author of the romance time travelling novel, The Ruby Brooch. Come back tomorrow for an excerpt.
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Tell us a little
about yourself?
Katherine is a marathoner and an
avid reader who turned her love of reading into a passion for writing and has
completed a sweeping time-travel romance The Ruby Brooch. She is currently
working on two additional time-travels and a romantic suspense.
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.
What made you want to
become a writer? Is there any particular author or book that influenced you
either growing up or as an adult?
I started writing poetry as a
teenager and still dabble a bit. There are a couple of original poems in THE
RUBY BROOCH. From the fall of 1996 to September 1997, I read almost three
hundred romance novels. I started with Elizabeth Lowell’s WINTER FIRE and from
there read her entire back list. Then I moved on to Beatrice Small, Linda
Howard, and others. After all those books, the day came when I put down the one
I was reading, and said, “I can do this.” Ten weeks later, I wrote The End to
THE RUBY BROOCH. Over the next several years, the story was either in the
closet or going through one of a dozen rewrites. Then, in 2012, the book came
out in print.
What genre do your
works fall into?
Paranormal/Time Travel Romance/Historical
What about this genre
appeals to you?
I’ve been interested in
time-travel since childhood. The Time Machine, A Connecticut Yankee in King
Arthur’s Court, and my all-time favorite Somewhere in Time. Also, I
fell in love with historicals reading Hawaii,
Centennial, The Source, The Fires of Spring and other words by James
Michener.
Could you tell us a
bit about your most recent book and why it is a must-read?
The Ruby Brooch is a
Kindle bestselling time travel romance. I’ll let a recent reviewer explain why it’s a
“must read.”
“Katherine Logan has weaved an
intricate tale in the classic western
mode spiced up with the fantasy elements of time travel. She has avoided all
the clichés and has done a great job invoking the feel of the times, the
smells, tastes, fears and joys, hardships and triumphs and created a true
masterpiece worthy of films such as How The West Was Won and the Pulitzer Prize
winner - The Way West. I had goose bumps all over when I finished this work of
brilliance and am eager for the next installment. A riveting five star read.”
Brief Synopsis:
And the day came when the risk to remain
tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. ~Anaïs Nin
Can a 21st century paramedic find her
heart's desire on the other side of time?
From
the white-plank fenced pastures of Lexington, Kentucky, to the beautiful Bay of
San Francisco, The Ruby Brooch, a saga steeped in family tradition and mystery, follows
a young woman's journey as she searches for the truth on the other side of the
heather-scented mist.
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 as a baby and 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.
After
studying the journal, she decides to continue her father's twenty-year search
for her identity and solve her birth parents' murders. For safety reasons, she
adopts the persona of the Widow MacKlenna. Although a perfect cover for
her eccentric behavior, she will be forced to lie and MacKlennas
don't lie, or so she thought. Finally, dressed and packed, she utters the
incantation inscribed on the ancient stone and is swept back to Independence,
Missouri, in the year 1852.
Upon
arriving in the past, she meets 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 embrace for
seventy-three days, she might be able to find the answers she seeks, and return
home to a new life without changing history or leaving her heart on the other
side of time.
What research did you need to do for this book?
· I read countless Oregon Trail journals to get a feeling
for the life and challenges the travelers experienced.
· I joined the California-Oregon Trail Association and had
dozens of conversations with experts about life on the trail.
· I talked to people all around the world about carbon
dating, Thoroughbred racing, guns, clothing, food, snakes, and the list goes
on.
· I travelled the trail from Independence, Missouri to
Portland, Oregon, and in many places followed the actual wagon ruts. The round
trip from Lexington, Kentucky to Portland took nineteen days. It was an
incredible adventure.
What was your inspiration for writing The Ruby Brooch?
I set out to
write a time travel that took place in the American west in the mid-1800s. The
story evolved as I wrote by “the seat of my pants.” When I realized I needed a
time travel method, I decided to use a ruby brooch based on a bracelet I have.
The bracelet has an interesting past. It was an original design made for a
woman in the 1970s. In the 1980s, she
paid her CPA’s bill with the bracelet. In the early 1990s, the CPA’s widow paid
her legal bill with the bracelet. After the death of my husband, the lawyer in
the story, I ended up with the bracelet.
The bracelet is now memorialized by the book.
Are your characters
based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?
I think many of the characters
have traits of friends and family members. And I can certainly identify with
Kit’s grief and trauma. My husband died five days after I wrote THE END. During
the many rewrites over the years, I was able to pull from my own experiences
and add depth to Kit’s grief and recovery.
Of all the characters
you have created, which is your favorite and why?
Elliott Fraser is Kit MacKlenna’s
godfather. In the beginning, he was a groom on the horse farm, but he developed
into a 50-year-old veterinarian/bachelor from Scotland. By the end of the book, I knew I had to write
his story next. Although he has significant
physical and emotional scars, he can be tender and passionate. You can’t help
but love him.
What is the biggest
surprise that you experienced after becoming a writer?
Two things:
- How much writing truly gels with my personality and skill set. I have a passion for research and turning that research into an interesting story.
2.
I lived in a happy writer’s world prior to publication,
writing and talking with other writers. I wasn’t concerned with marketing
because I had nothing to market. I have since learned that an author needs a
platform in place long before there’s a book to promote. Now I split my time
between writing and marketing. Like many others, I find social networking a
challenge. There are many days when I think Twitter and Facebook control me,
not the other way around.
Do you have a day job
in addition to being a writer? If so,
what do you do during the day?
I’m a full-time writer and LOVE IT!
What is your favorite
writing tip or quote?
I love editing, but I have to remind myself daily that I
can’t edit a blank page. Write. Write. Write.
Tell us a little
about your plans for the future. Do you
have any other books in the works?
I’m currently working on
Elliott’s story titled The Last MacKlenna. I have two more time travel stories
(The Sapphire Brooch and The Emerald Brooch) in the works that will complete
The Celtic Brooch Trilogy. I also have a prequel (short story) to The Ruby Brooch plotted that I intend
to write as soon as I finish The Last MacKlenna.
Where can we find you
online? (please cut and paste links):
Now available: The Ruby Brooch, Book 1 of the Celtic Brooch
Trilogy, a time travel romance.
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