Welcome busy, versatile writer, Veronica Lynch!

So happy to welcome fellow Wild Rose Press & Class of '85 author to my site today! Veronica is unique in that she has two stories in this wonderful series under two different names. Can you tell us a bit about how that works, Veronica/Kat? How do you differentiate between the two names? Are there different quirks to your writing depending on the name you are writing under?

If any of my visitors have not dipped your toe into this fantastic series yet, I strongly urge you to do so - NOW! It has been a great success and if you were an '80s kid/teenager, I promise you it will be a fun and exciting trip back in time.

Ok, let's start the interview!

1) Where do you write? At a laptop in front of the TV. If I'm really into a scene and need to concentrate fully, I'll turn the set off.

2) What is the best & worst part about the writing process for you? The best is the beginning, when I first get the idea for a story then go on to creating the characters and bringing them to life. The worst is at the end when I must check for typos/missing words/extra words. By that stage of the process I am so thoroughly sick of the story I get lazy—then make mistakes. If I'm not persistent I miss simple errors then it comes back and bites me in the butt. Always. Never fails.

3) When did you first consider yourself a writer? The day I held my first published novel in my hands. It had all the power and emotion I experienced the day my firstborn child was placed in my arms. It's been seven years [for the book] and I still get weepy when I think about it.

4) What is the best & worst advice you’ve received about writing?

I'll start with the worst: the first RWA chapter I joined had several soon-to-be published authors who fawned over the founding member, herself multi-published with Harlequin Historicals. If she said the moon was made of green eggs and ham the soon-to-be-published followed the party line and agreed loudly. As was the practice at meetings, members were encouraged to read a few pages after which they underwent what was termed “a kind, gentle critique”. There came a time when I pumped up my courage and read from a WIP. The head witch in the coven made sour faces throughout the time I read, then said, “No editor will ever consider that book because it is unrealistic. Nurses don't talk that way.” The wannabes agreed of course and took up the Greek chorus.

The best advice I ever received occurred at the same meeting. Another member of the group, who'd laughed through my entire reading [because it was funny], came up to me and said, “Please don't give up. Your writing is fresh and new—and yes, nurses talk exactly like how you wrote the scene. I know, because I'm a nurse myself.” On the day the book was released I found that nurse in the phone book and let her know I'd found success. The book went on to win several major writing awards.

5) Which comes first? Plot or characters? Story idea, then development of characters, then the plot is flushed out.

6) What is a typical day for you? It depends on the day of the week. Two days I'm up at 5:30AM to drive 20 miles to care for my grandchildren and remain there till late in the afternoon. On the other five days, if I have a craft show coming up [I design and make tote bags] I am at the sewing machine from morning till night. On remaining days, I sleep as late as I can before getting up to work at the computer.

7) Where do you see your career in five years? Right where I am now. At the computer, creating fun stories.

8) What do you like to do when you’re not writing? I design and make tote bags, purses, infant care items [diaper bags, swaddling blankets, boppy covers, slings], to customer order.

Veronica also writes under the name Kat Henry Doran and her latest is part of The Wild Rose Press, Class of '85 series - here's the blurb & excerpt from Embraceable You

Award-winning photojournalist Dru Horvath doesn't stay in one spot for too long. Her vocation of documenting abuses against women worldwide prevents her from risking her heart.

Every day working stiff Rory McElroy is a two-time loser when it comes to women—and he doesn't plan to take a chance on a relationship again, thank you very much.

But when Dru comes back into his life, he's not sure which poses the greater risk: protecting her from third world thugs who want to silence her permanently—or allowing the one woman who captured his heart years ago to embrace him for good.

Excerpt:

“Tough way to find out about the other woman.”

“Woman, hell,” she groused. “The assistant was some young stud from Tommy’s gym with abs to die for.”

With that, she side-stepped him and made a grab for the doorknob.

Leaning forward, he brought them nose to nose. “Play much poker, Horvath? Before you started trash talking the cheating politico husband, your face lit up like the Fourth of July. That tells me you’ve got something more stashed in the tote. Until you let me search it, it stays with me.”

Clutching the canvas bag to her chest, she sneered, “The only thing in here is my outfit for tonight, McElroy. So if you think I’d parade around naked, one of us is a couple fries short of a happy meal.”

His response came in the form of another gimme motion with those thick, blunt fingers. “I’ll close my eyes if I encounter any lacy unmentionables.”

She knew the instant he found the back-up phone. The screw-you look morphed into a smirk. “It’s not smart to mess with Homeland Security, sweetie. Those guys eat small rodents for breakfast.”

Buy Links:

http://thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=175_140&products_id=4432

http://thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=175_140&products_id=4403

http://kathenry.com/

Veronica (or Kat!) is waiting for your questions!