I'm participating in Kat Henry Doran's blog tour today. She's promoting VENGEANCE IS MINE, three stories about going back to their high school reunion to face the bullies and the people who didn't believe in them. Kat also sits down for an interview and talks about these stories and other stuff. Don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter below! Please welcome Kat Henry Doran!
Vengeance Is Mine
a contemporary romantic trilogy
by Kat Henry Doran
Where did you get the idea for your novel?
It started out as a series featuring four guys in their late 30’s—early 40’s who return to the town where they were raised after their best friend from back in the day dies suddenly and leaves them each something in his will. When that idea failed to fly, it morphed into a high school reunion series. The “Dead Guy” remained an interesting, though unseen, secondary character in the book. The inheritance became a source of external conflict in “Mad Dog and Archangel”, the first story in Vengeance Is Mine.
What do you want readers to come away with after they read your book?
That through hard work and tenacity it is possible to overcome a dismal past [e.g.--domestic violence, morbid obesity, drug and/or alcohol abuse, societal bias] and triumph over all. Plus, getting revenge on the school bully—someone we all knew—is great fun.
Do you work on more than one book at a time?
I am right now an it’s killing me. Kill-Ing Me!
What comes first for you – plot or character? And why?
First, last and always, characters come first. I must know who I’m writing about, right down to their favorites in food, music, TV and movies or underwear, their family background and a detailed physical description. Once I’ve finished with a multi-page character outline, I go to work on the plot. If I don’t know my characters inside and out, I won’t know how they’ll react to conflicts and motivations will I?
Tell us a bit about you. Where do you live, and how long have you been writing?
For the past 40 something years I’ve lived with my husband and 3 children in Western New York, near the shores of Lake Ontario. I’ve been writing, quite badly at the beginning, for more than 30 years.
How do you think your life experiences have prepared you for writing?
For many years I often had to work at more than one job at the same time to keep food on the table and my kids in parochial school uniforms. The hubs and I worked odd shifts so that one of us was always home for the kids. I’ve had a lot of different and interesting jobs; it’s taught me to manage my time well so being idle makes me nuts. I always have to have something to do—and writing fills up the time. Plus, those interesting jobs gave me a lot of fodder for plot lines and characters.
Name two authors we might find you reading when taking a break from your own writing.
Actually, I don’t read books any more but I do listen to audio books; in fact, I’m addicted to them. I really like John Sandford’s series featuring Virgil Flowers and Lucas Davenport. If a man can’t make me laugh out loud I don’t want to hear it. I also like Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon books. Wonderful alliterative names, fascinating locations, incredible tension and suspense.
I'm something of an audiobook addict myself, Kat. What are two (or more) of your all-time favorite books in any genre?
Carnal Innocence and Carolina Moon by Nora Roberts; Envy by Sandra Brown; Mila 18 and Trinity by Leon Uris.
We have some of the same tastes in books. Those are two of my favorite Nora Roberts books. I read Trinity way back in university when I should have been reading my textbooks. What do you like best about your hero?
I have three heroes on Vengeance Is Mine. I like Rory McElroy for his dry humor; Mick Dineen because he works every day to make amends for past behaviors yet doesn’t advertise it; and Rafe Archangeli because he’s a redeemed man thanks to his [dead] best friend and works every day to help others.
What do you like best about your heroine?
Vengeance features three heroines: Dru Horvath never gives up in her drive to help those who are victims of political and moral abuses; Fiona Thorpe changed herself inside and out then went on to make herself a star; and Grace Dunavan has a whippy sense of humor and doesn’t hesitate to laugh at herself.
How do you choose the names and physical characteristics of your characters?
The names I give characters come after I’ve chosen their occupations and heritage. For example, Grace Dunavan is of Irish heritage. I named her after Amazing Grace, a local nun who advocates for the homeless in our community. Druzilla Horvath is a Hungarian Gypsy by birth. I picked her first name because I wanted the nuns who raised her to mis-pronounce her name as Droo-zheela; Horvath is a common Hungarian name. Rory McElroy is named after my daughter and NOT the current golf phenomena. I hate golf but I like watching Rory on the links. He has a nice . . . swing and an interesting twinkle in his eyes.
Blurb:
Ever think about going back to study hall to face down the school bully?
The mean girls?
The brainless jocks who made your life a pure misery?
For Dru Horvath, gypsy orphan turned Pulitzer Prize winning photo-journalist; Rafe Archangeli, Scourge of Summerville who now heads a multi-million dollar trust; and Fiona “Fat Aggie” Thorpe who recreated herself into an A-list model with her own A-list agency, the opportunity to exact revenge is too good to pass up.
Will they find the vengeance they crave?
Or something more valuable? Buy Links:
Excerpt:
“Tough way to find out about the other woman.”
“Other woman, hell,” Dru groused. “The assistant was some young stud from Tommy's gym with abs to die for.”
With that. she side-stepped him and reached for the knob on the bathroom door.
Fast on his feet, Rory's counter move brought them nose to nose. “Play much poker, Horvath?”
“I don't know what you mean.”
“Before you started trash talking the cheating ex-husband, your face lit up like the Fourth of July. That tells me you've got something stashed in the tote. Until you let me look inside, it stays out here.”
Clutching the canvas tote to her chest, she sneered, “The only thing in here is my outfit for tonight's event. If you think I'd go 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. “How about I close my eyes if I encounter any lacy unmentionables?”
“As if.”
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.”
Legal nurse consultant, victim advocate, sexual assault nurse examiner Kat Henry Doran and her alter ego, Veronica Lynch, has been there and done that--many times over. She often travels to the wilds of Northern New York State, witnessing the wonders of mother nature at her best. From the shores of Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River to the historic Adirondack and Catskill Mountains, she creates stories featuring strong women and the men who love them.
When not writing, she can be found lashed to one of her sewing machines--or chauffeuring the four brightest stars in her life: Meredith and Ashlin, Owen and Kieran.For more information on Kat and Veronica, go to:
- Email: WildWomenAuthors@gmail.com
- Blog:WildWomenAuthorsx2.blogspot.com
- Goodreads: Goodreads.com/author/show/2905614.Kat_Henry_Doran
- Facebook: Facebook.com/WildWomenAuthors
- Amazon: amazon.com/Kat-Henry-Doran/e/BO1M5861P7
- Pinterest: Pinterest.com/KatHenryDoran
- Twitter: @Kathenrydoran1
Hi, Jana
ReplyDeletethanks so much for having me and Vengeance Is Mine on your lively blog this week. I enjoyed your questions. They're different and made me think. That's a good thing for me.
Best wishes!
Thank you so much for sharing :)
ReplyDelete