The Romance Reader's Connection

NOVEMBER AUTHOR OF THE MONTH

 

 

 

Kathryn Shay 

 

Click on cover to purchase book.

by 

Debora Hosey

 

Harlequin SuperRomance author Kathryn Shay has a new single title contemporary romance out this month, AFTER THE FIRE, published by Berkley Sensation.

Debora: What brought you to writing and especially the romance genre?

Kathryn: I wanted to be a writer since I was in high school. It was my plan to go to the big city after college and write. Then I did practice teaching (my mother insisted I take teaching as a backup) and I fell in love with the profession. So I detoured, and have had a wonderfully satisfying career in education. I wrote during all those years, though--short stories, essays and poems--but when I started to read romance (around the age of forty--do you think that's coincidental?) I thought, "I love this genre. And I can write this." I still love the genre because it empowers women so much, shows how love is at the center of everything and that people can work out their problems if they try hard enough.

Debora: Can you tell us about your writing routine? Do the characters or the plot come first? Since you work full-time, you must really be disciplined!

Kathryn: Usually the profession comes first. Or the situation. For example, I'd like to do a story about a female judge. Then the character comes. Hmm, she could be married/divorced from an attorney and the competition broke them up. What if they're thrown together....This is usually how the story generates for me.

Yes, I'm disciplined. I've always had to be, since I've been a teacher all my writing life. I can do a rough draft of a scene at a swim meet, in the car going to Toronto, in the half-hour I have before dinner. Many writers will tell you they have to have a chunk of time to get anything done. I've never had that luxury. But I will, pretty soon--I'll be retiring from teaching in June 2004.

Debora: You've been a teacher all your professional life. What has teaching brought to you as a writer?
Kathryn: Patience, for one thing. Working with 150 teenagers each day really develops that trait. Empathy. Kids can have such deep problems, my heart goes out to them. Friendship. I have colleagues whom I've taught with for 30 plus years, and they are my best friends. And of course, discipline...

Debora: Your heroes are ordinary men, firefighters, policemen, teachers, and doctors. They're definitely not sheiks or cowboys. What draws you to this type of hero?

Kathryn: I'm drawn to the quiet heroes, who make a huge difference in everyday life. I want to write about men and women who are like all of us, but do extraordinary things--give their all to teaching kids, cure the sick, both physically and emotionally, protect our children and families, walk into burning buildings to save others, knowing they may lose their own lives.

I also like the cliché, the strong silent type of man. I love creating heroes who are dragged out of their comfort zone by women who drive them crazy but they just can't live without them.

And finally, I like to write about flawed characters--people like you and me who snap at each other, get tired of their responsibilities, and occasionally do foolish things. I also like to write about people who make serious mistakes in their lives and their relationships, but are able to redeem themselves.

Debora: AFTER THE FIRE begins the Hidden Cove trilogy. You really researched these books, didn't you? Can you tell us a bit of what you did, and what struck you the most in your research?
Kathryn: When I wrote my Harlequin firefighter books, I worked with my local city fire department of about 500 firefighters. I met with them, visited their station houses, ate meals with them and rode their trucks. They opened up a lot and helped me with all my plots. This time around, I went back to the firehouses and rode a specialty truck, the Rescue Squad, which is the group in my trilogy. I also met with the fire chief (book two is about the chief) and I went back to the fire academy to learn about Weapons of Mass Destruction and what the fire department is responsible for now. (Believe me, that was sobering.) The books center on a camp that America's bravest and finest start for the children of rescue personnel killed in the line of duty. There's a renown camp here in my hometown that puts on similar camps and I spent a week volunteering there in the summer. As you can see, I love hands on research, and getting to know these terrific people.

Debora: Who are your favorite writers both within romance and outside the genre?

Kathryn: Nora Roberts, LaVryle Spencer, Susan Elizabeth Philips in romance. Outside of romance, Judith Guest's ORDINARY PEOPLE is my favorite book (I teach it to my seniors.) I admire Ray Bradbury's poetic grace.

Debora: What's in the pipeline? Any more Serenity House books?

Kathryn: Right now, I'm finishing the last of the HC trilogy for Berkley. Next for them I'd like to do the female judge book and a book about kids in gangs (just can't seem to get away from those teens!) I'm working on a new three book contract for Harlequin, one about a college that houses the training camp for a sports team (like the Buffalo Bills here), one about a soup kitchen (like the one I work at in the summers) and one about a woman with a past that her husband knows nothing about. I do intend to do the other three Serenity House books. I've gotten tons of reader mail asking for Jade, Charly and Taylor to have their own books. I've already discussed this with my HQ editor. Also, I enjoyed writing the chick-lit book that will be released by Berkley as a two part anthology in November and May. My contribution will be excerpted in the November issue of COSMOPOLITAN magazine, by the way. I'd like to do more things in that genre.

 Debora: You write category, Harlequin SuperRomance, and single-title. Will you continue to write both?

Kathryn: Yes, I plan to continue to do both. I like the shorter format, and find it challenging. Plus, Harlequin has always allowed me to do pretty edgy stories. I like the longer books too, and the fact that I can portray really flawed characters, like the former spouse abuser in TRUST IN ME.

Debora: What is the best compliment a reader could give you about your writing?

Kathryn: I have two, really. The first is that she stayed up all night or too late because she couldn't put my book down. The second is that she cried.

Debora: Most writers say that their favorite book is the one they're working on at the time. Besides the current one, what's your favorite? <g>

Kathryn: COP OF THE YEAR was my favorite Superromance. I loved those characters and really wanted them to end up happily. Plus, everything worked in that book for me. (Is it a coincidence that the heroine is an English teacher?)

The third book of the Hidden Cove trilogy is my favorite of the three. I've cried writing so many of the scenes and I feel so bad for one of the heroes. I'm not sure I'd write this book if I had to do it over again. I think I'm too emotionally involved.

Debora: Is there anything you'd like to say to a first-time reader, or any of your readers?
Kathryn: I appreciate your support. I am continually astounded by the kind words you send my way. And I hope I've influenced your lives.

Thank you, Kathryn, for spending time with us. Best of luck in your writing career! You may visit Kathryn Shay's website at: http://www.kathrynshay.com/

(Click here for a review of AFTER THE FIRE)

 

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