Today, I’m interviewing a fellow Cupid’s Cafe author. If you enjoyed Exactly Like You, step back into that mystical matchmaking environment with Captured Memories.
What inspired you to write this book?
This book leapt out of me in a sweep of pure inspiration. Honestly, it’s thanks to the concept of Cupid’s Café. I loved the idea of writing romances where the hero and heroine are both struggling with real world problems and issues that weren’t getting talked about. While Lori wrote a beautiful book on depression and healing from loss, and Landra’s riveting read featured bipolar disorder and bulimia, I wanted to tackle issues that were near and dear for me. While I’ve never experienced either myself, close women in my life have struggled with the aftermath of assault, and I’ve witnessed friends fight the battle of addiction. Captured Memories is the way I chose to honor the difficult battles those close to me wage every day, and I was so grateful for the opportunity that After Glows and the other Cupid’s Café authors provided in the concept and message of this series.
What do you love most about the writing process?
A couple things. The moment I first start a manuscript is like crack. It’s like the beginning of a relationship, all full of excitement and all the potential in the world. I’m smitten with that moment almost as much as I’m smitten with the point where you write those final lines of your story. Both of those experiences are absolutely exhilarating. After the manuscript is done, I have a favorite aspect of editing too. While writing brain is totally a creative mindset, there’s a different sort of creativity involved with editing that I adore, all the problem solving aspects. In total, despite the times when I’m sitting there staring at a blank page or running through the manuscript to cull extraneous adverbs, the highs of the writing process always outweigh the more tedious things.
What is your writing style? Pantser or Plotter? Pen and paper or computer? Do you write Alone or in public? Music or silence? Goals of certain # of words a week or when inspiration strikes
I’m a notorious pantser. While I’ve gotten a bit better with fleshing out the worldbuilding ahead of time, I prefer not to know much more than a couple chapters ahead of what I’m working on, apart from a couple bullet points with the eventual progression of the story. As I push ahead, the story unfolds on its own, and I end up excited and surprised by the twists and turns along the way. The couple of times I’ve plotted in entirety, the stories end up static and I usually don’t finish them. As for where I write—always, always, always alone. As an extrovert, I have no focus when other people are around because I want to talk to them! I also have individual soundtracks for each manuscript I work on, because that helps me sink into the scene as well. I keep myself to rigorous writing goals every week, which works so, so well for me. If I waited until inspiration struck, I’d never get any writing done because the more I stay in the groove, even on the tough days, the more it becomes reflex.
Tell us a little about your plans for the future. Where do you see yourself as a writer in five years?
This is one of my favorite questions, but also an intimidating one since there’s always so much out of my control. I love thinking about the future and love making future plans, however, a large portion of your career trajectory is entirely out of your control. There’s so much in the hands of publishers, agents, readers, etc when it comes to publishing and finding success with writing. However, one of the ways I continue plugging ahead is by continuing to work on the stories most important to me. My immediate plans for the next couple years are to finish my Take to the Skies series, a steampunk adventure (one book left!), as well as my Tribal Spirits series, a shifter romance (three or four books left to write!). I’m also hoping to have one of my young adult manuscripts picked up in the next five years so I can work on one of those series! As long as I can keep getting new contracts in the next five years, I’ll be happy.
What made you want to become a writer?
Time for a little real talk. I’ve always been an avid reader, ever since I was a kid. I was also an incredibly shy extrovert with social anxiety, which meant I didn’t have many friends. So, I’ll be honest, my earliest friends were the protagonists I read about in book after countless book. Books became my steadfast companions, ways to be stronger, and braver, and more ferocious than I could ever imagine in real life, and the escape to fantastical realms was always one I treasured. From an early age, the only thing I ever wanted to be was an author. That has always been one constant in my life and my direction from an early age. There are so many stories I want to tell, and so many people I want to reach. Even though I’ve overcome my shyness and social anxiety over the years, writing remains my favorite avenue to connect.
Captured Memories (Cupid’s Cafe #3)
An invitation to Cupid’s Café will change your life.
After the incident that caused Liv Morozov to drop out of college, years later she’s still trying to pick up the pieces of her life. She’s managed to carve out a career for herself as a photographer, but when it comes to guys? Her issues send them running for the hills, every damn time.
Zane Parata has declared himself off-limits for relationships. Between trying to maintain sobriety and the long hours he works as a chef, no one wants to deal with his brand of damage, and he wouldn’t want to burden them in the first place.
When Liv shows up at Cupid’s Café, she never expected to find Zane, her brother’s former best friend who had vanished one day and never returned. The sparks that surged when they were both teens rekindle stronger than ever, and all too fast, Liv and Zane entangle in each other’s lives, breaking their own rules. Except with both struggling with the demons from their past, the love that’s begun to grow is one lapse away from shattering the two of them beyond repair.
Goodreads | Amazon
Excerpt
The date started as bland and was speeding right along to abysmal.
Liv sucked on her straw, taking in an extra hefty helping of her black-and-white milkshake, as if the creamy goodness could block out the absolute drivel coming out of this guy’s mouth. He hadn’t seemed like this much of a twat online, but hey, dating profiles lie. The overhead lights of the Denny’s blared down on her, and the rattle and chill of air conditioning blasting through this place made her skin prickle.
“So you take photographs, right?” Kyle asked, his smarmy grin the kind she itched to punch off his face, and the Drakkar Noir he’d slathered on making her stomach churn. “What’s your real job?”
Liv swigged so much milkshake it went straight to her head, but even brain freeze melted in the fury his question inspired. So far he checked off every item on her ‘Shit that Makes Liv Morozov Rage’ list. Acting like her career wasn’t a legitimate profession tended to top that, along with the territorial way he leaned forward, his hand inching across the laminate table as the minutes wore on.
“Professional Emasculator. I’ve been told that’s why I’ve got such a problem keeping a man,” she drawled, batting her eyelashes innocently while the venom poured from her mouth. This had been a bad idea from the start, spurred on by the promise she made to Tessa to give the dating pool a fair try again. Common sense-wise, making connections she might be able to use for her quite-real job as a photographer didn’t hurt, and she figured she could slice through any assholes who came her way.
Looked like right off the bat they lined up for the slaughter.
Author Info
Strong women. Strong words.
Katherine McIntyre is a feisty Irish chick with a big attitude despite her short stature. She writes stories featuring snarky women, ragtag crews, and men with bad attitudes—high chance for a passionate speech thrown into the mix. As an eternal geek and tomboy who’s always stepped to her own beat, she’s made it her mission to write stories that represent the broad spectrum of people out there, from different cultures and races to all varieties of men and women. Easily distracted by cats and sugar.
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