A Passion for Romance: Author, author... Temporarily Employed by Vicki Batman + a Kate Spade #giveaway

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Author, author... Temporarily Employed by Vicki Batman + a Kate Spade #giveaway

...read all about her !!

It’s All About the Author…

1) Please tell us 5 interesting facts about yourself that readers might not know about you …

Oldest of 4 daughters.

My sisters are blonde, blue-eyes, and 5’4”—I’m not!

My cat is twenty-one years old.

I play mahjong almost every Monday.

I had pneumonia so badly at age 9, I was home from school for a month.

2) What do you like to do in your spare time?

Needlepoint, read, play mahjong, Jazzercise every day.

3) Is there one book that you love to read over and over again? If so, what is it and what is it that keeps you coming back to it?

Every so often, I reread Madam, Will You Talk by Mary Stewart. A war widow travels to the south of France and encounters a young boy who is possibly kidnapped by his father. I love the story, the time period—after WW2—how the romance develops between the hero and heroine, who really is/are the bad guy/s, and the setting.

4) How did you get started writing and have you always wanted to be an author?

I began ten years ago when a friend challenged me. I showed her what I’d done and she said, “Keep going.” I did. I really wanted to be an author after I read a whole slew of Dick Francis mysteries. Alas, I wasn’t English and didn’t know squat about horseracing.

5) If you for some reason couldn’t be an author, what would your other choice be?

Possibly have my own home store.

6) Did you like school? Were you a good student?

I liked it most of the time. I believe I was pigeon-holed as average, possibly because I started school so young. I liked college a whole lot more.

7) When you write, is there a specific way you have to write, ie: certain room, noise or quiet, computer or paper etc…

I sit at my lovely desk with a large window to my right that looks out at my groomed front yard with two large oak trees. Beyond them is the street. I mostly listen to classical guitar because lyrics tend to play with my brain. Sometimes, I listen to classical music and sometimes, Simply Frank. I always listen to Christmas music.

8) If you could write a collaboration with another author, do you have one in mind and what would you write?

I just don’t know. A friend said something so off-the-wall when we were up late, chatting at RWA and her comment struck that could be a good hook. We tease about writing one.

9) How do you come up with your story ideas?

Usually, dialogue. Something goes bing! And I do a dialogue run. I have to edit and polish a lot.

10) Do titles stump you or do they come easy? When do you pick a title, before the story is written or when it’s done?

Titles can come and not come. Very frustrating. I had a hard time naming my holiday story. But from the on-set, I knew Temporarily Employed would be named such.

11) Do you keep a notebook near you for when new ideas pop into your head?

I always have a pad at my left hand for things to remember. Everything goes there. It’s my second memory as the first one blinks off and on occasionally.

12) If you write a series, do you re-read your previous books before you begin the new one?

I don’t write a series –yet. I do have to have continuity, however, as my stories are all set in the same town.

13) How does your family feel about your writing?

My sons roll their eyes. Handsome has read one thing. My sisters tell everyone.

Thanks for sharing “you as an author” with us ! We hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

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Temporarily Employed

Vicki Batman

Romantic Comedy/Cozy Mystery, 75k

Released October 17, 2014, The Wild Rose Press

Long Blurb: New Job. New Love. And Murder.

Hattie Cook's dream job is down the toilet and her new SUV violated. Desperate for cash to cover the basic necessities of rent and food, she takes a temporary job at Buy Rite insurance company where she uncovers an embezzling scam tied to the death of a former employee--the very one she replaced. The last thing she wants is to clash with By-the-Book Detective Wellborn, no matter how much he makes her heart pound.

Allan Charles Wellborn has secretly adored Hattie all his life. He evolved from a pocket protector-wearing geek to a handsome police detective. When the police determine there's more to the death of a former Buy Rite employee, he steps in to lead the investigation. Overly dedicated, always perfect, he puts his job first, even if doing so ultimately hurts the one he loves.

Can the killer be found before Hattie's time is up?

Buy Links: Amazon B&N The Wild Rose Press

Excerpt:

“Yuck.”

Pretty much covered the whole freakin’ day.

A blinding red-white, red-white strobe, reflected in my brand new Wrangler’s rearview mirror, seized my attention. The police. I tossed my hands skyward, ready to surrender. I shouldn’t have been too surprised. Like I'd commented this a.m. to my roommate, Jenny, “Today, anything’s possible.”

My Bad Day checklist included:

- Crappy job interview, one which might have provided desperately needed income.

- Wore gut-busting panty hose on a hot day which had now worked past my waist and strangled my diaphragm.

- A barely blowing air conditioner indicated something had malfunctioned in my new, fun car.

I stole another glance in the mirror, and with great reluctance, flipped the right turn indicator. My vehicle coasted to a stop on the shoulder of Boston Avenue in my hometown of Sommerville, a nice suburb located between two large cities. Four lanes of cars and trucks zipped by as I sat there where every single one of my family, friends, friends’ friends, and their friends—including Rat Fink Suzanne—would see a police vehicle positioned right behind mine. Gleefully, drivers would chant the “Ha-ha, got you, not me” ditty.

How embarrassing.

After killing the engine, I flopped back in the seat. Shooting the morons the finger was an idea. Nah. I'm too exhausted to care.

A litany of: "No, not hiring." "Just filled the position." "You're over qualified." "You're under qualified…" tornadoed through my head. Coupled with the intense job search through various outlets like the internet and completing numerous online employment applications, no wonder my body had been depleted of all life force.

Not even a breeze blew to take the edge off the unbearable summertime heat. Tangled wild trees and dry scrubby bushes banked the roadside. The grass had taken on a scorched look. Rolling down the driver’s window, I surveyed my surroundings. Nothing great. Nothing new.

I stole a glance in the side mirror at the policeman who strode purposefully along the shoulder. The gravel crunched under his boots. He looked huge, probably because his uniform, which appeared to be bulked with a bullet-proof vest, made him resemble a buffed-up superhero in size. Exceedingly intimidating.

Sigh. When things went wrong, they were really wrong.

Author bio:

Like some of her characters, award-winning author, Vicki Batman has worked a wide variety of jobs including lifeguard, ride attendant at an amusement park; a hardware store, department store, book store, antique store clerk; administrative assistant in an international real estate firm; and a general “do anything gal” at a financial services firm--the list is endless.

Writing for several years, she has completed three manuscripts, written essays, and sold many short stories to TRUE LOVE, TRUE ROMANCE, TRUE CONFESSIONS, NOBLE ROMANCE PUBLISHING, LONG AND SHORT REVIEWS, MUSEITUP PUBLISHING, and THE WILD ROSE PRESS. She is a member of RWA and several writing groups and chapters. In 2004, she joined DARA and has served in many capacities, including 2009 President. DARA awarded her the Robin Teer Memorial Service Award in 2010.

Most days begin with her hands set to the keyboard and thinking "What if??"

Find Vicki at:

Website: http://vickibatman.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1ipdLkv

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VickiBatman

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/vickibatman

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4814608.Vicki_Batman

Author Central: https://www.amazon.com/author/vickibatman

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=116288777&trk=hb_tab_pro_top

Google+: bit.ly/1zUggDF

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/vickibatman

Plotting Princesses: http://plottingprincesses.blogspot.com