Monday, February 4, 2013

Katherine Logan - Next Big Thing

My writer friend, Clive Eaton, recently tagged me for a blog hop entitled ‘The Next Big Thing'. The deal is: I answer a few questions about my current work-in-progress, then I invite other authors to do the same. Clive was tagged previously by Rachel Amphlett.

I hope you’ll visit their websites, read their books, and follow them on Twitter. Their answers will be posted on their blogs on February 15, along with the names of the authors they’ve tagged. Look for #BlogNextBigThing.

The authors I’ve chosen have, along with Clive and Rachel, been tagged below my answers.


The Next Big Thing from Katherine Logan.

THE LAST MACKLENNA

Contemporary Romance


Author: Katherine Logan

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Work in Progress - Award winning previews

From the bluegrass pastures of Central Kentucky, to the glens of Callander, Scotland, to the vineyards in the Napa Valley, baby boomers Elliott McGregor Frasier and Meredith Montgomery find love and take risks in the last season of their lives.
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Author Genre: Romance, Mystery & Thrillers - Time Travel

Website: Katherine Lowry Logan
Author's Blog: Katherine Lowry Logan's Notes from Tabor Lane
Twitter: @KathyLLogan
E-Mail: Kathy.Logan@insightbb.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
LinkedIn: Check Out LinkedIn
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Pinterest: Check Out Pinterest


Author Description:
Katherine was born the second of five children to a Presbyterian Pastor and a stay-at-home mom. She came of age in Louisville, Kentucky, during the tumultuous 1960s. Sit-in's, bra burnings, the sexual revolution, pot, campus unrest, and the Vietnam War were brought vividly to life by Walter Cronkite on the CBS Evening News. While the rest of the world seemed to spin out of control, Katherine spun stories in her head.

College, marriage, and two daughters kept the muse simmering on the back burner. She worked as a real estate and tax paralegal in a law firm in central Kentucky, and was actively involved in the life of her community.

It wasn't until the nest was empty that she sat down to write full-time. Life, as it often does, brought tragedy and a screeching halt to her writing. Her husband, best friend, and lover died unexpectedly. Healing was a slow process, but two weddings and five grandchildren have a way of putting life into perspective. Following the birth of her second grandchild, she found her writer's voice again.

Katherine lives in Lexington, Kentucky and is blessed with a wonderful and supportive family and circle of friends. They have encouraged her and celebrated each and every step of her journey.

Questions and Answers with the Author

What is the working title of your next book?

The Last MacKlenna

Where did the idea come from for the book?

The heroine in THE RUBY BROOCH is Kit MacKLenna. Her godfather is Elliott Fraser. Elliott played his supporting role so well that he got the next book, which was supposed to go to Braham McCabe, best friend to the hero (Cullen Montgomery) in THE RUBY BROOCH.


Elliott got his way for a couple of reasons. Braham’s story is a Civil War story, which takes place during the same time frame as the recently released movie LINCOLN. If I had known of the movie’s release, I might have ignored Elliott’s demand. But at the time, all I heard was that Civil War stories weren’t selling. The second reason is that I fell in love with Elliott and had to write his story. Although this book isn’t part of the Celtic Brooch Trilogy, it is a sequel to THE RUBY BROOCH.


The story is a romantic suspense about Dr. Elliott Fraser, a fifty-year-old vet with as many emotional scars as physical ones. When the story opens, he’s just been released from the hospital following a fifth surgery on his leg. He’s on his way to Edinburgh for the holidays. He gets news that there’s a problem with his $25,000,000 Thoroughbred who is returning home to Kentucky after standing stud in New South Wales.

Meredith Montgomery is president of a 160-year-old winery in Napa. The winery is intending to celebrate its anniversary with the release a new label. Meredith discovers a lump and fears she might have another breast cancer. While waiting for the pathology report, she is encouraged not to cancel her genealogy trip to the National Archives in Edinburgh.

Elliott and Meredith met at a B&B owned by Elliott’s long-time friends. They are enchanted with each other and spend the Christmas holiday lost in a romantic adventure.

When Elliott’s horse is killed, he rushes back to his farm. He invites Meredith to stop in Kentucky on her way back to California to spend New Year’s Eve, but Elliott’s fears and stress push her away. She returns home to face her own problems: cancer and the winery’s celebration.

The bond, however, that developed while they were in Edinburgh pulls them back together, but that bond is stretched and twisted by events that force them to deal with their misconceptions about what is most important in their lives.

What genre does your book fall under?

Romantic Suspense

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Elliott Fraser – Mark Harmon
Meredith Montgomery – Diane Lane
David – Gerald Butler
Kevin – Michael Weatherly
Louise – Meryl Streep
Evelyn – Helen Hunt


What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

I’ll give you two loglines. One tells Meredith’s story and the other tells Elliott’s:

The president of a Napa Valley winery has a detailed to-do list to follow to insure the successful launch of her new vine but breast cancer and a handsome Scotsman complicate her life.

The CEO of a multi-million dollar Thoroughbred farm is recovering from leg surgery when someone kills his prized stallion, which jeopardizes his leg, his job, and ultimately his one shot at happiness with the owner of a California winery battling breast cancer.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

This story was very successful on the romance writers contest circuit, garnering requests from agents and editors, but I’ve decided to self-publish.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

It probably took 4-6 months of writing time to get the first draft on paper. But those months were spread out over a year while I concentrated on the release and marketing of The Ruby Brooch.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I’m a huge fan of both Elizabeth Lowell and Sandra Brown. Their books are a delightful mix of romance and suspense. I think THE LAST MACKLENNA is in the same vein

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

The inspiration came from writing Elliott into the story line of THE RUBY BROOCH.

What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?

Meredith has breast cancer. When I started the story my sister-in-law had been battling the disease for ten years. After finishing the first draft, my other two sisters-in-law had mastectomies. At that point, the story became even more personal and for a while, I couldn’t write. My sister-in-law, Sally Manning, lost her courageous battle on October 29, 2012. This book is dedicated to her valiant fight.


Author's Book List
The Ruby Brooch
And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. ~Anaïs Nin

Can a 21st century paramedic find her heart's desire on the other side of time?

From the white-plank fenced pastures of Lexington, Kentucky, to the beautiful Bay of San Francisco, The Ruby Brooch, a saga steeped in family tradition and mystery, follows a young woman's journey as she searches for the truth on the other side of the heather-scented mist.

As the lone survivor of a car crash that killed her parents, paramedic Kit MacKlenna makes a startling discovery that further alters her life. A faded letter and a well-worn journal reveal that she was abandoned as a baby and the only clues to her identity are a blood-splattered shawl, a locket that bears a portrait of a nineteenth-century man, and a Celtic brooch with mystical powers.

After studying the journal, she decides to continue her father's twenty-year search for her identity and solve her birth parents' murders. For safety reasons, she adopts the persona of the Widow MacKlenna. Although a perfect cover for her eccentric behavior, she will be forced to lie and MacKlennas don't lie, or so she thought. Finally, dressed and packed, she utters the incantation inscribed on the ancient stone and is swept back to Independence, Missouri, in the year 1852.

Upon arriving in the past, she meets Cullen Montgomery, an egotistical Scotsman with a penchant for seducing widows. The San Francisco-bound lawyer happens to resemble the ghost who has haunted Kit since childhood. She quickly finds the Bach-humming, Shakespeare-quoting man to be over-bearing and his intolerance for liars threatens her quest.

If she can survive his accusations and resist his tempting embrace for seventy-three days, she might be able to find the answers she seeks, and return home to a new life without changing history or leaving her heart on the other side of time.
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Order the Book From: Amazon - Barnes and Noble
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THE EMERALD BROOCH



Work in Progress

The sweeping love story of Adam Hughes Barrett and Taylor Rebecca Johnston. Can two U.S. Senators find compromise when they walk the halls of Congress in two different centuries?





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THE SAPPHIRE BROOCH


Work in Progress

From the re-enactment of the Civil War’s Battle of Cedar Creek, to the 19th Century White House, to the vineyards in Napa Valley, this story follows Major Michael Abraham “Braham” McCabe and Dr. Charlotte Marie Mallory through the turnstile of time as two people from different centuries find a place to share their timeless love.



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The authors I’ve tagged are:

M.A. Granovsky @Mgranovsky
Michael Gunter @Michael_Gunter
Jeff Joseph @author_Jeff
Eryn LaPlant @erynalicia
James Moushon @jimhbs
Christina Tetreault @cgricci
Elizabeth Wilder @eewilder
SuzannaWilliams @suzannawriter


Author Invited by: Clive Eaton
Original Post: Katherine Logan Blog - The Next Big Thing

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