Welcome to Writer Wednesday!

This week we’ve been graced with a visit from the lovely Kathryn Barrett, author of contemporary romance. Kathryn and I met in person at the Love Between The Covers romance conference, and I’m delighted we’ve continued our acquaintance online in the time since.

Here she shares with us answers to three writerly-related questions, and tells us about her newest release.

Name one interesting thing you learned in researching/writing your last book.

For my last book, Redemption, I had to learn about the two careers of my main characters. Claire worked in a department store and Matt was a film actor/director. So I finally put my business degree to good work as I imagined what those board meetings would be like, with talk of same-store sales, marketing campaigns, etc. (and yes, much of it was left on the cutting room floor, so to speak!). I also learned about the film industry and the technical details of filming. It was fun figuring out how this beautiful, fictitious department store in Philadelphia could be utilized as a film location!

What one piece of advice do you wish you’d had when first starting out?

I wish I’d known that knowing grammar and basic writing skills wasn’t enough. I’d written loads of non-fiction: articles, essays, and I totally kicked butt writing papers in college. But when I tried to write fiction, I had to learn a whole new way of writing, and just knowing how to construct a sentence didn’t cut it. Plotting, characterization, scene structure, and so much more goes into writing a novel—but fortunately I found many books on the craft of writing fiction that helped.

What’s your favorite romance novel of all time, and why?

I would have to say Paradise by Judith McNaught. I picked it up in the base exchange when my husband was serving overseas and I had two toddlers at home. I stayed up all night reading it, laughing, crying, and then laughing again. I was so emotionally affected by that book that I was determined I would write a book that would touch someone else the same way.

Kathryn’s Latest release:

Redemption is the story of a relationship that re-blossoms ten years after it ends in disaster—a disaster that was filmed in Technicolor, as it unfolded on a movie set. Now Claire Porter has just started a new job as CFO of a Philadelphia department store chain when she learns that a film company wants to use the flagship store as a location for their new film. She is determined to keep this from happening, and to keep the star of the film, Matt Grayson, out of her—and her son’s—life.

Find Kathryn at her website, on Facebook, or on Twitter, or check out her Amazon page.

Thanks so much for spending time with us, Kathryn!