Getting to know you Thursdays with Katy Lee

Please welcome Katy Lee to my blog today. I have gotten to know Katy on an email loop I am on.

1. Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Hello Jenny and Jenny's readers! Thank you for having me on your blog today. I am Katy Lee, an Inspirational Romantic Suspense author, homeschooling mom, and Children's Ministry Director. I love to travel at the drop of a hat, and will go just about anywhere. I usually read about four different books at once, one of them being a nonfiction so I am always learning. I love to learn and keep my mind growing, and I love it when my children "get" something. Seeing that light bulb go on in their minds brings me joy! I write stories of love, from romantic tales of falling in love to the greatest love story ever told. My favorite scripture is from 3 John 1:4, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." And when I write, I write with the purpose that this is not just for my children, but for all of God's children. 

3. Do you have a favourite Genre to both read and right write?
I love a good romantic suspense, which is why I write in this genre, but I also love romantic comedies. I REALLY wish I could write one, but when I try, I second guess everything and question if my character is very funny or just pathetic. And who wants to read about a patheric character? So I will stick to Romantic Suspense. It's hard to be pathetic when you're being chased down.
I also love stories that offer a message to the reader, so writing in the Inspirational genre allows me to do just that. With the suspense, romance and life issues, my stories can be an emotional rollercoaster, but they leave the reader smiling and even enlightened. I love that!

 4. Did you have favourite authors growing up who have influenced you?
I read so much that I didn't keep track of particular authors, at least not until my teen years. Then I would find an author I liked and hunt down every book they ever wrote, and I would not move on to another author until I succeeded. One of my favorites to hunt was Catherine Anderson's books.

5. When did you know you wanted to be an author?
I wrote my first story when I was in the fifth grade. I fell in love with the ability to create a character who had many of the same conflicts I did, but she was able to overcome them. She said the things I always wanted to say. She went where I always wanted to go. I felt victorious through her.

6. How did you go about becoming an author?
Well, I'm fairly new to becoming published, but I would say what took me from writing stories to holding a published book in my hand was joining RWA. I'm not good at the business side of things, and this organization and the many authors willing to share what they know, helped me take my manuscript and turn it into a book.

7. If you were not a writer what would you like to be?
I'm not afraid of trying new things, which is why I am a very busy lady. I tend to take on too many responsibilities, but it makes life fun and interesting, and I always have something to look forward to. Whatever I learn today, I know God is using it to prepare me for another season in my life.

9. Do you have a place you love to visit or would love to visit?
I love all of Italy. I can't decide on my favorite region, and I look forward to bringing my children some day to see it. I also have a dream of going to Scotland in the next couple years. That is where my ancestry originates, and I think it would be interesting. My dad actually has a book dating our family back to the 1400's. It would be so very cool to travel to some of the places they lived in. And of course, what's not to like about castles?

Finally can you tell us about your current books and/or any that will
be coming out soon. Also where we can find you on the web.
I currently have one book out now and three more coming.

Real Virtue was written about a heroine who is a gamer and takes her gaming a little too far. In Real Virtue, the story opens with my heroine, Mel Mesini, reaching the highest level in this online interactive game she plays. A game that promises her a life she can love. She’s playing while she is supposed to be working. She plays because she doesn’t feel so great about her real life. She plays because it’s a world she can control.

Or so she thinks.

During my research, I read many interviews with gamers, mostly teens and young adults, where they admit to preferring their virtual lives over their real ones. Video games can become super appealing, especially if their real life is not so great. In a game, a player can zap out of a situation they don’t like. They can’t do that in real life. In a game, a player is rewarded for beating the next level or quest. In real life, it’s hard to accomplish things, and even when you do, people don’t always notice, or for some, care.

  

But let me reassure you, though, that you don't need to be tech savvy to read this book. The online portion is minimal, and it really is a small town romance with page-turning suspense. Here's the Back Cover Synopsis of Real Virtue to show you:

In a virtual reality game where she can fly, someone’s aiming to take her down.

Mel Mesini is a New York City restaurateur and an avid, virtual reality world traveler. She’s risen above her misfit life and now bears a striking resemblance to her glamorous, gaming avatar. But her successful life—both online and in reality—takes a swerve the night her father is seriously injured in a hit-and-run. Mel is careened back to her judgmental hometown, where being the daughter of the town’s crazy lady had made her the outcast she was. To make matters worse, Officer Jeremy Stiles, the man whose harsh, rejecting words had cut her the deepest, is heading the investigation.

Jeremy knows he hurt Mel and attempts to make amends by finding her father’s assailant. When he realizes she’s the actual target, his plan for reconciliation turns to one of protection—whether she wants his help or not. What he wants is answers, especially about this online game she plays. Is it a harmless pastime as she says? Or is she using it to cover something up? As a faceless predator destroys the things that matter to her, Jeremy knows he’s running out of time before she loses the one thing that matters most—her real life.

Trailer for Real Virtue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80SHCdt8hYg

 And don't miss my next release! Warning Signs, a Love Inspired Suspense, will come out in October this year, and I have two more coming in 2014. Check out my website www.KatyLeeBooks.com  for updates and social connections. I am on facebook, Twitter, GoodReads, and I'm becoming a Pinterest convert. I would love to connect with you all!