Interview with Kat Jorgensen

Today we get to meet Kat Jorgensen and get a taste for her humorous writing as she tours and talks about her book Your Eight O’Clock Is Dead.

Bio:
A notorious daydreamer, Kat knew it was only a matter of time before she became a writer. She learned to read by age four and had her first library card before her fifth birthday. To this day, she can lose herself for hours among the books at her local library or neighborhood bookstore. Ebooks and online ordering have made it really easy for her to keep her To Be Read pile from ever going down. A native of Richmond, Virginia, Kat is married with children and has a cranky tuxedo cat named Ben.

Please tell us about your current release, Your Eight O'Clock Is Dead.
A lovable screw-up finds a patient murdered in the psychiatric firm’s waiting room where she works. Convinced the bad publicity from the murder will cause the demise of the fledgling firm, she appoints herself unofficial investigator and finds a host of quirky characters who could have done it. But can she solve the crime, bring the killer to justice, save her job - and maybe even her life - before the murderer strikes again?

What inspired you to write this book?
My husband and I had been through some major health challenges and up until then I was writing romantic suspense. Dark and scary stories. After all we’d been through, I decided I wanted to switch genres and have some light-hearted fun killing people and solving the murders. Out of this came my main character, Becca Reynolds. Becca is a lot like me. A younger, thinner version of me with much better hair.

She holds a job very similar to one I once held. As I came up with her personality traits and quirks, I also asked myself what would happen if this character was running late and chattering away and all the while a dead person was sitting in the office. And my imagination took it from there.

What exciting story are you working on next?
I’m working on book 2 in the same series. Your Time Is Up will continue the misadventures of Becca, her grandad, and all of the supporting characters you get to know in Your Eight O’Clock Is Dead. In the upcoming book, murder is once again associated with a Daley & Palmer patient, er, client! Dang - I’m as bad as Becca. I’ll never get that right. The book should be out in the spring. The next book in the series will be Your Lights Are Out and will be set at holiday time. It’s due out in the fall of 2012. Someone is found strangled with the lights from the firm’s Christmas tree around their neck. I have the tentative cover for this book and it has Higgins, the cat in the series, dragging the string of lights out of the picture. Becca will have plenty to do in both books and she’ll be learning things about the other characters in the book.

Becca just loves investigating. Despite what everyone else thinks, she thinks she’s very capable with her detective skills.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Once I decided to write a full-length novel and was pursuing publication seriously, I considered myself a writer. That’s been about 10 years or so now.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I write full-time and also have a part-time medical billing business. I try to write first thing in the day. I used to save it for when the family had gone to bed and I had quiet time. But for me, that’s not practical. I need a sharp mind when I write, and I’m sharpest in the morning. After I get the writing done, I check in on Twitter, Facebook, and try to keep up with industry news. If I have any research I need to do, I get that in. I brainstorm scenes and as things come to me about the series, I jot them down. Nothing is wasted. I try to stay in contact with my writer friends by email, and I take online classes to keep my skills sharp and add to my writer’s tool box. I also read a lot.

I believe that writing is a choice. You have to make it a priority or it will not get done. You’ll be one of those writers who “want” to write. The goal each day is to write.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I have a mug that I found at Barnes & Noble. One side says Off Duty and the reverse side says On Duty. I turn the On Duty side to face out whenever I’m writing. It’s my clue to me that I’m in writer mode. And a clue to the family that I’m working.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A queen or a star. LOL. It took awhile for me to realize that I wasn’t of noble birth and that my chances of marrying a King were not that good. As for a star, I have no acting talent. None.

I also wanted to be a writer. That one is working out nicely. : )

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
Just that I appreciate the chance to share some information about my book and myself. I’m a virtual unknown, and it’s going to be through word of mouth that my books reach readers. I hope your blog readers will take a chance on Becca and the gang and on me.

Thank you so much for having me as your guest today.

It's been my pleasure, Kat. Your writing sounds fun.

Readers, Kat is giving away an e-book to a lucky commentor at every stop along her virtual tour. So comment here (and leave your e-mail) for a chance to win. Also feel free to check out her other tour dates and stops and leave more comments.