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Kathleen wrote her first book in the first grade. It was a shameless derivative story about Dick and Jane, and was at least seven pages long. Her mother loved it. Her first grade teacher, Sister Anna Mary, loved it. But it would be almost three decades before Kathleen attempted another novel.
In the meantime, though, she never stopped writing. She wrote some awful poetry in high school, working through the typical hormonal overreaction to having her heart broken by "the wrong boy." After college, she took a newspaper job, and she eventually worked her way up to the position of television critic before throwing it all over to follow her heart, and her husband, a fellow journalist, to make a home in Miami. When her first child was born, and her life began to consist of cleaning up after small creatures who didn't understand indoor plumbing, she decided she had to go back to writing. But she couldn't bear to leave her amazing little girl, so she turned once again to novels. And because she was a born sentimentalist, and a great believer in romance, she decided to try to write for Harlequin. Today, Kathleen still lives in Florida, still is married to the same extraordinary man, and has two children she adores. Her daughter is a university senior, a musical, magical beauty who has become her best friend. Her son is a witty, wonderful member of the tennis team and a handsome devil whose smile breaks hearts at school, warms hearts at home. Kathleen is a true Cancer, valuing home and friends above everything. She still counts as her most important people her sister, her best friend from childhood, her special buddy from high school, and the friends she has made through the years, among other writers. She has a cockatiel named Lizzie, who terrorizes the other small birds in her office/aviary. She loves flowers, colored cut glass, Mozart ,and Elvis. She is addicted to The X-Files, Dorothy Dunnett novels, and sugarfree Popsicles.
Interview with Kathleen O'Brien |
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 THE STRANGER Harlequin Superromance April 2005 Buy Now
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Writerspace: Kathleen, thanks so much for taking time out of your schedule to chat with me. You've got a terrific book out this month and we'd love to hear more about THE STRANGER please. Could you give us a gist of the premise? Kathleen O'Brien: In THE STRANGER, Tyler Balfour has inherited a third of his father's estate, which more or less means a third of Heyday, Virginia. He doesn't want it--he doesn't want anything from his hound-dog father, who married practically every woman in Heyday except Tyler's mom! And he knows Heyday doesn't want him. Two years ago, he wrote a Pulitzer-prize winning series about The Heyday Eight, a prostitution ring at the local college. It created a scandal the town has never recovered from. Now he's writing a book about the Eight, and the only thing he wants from Heyday is information. Mallory Rackham, who desperately wants to keep hidden her family's connection to the Eight, hates to see him coming. He's a hotshot investigative reporter who can easily unearth her secrets. But he's also a McClintock, which means he's sexy enough to steal her heart as well! Writerspace: I understand THE STRANGER is actually the third book in your "Heroes of Heyday" trilogy. The first book, THE SAINT, focused on Bryce's brother, Kieran, and the second book, THE SINNER, featured Bryce's story. Could you tell us something about Please tell us something about THE SAINT and THE SINNER. Kathleen O'Brien: Kieran McClintock was the good son, the one who stuck by his problematic father's side. He stayed to help his hometown, even while he vowed never to repeat his father's mistakes. But, as the cover copy says, there's a little bit of sinner in the heart of every saint. Claire Strickland, who finds herself carrying the "Saint's" baby, knows that all too well! Bryce McClintock was the bad boy who did everything spectacularly wrong. He was brought up to believe that his father was scum, and Heyday was a silly little burg that no one in his right mind would ever choose as home! But when he inherits his third of Heyday, he has to rethink all that. Lara Gilbert, a woman who gave up a budding movie career when she found herself threatened by a stalker, knows that Bryce isn't nearly as wicked as he pretends, and she makes it her mission to help him find the touch of Saint hiding behind the Sinner. Writerspace: I loved Tyler's character. How would you say he's different from each of his brothers and what makes him so special to you to warrant his own book?
Kathleen O'Brien: In the Heroes of Heyday series, I wanted to explore the ways in which the labels people give us affect our lives. We all have them--good child, bad child, smart one, pretty one, lazy one. And of course they're wildly oversimplified, since we're all a little bit of everything. In my family I was known as the "easy" child, largely because I didn't have colic as a baby and therefore slept more and cried less than my older sister had. But the label stuck, and it has a certain self-fulfilling quality. I tried to be good and obedient...and it worked pretty well for about, oh, twelve years!
Writerspace: It was interesting to watch the emotion and the conflict reach a crescendo between Mallory and Tyler. What would you say was the key aspect of Mallory's character that made her the perfect woman for Tyler?
Kathleen O'Brien: Tyler was the one McClintock brother who grew up away from the fray. He didn't even know, until fairly recently, that the gentle, easy-going man who brought him up wasn't his real father. When he discovers that the wild, messy, emotional McClintock family is his true heritage, and the nutty, circus-themed town of Heyday is his home, he is really thrown for a loop! He's accustomed to being the dispassionate, neutral observer--something his days as a reporter helped him perfect. He doesn't want a crazy family or a needy town, or even an intense love affair. But when he hits Heyday, he's going to get all three.
Mallory was the perfect woman for him because she knows how to love. She is deeply involved with her family, and with the town. Everyone calls on her, and she never says no. She has a lot to teach Tyler about the messy job of living, and the dangerous job of loving. She takes risks with her own heart--something he hasn't ever quite learned to do. She helps him to find that, under all that careful neutrality, he's a red-blooded, wild and wonderful McClintock
Writerspace: What's the best piece of advice you've received in your writing career and who gave it to you?
Kathleen O'Brien: In Jerry Cleaver's wonderful how-to book "Immediate Fiction," he reminds us that in every scene the main character must want something, and that the goal must be clearly understood by the reader. That has helped me to focus my writing more than any one other piece of advice. Now I always decide what the "point" of each scene is before I write it. Lots less paper ends up in the trash! *g*
Writerspace: What satisfies you most about writing for Harlequin Superromance? Have you considered branching out into a different sub-genre of romance, perhaps writing longer books?
Kathleen O'Brien: I love Superormance! I love the big feel, the room to explore more complicated themes and subplots and issues. I love having the space to create full worlds like Firefly Glen and Heyday. I love how the characters can become real, because you have room to add layer and texture. But even more I love working for the brilliant, witty, warm and wonderful editors there. My own editor, Laura Shin, is the kind of person you'd like to be stranded on a deserted island with. She's smart and funny and capable and literate and great fun to talk to! I think that kind of editor creates the best environment for creativity.
I definitely am thinking about branching out! In fact, I have two Signature Spotlight novels coming out in the next few months, both of them longer books, both romantic suspense with an edge!
Writerspace: Do you plot your story out in detail before the actual writing or do you just let it flow together as you type?
Kathleen O'Brien: I used to try to just let it flow, but unfortunately it "flowed" into all kinds of inappropriate places and dead ends!
Writerspace: Do you stick to a strict writing schedule? What about life's many interruptions? How do you juggle those?
Kathleen O'Brien: Oh, life! It really does get in the way! In the early years of my writing career, when my children were younger, I didn't really try very hard to make life go away. I adored being a mother. I didn't want to lose a single moment with my two kids. But now that they're both technically adults, I have a lot more time to focus on my writing, and I love that, too. I try to write every week day, and I'm more productive in the afternoons. I'm definitely not a morning person! But I still find that life has a way of interfering. I think all writers face that. Everyone thinks that, since your schedule is "flexible," that you always have time to squeeze in something else.
Writerspace: Of all the books you've written till date, which is your favorite and why?
Kathleen O'Brien: Oh, I'm supposed to say this one...and actually the Heyday series really *is* one of my favorites! Three hunky brothers....how can you not love that?
Writerspace: Which book was the hardest to write?
Kathleen O'Brien: Years ago, I wrote a book called MEMORY LAPSE for Harlequin Temptation. It was about a frigid woman who had repressed memories of a childhood trauma. It was a very emotionally powerful story, and many readers wrote to tell me they found it deeply moving and disturbing. It was hard to experience the heroine's pain, and to write a book like that you really have to feel it with her. Luckily, she had a happy ending, which my readers said made the whole emotional trip worthwhile!
Writerspace: How important a role did research play in the writing of THE STRANGER? What sort of research, if any, did you have to do?
Kathleen O'Brien: Every book requires research. In THE STRANGER, I read a lot about running a book store, about comas, about prostitution and tornadoes and emotional disorders. I sometimes wonder what people would think if they could see my trail of websites, or my list of books checked out of the library!
Luckily, my husband is a journalist, and I was one once briefly myself, so that part didn't require as much. Of course, Heyday, Virginia, is an imaginary town, but you're always researching to get the climate, topography and nature correct.
Writerspace: What advice would you like to share with aspiring writers today?
Kathleen O'Brien: Don't give up! It's so hard to keep writing in the face of rejection, but little by little, if you sharpen your craft and keep your mind open to the changes in style and themes, you can get better and better. I'm in a long-standing critique group (ladies who have become like family to me), and one of our members sold recently after many years of trying. It can happen, but it never will if you give up!
Writerspace: So what's next for Kathleen O'Brien? What can fans look forward to from you in the coming months?
Kathleen O'Brien: The next few months are very exciting for me! My first Signature Spotlight, called HAPPILY NEVER AFTER, comes out in August. It's an edgy romantic suspense about a wedding that went wrong. When the groom stood the bride up at the altar, she collapsed emotionally and spent the next ten years in and out of mental institutions. Now someone is beginning to kill off members of the wedding party. My heroine, who was one of the bridesmaids, has been hopelessly in love with the runaway groom for a decade, though, plagued by guilt, she's tried to stay away from him. But now that people are dying, he may be the only one who can save her.
Then, in February, Harlequin is reprinting the first two of the Four Seasons in Firefly Glen series. WINTER BABY and BABES IN ARMS, the winter and spring books, will come out in one volume called FIREFLY GLEN.
Then comes my March Signature Spotlight, called QUIET AS THE GRAVE. It's another romantic suspense, but this time it features Suzie Strickland and Mike Frome, the teenagers you met in FIREFLY GLEN. Mike's the prime suspect in the murder of his vain, bitchy wife, Justine, and Suzie is the only one who believes in his innocence. After ten years apart, the two teenagers who were caught in Justine's love triangle back in Firefly Glen are finally ready to find true love....if they can just keep Mike out of prison! But that will mean finding out what Justine was really up to, and they can tell it isn't going to be pretty!
Writerspace: How may readers contact you?
Kathleen O'Brien: Emails can come to me at KOBrien@aol.com. Or they can visit my website at www.KathleenOBrien.net. If they prefer snail mail, write to P.O. Box 947633, Maitland, FL 32794. I love to hear from readers! And all their letters and emails definitely helped Laura Shin and me make the decision that Mike and Suzie deserved a story of their own. So readers should knows we are always listening!
Writerspace: Kathleen, thanks again for your time. I've really enjoyed chatting with you!
Kathleen O'Brien: Thanks so much for inviting me to do the chat. It's great fun to talk about the books, which are so much a part of my life. And I love a chance to tell readers how much I appreciate them. It's a joy to hear they have liked the books, and learn what they'd like to see more of! Thanks again!
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