Meet Kat Henry Doran and Read About VENGEANCE IS MINE, her Contemporary Romantic Trilogy

About Kat

Legal nurse consultant, victim advocate, sexual assault nurse examiner Kat Henry Doran  and her alter ego, Veronica Lynch, has been there and done that—many times over. She often travels to the wilds of Northern New York State, witnessing the wonders of mother nature at her best. From the shores of Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River to the historic Adirondack and Catskill Mountains, she creates stories featuring strong women and the men who love them. 

When not writing, she can be found lashed to one of her sewing machines—or chauffeuring the four brightest stars in her life: Meredith and Ashlin, Owen and Kieran.

About VENGEANCE IS MINE

          Ever think about going back to study hall to face down the school bully?

          The mean girls?

          The brainless jocks who made your life a pure misery?

          For Dru Horvath, gypsy orphan turned Pulitzer Prize winning photo-journalist; Rafe Archangeli, Scourge of Summerville who now heads a multi-million dollar trust; and Fiona “Fat Aggie” Thorpe who recreated herself into an A-list model with her own A-list agency, the opportunity to exact revenge is too good to pass up.

          Will they find the vengeance they crave?

          Or something more valuable?   

Excerpt

          “Tough way to find out about the other woman.”

          “Other woman, hell,” Dru groused. “The assistant was some young stud from Tommy's gym with abs to die for.”

          With that. she side-stepped him and reached for the knob on the bathroom door.

          Fast on his feet, Rory's counter move brought them nose to nose. “Play much poker, Horvath?”

          “I don't know what you mean.”

          “Before you started trash talking the cheating ex-husband, your face lit up like the Fourth of July. That tells me you've got something stashed in the tote. Until you let me look inside, it stays out here.”

          Clutching the canvas tote to her chest, she sneered, “The only thing in here is my outfit for tonight's event. If you think I'd go naked, one of us is a couple fries short of a happy meal.”

          His response came in the form of another gimme motion with those thick, blunt fingers. “How about I close my eyes if I encounter any lacy unmentionables?”

          “As if.”

          She knew the instant he found the back-up phone. The screw-you look morphed into a smirk. “It's not smart to mess with Homeland Security, sweetie. Those guys eat small rodents for breakfast.”

An Interview with Kat

You, the Author

What kind of books do you love to read? Why?

I like and appreciate the mystery/thrillers by John Sanford, John R. Maxim, David Wiltse and Vince Flynn. I love characters who make me laugh and make me think about things.

What type of music do you enjoy?

I am a sixties and seventies girl all the way: the Mamas and the Papas, the Bee Gees, the Four Seasons, Sergio Mendez and Brazil '66; anything by George Gershwin and Roy Orbison; Peter Paul & Mary and Carly Simon. Johnny Mathis songs still make me smile.

What is your favorite food? What comfort food do you seek when you need it? 

Everything that's not good for me: pasta, pizza, Chinese take out and . . . iced coffee, two creams and three Splendas via IV line.

Describe yourself in one word.

Driven.

What is the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done?

I drove by myself to Maine to attend a writers' retreat. Doesn't sound like much but it was 1,000 miles, by myself in a vehicle which could be generously described as a rust bucket. On the way home, I hit every outlet mall along the Maine coast and ran the numbers off my credit cards. It was great.

Your writing

When did you write your first book? How long did it take you to write it?

In the early to mid 1980's; it was complete and utter dreck. It probably took months. Contest judges were so kind and generous in their comments and I'm sure they were horrified at some of my topics or some of the stupid situations I put my characters in.

Did you encounter any obstacles in writing?

There are people out there who are so fearful of others, they'll go to any lengths to sabotage the competition. A few of those saboteurs were members of the first writer's group I joined. I never was afraid to bring 3-5 pages to critique sessions because I wanted to learn. The response was really quite cruel, particularly when I included  medical or legal information in the pages. It wasn't only me they tore down;  they were equal opportunity when it came to choosing victims. Many [victims] never returned to the group.

How did you overcome them?

I'd come home from meetings, close to tears and quite frustrated. My husband asked, more than once, “Why do you put up with it?” My response was “because I want to write.” I kept going back and eventually the 'mean girls' went in different directions. I don't know where but I do know I'm published and have received a couple awards. I often speak at conferences and retreats. So who won?

What kind of books do you love to write?

Contemporary romances which usually feature women who, in some way, shape or form, advocate for the less thans in our society. There's usually a lot of humor which comes out of my fingertips onto the keyboard without my control. The male characters more often than not are associated with the criminal justice system. I don't care to write male doctors as leads but I have done a couple female physicians. And nurses. There's always a few smart-mouthed suppository pushers in the group.

Why?

For more years than I care to count, I worked as an advocate for victims of sexual violence. Later, I turned my unfulfilled Nancy Drew fantasies into investigating allegations of medical malpractice. That can get kind of dicey when a ego-driven surgeon decides he doesn't like a woman asking them questions about how their decision making process. I liked those jobs; liked doing them. I learned something new each day.

I loathe lazy, take the easy way out medical or nursing providers as much as I loathe those in power positions who abuse that power over helpless victims. Writing about injustice, whether it's in the medical arena, a court of law or a police interrogation room, fills the need to help those who have no one to stand for them. 

How do you write? Do your characters come to you first or the plot or the world of the story?

My first novel, Try Just Once More began with a line from a song by Blood Sweat and Tears. The idea for my second novel came as I was traveling to a med-mal investigation and drove past a State Trooper sub-station with one car in the parking lot. [This was waaayyyy out in the boonies of Central New York, as rural as it gets]. The thought came: what happens when some hotshot detective is transferred from the big city and all its action to the butt-end of the earth? How does he cope with the ego-deflation, the injustice of it all? That novel is titled Captain Marvelous.

How do you go on from there?

I now do a lot of research, particularly for the setting and the hobbies of the lead characters. I believe, strongly, that the setting should be treated as one of the characters. I also believe what a character likes to do for fun and relaxation is important to have in a book and deserves more than a simple nod.

Maybe you can give us an example with one of your books.

In 2016 I became involved with an anthology written by the Maine Romance authors, Welcome to Serenity Harbor. The hero, a licensed contractor, helps his widowed mother run the family landscaping business. For fun he plays hockey. That meant I needed to do a lot of research on hockey and the men who play it--no huge trial there. It also meant I needed to interview a local contractor to learn about things like 'walking the roof'. Then it came to learning which plants thrive in the Down-East coast of Maine and which don't stand a chance in Hades of surviving. All in all, it was a lot of fun. If something isn't fun, I'm not interested.

What books can you recommend to aspiring writers to improve on style, character development, plot, structure, dialogue, etc?

I recently came upon two self editing books:  Revision and Self-Editing by James Scott Bell and Fire Up Your Fiction by Jodie Renner. Both are excellent and, as I found out, available at the public library. My absolute personal fave is Goal, Motivation and Conflict by Debra Dixon. That one is pure gold. 

What is your advice to aspiring writers?

Don't give up. Keep trying. Keep learning. Take a leap and try a different genre from what others tell you to write; write what you love. If one person says something is stupid or wrong or idiotic, okay. If two people say the same thing, consider it. If three or more say it, it's time to look it what you've written and consider changing things.

What genre(s) do you write?

Contemporary romance, occasionally with some romantic suspense or romantic mystery thrown in.

Why do you write the stories that you write?

That's what I love to read.  

 Where do you get your ideas?

Newspaper reports, nightly news spots, and occasionally I see something  on the Internet that deserves attention.

Do you jot them down in a notebook, in case you forgot? Absolutely. I suffer from a romping case of CRS Syndrome and cannot trust my memory. I think I have spent enough money to own stock in Post-It notes.

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