Meet Kathryn Le Veque, our November Book Club author

Ahead of our November Book Club chat with Kathryn Le Veque we asked her a few extra questions ...

BingeBooks: Where and when do you like to write?

Kathryn Le Veque: I have a dedicated office in my home where I write - usually in the afternoons and all evening. I got into that habit when my children were young because after they went to bed, I wrote. And wrote. I write seven days a week these days!

BB: Is there anything you always like to have around you when you write?

KLV: I'm a creature of habit (as so many authors are!), so for me, I need my desk, my desktop computer, the same low profile keyboard I've used for years (it's the same Logitech keyboard and when I wear out the keys, I just go buy another one. I usually write to white noise because if I have anything with a beat (and I'm a former musician), I either start singing or directing, so I listen to music that has no discernable beat. Once I'm in my zone, off I go!

BB: Who are your influences?

KLV: Great question - I have a few. The great Virginia Henley is my influence for Medieval Romance - she's the master of telling truly detailed, passionate Medieval Romance. Jude Deveraux is another influence for Historical Romance with humor. Then, there's Clive Cussler, who is my influence for telling a great adventure, no matter what the genre, and finally Ray Bradbury for telling a story with simplistic beauty. I'd like to think I channel all four of them when I'm writing because they have all taught me different things.

BB: What are you reading right now?

KLV: At the moment, a book called Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman. Fascinating look into the life of an Industrialist-age family.

BB: What book would you recommend for a great fall read?

KLV: One of my own - Lion of War, my latest release. But there are also so, so many great novels out right now that it's difficult to choose, but I would also recommend The Cornish Princess by Tanya Anne Crosby and anything by Christi Caldwell or Scarlett Scott. 

BB: Have any of your characters ever surprised you? 

KLV: Yes, actually. A character I was writing about who was pretty laid back, doing his duty, taking a lot of crap from the heroine who wanted nothing to do with him. I was going to write a scene where she really gets in his face and he just walks away, but somehow, he decided he wasn't going to take it anymore and the scene took off from there. That surprised me!

BB: Cat or Dog?

KLV: I have three cats and one dog, so I think the cats are winning lol

BB: Tea or Coffee?

KLV: Actually, neither. I'm a water drinker and have been for many years. Caffeine and I are not on good terms, sadly.

BB: Tell us in one sentence why readers love Lion of War.

KLV: Everybody loves the hero and heroine duking it out (verbally and nearly physically) when they first meet. True enemies to lovers!

BB: Tell us in one sentence why you love writing.

KLV: Because I love telling other people's stories and living their lives through their eyes.