The Writer's View: Kathleen Varn


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Kathleen will be awarding a $10 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. You can click on the tour banners to see the other stops on the tour--remember, the more you comment, the better your chances of winning!

The World inside and outside my writing Window
Before I conceived the idea of writing a real grown-up novel that was dubbed “Ameera Unveiled,” I worked in the back of a very small Charlestonian building off Meeting Street for eleven years. I had no windows and the bathrooms were less than four feet from my desk. Whether I liked it or not, I was the Sentinel of the Porcelain Throne! I dreamed of the day I could devote myself to doing what I wanted and not what I had to.

Between law office duties, I wrote metaphorical short stories of my late life emancipation from being part of an oppressive first marriage. There were old pen pals and elderly family members that lived vicariously through missives of small but colorful stories of my parenting experiences or travel adventures. Kat had gotten her groove back!

When I remarried to a wonderful soul mate, Steve Varn, I retired and moved my writing world to a denim grandmother’s chair on the third floor of our new home. I enjoy looking out the double doors at the beautiful Charleston marsh. I appreciate the movements of the sun, pop up thunderstorms and lack of knowledge of the toilet habits of my co-workers.

Gazing through the doors is an amazing distraction from pounding on the keyboard. It rewards me for committing and isolating myself to try and fulfill my dream to write. I’m visited by clouds, sun or seasonal sunsets. I had the joy of my pets shoving or hanging on my leg for reassurance (with a little bathroom need). My little world helped me find the cadence of my character’s story. My editor, Shari Stauch (WhereWritersWin), patiently read and shot back with her thumbs up… or thumbs down. BQB Publishing took the baton and ran Ameera Unveiled to the finish line.

If I don’t have the benefit of my comfort zone in my third story writing room… I am more than willing to put on my ear buds and listen to mind numbing Classic Rock. The Beatles, Monkees, Chicago, Boston, Foreigner or Rod Stewart will pull me back into my memories. It sends me young visuals of times that I was innocent and finding my voice as I crossed from childhood towards young adulthood.

Another balance to my world of writing? My sisters pull me away from my self-imposed writing isolation to quirky and zany adventures. I think as I travel I find remarkable to write about. If fonts are your friend… (or sometimes, an enemy)… you’ll find the spot, paper, computer, writing process to show someone very cool visual. I jokingly tell my friends: “Be careful what you tell me, it may appear in a book.”

Embrace the dance…. Walk the high wire, without a net!

About the Author:
Kat Varn’s love affair with words manifested when she turned four and taught herself to read. As she grew older, books and reading were an escape from responsibility. As the oldest daughter in a transient Navy family, words fed her imagination to embrace adventure and magical worlds. Kat was drawn to the strength of little girls in The Little Princess and The Secret Garden. Eventually, Kat dove into journaling between the pages of beautiful leather notebooks, recording her children’s infant landmarks. Journaling also helped her find solace in the grief of a toxic relationship. Throughout her journey to extract her family from an unhealthy relationship, she explored the idea of freedom through allegorical short stories. In the midst of angst and soul searching, she retained a sense of humor that gave her the resilience to pursue the search for her true self.

Kat is now very happily married to her soul mate. She resides in Charleston, South Carolina, where she worked for an adoption attorney for twenty-three years. With her two children settled in adulthood, she is exploring a beautiful world, from scuba diving in Fiji or photographing from Alaska’s frozen tundra.

I was just released by Boutique of Quality Books (BQB) Publishing on July 25, 2013. My book has been described as a creative path to genuine inner growth. Ameera Unveiled explores the restricted existence of an empty nester woman who wants to face a forbidden zone—dance. My character, Kat, discovers a newfound freedom through belly dancing. Eventually, while traveling a week with a glittery ensemble of zealous belly dancing women, Kat/Ameera weaves strong friendships as she faces her fears of stage freight and vulnerability. The bottom line was becoming part of a larger and lifelong evasive experience, the bonding of women.
Links: Katvarn.com @katvarn Facebook

Buy the book at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Comments

  1. If that is an example of the views you can expect I'd be distracted too.

    Thank you for the tour. Great to meet you.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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  2. Yes, that is a view for sure. Mother Nature was very kind when I retired to my upstairs writing room. The birds are amazing throughout each season too. Purple Martins use my late dad's ghords, egrets perch, osprey hunt, wood storks sit in the trees and look down like something from Dr. Seuss!

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  3. Rita... if you like humor sprinkled on facing forbidden zones.. especially as a baby boomer that went through all the branding and labels... I think you will find it a good read.

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  4. Thanks for an enjoyable tour. I look forward to your future endevors

    fencingromein at hotmail dot com

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  5. Thanks to both the host and Goddess Fish Promotions for unveiling some unknown and personal facts of me and my writing habits. I appreciate all of you taking the time out of your day to get to know me. Feel free to pop over to my blogs. I try and make them short and ADD friendly! Have a great weekend wherever you are in the world!

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  6. "ADD Friendly"? That's important to me...Sometimes I think I have the attention of a flea! LOL.
    catherinelee100 at gmail dot com

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