Author Interview & Giveaway! : A Chat with Lorena Bathey author of Beatrice Munson

I am so pleased to welcome Lorena Bathey to my blog! You can find my review of the wonderful book Beatrice Munson Here!

A Chat with Lorena Bathey

Melissa:  Welcome Lorena:)  Thanks for joining us!  Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Lorena:  Well, I became an author when my entire life turned upside down about six years ago. After losing my mother to cancer and my marriage falling apart, I began writing about my survival and found that what I really wanted to say was that as a woman I had got lost in my roles. That's how my first book, Happy Beginnings: How I Became My Own Fairy Godmother was written. It was apparent to me that women easily follow the paths and the roles laid out for them and forget about being happy themselves. After writing seventeen chapters of a book I never started out to write I decided that I didn't want to wait for an agent or publisher to tell me it was good enough. The story needed to be told, many women needed it. So there began my writing career.

Melissa: Can you tell me a little bit about Beatrice Munson and what inspired it?

Lorena:  While I was writing my first book I got this character in my head. She was a lot like me at the time, single mom of two kids trying to make it in suburbia. Then quickly the rest of the cast joined in and I began writing Beatrice Munson. I only wrote about half of it when the inspiration waned and I got busy doing speaking and conferences with Happy Beginnings. It wasn't until last year I picked up the book and started writing it again and finished it in about six months.

Melissa:  How much are the characters in Beatrice Munson informed by people that you know/knew in real life?

Lorena:  Well, there's a mixture of people I knew, including myself. Aspects of friends were sprinkled in everywhere. The essence of the story I lived everyday in the suburban landscape and I met women that had a lot of the same aspects of the women of Vista Heights. I guess the most obvious example of that is Marissa...of course, she was a lot of me at the time I started writing it. But I also was part of Beatrice too.

Melissa:  And which of the characters is your favorite and why?

Lorena:  That's a tie between Beatrice and Jeffery. Of course, you could say they are both a lot alike but there are differences. Beatrice seems to have a firmer hand on who she is. While Jeffery has this rather vulnerable quality about him. But both seem to understand the concept of unconditionally loving those around them.

Melissa:   If Beatrice Munson were made into a movie (and what gorgeous party scenes there would be) who would you want to portray:

Lorena:
a. Beatrice : Kate Winslet
b. Marissa : Hillary Swank
c. Andrea:  Vera Farmiga
d. Diedre :  Eva Mendes
e. Lily:  Mila Jovovich
f. Graydon:  Josh Duhamel
g. Jeffery: Robert Downey Jr.

Melissa:  I find it interesting to know what environment authors find most productive… Do you use a pen and paper or laptop? Quiet room at home or bustling café? Basically, what gets your creative juices flowing?

Lorena: I am a computer girl. Have to because when the words come they come so fast I have to type really fast to keep up.

I write the best at Panera. It's a chain of bakery/sandwich shops. For some reason sitting in a booth and smelling the baking bread while the hustle of the world surrounds me is the perfect writing cocoon. But I can write anywhere when I get an inspiration. Once there is an idea in my head I gotta get it down because otherwise it just keeps bouncing around in my brain.

Perfect example would be, on a recent trip to an amusement park I got the idea for one of my next books. I wrote the beginning on my calendar on my smart phone on the way home.

Melissa: What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?

Lorena:  Well, I have been really lucky...people love Beatrice Munson. But the couple that have said things they didn't like have actually been great...I know...that sounds like crap. But really, hearing the negatives makes me a better writer. So when someone says they don't like something about Beatrice Munson then I can use that in my next book, and I have. 

Best compliment is that they want to read more of my work. Seriously, when you're a writer you got over your work so many times you are truly sick of your own writing. Then you put it out into the world and you hope someone falls in love with these ideas and people that have formed in your head. But it's a risk. So when I hear that a reader wants more of my work, more of my stories...well it's the best feeling ever because in many ways it's validation that I am doing the right thing with my life.

Melissa: What book is currently on your nightstand? And who are some of your favorite authors?

Lorena:  First off, I am an addict to Goodreads giveaways this has created a plethora of books in my reading queue. I just finished the The Kitchen House. I was enjoying the story but felt it a bit tired when all of a sudden the last half of the book just hit me right between the eyes. It was interesting but in the Afterward the author said the whole story came to her like a movie in her head and she had to write it. That's exactly what happens to me.

I am in love with Stephen King. Not so much his scary stuff but his works like The Stand, Under the Dome, and The Green Mile. He is the master at characterization. Seriously, The Stand is a work of art in not only developing characters but bringing them all together in one story. I also respect the way he works and the humble quality he has about what he does.

Melissa:  What do you like to do when you're not writing?

Lorena: I have become a semi-pro photographer ;)  I love taking pictures and since I can't paint or draw it's my form of artistic expression. I see things differently and so I use my lens to capture that.

I also have an amazing family and we are extremely close. Meeting my busband (more than a boyfriend, more like a husband) a couple years ago not only brought the love of my life to my world but allowed us to blend our families together to create an amazing and completely fun whole family. We do a lot together!

Melissa:  Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

Lorena:  Absolutely. It's one word : WRITE!

I know that seems obvious but it is the one thing that can trip a wannabe writer up. Don't worry if the story isn't perfectly plotted out. Don't worry if the wording sounds bad. Don't worry about the grammar in the beginning. Just sit down and write what's in your head. Get it out on paper. All the fine tuning comes later.

And don't think that your style or way of writing isn't going to work. There are seven billion people out there in the world. If you do good work, someone is gonna love it.

Melissa:  What can we expect from you next?

Lorena:  My next novel, House on Plunkett Street comes out in mid-December. It's the story of Phoebe Bertram who really has a bland life and then she moves into a new apartment and three women ghosts from times past arrive on her couch one night. The story is about Phoebe discovering that life is meant to be lived as these ghosts show her how.

Then I'm going in a different direction with a book called The X. It's the story of a woman who finds her world shattered when her husband divorces her and takes her kids away. She has to find power in herself to discover the mystery behind her X and then take him down. It's a suspense/thriller.

Melissa:  And now for a little bit of fun:)

This or That?

Coffee or Tea?  Coffee...and lots of it!
Beach or Lake?  Beach
Winter or Summer?  Winter..love the rainy nights and old movies on the couch.
Cats or Dogs?  Dogs
Zombies or Vampires?  Um...vampires of course. They only suck your blood while zombies eat you.
Country or City?   City
Shower or Bath?  Shower...one of the great pleasure in life!
Morning or Evening?  This is hard...I love 'em both but gotta go with Evening when the day is done and a cocktail is in my hand.
M&Ms or Skittles?  M&M's...it's all about the chocolate
Trains or Planes?  Totally planes
Comedy or Drama?  Comedy...laughter is the best medicine.

Lorena:  Thanks so much for this wonderful opportunity to share about myself, my work, and the quirks of my existence.

Melissa:  It was a pleasure!  Thanks so much for chatting with me:)

Growing up in the Bay Area of Northern California, Lorena Bathey attended St. Mary’s College in Moraga graduating with a degree in English. Then she traveled, learned about life, and developed great fodder for a book. Losing her mother to cancer and her own marriage’s demise brought her to find herself. She wrote Happy Beginnings: How I Became My Own Fairy Godmother and found speaking and empowering others was her passion.

After meeting the love of her life, they embarked on the thrilling life to follow their dreams bringing their families along for the ride. Today Lorena has nine novels in her writing queue all with screenplays in the works.


But writing isn't the only muse that inspires Lorena. She has become a passionate photographer and likes to push the envelope taking shots while learning how to navigate Photoshop. Travel, walking, enjoying new restaurants, and Italy are other loves and things she makes sure she has time for.


Lorena Bathey found after writing her first book that characters were visiting her mind and wouldn't leave. She was introduced to Marissa, Andrea, Lily, Deidre and Beatrice and her first novel, Beatrice Munson, came to life. After finishing that book she was inspired to write more novels and she knew that pursuing her passion was the best way to live her life. So a writer she became. 

Find Lorena: Lorena B Books | Facebook | Twitter
Find Happy Beginnings: How I Became My Own Fairy Godmother: Amazon | BN | Smashwords
Find Beatrice Munson: Amazon | BN | Smashwords

GIVEAWAY TIME!

Lorena has been kind enough to offer up 5 e-book copies of Beatrice Munson! Use the Rafflecopter form below to enter!!