Vicki gets up and personal in this short interview and I'm sure you will enjoy it as much as I did.
She has also shared an excerpt from her new release, Temporarily Employed.
VICKI BATMAN's AUTHOR INTERVIEW
After I graduated, I'd meet people who would say, "You are a native?" Seems my town was very popular to move to back then and lots of young people did. They acted amazed when meeting a real Texan. I thought we were everywhere.
How did you meet your husband, Vicki? Is there anything noteworthy about your meeting? And share with us what draws you to him?
I call my hubby Handsome. We met through a friend; however, it took a long while before actually dating. We went to a movie and I thought no big deal which was fine. I'd had my bad share of dating and was in no hurry. I didn't even look at this movie thing as anything extraordinary. Just doing a friend a favor.
Six weeks later, he calls the afternoon of my roomie's birthday party. Being nice, I invited him over. He showed in a sweater. Not a problem in December, but in July???? My friends and family asked about him and said on the side, I should date him. I kept saying, "He's Charlie's friend." But Handsome was persistent and kept calling and calling and lavished attention. Pretty soon... LOL, a year and a half later, we married.
Handsome is smart, very independent. Made and paid his own way through college and with hard work, succeeded in various jobs. He started his own financial services business and is well-known throughout the U. S.
I make him laugh.
Okay, what is the story behind your book and how do you decide your book cover?
A friend knew I had an urge to write, but hesitated because I didn't want to do it badly. One day, we went on a girls' trip, and she began posing silly questions for us to answer. Like: Pick one -Tom Jones or Engelbert Humperdink.
Then she said, "Write the opening paragraph of a book using the word window." My heart sunk. I had nothing. So she encouraged me to email something later. Two days after the trip, I sat down at the computer and ended up with eight chapters. I showed them to my friend and she returned the pages to me with this, "Keep going." I did.
Vicki, have you ever experienced writer’s block and how did you tackle it?
Not really. I do get stuck. But I find when I am in the midst of a project, it occupies my mind. And through those thoughts, something magically appears. I write notes and stick that in. The insert may not be perfect, but through revising and editing, the work will flourish.
What books are on your shelf at home and who are your favourite authors?
I cut my teeth on mysteries: The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden---oops, that ages me. LOL. At thirteen, I read Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, and my reading life jumped to adult works. I LOVED Dick Francis.
Sadly, he is gone. P. D. James, Janet Evanovich, Elizabeth George, Sue Grafton, Julie Spencer-Fleming. Old romances by Emilie Loring, Georgette Heyer (funnier than Jane Austen), and Mary Stewart. The Shopaholic series. And I read lots of other things, too.
What form of entertainment do you enjoy most and why, Vicki?
Movies. Handsome and I go to a movie almost every Saturday. I watch most kinds except for dystopian, and horror. We like to get away and do this.
And If you had one wish, what would it be?
The old song... "Let there be peace on earth."
So what would you say you’re bad at?
Sewing. Mostly because my mom is a perfectionist and when teaching me, she'd make me rip out and redo and rip out and redo. I do pretty good needlepoint and embroidery. I just finished stitching a handbag!
Finally share what the most embarrassing thing you’ve done is.
Miss Oak Lawn Moped. Age 24, doing a friend a favor. Oh, let's just say yikes.
BLURB
New job. New love. And murder. Desperate for cash to cover the basic necessities,
Enjoy the SNIPPET
“Yuck.”
Pretty much covered the whole freakin’ day.
A blinding red-white, red-white strobe, reflected in my brand new Wrangler’s rearview mirror, seized my attention. The police. I tossed my hands skyward, ready to surrender. I shouldn’t have been too surprised. Like I'd commented this a.m. to my roommate, Jenny, “Today, anything’s possible.”
My Bad Day checklist included:
- Crappy job interview, one which might have provided desperately needed income.
- Wore gut-busting panty hose on a hot day which had now worked past my waist and strangled my diaphragm.
- A barely blowing air conditioner indicated something had malfunctioned in my new, fun car.
I stole another glance in the mirror, and with great reluctance, flipped the right turn indicator. My vehicle coasted to a stop on the shoulder of Boston Avenue in my hometown of Sommerville, a nice suburb located between two large cities. Four lanes of cars and trucks zipped by as I sat there where every single one of my family, friends, friends’ friends, and their friends—including Rat Fink Suzanne—would see a police vehicle positioned right behind mine. Gleefully, drivers would chant the “Ha-ha, got you, not me” ditty.
How embarrassing.
After killing the engine, I flopped back in the seat. Shooting the morons the finger was an idea. Nah. I'm too exhausted to care.
A litany of: "No, not hiring." "Just filled the position." "You're over qualified." "You're under qualified…" tornadoed through my head. Coupled with the intense job search through various outlets like the internet and completing numerous online employment applications, no wonder my body had been depleted of all life force.
Not even a breeze blew to take the edge off the unbearable summertime heat. Tangled wild trees and dry scrubby bushes banked the roadside. The grass had taken on a scorched look. Rolling down the driver’s window, I surveyed my surroundings. Nothing great. Nothing new.
I stole a glance in the side mirror at the policeman who strode purposefully along the shoulder. The gravel crunched under his boots. He looked huge, probably because his uniform, which appeared to be bulked with a bullet-proof vest, made him resemble a buffed-up superhero in size. Exceedingly intimidating.
Sigh. When things went wrong, they were really wrong.
As I viewed him drawing closer, my heart pounded harder. Awkward circumstances usually brought out the worst in me like shyness, ineptness, and uh...more shyness, hang-ups I carried from childhood. Back in the dark ages, I’d deliberately steered clear of embarrassing situations by developing the best self-protection— avoidance. Over time, I’d adapted to embarrassment, but every now and then, some unusual situation would spring out, and like a stealthy cat, those old prickly feelings crept back inside me.
The policeman stopped by the driver’s side, his head slanted to better peer inside.
Up close and exceptionally personal, I saw his sunglasses with dark lenses which shielded his eyes.
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Flirty & Feisty Romance
Flirty & Feisty Romance
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