Who's Katie O'Hara?

Today I'm interviewing my heroine, Katie O'Hara, from my latest Cerridwen book, "Gone to the Dogs". She's had a rough time after losing her fiance, Roger, to the boss's daughter, and then was downsized in her job. Let's see how she handles some questions.

Marianne: Katie, you've recently moved from New York City to a Kansas suburb of Kansas City. How's that going?
Katie: I'm adjusting. Living with Aunt Phoebe involves living in a whole other time dimension, but I love her dearly. While I miss my life in the fast lane in NY, there's something to say about living here in the Land of Oz. It's kinda growing on me.

M: Is there something you especially miss about NY? Really like about KS?
K: NY bagels. There's nothing like them anywhere on earth. Hmm. Like about KS? Well, there is Mike...but you didn't ask who I like, did you? So I'd have to say I like the friendliness of most of the people here.

M: Now that you mentioned Mike, tell us all about him.
K: Well, we just seem to butt heads all the time, you know? He's a fireman who's hell-bent on saving me, playing rescue guy. Yeah. Okay. I admit sometimes I need his help. But he's irritating, fascinating, annoying, charming, frustrating, hunky. Crap. He drives me nuts and sends my hormones into overdrive.

M: Wow. Sounds like a love-hate relationship. Thin line between those two.
K: (Sigh) I know. But my goal is to do a great job and then return to NY. I can't let Mike keep me here, can I? See? I can't think straight since he entered my life.

M: Why don't you tell us about your new job. How's that going?
K: I'm a marketing consultant for the Yipsey Dipsey Company. My job's to help Danny Yipsalante make the right decisions in marketing his first product. It's tough since I've gotta let him lead the way since his grandfather, the company's owner, wants Danny to do this more or less on his own. It's gotta sell or else the company will go bankrupt.

M: What's the product?
K: It's a new drink called Whoopsie. And I'm telling you, the first few versions of it had me ready to admit defeat and head outta town. But, Danny and his sister (who's the mixture expert) finally came up with a drink I figure we can market.

M: Any problems getting it done?
K: I've been having some mishaps lately; things going wrong all the time. I'm getting more and more suspicious about some people here not wanting the company to prosper. I've got three definite suspects in mind.

M: Sounds like you have your hands full. But, let's get back to your love life.
K: I-we-I'm not sure what we have. Making love with Mike is wonderful, but I'm not sure I want to stay here. Like I said before, he tries to help me all the time.

M: And, that's a bad thing?
K: You ask all the hard questions. No. It's not bad. But, I let that lousy ex-fiance of mine control me and I won't let that happen again. (Sigh) Then again, Mike's not really like Roger, is he?

M: Only you know the answer to that. What's next for you to do with Whoopsie?
K: One final taste testing, this time under my constant supervision since the last one was sabotaged. I'm determined to have this Whoopsie version be successful.

M: And, then what?
K: I'll need to sort through my feelings about Mike. I know deep down inside I love him. But, I can't concentrate on anything until this job is done.

M: You mentioned mishaps. Are things getting better?
K: Uh, actually they've gotten worse. Someone ran me off the road. Could've killed me. But, I think I know who my enemies are so I just have to be more careful.

M: Katie, thanks for being with us today. Anything else you'd like to add?
K: Wish me luck on this taste test. Then, once that's settled, I'll have time to figure out what to do about Mike. Thanks for interviewing me!

You can read Katie's adventure in "Gone to the Dogs", available as an ebook at www.cerridwenpress.com. Reviews and excerpts available at www.mariannestephens.net.
Also, visit my April Ash website at www.aprilash.net. April's first book, "Strip Poker For Two", will be my newest release.