Wednesday, April 08, 2009

What, When, Where, Why, How with Cat Johnson

Welcome today, Cat Johnson!

What would you name your car?

LOL. This is the hardest question of all. Why? Because my friends have actually named their cars and with names that are hard to beat. Things like Natasha and Aurora, even The Sh**box (which was very apt). So I never named mine because I felt intimidated by the greatness of my friends' cars names. But now you are making me do it. Okay, so here is the deal... I have a fabulous black Thunderbird convertible. I love that car. It gets attention from men, women and children of every race, creed and color. That car will get a second look long after I am so old and gray that no one will look at me any longer. Why do you think I intend on keeping it forever? So, my T-Bird needs a special name. I think, if forced, I would name her Angelina, because like Angelina Jolie, love her or hate her, you always find yourself looking at her!

When is the happiest time of the day?

The morning, hands down, is the best time of day. Why? Because I get to snuggle under the blankets with a piping hot cup of coffee and open my email inbox. You never know what will be waiting there for you. It's like Christmas morning each and every morning. It could be a new review for one of my books. It could be an email from one of my muses halfway across the world. It could be a coupon or a sale notice for my favorite store. Honestly, what could be better than all of that?

Where were you when you got your first kiss?

Oh boy! You don't pull any punches do you? Though considering I write erotic romance, I suppose this question could have been a lot worse, couldn't it? Anyway, it was in the basement of Lynn Sommavilla's house in 8th Grade during her girl/boy birthday party. There was a heated game of spin the bottle, I remember, and then somehow I ended up in the dark in the closet with Chris Rubeo. That was my first kiss. The funniest thing was when I introduced Chris to my husband at my 20 year high school reunion. I said, "This is Chris, he was my first kiss." Totally unfazed, my husband shook his hand and said, "Nice to meet you. I was her last kiss."

Why did you decide to start writing for publication?

Because writing isn't any fun if no one reads it? But seriously, I started writing for money about 2 weeks after graduating college and had 12 books published in the Young Adult genre. Though my writing career went through ebbs and flows over the years, I was always writing something for someone, even if it was ghostwriting. I finally tried writing romance in 2006. I recently considered giving it up. What stopped me? When I considered what my life would be if I wasn't a writer, I didn't have an answer. For better, or worse, at least for now, writing defines me.

How good are you at Scrabble?

Oh my god! Let me tell you, Scrabble is BIG among my friends and it gets quite serious. At one point, I bought the Scrabble computer program and practiced alone at home because our friendly Friday night games got so competitive. So you can always count on me to whore off your high scoring word with an 's' if at all possible, and always steal the Triple Word Score even if it is with only a 5 point word, just to block you from getting it! Offensive Guerrilla Scrabble, that's the only way to go!

Cat Johnson stands barely five feet tall but rarely shies away from anything, including going out on a literary limb and writing romances in niche genres that sometimes require extremely creative research and marketing techniques. A past bartender and tour guide (among countless other jobs) she also isn't shy when it comes to people, and warns everyone to be careful when speaking with her or they may end up in her novel. Some of her best friends wear combat boots for a living and she is the sponsor for a real live bullriding cowboy.

Author website: www.catjohnson.net
Author Blog: www.myspace.com/authorcatjohnson

5 comments:

Ceri Hebert said...

My first kiss was during a game of spin the bottle too. It was only memorable because it was so sloppy and bad. I don't even remember the kid's name.

Sarita Leone said...

Love the Hubby's comment about the first and last kisses. Very quick thinking!

Caffey said...

Hi Cat! Hi Marianne!
Love cowboys!! And I only read a few with bull-riding in it and even watched the other day some bull-riding on TV! I love these questions on the interview and your answers Cat! LOL.
A friend that used to live nearby, we would play Scrabble every Friday night for hours! I loved it. I miss being able to play that. That scrabble dictionary sure got beaten with how often we'd challenge each other about if it was a real word!

groovyoldlady said...

Cat sounds like hoot!

The above sentence would make no sense whatsoever out of context...

Allie Boniface said...

Hi Cat! (and yes, she is a hoot...i've done several book signings with her...)