Katherine Garbera
Meet Kathy
Born in sunny Southern Florida, I'm a Florida Girl at heart. I love central Florida’s orange groves, rural farmland and can remember when there was nothing there but one theme park in Orlando and Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven.
Growing up on the edge of the Green Swamp I had a lot of time to day-dream about other places and worlds. My love of reading was encouraged by my mother who always had money for my sisters and I to buy new books. One of my early favorites were the Trixie Belden mysteries. I used to organize my younger sisters on our bikes to go off and solve crimes.
I was always making up stories and was known to either have my nose in a book or my head in the clouds. During my years on the competitive swim team, I honed those story telling books during the two hours I spent practicing every day swimming up and down the pool. Sometimes I’d even amuse my sisters and teammates by telling them tales on our way to and from swim meets. My early stories featured a daring brunette heroine and my teenaged crush Jack Wagner. 
My imagination was fired by the hours I spent outdoors making up games and stories with my sisters. We were seldom allowed to just sit inside and watch television something I’m still grateful for today. My sisters and I spent my hours in the Swinging Tree traveling to far off destinations like London, Paris and a Universe Far, Far Away.
I always dreamed of traveling around the world and seeing the places that lived in my imagination but instead seemed destined for a simpler life. I got married at 21 and settled into the role of motherhood determined to go after my dream of being a writer so that my children would see by my example that they should go after their dreams as well. I lived in Central Florida until my kids were 4 and 9 and then we started our journey to different locales.
Chicago, Orlando, Dallas, San Diego were all called home until we landed in the Midlands of the UK. I’ve learned a lot about people by moving as much as I have. Some things that have struck me as odd is how parents are the same no matter where you are and that its easy to make friends when you are open to it. Something I’ve struggled with over the years because I’m naturally very shy around anyone but my family.
After three years and three manuscripts I sold my first book to Harlequin (then Silhouette) Desire. THE BACHELOR NEXT DOOR was well-reviewed and I was named a Woman to Watch by the editors at Silhouette. 50 books later and I’m still tickled to be writing for them. My first book had at its heart family and I have to say most if not all of the books I’ve written for both Harlequin and Kensington are influenced by family.
I love happy-endings and even though my first marriage ended in divorce I didn’t let that sour me on romance or on the thought of finding my true love.
I no longer live in Central Florida but instead in the Midlands of the UK with my children and husband. I love the new sights that I discover every time I step outside my door and still have lots of stories to tell.
The Kathy Connection to heroines
Alysse Dresden from One More Kiss and I 
both love to cook. Its nothing that I could do professionally but for me there is no greater expression of the love I feel for my family then making them a really good meal. My son is always complaining that I’m feeding him too much but for me food is love and I wanted the chance to explore that in a book. So the Sweet Dreams Bakery duo was born.
Willow Stead from Calling All The Shots and I 
have little in common except that we both prefer to be behind the scenes directing the action instead of having the spotlight on us. For me its why I’m a writer and for Willow its why she’s a producer of a TV show. The other thing Willow and I have in common is that we both aren’t afraid to admit when we’re wrong and say we’re sorry to those we love.
Like Nichole Reynolds in A Case Of Kiss and Tell 
I’ve always been really focused on where I want to go and what I wanted from life. When my life through me a curveball I had a difficult time adjusting to the changes. Nichole handles the change a bit like me with her Kuerig Machine and some sappy romantic movies!
Gail Little from Ready For Her Close-Up and I share a very unique experience as we both auditioned for a reality 
TV show. I however didn’t make it on to TLCs FOUR WEDDINGS. Maybe my luck would have been different if my best friend had been the director! But to be honest, I wouldn’t have enjoyed having a very personal time in my life filmed. Gail kind of rose to the occasion in a way I couldn’t have.
I’m a lot like Fiona McCaw from A Mother’s Day Match in that I’m a devoted
mother. As soon as I held my daughter in my arms my entire life changed. I found a focus I hadn’t had before in my life and I became determined to succeed. I also love clothes and like a lot of noise around me while I work. I attribute this to the fact that when I first started writing it was while I was a receptionist. So I balanced the words and answering the phone.
Like Becca Tuttenstall in Reunited...With Child, 
I have at times wanted to run away from my problems. But I never have. Its not in my nature to back down from anything even a fight I know I will lose. However, I can empathize with her because for my children I would do anything and if that meant that hiding away from the world would be best for them, then I’d do it.
Family is the main motivator for Selena Gonzalez in Seducing His Opposition and the same is true of me. I have a 
large family (as you can see from the photo to the left) and I am always trying to please everyone in it. If I felt I’d done something to hurt my family it would take an act of God to bring me back home. And like Selena I’d never be able to trust myself again. She and I are also born in Miami and love that city a lot. I haven’t been back to Miami since I’ve been an adult but I did enjoy visiting it virtually while writing the Miami Nights series.
To be honest Jen Miller from Taming The VIP Playboy and I have very little in 
common. But my inner 10 year-old always wanted to be a dancer and I channelled that desire into Jen’s development. I also like that she’s flawed and has made mistakes in love. I think that its so easy to fall in love with the wrong man and not matter what common sense says its hard to fall out of love. This story was born of my love of DANCING WITH THE STARS and originally Nate was going to be the celebrity on a dancing competition.
The Eiffel towers were both gifts from my daughter who knows how much I love Paris! Sadly, I’ve never visited the City of Lights but plan to now that I live in the UK.
The pewter house was a gift from one of my bosses at Disney and it says “A house without books is like a room without windows.”
The two little fairies were gifts from Rob, my husband.
The troll a gift to myself purchased in Savannah, GA at a conference where I met one of my best writing friends Eve Gaddy.
The slinky is a toy I play with a lot and have had it since my son was little if you look closely you can see where his toddler hands bent it out of shape. I adore it!
The little jewel encrusted case reminds 
me of two of my closest friends Nancy Robards Thompson and Mimi Wells. I bought each of us one of these cases for Christmas a long time ago.
Lastly are my two mugs...the one that says RELAX is there to remind me not to sweat the small stuff (the flowers are from a visit to American Girl Place when my daughter used to love that store!). The other mug is one I painted and that I drink tea out of while I write.
Where I Write
