Meet Lucy Kubash

My guest today is author Lucy Kubash. Lucy is a fellow Mid-Michigan RWA chapter member.  Although she does a lot of work behind the scenes, she's been secretary, vice president and president. It's my pleasure welcome Lucy Kubash. An interesting fact I discovered recently, we were married the same year.

Hi, Lucy. I’m so glad you’re here. Please tell us about yourself.

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember, starting with what is now known as fan fiction. As a preteen and teenager I made up stories about my favorite TV shows, starring, of course, myself and the handsome hero! I started writing with an eye to being published when my first child was very small. My first published work was a short story for Woman’s World magazine. I went on to publish fourteen stories with them, all short romances. I was also writing novels then, and after more years than I care to count, my first and so far only novel, Chance’s Return, was published as an ebook in 2006. It is now available in print and digital format from Pelican Book Group. I also write a monthly column called The Pet Corner. I have two blogs, one for writing topics and one called The Zeke Chronicles, that ties in with the column. I live with my husband of forty years, two dogs, one cat, and we have a grown son and daughter and an assortment of grand-dogs and grand-kitties.

I love The Zeke Chronicles. They're informative and entertaining. What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I have two part-time merchandising jobs that keep me busy, but I love to read. I’m always reading something. I listen to music, preferably classic rock and sometimes country. Spend time with my family whenever possible.  My pets take up a lot of time, caring for them, playing with and walking them. Sometimes I’m playing on Facebook. Oh yes, and sometimes I have to give my husband a bit of attention.

What does your family think of your writing?

They’re very supportive. My husband figured out shortly after we married that having a writer for a spouse was something he better get used to if he wanted to keep me around. The kids got used to it from the time they were babies.  My daughter built and maintains my website.

What do you think makes a good story?

For me, it’s always about the characters. I love a good plot and interesting twists, but I have to love the people in the story first. In reading, I can forgive a less than stellar plot if I’ve fallen in love with the characters. I have to love my own characters in order to write about them. I want them to have flaws and not be perfect, but there must be something about them that makes me care what happens to them. I like stories and like to write stories about down-to-earth real people with real problems.

How do you come up with ideas?

Sometimes I read a newspaper article that sparks my interest. Once, forest fires sweeping the West led me to write a forest fire story.  Oftentimes, it’s a song that makes me think about a story to go with it, or a place I’ve visited stays with me. A visit to the Great Smoky Mountains years ago led me to write a ghost story set there. It hasn’t been published yet but hoping someday. And sometimes stories totally come out of nowhere.

What is the single most important part of writing for you?

I would say to create characters who have heart and are realistic, and to tell a story that is compelling, so that readers will want to invest their time reading it.

What do you enjoy most about writing?

The journey, finding out who these people really are, what happens to them, how things work out for them. When they become so real you can imagine they are people you know, you know it’s working.

Where do you start when writing? Research, plotting, outline, or...?

I do a little research to get me started and like to have my main characters in mind. I may write a short outline or synopsis but most of the fun comes from the journey. I’ve just started a new story (working title, Sighs and Whispers) and I’m pretty much just starting out and seeing where it takes me. I know some important details, but not everything, so the fun will be in finding them out as I go along. We’ll see what happens.

I agree about the journey being the most fun. If you could give the younger version of yourself advice what would it be?

Time is wasting.  Just write the story. Don’t worry about what happens when it’s done. Just get it written. Don’t edit it to death. It’s still good advice to myself.

Definitely good advice. What two authors would we find you reading when taking a break from your own writing?

Just two? That’s hard. Karen White and Kathleen Eagle are two favorites. Karen White writes wonderful women’s fiction and Kathleen, of course, does contemporary western romance like no one else. I’m following the cowboy series she’s writing for Special Edition.

Tell us about your latest book.

Chance’s Return is my only published novel. It’s an inspirational romance, contemporary, set in Wyoming. The characters are an ex-rodeo rider and a librarian, two unlikely people to fall in love. It’s a story of hope and new beginnings; forgiveness and finding love again after loss. It’s a prodigal son story with lots of conflict between father and son, sibling rivalry and two people who fall in love despite their differences.

Here is a quote from a reviewer:

“Lucy Naylor Kubash has written a sweet and sincere novel of finding love for a second time. Her characters are genuine and the plot is very realistic. Beautiful and rich writing creates the feeling of truly being in the amazing wilderness of Wyoming. There is a profound spiritual emphasis to the book, which gives it a peaceful quality. It was a joy to read.”

Bonnie-Lass

Coffee Time Romance

Great review. Let's give the readers a glimpse of Chance's Return.

Excerpt:

There was only the hum of the engine then and the soft swishing of tires on the still wet pavement. Casey didn’t try to make conversation but drove along in silence, wondering if a man like chance McCord could ever believe in rainbows and promises.

She turned onto the dirt two track that led to the North Star and rattled across the first cattle grate. She jumped when Chance broke the silence.

“You can let me off here.”

Casey glanced at him, puzzled. “But it’s still two miles to the house. It might rain again.”

“I’ve walked farther in and worse weather. The day I left this ranch I walked down this drive. I know how long it is.”

Casey had to wonder—what had made Chance leave? Why had he stayed away so long? The questions stayed in her mind even after Chance slipped away from Jamie and moved stiffly from the truck, pausing only to gather his gear from the back.

Before closing the door, he bent down and peered across the seat at Casey. “Thanks for the lift. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention this to anyone.”

Casey nodded. When he stepped away from the truck, she drove on, but she couldn’t help glancing in the rearview mirror. The saddle and duffel bag still sat on the side of the road, and Chance stood beside them, staring out toward the mountains they’d left behind them. Would he even show up at the North Star? Or would the wanderlust that had once led him from here take him away again?

Chance’s Return is available at  www.pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/Chance-s-return  Amazon and Barnes and Noble

 

What’s next for Lucy Kubash?

I have a synopsis written for a sequel to Chance’s Return and plan to start writing that book after I finish Sighs and Whispers.

Where can readers find you?

I have a website: www.lucynaylorkubash.com. My blogs are at: www.lucynaylorkubash.blogspot.com and www.thezekechronicles.wordpress.com I’m also on Facebook under Lucy Kubash. I haven’t set up an author page there yet but it’s on my to-do list. 

Thanks, Diane, for having me as your guest today!

My pleasure.