About Natasza  Writing has always been a passion. I spent thirty-four years with the Coast Guard, but retirement recently called, and I answered. I’m blessed to live on the west coast with my husband who also spent his career in a technical field. No more shift work or long separations from the family for me, and he’s stopped flying to the four corners of the world. There’s a great hum of contentment around our homestead. He’s also my sounding board when writer’s block strikes.
Crafting stories with pieces snipped from real life gives depth to a novel. Of course, action, suspense and romance is the goal of keeping readers entertained. Three of my books have been honored with awards, and that’s always a welcome pat on the back, but it’s folks who love to read and their reviews that offer the QA authors look for.
When I’m not attached to my keyboard, the husband and I love to camp. We travel in a forty-foot fifth wheel for long hauls, and what we affectionately call the Wiener Wagon, a twenty-two-foot travel trailer for…you guessed it, roasting wieners and short hauls.
Life truly does pass by at warp speed. Make the most of it. Smile. Laugh. And read books, because there’s no better vacation than the journey you take in your favorite chair with a good story.
Q: Where do your heroes come from?
A: A very vivid and needy imagination. The satisfaction I get from creating the most masculine alpha males who are intelligent, caring—when the moment calls for it, and strong, is every girls dream—isn’t it? I also do a fair share of creating because of my profession. I’ve worked with the same men for almost thirty years. Unfortunately, we could walk past each other on the street and never know one another. This is because we only communicate on VHF radio. Some of them, many of them actually, have very sexy voices, and the mind tends to wander.
Q: What’s the first erotic romance novel you read and why did you keep reading them?
A: I hit a good one my first time out. It’s called “Heated Rush” by Leslie Kelly. The hero made my blood curdle. What a man—whoa. I realized that these books had fantastic, imaginative stories along with the intimacy that traveled behind the bedroom door. Most of the books were shorter reads, which is perfect for my lifestyle. And the happily-ever-after-ending’s, well I love that, too.
Q: What is something most people don’t know about you?
A: I know Morse code. Sounds ancient—huh! But it is the truth. The days of passing messages back and forth are gone, but the dit-dit-dah-dah-dit-dit is still with me.
Q: What inspires you?
A: When the sun sets against the mountains where I live—it’s amazing. Music gets my imagination blazing, and people, their personalities and characteristics are so complex I just can’t let them be a passing experience. Whether they make me grit my teeth or make me laugh, they have to go down on paper.
Q: What is your favorite genre to read?
A: I’m a book slut. I have to admit it. I’ll read just about anything if it grabs my attention, and that means every genre out there. I think the better question is what don’t I read? The answer: political thrillers, I get enough brain-busting, jaw dropping politics at work.
Q: Why did you decide to try to publish your work instead of staying in the closet?
A: After taking a twenty-year break from writing fiction someone gave me a good shake, and said, “What are you doing? Write!” She was a gal-pal of my best friend, and both of them urged me to get a move on. For some reason the timing was perfect, and now I can’t stop.
Q: Besides action and the heat of romance in your novels, what else do you want to impart on your readers?
A: Love can heal, faith in ourselves and in our maker keeps us true, and hope gets us up every day to strive to be better than we are.
Q: Do you have any pet projects on the go?
A: I’ve been developing a six book series. I think, or would like to think, that it will be well received when it is released. It slides down the slope of paranormal, but puddles in what I like to call believable magic. Five heroines, five heroes, and two brushes with the apocalypse; one for every soul on earth, the second on the battlefield of earth. Stay tuned!
Q: Is there a particular quote that inspires you?
A: Yes, many actually, but being a writer of romance you have to appreciate this one: “There is no remedy for love, but to love more.” Thoreau. This quote works for readers of romance. Romance novels are like potato chips, you just can’t have one. Natasza.
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