When You Think of Taylor Swift I Hope You Think of Kate

When I’m in the early stages of writing a novel, I collect pictures of people that fit the image I have of my characters.

For Kate O’Donnell in Thicker Than Water (Brands Crossing Series, it was difficult to find that role model. I knew that Kate was a talented singer/songwriter living in Nashville and trying to break into the music business. She was young, tall and lanky, athletic (but sometimes a little awkward), red-haired, fair-skinned and very attractive. She was independent, sometimes fiery, intelligent and driven.

I looked at my favorite female performers –Shania Twain, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Nora Jones–and though they had many of Kate’s characteristics, none were exactly right.

Then, Taylor Swift burst onto the scene and there was a real ah-hah moment. Here was the model for Kate. The talent, the personality and the appearance were all spot on. Okay, Taylor’s hair is curly and blonde instead of red and straight. I can live with that.

Taylor’s first single is titled “Tim McGraw” and is basically a letter to an ex-boyfriend. As she remininisces about their time together, she talks about their favorite songs (obviously sung by Tim McGraw). One line of the lyrics is “when you think Tim McGraw, I hope you think of me”.

Taking the liberty to modify those lyrics I’d like to say “When you think Taylor Swift, I hope you think of Kate.”

So, anyone who likes Taylor Swift and would like to read about another young woman trying to make her mark in the music industry, you might want to read about Kate O’Donnell’s adventures in Thicker Than Water (Brands Crossing Series).

 There’s also a mystery involved and a secret admirer who stalks both Kate and her computer game avatar.

Oh, and Taylor, if you’re listening, I’d love to send you a copy and hear what you think of it

As a child, KATE O'DONNELL spends summers at her grandparents' estate in Brands Crossing where she and her girl cousins battle make-believe monsters, rescue endangered victims and a save a mythical kingdom. At twenty-five Kate is a singer/songwriter living in Nashville and pursuing a promising relationship with computer game designer PHILLIP NORWOOD. There, her only battles are fought in Aidenne's Revenge, Phillip's online fantasy game based on her childhood adventures. With her grandfather's sudden death from injuries he sustained in a suspicious car crash, Kate is forced to make a choice. Will she remain in Nashville to focus on Phillip and her music career? Or will she move back to Brands Crossing and honor the promise she made to her grandfather that she would investigate the mystery surrounding his death? Family trumps career and romance and Kate heads back to Texas where the monsters, victims and endangered kingdoms are all too real. In an attempt to protect Kate from danger, Phillip joins her quest and helps her search for incriminating documents, investigate a centuries-old family feud and confront an anonymous rose-bearing admirer who stalks Kate in both real and virtual universes. Thicker Than Water is the first in a series of novels set in Brands Crossing, Texas. It chronicles the lives of the Kincaids, a prominent family in this mythical town, and focuses on a mystery that extends back to the mid-eighteenth century and the young Texas Republic. 

Sharon K Owen is the author of Thicker Than Water (Brands Crossing Series), the first in a series of contemporary romantic suspense novels set in Brands Crossing, a mythical community in North Texas. This series chronicles the lives of the Kincaids, a prominent family in this small town, and focuses on a mystery that extends back to the mid-eighteenth century and the young Texas Republic.

She is also a university professor and an on-line creative writing instructor.

She shares a cottage with her two cats, Matt and Cinders, in a small lake-side community near Fort Worth Texas and is finishing her second novel in the Brands Crossing series, Whatever Goes Around, which will be available in March of 2012.