For the City Times

ARPIN — Her day job is designing homes, but her passion is writing stories.

Kathy Bottensek, of Arpin, has recently had her first book published. Describing the book, Bitter Torments, Tender Memories, as a romance mystery, Bottensek has been working on it since 1982, the year she graduated from high school.

“I started writing as a hobby, taking all the stuff in my head that I wanted to pour out on paper.  It evolved as I went on,” said Bottensek. I would write a little chunk, write the ending, and then fill in the middle.  As I went back, I kept adding little facets.”

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The book’s protagonist, Megan, seemingly has everything going for her, yet she longs for answers about her clouded past. When the man in her life searches for her true identity, secrets of the past are forced to surface. The plot reaches a climax with arguments, a struggle, and gunshots.

As Bottensek notes, “You write it for yourself, but you’re also hoping to entertain somebody.”  After sending her manuscript to three different publishers, Bottensek selected Page Publishing in New York.  “Once I held the book in my hands, it made everything real,” she said.

Describing her creative process, Bottensek states:

“A lot of my stories come from a dream I had, and I wake up thinking that would make a good story. I just think of stuff and it needs to spill out.”

While she was writing the book, her mother, Janet Zager, was her first reader. “She helped tremendously.  She read it first and let me know if there were holes in the story.  And she corrected a ton of spelling and punctuation errors.”

She admitted that seeing her name in print was a thrill that she will not soon forget. Now she is working on two other books.

“I used to start writing at bedtime and write until two or three a.m.  Now I write as soon as I get out of bed.  It’s the first thing I think about doing,” said Bottensek. “Some days I have nothing on my mind but working on my story.  Some days I’d rather do that than anything.  The writing draws me in, especially when one is coming along nicely. If I get to a stalling point in one story, I jump to a different one.”

The book, Bitter Torments, Tender Memories, is available in both print and electronic editions through Amazon or Barnes & Noble.