Author Interview- Karen Witemeyer

Another professional author! Welcome, Karen! First, tell us a little bit about yourself.

1. What inspired you to become a writer?

I have always been an avid reader, and as I grew to adulthood, I toyed with the idea of putting my own stories to paper. I'd daydream romantic plot lines and jot down my ideas in a journal, but I never committed myself to writing. First, college kept me busy. Then kids entered the picture. But in 2003 when my husband learned his job was being cut, the urge to turn someday into this day became too strong to ignore. The busyness didn't disappear, of course. I started working full-time outside the
home, and the kids were still young and in need of my attention. However, the Lord sent me a wake-up call, and I knew I had to answer.

2. What books have influenced your life most?

I grew up adoring books like Little House on the Prairie and Anne of Green Gables. There was just something about historical novels that brought my imagination to life. Later on, I discovered historical romance and fell in love with the genre. I love the wit of authors like Julia Quinn, the rugged western adventures of Jodi Thomas, and the fierce highland warriors of Julie Garwood. However, the two books that shaped my journey into Christian fiction were Christy by Catherin Marshall and Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. Beautiful stories with godly messages. I want to touch readers the way those authors touched me.

3. What is the one piece of advice you received about writing that helped you the most?

RUE – Resist the urge to explain. Maybe it's the cool acronym, but this one really stuck with me. As authors, we are often tempted to explain everything going through our heads to the reader, to make sure they see the characters and themes just like we do. But over-explaining can kill the momentum of a story and risks insulting the reader. We want the reader to experience the story on their own terms instead of forcing them to see it through the author's eyes. Only then can it touch them on a
personal level.

4. Do you have any preparation rituals before you begin to write?

This is a terrible ritual, but I seem to do it every time that I sit down to the computer to write. I check my e-mail. Ha! Not very inspiring, is it? I think it's a final act of procrastination. When my inbox is empty, the last barrio is down, so I make myself open the document and get to work.

5. Which one of your books do you consider your “pride and joy”. Why?

I often tell people that asking an author to pick her favorite book is like asking a mother to pick her favorite child. It can't be done. If I had to pick, though, I'd say either To Win Her Heart or Short-Straw Bride. To Win Her Heart because of Levi Grant with his speech impediment, quiet faith, and hunky blacksmith physique, and because it's the book that has garnered the most awards. Short-Straw Bride because it was my break-out novel and introduced the Archer brothers who have become extremely popular with readers. I never know what is going to resonate with readers, so when these two books made an impact, all I could do was thank God for the blessing.

6. Any fun behind the scenes tidbits you'd like to share with us?

My editor recently shared some fun, behind-the-scenes, tidbits with me regarding the cover of my upcoming June release, A Worthy Pursuit. They usually hire models or actresses to pose during the cover shoots, but sometimes they use their own staff. My latest cover features Carissa Maki who works in the contracts department for Bethany House and her real life husband, Chad. How cool is that? To have a real married couple posing together on the cover of my romance. Love it! Unfortunately, in the final version, most of poor Chad is cut out of the picture, but at least he's getting a boot in the door. Ha!

7. Do you pattern you heroes and heroines after people you know?

No. At least not directly. All of the heroes have a touch of my husband in them. After all, he's my romantic inspiration. The heroines are usually inspired by wishful thinking. Who would I like to be if I could travel back in time? Every once in a while, if I need to have a character view the world through eyes vastly different than my own, I might lean on someone I know who sees the world through a different lens, but for the most part I have fun just dreaming up strong, heroic men and feisty, independent women to people my stories.

8. What is your favorite time in History?

My favorite time period to write about is the late 1800s. Usually 1880s or later. I have one book set in an earlier decade (1850s) which I enjoyed writing as well, but it was a little outside my wheelhouse. I love reading in many different time periods, though. My favorites are Regency England, Victorian-era America or England, and Medieval, especially in the Highlands.

9. We all have family, work and other obligations...how do you maintain balance while in the middle of a writing project?

I work full-time and still have three kids at home, so I have learned to be extremely flexible with my writing time. I set weekly goals for myself of completing one polished chapter every week. This works better for me than daily word count goals because it affords me more flexibility. If I don't have time to write one day, I can write longer the next, etc. Sometimes when I'm on deadline, I have to bump the schedule up to three chapters every two weeks or even two chapters a week, but that's about my limit, and I can't sustain it for long. I'm one of those slow, edit-as-she-goes authors. My pace is slow, but when I finish my first draft, it's done and ready to turn in.

10. What is the next project you're working on?

I just started work on what I hope will turn into a new series. Emma Chandler was raised by her spinster aunts to believe a woman could accomplish anything a man could as long as she maintained well-managed finances and surrounded herself with a community of like-minded women. With a heart for the downtrodden and a passion for women's rights, Emma uses her inheritance to set up a women's colony in Harper's Station, TX. Any woman needing to make a fresh start is welcome as well as those who wish to practice trades normally associated with men. All goes well until one day Harper's Station comes under attack by an outlaw determined to run the women off their land. Emma has to admit that she needs help. A man's help. And there's only one man she could trust with the safety of her ladies – Malachi Shaw, the boy she'd taken in during a raging snowstorm when they'd been children. The boy who'd broken her heart two years later.

11. Where can we purchase your books? (provide link) and how can we keep up with you? (blog link, webpage, fan page)

The best place to find all my books in one place is on my website. I have links to all the
major retailers. You can find my books page here:
http://karenwitemeyer.com/books.html

I also blog regularly on two group blogs. Petticoats and Pistols is a western romance blog made up of authors from both the Christian and general markets. Inspired by Life and Fiction if a blog comprised of bestselling Inspirational authors of both historical and contemporary fiction. I would also love to have you sign up for my newsletter. I only send out a few communications a year, usually when I have a new release or a special contest to announce. Also, everyone on my newsletter list is automatically entered in my historical fiction drawing every month. I give away 2 copies of Christian historical novels every month to a luck winner. Could be you! Click here to subscribe:
http://www.karenwitemeyer.com/newsletter/?p=subscribe

12. Last, but not least.....What and when is your next release? Provide a brief synopsis....

My next release is actually an e-novella called Love on the Mend. It is has a carry-over character from my last novel, Full Steam Ahead. The young runaway Darius and Nicole take in is now a grown man who finally returns to the town he ran away from 17 years earlier. It can be read as a stand-alone, but those who got to know Jacob in Full Steam Ahead, will particularly enjoy seeing the rest of his story. Here's the blurb:

Love on the Mend

After serving as a doctor during the War Between the States, Jacob Sadler wants nothing more than to establish a quiet country practice in rural Texas. But he knows he'll never find peace until he buries the pain of his past. To that end, he accepts a job in Cold Spring, Texas--the town he's avoided for seventeen years--and discovers his past is definitely still alive and kicking.

When a new doctor arrives in town and saves her brother's leg, Mollie Tate quickly puts him on a hero's pedestal. But then the new doc insults her "Uncle" Curtis. Years ago, Curtis Sadler rescued Mollie when no one else cared. How could he possibly be the villain the new doctor believes him to be?

Jacob doesn't know what to make of the young woman who assists him like a seasoned nurse one minute only to take a strip out of his hide the next. Yet the sparks that fly between them make him feel more alive than he has in a long time. As respect for his young nurse turns into something deeper, can he set aside the pain from his past to embrace this new love, or are some sins too big to be forgiven?




Thank you for doing the interview with me, Karen!


Readers, feel free to comment or ask questions below!