Spotlight on
Karen Harper
January 2008
WG: Welcome
and thanks for stepping into my spotlight this month. To start
things off, please tell us about yourself.
KH: I’m a native Ohioan, born in
Toledo, went to college in Athens, OH; grad school and taught at
Ohio State in Columbus. I met my husband in Columbus and have
lived here for 35 years. I also claim to be a Floridian as
we’ve spent a lot of time there. I taught English composition
and literature for 17 years, great preparation for a writing
career. I have 2 stepdaughters, one a nurse, one a teacher,
both in Columbus. Our stepson and his wife live in St.
Augustine, FL. We have one grandson—a handful! Fortunately, he
lives only 10 minutes away from us. We love to travel, love to
root for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
WG: Let’s talk
about your own personal road to publication:
Is there some individual, group or event that you can point to
as the catalyst/impetus that set you on the road to becoming a
writer?
KH: When I first began writing in
1980 I knew no one who knew anything about the publishing
industry. I belonged to no groups, until about 3 years later
when I found Romance Writers of America (RWA). I joined MWA long
after that as well as other national groups. I did attend the
first 5 or so Romantic Times conventions in the mid-1980’s, and
met authors and publishers there. Also, I was a founding member
of both the Central Ohio and Southwest Florida RWA chapters. I
was very ignorant and isolated, compared to writers today. I
was first published in 1982, after I found an agent.
WG: Tell us
about your journey.
KH: I guess I partly answered
this just above. I mailed my first historical romance, a
medieval setting (which is now collecting dust in my basement,)
to Nancy Coffey, a lengendary editor, now an agent. She was at
Avon which was then Woodiwiss and Rosemary Rogers territory.
She rejected my ms., but sent me a long, lovely, hand-written
note. I was so ignorant at that point that I didn’t realize
getting something back in 2 months with a personal note was
really a great gift. Anyway, I did sell my second book to
Zebra, with the help of my first agent. Once again, not knowing
how to get an agent (no contests or people to talk with at that
point,) I picked his name out of the reference book THE LITERARY
MARKETPLACE, because I like his address—Central Park West, NYC.
I was with him for seven years and then found the agent of my
dreams, whom I’ve been with ever since, Meg Ruley, at the Jane
Rotrosen Agency.
WG: How many
books did you complete before you sold your first? Have all/any
of them sold since?
KH: I sold my second book. My 46th
book is out in Feb. ’08. I have sold all my books since that 2nd
one, although I haven’t convinced my agent or editors that some
of the ideas I had for books were good ones, so I’ve had
rejections at that idea level—probably about 6-8 of those. But
having early advice has helped me not spend months on a book
with a flawed idea.
WG: What
changed most about your life as a direct result of selling that
first book?
KH: I began to think about
leaving teaching to write full time. However, my husband, who
has always been my business manager, suggested I needed to do
both until my writing money approached what I was making
teaching. That took about 4 years or 6 books.
WG: What about
your writing process:
Do you maintain a set schedule? Is there such a thing as a
typical day for you?
KH: There are
no typical days, unless I am “in the book,” that is, writing it
for the first time—creating it on the blank page. I guess I
spent about 6 hours 6 days a week when that’s happening. But
other days I may be reading research, planning a story line,
promoting, or just resting my brain. I try to take at least a
month off between books.
WG: Do you set
writing goals for yourself?
KH: Yes, I
have set goals over the years—to work with a particular editor
or house; to get into hard cover; to write historical novels as
well as contemporary romantic suspense; to make the USA TODAY
and
New York Times lists. I haven’t set goals for sales
numbers or a certain amount of money—I let my agent and
publishers worry about that.
WG: Do you
have a ‘mood setter’, something (music, ritual, environment,
etc) you use to get you going when you sit down to write?
KH: When I
write, I appreciate silence. If I have music on, I start to
listen to that. I can however, start and stop for a few moments
and then get right back in the book. I have a great office to
write in now—lots of windows overlooking our back yard. I
started on a card table, moved to the kitchen table, then to the
spare bedroom. “Onward and upward,” as my agent often says. I
do have a blank wall behind my pc because I don’t want to be
distracted. I’m not the type that hangs up inspirational
pictures of heroes or quotes—at least not where I can see them
unless I turn my head. I have two walls of bookcases, floor to
ceiling, but they are behind me.
WG: Do you do
a lot of up front plotting before you start or do you just dive
in?
KH: Yes, I am a plan-ahead
writer, although I am always amazed at how the characters and
story do their own thing once I’m writing. A lot of the book is
set in my mind by the time I give my Mira Books editor an
outline. It is in my contracts that she will OK my next book
from a fairly short synopsis. Then, as I write, I jot notes,
plan chapters and scenes—yet, as I said, there are a lot of
changes that occur as I write. Sometimes, my editor is
surprised when she reads the ms. that it is not quite like the
synopsis I handed in months ago. I have at times, however, when
I wanted to do something new, written the entire book and then
tried to sell it. This last spring, my agent sold my historical
novel MISTRESS SHAKESPEARE, to Penguin/Putnam after it was
completely written. It was something different for me and I
didn’t want anyone telling me anything about how to write it.
(I must admit though, I did a few revisions for it after it was
purchased.)
WG: Do you
normally start with storyline or with character or with some
combination of the two?
KH: I know I’m in the minority,
but I often start with setting, then story and characters come
from that. There are certain places I love which really inspire
me to write a story. Amish country, Ohio, for example. I’ve
written 4 Mira romantic suspense novels set there. South
Florida, which I know well: three books so far, including
BELOW
THE SURFACE, which is out this Feb. 1. For my historical novels
or historical romances or my QUEEN ELIZABETH I MYSTERY SERIES,
I’ve used Tudor England. I’m a complete Anglophile and have
been to the British Isles many times.
WG: Do you find certain themes or character archetypes
making recurring appearances in your stories
KH: Themes yes: the fact that we don’t know people, even
those close to us, as well as we think. Family reconciliation.
My heroines have large character arcs where they overcome some
fear or flaw.
WG: What do
you see as your own personal strengths as a writer?
KH: Balancing
real life commitments with writing time. I realize writers need
to be in the real world to get to know people, to observe life,
but sometimes, as Greta Garbo said, “I want to be alone.” On
the other hand, I sometimes really miss my writer friends and
wish I could see them more.
WG:
Are there any obstacles/conflicts, specific to your particular
lifestyle, that get in the way of your writing? If so, how do
you try and overcome them?
KH: See previous question.
WG: Is there
anything else you'd like to tell us about your process?
KH: Unlike some writers I begin
at the beginning and write the story straight through. I polish
as I go along. Although I do rewrite, when I leave a chapter,
it is basically the way it will be later. I may go back and
insert or change things, but I see the writing process as
building on the foundation of scenes and chapters I’ve already
built—like building a brick wall.
WG: Do you
have a favorite sub-genre as a writer? as a reader?
KH: I used to read so much
historical romance; now I’ve gone a bit more toward reading and
writing historical novels, that is, novels with actual historic
people. My THE LAST BOLEYN and THE FIRST PRINCESS OF WALES and
MISTRESS SHAKESPEARE are those sort of books. And I do love
writing and reading suspense/mysteries.
WG: Is there a
genre you haven't been published in yet that you'd like to try
your hand at someday?
KH: I’ve been published in five
different ones, so I never say never, but I’m very content right
now, writing one contemporary romantic suspense, then something
historical.
WG: Do you
have any advice to offer writers still striving toward
publication
KH: This has been said before,
but don’t write to trends if you don’t really love that genre or
topic. And I love the Winston Churchill quote from when he was
asked his secret for success for himself and his country during
the darkest days of WW II: “Never give up. Never give up!
NEVER give up.”
WG: Is there some piece of advice
you received or bit of ‘conventional wisdom’ that you wish you
had ignored?
KH: I think a lot of people
misunderstand the advice, “Write what you know!” That doesn’t
mean you have to write about places you have grown up or stick
to storylines or characters you are totally comfortable with.
What you know can be what you have carefully researched, a place
you love. Don’t be afraid to take a bit of a chance.
WG: What do
you find to be the most rewarding thing about being a writer?
What aspect do you struggle with the most?
KH: The most rewarding thing:
being able to reach out to others with your creations.
Creativity is such a gift. What do I struggle with the most:
One thing is not to live too much in my fictional world that I
get out-of-it in real life. And not to let success, however you
define that, change you or make you self-centered.
WG: When you’re not writing, what
do you do for fun? or What is your favorite self-indulgence?
KH: Besides dark chocolate?
Shopping, which I don’t do much, but when I do it, I really
enjoy it. Of course, reading something that is not my own
research is great—I kind of binge read between books.
WG: What are your favorite movies and/or TV shows? Why?
KH: We have
both enjoyed Dancing With the Stars. I find watching 24 has
jazzed up the adventure/action parts of my suspense novels. I
really love good historicals on TV or in the movies. The Tudors
on Showtime has great costumes and some grand scenes, but I
spend a lot of my time screaming, “No!” at the screen when they
butcher the actual history.
WG: I love to
collect quotes, all kinds of quotes - inspirational, quirky,
motivational, profound, etc. Do you have a personal favorite
you'd like to share.
KH: Other than that Churchill quote above, I have the Nike
motto cross-stitched in my office: “Just Do It!” But don’t get
me going on quotes. I have too many of them stashed away for my
author talks and workshops.
WG: Please
tell us about your current project.
KH: I am between books right now,
which is why I have time for this lovely interview—great
questions, Winnie! I just handed in THE HIDING PLACE, set in
the mountains near Denver, where we visited our niece and nephew
this summer. BELOW THE SURFACE, a romantic suspense set in
South Florida, will be out Feb. 1. The heroine’s a scuba diver;
the hero builds boats. Don’t you love a ‘hands on’ hero? When
the heroine surfaces from a dangerous dive, her twin sister and
their dive boat are gone and she’s 4 miles from land. And the
book takes off from there. I love grabber beginnings.
WG: Tell us
about plans for future books.
KH: I’m in the middle of a 4-book
contract for romantic suspense. I have ended my 9-book
historical mystery series with Queen Elizabeth I as the sleuth,
but I hope to continue to write my historical novels. All of
the latter, by the way, are also the true stories of
heart-wrenching romances—but all have happy endings.
WG: And before
we close, tell us how your fans can get in touch with you.
KH: I'd love to have them visit
my website at
www.karenharperauthor.com Also, there are author bios on my
publishers’ websites for
www.mirabooks.com,
www.randomhouse.com and
www.stmartins.com
WG: Thanks
so much for spending time with me and my readers this month. It
was fun ‘chatting’ with you, as always!
KH: Thanks, Winnie. I hope readers appreciate your
site—wish I would have had the internet and such websites to
spend time with when I was in the beginning and in the middle
(the muddle) of my career!
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Previous Spotlights
Laura Marie Altom
Jennifer Ashley
Jennifler Blake
Allison Brennan
Robin Caroll
Debra Clopton
Beth Cornelison
Connie Cox
Margaret Daley
Alyssa Day
Christine Feehan
Holly Jacobs
Marcia James
Catherine Mann
Cathy McDavid
Robin T. Popp
Joanne Rock
Kerrilyn Sparks
Joanna Wayne
Lori Wilde
Lenora Worth
