BIO: I grew up in southwest Missouri and currently
live near Branson with my cat Bobby Joe (who is deaf). I grew up in a Christian
home with a minister for a father so it is a little ironic that my genre is
erotic romance. I love the outdoors and enjoy gardening, fishing, and hunting.
I have been a nurse by profession for thirty years and love helping others. I
have enjoyed writing all my life. Through my stories, I am able to live
vicariously through my characters doing things that I might not ever do myself.
The Interview:
GRACIE: I’m
excited to have you here at The G-Spot, Karen! Please tell us a little about
yourself (or a lot J) and how and when you got into writing?
KAREN: Thank You for having me Gracie, I am
happy to be here. Hmm tell you about myself, well I
lived a somewhat sheltered life growing up in the Ozarks of Southwest Missouri.
I was the daughter of a minister, and spent the majority of my childhood and
teenage years in church which kept me out of a lot of trouble I am sure.
Growing up I always enjoyed reading but it wasn’t until the seventh grade that
I took an interest in writing. My English teacher Mrs. Sears had us writing
poems and short stories and it was then that I knew I wanted to write. I became
obsessed with poetry and it opened a whole new world to me. It was in high
school that I decided I wanted to write a book. I have started several books
over the years but didn’t finish one until I was fifty. My first book Red Skies At Dawn was published
the day after my fifty first birthday and that was about the best birthday
present I ever had.
I would
say that I have lived an interesting life. I have been to Sturgis four times
two of which I rode my own motorcycle. I always liked the bad boys and that has
given me my share of excitement, trouble, and heart ache. It seems that no
matter how hard I try to be the bad girl, the good girl inside me always wins
out. My experiences and my very vivid imagination have given me a lot to write
about. I believe it is the collection of all our life experiences good or bad
that make us who we are and I like myself so I have no regrets for the life I
have lived.
GRACIE: Is there
any one thing or person in your life that inspired your writing? Any one thing
or person that influenced the genre you write in?
KAREN: I have
always been an avid reader and according to my mother have always had a vivid
imagination. I can remember reading the Little House series in grade school and
thinking I wanted to write stories too. In my teen years I read every Harlequin
Romance I could get my hands on and dreamed of finding my hero. If I had to
credit a single person with my desire to write it would have to be my seventh
grade teacher Mrs. Sears. It was in her class that I came to realize the power
of words. As far as my genre, I guess I would have to give an ex husband the
credit for that.
GRACIE: When did
you get The Call and what was your first published book?
KAREN: By the time I reached high school I knew I
wanted to write a book someday but it wasn’t until my 51st birthday
that my first book “Red Skies At Dawn” was published. It is a story about a
young woman who is involved with a biker and agrees to go to Sturgis with him.
His true colors come out and she realizes he is the wrong kind of biker. He
basically abandons her on the way and she is thrown into the arms of his half
brother who comes to her rescue. There is a kidnapping, drugs, alcohol, and of
course some hot sex scenes. This story was based in part on my own experience
and of course my vivid imagination.
GRACIE: What do
you know now about writing and the publishing industry that you wish you’d
known before you started?
KAREN: It is a lot harder than I thought it would be.
Writing takes time and working a fulltime job as a nurse doesn’t allow for much
of that. I have also learned that just
because I think my work is good doesn’t mean that anyone else will. Having a
book published takes work and getting the book to sell now that is the hard
part. I think that one of the secrets is
to get your name out there and to do that you need to have several books out.
Looking back, I wish that I would have kept up with my writing when I first had
the urge years ago.
GRACIE: Please, give
us a little story behind the story and what inspired your Siren Allure title,
Red Skies at Dawn.
KAREN: I road my Harley to Sturgis one year and the
experience made such an impact on me that I wrote a short story about the ride.
When I was finished I read what I wrote and thought, gosh I could make a book
about this so I started. There are many of my own experiences scattered
throughout the book. I think to make your story interesting and believable it
is important to know what you are talking about. The book was originally to be
a sweet romance that I could send to Harlequin, but my characters had a mind of
their own and the book has a few scenes that are quite dark and “in your face.”
Of course love wins out in the end.
GRACIE: What is
it you believe makes Sammie a perfect match for biker Mitch and vice versa?
KAREN: Sammie is
rather innocent and is easily taken advantage of. She is mixed up with the
wrong kind of guy, Jake. Jake is a biker and he is a selfish man who is always
seeking his own pleasure. He doesn’t care who he hurts to get his way. Mitch,
Jake’s half brother is a biker but unlike Jake, he lives by the biker code. He
cares for his “family” and would do anything for them. He has so much more
depth. He is a little older and knows what life is all about. Sammie is a
little naive and needs someone to look out for her and Mitch knew the first
time he met her that he was the one who could do it.
GRACIE: Mitch or
“Cowboy” as the other bikers call him, seems to be a bit of a rebel. What is it
you think is his Achilles’ heel and how do you go about stomping it?
KAREN: Mitch is a
man who has always taken care of himself. He is strong willed and his job has
always been his focus. Mitch is a man who has always been in control of his
life and his emotions. He is a man of action and when things go wrong his first
instinct is to go balls to the wall to take care of things. He doesn’t need to
count on anyone for help because he can take care of himself. People think he
is a little arrogant because he is so so sure of himself. His weakness is his
love for Sammie, being thrown together with her has turned his world upside
down.
GRACIE: Do you
have any more books planned in the biker universe or sub-plot characters you
think warrant their own book in the Red Skies vein?
KAREN: I am
currently working on revisions for “Red Skies At Night” which is a sequel to my
first book. It has the same characters and starts shortly after they return
home. There are a few twists and turns that are sure to surprise. There are
some strong secondary characters and two of them are the main characters in a
third in the series which I have outlined. It is possible that there might also
be a fourth book depending on how the third turns out. I have also written
another “biker” novel that I recently submitted and I’m crossing my fingers
that it will be accepted. I am thinking that the title for it will be
Undercover Lies.
GRACIE: I know
this is like asking a mother which is her favorite child, but which of your
characters is your favorite and why?
KAREN: That is a hard
question. Sammie is a lot like me in that she is very caring and maybe a little
naïve. She is always looks for the best in others and that tends to get her in
trouble. She has had pain in her life yet she is not afraid to take chances.
She is strong although she doesn’t realize it. What is not to like about Mitch.
I just wish that I would meet someone like him. I think that Grizzly is also a
great guy and would be a great friend to have.
GRACIE: What
about your characters makes them unique?
KAREN: They are
all bikers yet each one has their own unique characteristics. Jake is hard
core, seeking pleasure where ever he can find it. Sammie is young and naïve,
and sometimes she does things that she doesn’t want to in order to please
others. One of the things that makes her unique is that she has a distorted
view of herself. She sees herself as average and in reality she is a beautiful
woman inside and out. She is also very strong which she doesn’t realize. Mitch
is always in control. He comes across as aloof or arrogant at times yet inside
he is a mess of emotion.
GRACIE: What is
your favorite aspect of the writing process? Your least favorite?
KAREN: I love to
sit down and lose myself in writing. I can interject things from my own life
into the story and it is quite cathartic. I like to visualize the scenes in my
head as I go and it is almost like being there. Writing allows me to experience
things that I might never do in my own life. It is very liberating. My least
favorite thing about writing is that it takes time and time is a valuable
commodity.
GRACIE: Are you a
pantser or do you outline?
KAREN: Well in Red Skies at Dawn I was more of a
panster, letting my characters go their own way. Red Skies at Night was much
the same, however in Undercover Lies I made an outline about half way through
and finished it uisng the outline. I found that if I don’t have a little bit of
an idea of where things are going next my characters would take off in their
own direction and the story would change completely. My third book in the Red
Skies series is already outlined and I think that will help me to keep on
track. Although I do believe there are some stories that need to tell
themselves, you know evolve on their own much like life does.
GRACIE: If you
weren’t a writer, what other profession would you have chosen to pursue?
KAREN: Well I
wish I was a full time writer but I do have a day job. I knew as a child that I
wanted to make a difference in some way. I have been a nurse for the last 30
years and being a nurse has allowed me to touch the lives of others every
day. I love helping people in their time
of need. I believe that if we look hard enough, we can find something good in
even the worst of situations. I strive to remain positive and like to encourage
and motivate others. We all need encouragement and I try to make an
inspirational post on my Facebook page every morning. We need to choose our
word carefully because we don’t always know who is listening and how our words
will affect their lives. I actually have started an inspirational/motivational
book as well which I hope to finish before the end of the year.
GRACIE: Who are
some of your favorite authors and why? Name some of your favorite books and why
they’re your favorites.
KAREN: J.R.R.
Tolkien is my absolute favorite. My sixth grade home room teacher read a
chapter of The Hobbit to us every day after lunch. I had never read a book like
that before and it awakened my imagination. It is still one of my favorite books.
I love all his books. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, is a classic romance
and her characters were so developed you could feel their thoughts. Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women has always been a favorite
as well. She was able to make each of the sisters so real, and so different.
Both these women were remarkable writers. In my genre, erotic romance I am
partial to Tymber Dalton, her Reluctant Dom is a real tear jerker. I love a
book that evokes an emotion from the reader.
GRACIE: What are
you working on now and what should readers be looking forward to from you in
the future?
KAREN: I am
currently working on revisions to Red Skies at Night the second in the Red
Skies Series which I hope will be out sometime this summer. I just submitted a
third book which I think will be called Undercover Lies and I am keeping my
fingers crossed that it will be accepted. The third in my Red Skies Series, Red
Skies Again is outlined and I will be
starting it as soon as I finish my revisions on book two. I am hoping to have
it finished by the end of the year. As I said earlier I am also working on an
Inspirational book which I hope to finish by the end of the year as well.
GRACIE: Do you
have a website and/or how can readers contact you?
KAREN: The best
place to contact me is by private message on my personal Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ksjohnsonrnc
or by private message on my Red Skies page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RedSkiesAuthor.
GRACIE: Where and
how can readers purchase and/or read samples of your work?
KAREN: Red Skies
at Dawn is available at http://www.bookstrand.com/red-skies-at-dawn,
as well as Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Kobobooks.com, and Goodreads.com. I
will be posting non-adult excerpts from Red Skies at Night and Undercover Lies
on my Red Skies page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RedSkiesAuthor
on a weekly basis. Check out my web page as well http://karenbennett-johnsonauthor.com/.
GRACIE: What
advice do you have for beginning writers?
KAREN: Write, write, and keep writing. Don’t
give up and don’t get discouraged. There is no one else who can tell the stories
inside your head. They are unique only to you, and you are meant to share those
with the world.
GRACIE: Anything
else about yourself or your writing you’d like to share with your readers?
KAREN: I don’t
know who said it originally but I have always loved the saying: “Life is like a
Piano, what you get out of it depends on how you play it.” Don’t let life pass you by, get out there and
play.
