Interview--KAREN ROSE 2

Thanks for being here, Karen. It’s a pleasure.


#1- Tell us again a little about yourself outside of your writing career…

I’m a wife and mom, so we have all the normal stuff going on at home. When I’m not writing, I’m usually catching up on all the things I put off when I’m writing! I enjoy DVD binges (right now I’m watching Bones), going to the beach, and watching old movies with my husband. I’m a country music fan (thus, really looking forward to RWA 2010 in Nashville), but also have a fondness for Aerosmith and Barry Manilow, depending on my mood. I’m not so good at sports, but I have studied karate and I do ski (badly).

I have a dog, Loki, and three cats – Belladonna, Kali, and Homer. I love word puzzles, Sudoku, and am addicted to spider solitaire! My newest addiction is Twitter.


#2- You are a NY Times bestseller of romantic suspense with quite a reader following. Do you ever fear writer’s block or that you’ll let your audience down?

Every single time I sit down to write a book! The beginning is always the hardest part of the book for me. So many choices! Pleasing my readers is always my goal, so I write every book hoping they love my characters and that I’ve kept them guessing. If I can keep them reading all night? That’s just frosting on the cake!

#3- You were an engineer for fifteen years before you began writing books. What made you make that shift and do you have any plans to go back?

It was a slow shift. I started writing as a hobby, to keep myself busy as I traveled all over the world as an engineer. After at least five years of writing in secret, it was my husband that urged me to “do something” with my books. I wrote while working various full-time jobs for another seven years, changing from engineering to customer service to teaching high school science and math, until I could afford to quit my “day job” and write full time.

Return to engineering? No plans in my near future! I liked teaching better, actually.


#4- You are part of some social media sites such as Facebook. Do you belong to any writers groups and what do you feel you have gained from the social sites?

I’ve been a member of Romance Writers of America ® for ten years and am a new member of Novelists, Inc. I’ve found RWA to be incredibly supportive and have met many of my closest friends through the organization.

I’m a relative newbie to the social sites. I’m having fun with meeting readers and connecting with other authors!


#5- Assuming you get any time to read, what authors do you like to read, and were there any books that stand out from your childhood as favorites?

I don’t get a lot of time to read, but when I do, I turn to my old favorites – Nora Roberts, Linda Howard, Jennifer Crusie. I listen to audiobooks on the treadmill and on long drives, also.

Childhood favorites? Little Women, Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, Sue Barton Student Nurse, High Heels for Jennifer… I loved them all!


#6- Are there any upcoming releases we would like to know about, and could you give us your web site so readers can check it out?

My newest release is I CAN SEE YOU, which was released in hardcover on August 5. It’s the story of Evie Wilson, who was first introduced in DON’T TELL, my first book. Eve is a graduate student, researching uses of the virtual world to help others improve their self-esteem. But the subjects of her research start turning up dead in the real world!

Homicide detective Noah Webster has a serial killer on his hands. When his investigation collides with Eve’s research, they have to work together to stop the killer before he kills again.

#7- This about concludes it. Thank you again for joining us. Is there anything else you would like to share?

I’ve just finished the manuscript for my next book. Called SILENT SCREAM, it will be released in June, 2010 and is firefighter David Hunter’s story!

Thanks so much for inviting me to talk with your readers!