Author: Karen White-Owens
Title: I Can Make You Love Me
Web sites: karenwhiteowens.com
Blog Home: Blogger.com and Novelspaces.com
Email: karenwhiteowens@yahoo.com
Disilgold: What can you tell the Disilgold community about yourself that will explain why Disilgold has sought you for a perSOULnalized interview?
Karen: I like to write stories that have emotional twists.
Disilgold: What is your latest book about?
Karen: Older woman/younger man story that asks the question what makes up a family.
Disilgold: How long did it take you to complete your book?
Karen: About five months.
Disilgold: What were the happiest moments you have experienced while writing your latest book?
Karen: I finished the coursework for my masters degree while finishing this book. Disilgold: Describe your writing style?
Karen: Generally, I know where I going with a story. Sometimes I don't know how I'm going to get there. I write a synopsis and then a chapter-by-chapter outline. The first three chapters set the style and tone for the story.
Disilgold: How did you develop your writing style?
Karen: This is my eighth book. Over the years I have developed this method to complete on my deadlines after using and rejecting others.
Disilgold: Do you have a favorite author of all time or someone who inspired you to achieve your goals as a writer?
Karen: Stephen King is one of my favorite authors. I know it sounds weird but I don't there any other author has the range of stories that Stephen King offers. I would love to drop my readers into a scene the way King does.
Disilgold: Where do you see yourself as a writer ten years from now?
Karen: I see myself moving away from romance and moving toward women's fiction.
Disilgold: What marketing tips can you provide to new authors?
Karen: Don't be discouraged by rejection. It's part of the business. Find different ways to sell your book. Remember, every person you meet is a potential buyer.
Disilgold: What other projects are you working on?
Karen: I'm currently finishing a connected back to I Can Make You Love Me with new characters for Gautier International Motors. It's Tia and Christophe's story. I'm overlaying several characters from The Way You Aren't and I Can Make You Love Me.
Disilgold: What are your top ten favorite books right now?
Karen: Barack Obama's Change We Can Believe In. James Patterson - The Women's Murder Club, Stephen King's Just After Sunset, Last Lion - The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy, Lisa Klepas - A Stranger in My Arms, James Frey - How to Write A Damn Good Mystery, The Idiot's Guide to Writing Children's Books, Nicholas Sparks - The Notebook, Tess Gerritsen's - The Surgeon and The Apprentice and The Keepsake.
Disilgold:When do you write and for how long?
Karen: I write at 4am. I work approximately 2 hours each morning.
Disilgold: Do you have a favorite location for writing?
Karen: I have a workstation setup in our living room with a desk, computer, printer, and some of my writing books.
Disilgold: What method did you use to write or organize your book?
Karen: I create a folder for a particular project on my computer. Everything involving that story goes into that folder until I'm done with the story. When I do research for a story, I put all the info I find in this folder and I keep referring to it until the book is complete.
Disilgold:What three words best describe your writing style?
Karen: I don't know. That's an interesting question. I write and then I edit and then I write some more.
Disilgold: What other hobbies do you pursue when you aren't writing?
Karen: I've taken up crocheting, exercising, and sewing.
Disilgold: Are there any hidden jewels or talents that you possess that many of your readers may not know?
Karen: I have a wicked sense of humor and a very compassionate side. Plus, I believe I can sing, but I don't think anyone else does.
Disilgold: Where can folks buy your latest book?
Karen: Anywhere and everywhere. It'll be online at Barnes and Noble and Borders and all of the local bookstores will carry it.
Disilgold: What have been some of your toughest obstacles as a writer?
Karen: Accepting rejection and learning from it.
Disilgold: This section of our interview requires brief responses.
> The "Get PerSOULnal" Interview
Disilgold: What time do you awake normally every morning?
Karen: 4am
Disilgold: What is your writing fuel in the morning?
Karen: I have the next scene in my head before I go to bed. Once I wake up in the morning, I think about the scene and where I want to take it before I get up and start writing.
Disilgold: What early morning rituals have followed for many years?
Karen: I do fifteen minutes of exercise before I do anything and then I check email.
Disilgold: What are your favorite foods to snack on while writing?
Karen: Pretzels
Disilgold: Do you watch television or listen to the radio when you're writing, and if so, what do you watch or listen too mostly?
Karen: The television is on a lot of times. But I'm a music woman.
Disilgold: What is your favorite book of all time?
Karen: Jane Eyre
Disilgold: What music are you listening to?
Karen: Mr Luther Vandross
Disilgold: Do you have an exercise regimen to suggest for busy writers?
Karen: I walk a couple of night a week with a friend and I do fifteen minutes of exercise in the morning and twenty minutes in the evening.
Disilgold: What is your everyday outfit?
Karen: Since I work during the day, I wear business suits. At home I wear sweats.
Disilgold: What is your sheer joy on life?
Karen: My family and friends and a good glass of wine.
Disilgold: If you could inspire a child, what would you say?
Karen: Don't let fear control you. If there is something you want to do, do it. Don't worry about what other people think.
Disilgold: What is your favorite motto?
Karen: I want it. I just have to figure out a way to get it.
Disilgold: What is your favorite time to put your writing
pen down and rest?
Karen: I start getting ready for work around 7am.
Disilgold: Have you traveled anywhere besides your hometown and if so, where?
Karen: Oh yeah. We love to travel. My husband and I just returned from a trip to Montreal on Sunday.
Disilgold: Where is your dream vacation?
Karen: I love Hawaii. We've been there a couple of time, but my husband wants to go back one more time.
Disilgold: What do you particularly like about the literary world today?
Karen: I like the creative process and writing stories.
Disilgold: If you could leave one word of advice to people
in general, what would it be?
Karen: Can I use three words? Keep at it.
Reflections from Founder: Karen White Owens is DIsilgold SOUL Magazine 6th YOUnity Guild of America Award Recipient of Most Outstanding Romance Drama Fiction Novelist of the Year
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