Fallen Angel Reviews would like to welcome Karen Kay! Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to interview with us.

Please tell us a little about yourself.

I'm pretty ordinary, I must admit. I love to read and can almost always be seen with some book in my hand. I love romance and happy-ever-afters. I'm a mom, though my kids are grown and on their own -- and I'm still very much in love with my husband.

I loved your latest book Princess and the Wolf: Clans of the Wolf. For those that have not read it, can you tell them a little about the book?

The Princess And The Wolf was written really in celebration of the bicennteniel of the Lewis & Clark adventure. It is based on the true life story of Baptiste Charbonneau, who was the youngest member of the adventure -- he was Sacagawea's son -- who was born on the adventure. When Baptiste was about 16, he became friends with a German prince and was invited to go to the Continent and live as a prince -- for 6 years he was on the Continent, and was tutored in 3-4 different languages and lived much like a prince. After 6 years, he and the prince returned to America and split up, never to see one another again. Their parting was thought to be less than amicable. Baptiste never married -- and this in a land where he could have married many times over. So I asked myself why? What happened? Those questions led to the story.

Of all the books you have written, do you have a favorite? If so, which one and why?

Hard question. I love them all -- however, if I were to pick a book, I might pick GRAY HAWK'S LADY -- that was written when I had first met my husband -- and so to me, it will always be special.

Are you working on anything at the moment?

Yes -- I recently changed publishers -- a big move for me, as I had been with AVON for eleven years -- but now I'm with Berkley and my first book for them is due to come out September 2005. It's title is THE ANGEL AND THE WARRIOR and is the start of a new series, The Lost Clan series. This is about a clan that has angered the Creator so thoroughly that he has sentenced them to live a mist-like existence. However, once in every new generation, 3-4 boys are chosen to go forth, out of the midst, and are charged with the duty of attempting to break the spell for their own individual clans. This is about these heros and the ladies, of course, who together, strive to save their people.

What can we look forward to from Karen Kay in the future?

More historical Indian romance -- and perhaps, if I am able -- a few contemporary Indian romances.

Do you have a set writing schedule?

I like to think so, however, I notice that my schedule seems to change book for book. My life tends to be very busy and so when I'm off deadline, I try to get as much accomplished in my "real" life as possible -- and then deadlines come around again, and I'm off and writing. When I write, I pretty much write all day -- though I find I must take breaks occasionally -- and that's when I do alot of my research or go on-line and chat about exercise or whatever I'm interested in at the moment...which also is constantly subject to change.

Describe a day in the life of Karen Kay.

Hmmm. LikeI said, it's always changing. But mostly first thing in the morning, I exercise for about an hour. Sitting all day, this is a very big must. Then the day begins -- I try to do nothing but write in the morning, however, sometimes, I can't resist looking at email first. One day a week, I try to do nothing but answer fan letters, although if you do write to me, you'll notice that under deadline, I can get as far behind as a few months -- and I hope that fans will forgive this in me. I'm much more prompt on email, I must admit. Of course, I have to feed the cats -- and I like to cook -- and I'm almost always on my breaks on line -- chatting about exercise or whatnot. Like I said, I love to cook and so I'm often in the kitchen toward suppertime -- and then I'm off to my church in the evening where I'm taking a course. But again, emergencies come up from time to time and so the schedule is always subject to change -- the most I can say is that I work usually in the mornings on either writing -- or research -- or answering fan mail -- or promotion -- I'm always working, so to speak, as all of life is something for me to draw from.

Who or what inspires you the most?

If I were to pick particular people, it would be L. Ron Hubbard who was one of the best friends I've ever had -- and my husband. My husband inspires me to do the very best I can. Other than that, I'd say that music, pow-wow's, museums, bicycle riding -- life -- inspires me.

Do you have plans to write other genres?

I don't know. I love mysteries and science fiction/fantasy, but my biggest love is romance. I'm a big fan of romance and so I'm really doing what I love most.

What authors do you enjoy reading?

For research, I love first hand accounts -- George Catlin, George Grinnell, James Willard Schultz, Chief Long Lance -- I like to read the contemporaries of the time, not other people's opinions of them. I also love the book, BUCKSKIN BRIGADES, by L. Ron Hubbard -- one of the first Indian historicals I'd ever read, I sometimes pull it out to remind me of my hero -- I love the way Hubbard paints Indian life...particularly the Blackfeet -- it's because of Hubbard that I became interested in the Blackfeet. As far as fiction goes, I love Lois Greiman, Cassie Edwards, Amanda Ashley, Jeanette Baker, Amanda Quick, JD Rowlins, Johanna Lindsey, Kathleen Woodiwess, Tolkien -- but this is a really short list of my loves -- truly, the list could go on and on.

Which do you prefer writing, series or stand alone titles?

Although my books are often in a series, they are all stand alone titles. This was something that I started when I first began writing -- at first I tried to do connecting books in a series -- but when the first book in the series was often out of print by the time the third book came to print, I realized that my books had to stand alone. Thus, I devised a different sort of idea for my series's.

Have you ever had an embarrassing moment at a booksigning?

Hmmm. Not really. I'm not easily embarrassed, I must admit. Either about myself or others.

In your experience, what is the best and worst thing about being a writer?

The best thing is the creative process -- I'm doing what I love to do. The worst is that there isn't great stability in this position, and income isn't as easy to predict as I would like.

What advice would you give aspiring authors?

Write -- don't worry about much at first except getting the ideas down on paper. You can always revise -- but write and then write some more. Like anything else in the arts, one must master first the technique -- just writing itself -- before one can create with it. Your tools are words and phrases and the special way you have of saying something -- no one else will say it quite like you -- so just write and write and write. Set aside some part of the day -- even if it's only an hour after supper -- to write -- even if you don't write anything. There you are -- with paper and pen or at your computer. It's a training pattern you're trying to develop -- and that training pattern is that at a particular time of day, you are writing. And most of all don't pay any attention to what others say about your work, unless they're helping you with grammar -- there are MANY critics -- few writers -- be a writer.

Is there anything you would like to add to this interview?

Another piece of advice would be to get a good look at works or art -- any work of art, be it music or painting or books or movies. All art really conveys some sort of message. It's something to consider. Know what it is that you are attempting to communicate. I think that might help.

Other than that, I want to thank you, Cindy, for giving me this opportunity to talk to you. I think you are one of the best in this field, Cindy, and certainly you are an inspiration to me and probably to other authors, too, to do the very best that they can.

Thanks again.

Thank you so much, Kay, for taking the time to interview with us. If you would like to learn more about Karen Kay and her books, please visit her website www.wordmuseum.com/karenkay.


Interview by:
Cindy