Tag Archives: Karen King.

WRITERS ON THE ROAD: KAREN KING

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Places I’ve been to or lived in often inspire my writing, as do people I meet, conversations I overhear, incidents that happen. They’re all fuel for an author’s imagination, as my family and friends know and say to me ‘you can put that in a book’ when we go to a particularly interesting place or something unusual happens – and I frequently do!

I often set my books in places that I’ve lived in or visited – many of my romances are set in Cornwall – where I lived for many years – or Spain – where I currently live.  Whereas my psychological thrillers are usually set in a city such as Birmingham where I was born and grew up or Worcester where I lived for several years before moving to Spain. That doesn’t mean that I don’t have to do any research though, as I like to revisit a place to check on some facts,  especially at a different time of day or a different month. A busy city, for example, will have a different feel to it during the daytime when it will be bustling with people going to work or shopping to the evening when it can sometimes feel dark and threating, whilst a holiday destination such as Cornwall can be teeming with life in the summer and almost deserted during the winter months. Unless you’ve actually experienced the difference between the crowded streets of a popular Cornish town in the summer months when sometimes you can barely put one foot in front of the other because of the throngs of people and cling tight to your child’s hands in case they wander off and you can’t find them, and the empty streets and closed shops of the winter, it can be difficult to write authentically about.

My latest romance, The Spanish Wedding Disaster, is partly set in Gibraltar, which I’ve visited several times, but I still made another visit to double check a few details for the book and went on both the dolphin spotting trip and the visit to the caves that feature in the book. I also stayed in a floating hotel as Steve and Kate do.

For my book, The Year of Starting Over, which again is set in Spain, I actually did the Camino del Rey walk which I mention in the book even though I’m terrified of heights.

Writing psychological thrillers and romance novels is like writing both sides of the same coin, in fact my tagline is ‘writing about the light and dark of relationships’ so I thought for my next thriller, which is out in October, I would do the dark side of The Year of Starting Over, which is partly set in a holiday retreat in Andalucia, Spain. It’s been interesting to turn the idea for my summer Spanish romance on its head and write it as a thriller. It meant looking at things from a different angle – in my romance novel the electricity going off sets of a romantic situation, in my thriller the consequences are more sinister. I can’t give much away at the moment as the book isn’t published yet but for a teaser let me tell you that my tagline is ‘Relaxation, Reconnection and … Revenge.’  And once again, it’s set in a location I know well.

 

If you want to find out more about me and my work, please visit my website at https://karenkingauthor.com/

 

 

 

 

My Writing Process – Karen King

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writing, my writing process, I’ve always been a bit of a planner, mainly because when I started my writing career over thirty years ago I wrote for teen magazines and children’s comics and had to send a synopsis of the story first, for approval. Now I’m living in Spain I write mainly romance novels but I still send a synopsis of the story I’m planning to my editor. She will make comments and we’ll flesh out the plot between us before I start writing it up.

I really like to know my characters before I write the story, and often trail Pinterest boards for photos of people that look like my characters, print them out and put them in my WIP folder so I have an image of them while I write. I also create a Pinterest board for every book I’m working on, looking for images that are connected to the story and repining them to my WIP board. I find that really helps me to brainstorm. Once I feel I know my characters well enough I start to write, freewriting the story as it comes and not stopping to edit or correct until I’ve finished.  Then I leave it for a couple of weeks (unless I’m on a tight deadline) then go back and edit it. 

I usually do four different edits, first I read all the way through to get the feel of the characters and story. I make comments in the margin or underline anything I want to change but don’t alter them at this stage. For the next set of edits I work on anything that I’ve marked up and pay particular attention to the story structure and timeline. For the third set of edits I pay attention to characters, dialogue and setting and for the final set of edits I look out for typos and grammatical errors. I’m now lucky enough to work for Bookouture, and we’re usually on a tight deadline so they ask for the first draft, then get back to me with their comments, which works really well. I always find it helpful to get their advice and guidance into making my story stronger.

I find I work best in the morning so ideally like to get up, grab some breakfast and start work for a few hours. I write most days and don’t usually have a word count I’m aiming at unless I’m on a tight deadline, then I’ll work as and when I can during the day, and late into the evening too until I meet that wordcount (it can be anything from 2-5,000 words).  I mainly write in my upstairs office which is in the studio apartment on the terrace but can also be found writing by the pool with my laptop in a box to keep the sun off my screen, or at the dining room table. I can write anywhere really, as long as I have my laptop, or a notebook and pen. 

If I get Writer’s Block I simply carrying on writing until the story flows again, then delete any rubbish I’ve written to get me there. Which is why my advice to new writers is – stop faffing about and just write! You can edit afterwards, the main thing is to get your story down.

Contact Links

Website: http://www.karenking.net/

Twitter: @karen_king

Karen King Romance Author Facebook Page

Karen King Young Adult Books Facebook Page

Pinterest: https://uk.pinterest.com/karenkingauthor/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karenkingauthor/?hl=en

Single All The Way

Blurb

Snow is falling, bells are ringing… and my heart is broken. I pick up the phone to tell my mother about Oliver and me. But before I can, she says, ‘I don’t exactly know how to tell you this… But I’m leaving your dad.’
Single together for the first time, 34-year-old Meg and her warm-hearted, long-suffering mother Sally are cancelling Christmas, and running away to a tiny cottage on the Cornish coast. For Meg, it is the perfect place to heal, away from all the mistletoe, while for her mother it has a special, and secret, place in her heart – from a love story that seems a lifetime ago…

Meg and Sally find they’re getting to know themselves, and each other, better than ever before. But as they are unable to resist getting involved in the village Christmas celebrations, they encounter two handsome local strangers.

Sometimes, it’s being away from home that helps you realise where your heart is. What neither woman knows is that, by the time the new year rolls around, one woman will have fallen in love with her husband all over again, and one marriage will be over for good…

An escapist, romantic and heart-warming novel for fans of One Day in December and No One Cancels Christmas.

Buy links

AMZ: https://geni.us/B07XDYL7GHCover
Apple Books: https://tinyurl.com/y4dkhrvl
Kobo: https://tinyurl.com/y6apzqe2
Googleplay: https://tinyurl.com/y5hc6nfn

 

BUSINESS OF BOOKS: CLASS OF 2017 – Jane Cable considers the big lessons

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Some writers consider their calling a business from day one – to others it comes as a complete surprise. But asking them to think about it has come up with some real pearls of wisdom we can all share.

On finding time to write:

“I’ve found the trick is to stay focused on the current work in progress while trying to fit all other aspects of my writing around it – and remembering to stop and eat occasionally. I can recommend writing retreats where I find working whilst gazing out to sea from my desk can be a welcome rest from my desk at home!” Elaine Everest

“I have the same commitments as everybody else. I’ve had to be very disciplined and make time to write. I set several evenings a week aside and also write on weekends; I watch a lot less TV than I used to. When I’m working under deadline… I write any spare moment I can, whether it’s during lunch breaks or into the early hours of the morning.” Nikki Moore

On marketing:

“Networking with fellow authors and bloggers, and interacting with readers is so important. It builds relationships, and ultimately I believe that the business of books is about people.” Barbara Copperthwaite

“While I don’t normally spend much on book marketing, I did engage a publicist for my second novel. That probably helped get it into bookstores. It certainly spared me a lot of time and footwork.” Carol Cooper

On running a business:

“I always remember my dad telling me that a new business takes an average of two years to make a profit. I went into self-publishing my books with that in the back of my mind, and very much thinking of it as an entrepreneurial venture. I ensured I had enough money behind me to survive for two years without making any profit at all.” Barbara Copperthwaite

“It’s only recently I’ve converted my way of thinking to writing as a business, so I’m learning and in the process of developing the business model… In its simplest form: keep writing, keep engaging, and keep building my readership.” Laura E James

On diversification:

“I give talks about my writing to groups such as the Women’s Institute and to libraries. Sometimes I’m paid for the talks but they all give me an opportunity to sell paperback copies and also to collect email addresses of readers interested in hearing when my next book is out. I’d like to grow this side of the business in order to get a better return on the amount of preparation required to devise a talk.” Sally Jenkins

“I don’t have a formal business model, but writing full-time has given me the opportunity to take on different projects and I am now beginning to earn from a wider source than book sales. Writing short stories for magazines is a good way to supplement income and I have also taught a ‘writing a novel’ day course.” Heidi Swain

And the final word:

“Keep writing. Be flexible. Be aware of the market. Be dedicated.” Karen King

In 2018 The Business of Books is running a new regular feature on best advice from authors and publishing professionals so there will be plenty more great ideas from the world of words.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Find out more about the authors featured above at:
http://www.romanticnovelistsassociation.org/about/author/elaine_everest
 https://nikkimooreauthor.wordpress.com/
https://www.barbaracopperthwaite.com/
http://www.drcarolcooper.com/
http://www.lauraejames.co.uk/
https://sally-jenkins.com/
http://heidiswain.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.karenking.net/

Business of Books: So Much to Give – Part 1

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Jane Cable on how authors get together to support charities

It’s that time of year again. The time when Chindi Authors stand outside the Cancer Research UK shop in Arundel for ten whole days during the town’s festival trying to sell books. Not an easy task when the second hand offerings inside are so much cheaper, but we stick at it because we can add to the coffers of this excellent cause, promote our own books and meet readers.

We know we’ll be well supported by our members and local people, but organiser romantic novelist and kidlit writer Carol Thomas was asked by author contacts up and down the country if they could donate too. While she did the charitable thing and set up a donation page – http://www.carol-thomas.co.uk/Chindi-cruk/ – her generosity simply got me thinking about how much writers achieve when they band together for good causes.

The most high profile recent example of this was the Authors for Grenfell online auction which attracted pledges of more than £150,000, over £30,000 of which was for Philip Pullman to name a character after one of the young victims of the fire. Quirky lots did well too, with conductor and writer Lev Parikian putting together a package which bridged both his worlds: “I offered signed books and (more importantly on this occasion, I think) conducting lessons. A bidding war between three people meant we raised £1,700.”

 

CLIC Sargent runs an annual ‘Get in Character’ eBay auction where authors such as crime writer E V Seymour and novelist and poet Claire Dyer have offered bidders a range of lots including – you guessed it – having a character in a book named after them. Critiques prove equally popular and previous Business of Books guest Karen King (https://www.frostmagazine.com/2017/04/how-to-have-more-than-100-titles-published/) offered one in the Authors for Refugees auction last year, an initiative which raised £22,000.

 

Another way of writers getting together to raise money is by giving their time to contribute to and to edit anthologies for causes as diverse as cancer and heart charities, earthquake appeals, women’s rescues and hospices. Some have very personal links to the cause, including saga writer Elaine Everest (also a previous Business of Books guest): “I organised and edited the anthology ‘Diamonds and Pearls’ (Accent Press) to celebrate my 30th anniversary of surviving breast cancer (7 years ago) with funds going to Against Breast Cancer.”

 

Crime & thriller writer Jane Risdon is a serial contributor to anthologies, supporting amongst others Women for Women, Breakthrough, Women’s Aid, The Norfolk Hospice, The Princess Alice Hospice and Save The Children. She was slightly upset when there was no thanks from certain charities, but would still do it again. Other authors say that smaller charities are more responsive than the larger ones so they prefer to work with these.

 

Some writers go the whole nine yards and get together to form charities of their own. A prime example of this is saga writer and Frost contributing editor, Margaret Graham, who together with Jan Speedie and Penny Deacon set up Words for the Wounded which exists to raise funds for injured service personnel through writing prizes and events. It’s a wonderful organisation and every penny goes directly to the people who need it. Authors can help in a variety of ways – Chindi raised almost a thousand pounds by organising a litfest, others give their time to speak at events or in my case I donate £1 for every Amazon review of my book Another You. Find out more about W4W here: http://www.wordsforthewounded.co.uk/.

 

 

How To Have More Than 100 Titles Published

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the-business-of-books-interviewswithjanecable
This week I talk to multi-published and multi-talented author and writing tutor, Karen King.

 

How much of your working life does the business of books take up?

The short answer is all of it! Writing – and teaching writing – is how I earn my living.  So every day I’m either writing, visiting schools to talk about writing, running a writing course, marking writing students’ assignments or doing social media about my books.

 

 

What’s your business model to earn a living from writing? 

 

Keep writing. Be flexible. Be aware of the market. Be dedicated. I’ve often worked to commissions so I’ve had to be adaptable, to work to publishers’ briefs and keep track of current trends. As I earn my living from writing it’s a priority for me. Writing comes first, ironing and cleaning is way behind. I had four young children when I first started writing so worked around them, early in the morning, evening and late at night. Writing for magazines meant I had deadlines to work to and, at first, this was the days before email so I had to write up my story/article or whatever, and get it in the post often within a few hours.

karenking How To Have More Than 100 Titles Published

What do you write and what do you consider to be your major successes?
I’ve been a published writer for over thirty years now and for the first twenty years I wrote solely for children. I started off my writing career writing for teen magazines like Jackie, Patches and Loving then moved on young children’s magazines such as Thomas the Tank Engine, My Little Pony, Barbie and Sindy. I wrote photo stories, comic strips, short stories, articles, puzzles, the lot. I even wrote a horoscope page and a problem page. Alongside this, I wrote children’s books. Now I tend to write mainly YA and chicklit. I was really delighted when Accent Press contracted me for three chicklit novels, and offered to republish my backlist too. They have such a great reputation and are a delight to work for. That’s my major success so far.

Tell me about your latest project.

I’ve just finished my third chicklit for Accent Press. The second one comes out in July, it’s called The Cornish Hotel by the Sea, and the cover is so lovely I keep looking at it. Accent are also republishing my YA Perfect Summer on 10 May. It’s got a fab new cover and has been completely revised. I’m really excited about it as it deals with two themes close to my heart, the pressure society puts on people to have perfect looks and how people with disabilities are treated. The tagline is ‘In a society obsessed with perfection, being different is a crime’ so that gives you a big clue to the plot.

 

Author Bio

Karen King is a multi-published author of children’s books, YA and romantic fiction. She has had 120 children’s books published, three romantic novels and several short stories for women’s magazines. She is also a writing tutor. Her YA Perfect Summer is released on 10 May and her second chicklit, The Cornish Hotel by the Sea will be released in July.

Contact links

www.karenking.net

Amazon Author Page

Karen King Children’s Books Facebook

Karen King Romance Author Facebook