Meet Karen Hooper - YA Fantasy Author

Karen Hooper

YA Fantasy Author

      Welcome to our chat with Karen! Grab a cool drink and come sit with us. We're in Sedona, AZ on the back deck of the Luna house, overlooking the beautiful red rock formation known as Bell Rock. The scenery is gorgeous out here and for those who love exploring, what a great place to visit!

      Readers, be sure to get into the RaffleCopter contest and leave a comment because Karen is giving away an e-copy of her book!

Reader’s Haven: Karen, it's so relaxing to look out over the landscape here. Wow! Thanks for joining us the week. Tell us a bit about yourself that our readers might not know.

Karen:  I hate coconut. Coconut rum, coconut candy, and especially shredded coconut on the bunny cake my grandmother makes every year for Easter. If I ever get stranded on a deserted island, and coconuts are the only available food, I’m a goner.

Reader’s Haven:  LOL Yes, some just don't like the stuff. Deanna loves coconut though. What made you want to become a writer?

Karen: I have always loved reading, but in middle school I started writing poetry and keeping journals. In high school I took Creative Writing classes and fell in love with writing on a whole new level. For me, it wasn’t one thing that made me want to be a writer; it was just a natural progression because of my love for words and stories.

Reader’s Haven: Please share a bit about your new release, Grasping at Eternity, without giving away any spoilers.

Karen:  The quick summary is it’s soul mates and superpowers. Think XMen meets My Name is Memory. Grasping at Eternity is a magical love story that will (hopefully) make readers look at the stars a little differently, and think about the “what ifs” of life and our universe. 

Synopsis:

     Soul mates ripped apart by a tragic mystery. Secrets that torment souls and end lives. Centuries of memories and supernatural abilities erased. Protected by an eternal family and a green-eyed daredevil who have loved her for ages. This is Maryah Woodsen’s life. She just doesn’t know it yet.

Reader’s Haven: Do you write under a pen name?

Karen:  Nope. Karen Hooper is the real me. Take me or leave me, but it’s who I am.

Reader’s Haven: What types of hero or heroine do you like best?

Karen:  The ones who aren’t perfect, but still take my breath away or make me root and cheer for them.

Reader’s Haven:  Readers love to peek into our daily loves to see how we write and what we do. Tell us about a typical day in your life as a writer.

Karen:  I write best in the mornings, so I usually get up early, let my dogs out, make coffee, feed my dogs, then curl up in my writing chair and try to crank out some words. Then real life takes over and I have to work, grocery shop, clean the house, do laundry or whatever, all while spending quality time with the REAL people in my life. Sometimes at night I try to get back to my beloved fictional peeps before bed. All day long I try to read and answer emails, tweets, and texts from my writer friends. It helps me feel like I’m still being productive as an author.

Reader’s Haven: Do your books have a common theme or are they all different?

Karen:  They all have love and magic in them. And they probably always will.

Reader’s Haven: How long does it take you to write and then edit a story?

Karen: It varies. The first draft of Grasping at Eternity took me 2 months to write, but 4 years to publish, because I’d edit, revise, query it, shelve it, revise again, try again, and so on. But, I wrote and queried Tangled Tides in that time frame too, so I’m usually juggling a couple different projects at the same time.

 Reader’s Haven:  Do you have to be alone to write?

Karen:  I can write with other writers if they’re writing too. A good friend of mine is one of my critique partners and she lives near me, so we get together once a week for writing parties. But can I write around my non-writer friends and family? No. I shut the door and they know that means Do Not Disturb.

Reader’s Haven: How do you go about naming characters?

Karen:  Oh gosh, that could be a whole blog post in itself. Let’s just say I put a lot of thought and research into the names of my characters. Many characters in Grasping at Eternity are named after important people in my life.

Reader’s Haven: Is it easier to write about the characters if you find pictures of them before you write or do you write then find character pictures?

Karen:  Neither. I picture them in my head and they are always an original creation. It’s never anyone from a show, movie, ad, etc., so even if I search for someone who looks like them I usually can’t find anyone I feel resembles them closely.

Reader’s Haven: How do you pick locations for your stories?

Karen: So far it’s locations I love. In GAE it’s Sedona, Arizona because the town is so magical. There was no other setting. It’s the perfect place for that story.

Reader’s Haven: What are you working on now and what should readers be looking forward to from you in the future?

Karen: I’m working on the sequel to Tangled Tides right now. It’s called Dangerous Depths. After I send that off to my publisher, I’ll be revising the sequel to Grasping at Eternity. That one is called Taking Back Forever.

Reader’s Haven: Karen, thank you for hanging out with us all week! Congratulations on getting the sequels going. I'm sure your readers are anxious to read more from you! Where can readers find out more about you and your books?

Karen:  Here are my links:

 Author Website

Twitter @KarenHooper

Facebook

Goodreads

Karen:  Readers, thank you so much for stopping by to learn about my books! I do appreciate it and would love to answer your questions. Please be sure to leave a comment but also enter the RaffleCopter to make your contest entries count - I'm giving away an e-copy of Grasping at Eternity! Good luck everyone! You can also earn additional entries into the contest!

a Rafflecopter giveaway