This
month The Romance Reader's Connection is pleased and
proud to present an interview with Harlequin
Superromance author K. N. Casper, or for those of us
fortunate enough to have met him, Mr. Ken Casper. As
you are well aware, the romance genre is not
over-flowing with male authors, a few are part of
husband & wife teams, while only a few are solo
authors. Mr. Casper, in my opinion, brings a lot to
the genre. The first romance I read by him was FIRST
DAUGHTER ( HSR # 1006), and it didn't take me long
to follow it up with his backlist. I hope those of
you that have never read any of K.N. Casper's books
will make it a point to try at least one. II
guarantee you won't be disappointed.
Livia: Ken, welcome to TRRC, you have a varied and
very interesting educational and work background. An
undergraduate degree in Russian, a Masters in
Education and you've worked for the United States
government. How does one go from all that to the
owner of a horse farm in Texas?
Ken: I became interested in riding when I was in the
Air Force stationed in Germany, before I got
married. As it turned out my future wife had learned
to ride when her father was posted to France with
the Army. It was one of the things that drew us
together. Years later, when we lived in Arizona, we
bought a horse. We've had one or more ever since.
Our ten acres here in West Texas doesn't qualify as
a ranch, but it's certainly enough to keep us busy.
We own or board about fifteen horses. Then there are
the two dogs and seven cats. It's quite a menagerie.
Livia: Do you find your background provides a
sound basis for romance writing?
Ken: It certainly helps. I've been fortunate to be
able to travel to so many countries and experienced
different cultures firsthand. People ask me where I
get my ideas. The fact is, they're all around me.
It's a matter of finding the twist that makes
seemingly ordinary events unique. I'm sure my
background helps me think "outside the
box."
Livia: There are so few male writers in this
industry, what started you writing romance rather
than adventure stories or mysteries?
Ken: Actually I did start as a mystery writer,
and many of my romances have a mystery or suspense
element. I was lucky to be in a critique group with
three women who were writing romance. They suggested
I try breaking into the romance field. My
initial response was "I can't do that,"
but the more I said I couldn't, the more I wanted to
try. My first manuscript was rejected. No
surprise. But the feedback I received was
encouraging. After that it was a matter of
perseverance.
Livia: Do your friends tease you a lot about what
you're writing?
Ken: They raised their eyebrows when
they first found out I was writing romance, but I
think they were more surprised that I'd been
published in book length. Now they take it in
stride, even help me brainstorm ideas for books.
Occasionally I'm asked for the romantic's
viewpoint...as if I were some sort of expert on
affairs of the heart--or bedroom. I assure them I'm
neither Dear Abby nor Dr. Ruth. Of course, that
doesn't stop me from sharing an opinion. Sometimes
I'm even right.
Livia: Why did you choose
"category" romance?
Ken: I entered my second attempt at a
romance in a writing contest, and the final judge
just happened to be the senior editor for Harlequin
Superromance. I received honorable mention and a lot
of positive feedback from her. Following through
with the line was the natural thing to do, and I was
very pleased, many revisions later, when the full
manuscript was accepted for publication. After
twelve books and more on the way, I feel very much
at home at Superromance, both with my fellow Super
authors and our wonderful editors.
Livia: You have an excellent grasp of the heroine's
point of view in your stories. What helps you
accomplish this?
Ken: Don't let any man tell
you he understands women! I depend very much on my
wife and daughter, as well as women friends of the
family to keep me on track. I've become something of
a male anomaly: I ask for directions. How would a
woman react in this or that situation? How does she
"feel" under certain circumstances or
being with a particular type of person? I'm
inevitably surprised by the answers I receive. Men
and women think and react so very differently in
language and actions, but especially in their
emotional responses. It's always a challenge to get
it right. It's also a great adventure, one I'll
never tire of.
Livia: You've written trilogies with two
other female romance authors. When you three
brain-stormed were you ever asked to provide input
to the obvious "male point of view"?
Ken: Occasionally. Generally, though, I
think women writers can capture a man's point of
view more easily than a man can capture a woman's.
After all, men are linear thinkers. We have
one-track minds. Women are multi-processors. They
deal with several different subjects at once. Drives
us men crazy. In the end we both get to the same
place, but the roads traveled are very different.
Livia: In your books you do not hesitate
to work controversial topics into your story lines.
In past books you've addressed alcoholism and
spousal abuse. In your latest release THE WOMAN IN
THE NEWS, you tackled the subject of a woman
attempting to climb the ladder of success in a male
dominated profession, that of a sports reporter. Do
you find that readers easily embrace controversial
topics in romance novels?
Ken: I deal with controversial subjects,
but they are also common predicaments. We all know
and have probably had to cope with someone with a
drinking problem, be it a parent, a sibling, a
spouse, a distant relative, a friend or a neighbor.
Every woman has experienced the glass ceiling to
some extent and been the recipient of some form of
discrimination or harassment. In real life those
obstacles aren't always overcome. I think readers
embrace books dealing with tough issues because they
know ultimately the main characters will triumph.
Unrealistic? I prefer to think of those
happily-ever-after endings as inspirational, giving
hope that sometimes, at least, things can work out.
Livia: How much research was
involved in writing THE WOMAN IN THE NEWS?
Ken: Quite a bit, actually, but I was
fortunate. My son-in-law is in the business, so I
was able to tap him for the nuts-and-bolts details
about the industry. I visited a couple of TV
stations, talked to people and received frank
answers and insights into the world behind the
camera that few of us ever get to see. With that
background, it was just a matter of letting my
imagination run wild. The what-if game is great fun.
Livia: Why did you choose a daily diary
narrative format for this story?
Ken: Keeping timelines
straight can be a challenge, especially in a story
that deals with a business that prides itself on
being up-to-the-minute. The diary format helped keep
things in order, and I felt it lent a sense of
urgency, of time slipping by, of events threatening
to overwhelm the protagonists.
Livia: There is another story that
unfolds in the book that involves the station's vice
president. Is it easy to write a book where two
separate stories are evolving?
Ken: Some stories just naturally lend
themselves to dual threads, and this was one of
them. I've used multiple points of view in other
books but not to the extent I did in THE WOMAN IN
THE NEWS. In spite of her flaws, I liked Faye Warren
and felt she deserved a more in-depth treatment than
most antagonists receive in category romances. In a
sense, she's the tragic heroine, the reverse image
of Marlee Reid. Could Faye become the heroine of her
own story? I don't know, but I've thought about it.
Livia: Can you share with us what other works
we can expect to see from you in the near future?
Ken: My next book, THE TOY BOX, will be
out in July 04. It's about a customs station in
Tombstone, Arizona. It'll be in the
"9-Months-Later" series, and as the title
suggests, it's about more than border patrols and
paying duties. After that I'll be writing the last
book in a sextet of stories involving six women cops
in the Houston police department. The other authors
in the series are Kay David, Sherry Lewis, Linda
Style, Anna Adams and Roz Fox. We don't have any
titles yet, but they'll be out in consecutive months
from October 04 to Mar 05.
Livia: Ken thank you so much for
taking the time to visit us here at TRRC.
Ken: I want to thank Livia Holton, The Romance
Reader's Connection, and all my readers for the
incredible support you've given me over the years. I
love writing, but I never realized how much I would
enjoy writing romance or the sense of community I
would find waiting for me.
Note: Readers can
read more information on K. N. Casper and the books
he's written for Harlequin Superromance at http://www.kncasper.com.
(Click
here for review of THE WOMAN IN THE NEWS)
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