Angela: Welcome to the Romance Reader's Connection! Would you please tell our readers a little about yourself and how you came to be an author?

Karen: Thank you so much for having me this month! I'm wife to a wonderful, supportive husband and mom to two bright, beautiful daughters. We live in Florida where I run my own consulting business helping manufacturing companies improve their quality systems. I'm a native of Maryland, just north of DC, and graduated from the University of Maryland with an engineering degree. (Go figure!)

I started writing ten years ago this July, so the release of my first book in the same month is one of those funny twists of fate, I think. I was busy being an engineer when this scene started rolling in my head. I knew I'd never seen it before and was fairly certain I hadn't lost my mind, so I figured it was my imagination on overdrive. But the scene wouldn't stop rolling and it was driving me nuts! I'd wake in the middle of the night with it playing in full Technicolor and I'd find myself daydreaming about it during the day. Finally in July '93 I was on vacation and decided to write it down just to make it stop.

Three hours later I'd written that scene and three others and I haven't stopped writing since. That first book (all 1000 pages of it, no joke) is still special to me. Though it will never see the light of day again, I fell in love with the characters and learned that writing was something I didn't just want to do, but I had to do.

Angela: DON'T TELL was a gripping story, and I loved it! The novel has a very serious underlying story. What caused you to write about such a frightening topic? How do you decide on the topic for your books?

Karen: Thanks! I'm glad you liked DON'T TELL. What caused me to write about such a topic? Well, my husband is a former therapist and in his job met many individuals that were either victims of abuse or perpetrators. He never talked specifically about any one client, but I was able to pick up on emotions and themes and was intrigued by the way different people reacted in similar circumstances. For example, why do some abuse victims become perpetrators themselves and some do not? And why do some women leave abusive spouses and some do not?

As I considered this, the character of Caroline became very real. I wanted to make her special, make her come from a position of no power to taking control of her own life. But as she came to life, it was clear she was very human and prone to the same vulnerabilities that plague us all.

How do I decide on the topics for my books? I get my best ideas just talking with my husband on long car trips. He's a great person to bounce my ideas off of. Actually, the plot of DON'T TELL popped in my head as my husband and I stood in line for a movie. The question "If a woman wanted to run away from her husband and get a new identity, how would she do it?" came out of my mouth before I knew it. My husband turned around with a funny _expression and said, "Karen, is there something I should know?" We started bouncing ideas back and forth while we were waiting until I noticed people giving us strange looks. We put the kibosh on the conversation but took it up again on the way home and Max and Caroline were born.

Angela: The characters in DON'T TELL are very real. How do you shape your characters? Are they based on people that you know or have known?

Karen: As I start writing, the characters become very real to me. They have pasts and likes and dislikes that might never find their way into the book, but that make them more real. Sometimes I'll read or see something that reminds me of a character and I'll say, "So-n-so likes this or this is so-n-so's favorite song." And my husband will give me that funny look and say "You do realize these people aren't real, don't you?" as if I'm certifiable. One of the drawbacks of living with a therapist, I think. But if they're not real, I don't think I have any business writing about them. (By the way, I'm not certifiable. Yet.)

Are the characters based on people I know? Sometimes, yes. Caroline and Dana are composites of several women I've known who have escaped abusive relationships. I hope they find in Caroline a tribute to their courage. I wanted Caroline to have a man who would need her, but also be strong enough to shoulder her burdens from time to time. He had to be able to love her and keep her safe. Max came to life. I like to think they balance one another's strengths and weaknesses, the way truly good relationships should. Now, the character of Winters? I have no idea where he came from. He scared even me. Mercy.

Angela: What authors do you like to read when time permits?

Karen: My favorites are Lisa Gardner, Alex Kava, and Linda Howard. Of course, I cut my romantic teeth on LaVyrle Spencer and Nora Roberts. I love suspense and having two great people fall in love for happily ever after is such a bonus!

Angela: What are you working on next?

Karen: My next book HAVE YOU SEEN HER? will be released by Warner Books in February, 2004. It's the story of Special Agent Steven Thatcher, who you meet in DON'T TELL. Steven is racing against time to catch a killer and in the process meets a woman who cuts through every defensive wall he's built.

And right now I'm working on another suspense, but that's all I can say <g>.

Angela: What advice would you have for would-be writers?

Karen: Having been at this for ten years now, I've heard a lot of advice. Here are the points I've found most valuable:

Don't write to get published, just write the best book you can. When I've gotten too tied up in 'the business end' of writing, I lose all the joy that's kept me going all these years. I have to forget about all the business details and focus on writing the best book with the most real characters. I have to chuckle and cry at their comings and goings and it's then that I'm happiest with what I've written.

Know your market. Once you've written your best book, determine the best way to market yourself. If you're writing suspense, know what's selling, do your homework. If you're writing category, know the themes and norms within that category. Know which agents and editors are buying what you write. If you don't do your homework, you'll be disappointed with the results.

Finally - write because you love it, because you must, because all those people talking in your head just won't shut up.

Angela: Do you have a website readers can visit to learn more about you and the books you've written?

Karen: Yes, I do. Please visit me at http://www.karenrosebooks.com and please sign my guestbook! Also, be sure to sign up for my mailing list if you'd like to receive my newsletter.

Angela: Anything else you'd like to add?

Karen: Only thank you for choosing me for your website this month. You've helped make a dream come true even better.

(Click here for a review of DON'T TELL)