INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR, CHRIS KARLSEN

INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR OF "THE KNIGHTS IN TIME" SERIES, CHRIS KARLSEN

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Hello Chris, thank you so much for this opportunity. Romance seems to be your genre of choice. How did you get into writing romance?

I read different genres. I have favorite authors that writer thrillers, historicals, and romances. As much as I love certain characters in thrillers and historical, I felt a bit more connection to romance characters.

Who are some of your favorite romance authors and how have they influenced you?

Julia Quinn, Julie Anne Long, Robin Schone, Deanna Raybourn, and Jilly Cooper are authors I’ve read everything they wrote or most everything.
Julie Anne Long and Robin Schone write beautiful and sensual love scenes. They’ve been a great influence when I’m writing a love scene. Jilly Cooper and Deanna Raybourn flesh out characters exceptionally well. I write character driven novels and that’s one of the reasons. I liked getting to know their characters so well and wanted readers to know mine in the same way. Julia Quinn, I can’t say was a particular influence but I love the humor she writes with.

Is there any other genre you've ever thought about writing in and if so what is it and why?

I thought about writing a straight up thriller and began one. It’s about a shipwreck off the coast of Turkey and an American nautical archaeologist and the Turkish agent investigating her. As the story developed, I really liked the relationship between the female and male protagonists. The story grew into a romantic thriller, which I’m very happy about.
Down the road, I’d like to try a Gothic Horror set in Victorian England. Although it’s set in Paris, I loved the movie and stage play, “Phantom of the Opera.” What a fascinating but tragic character he was. I’d like to try something along those lines.

What is your current novel, tell us more about it and the inspiration behind it.

I’m currently writing the first draft of “Knight Blindness.” It’s book 3 in my “Knights in Time,” series. The first two are: “Heroes Live Forever,” and “Journey in Time.” All three are paranormal romances. The last two being time-travels.
Time travel has always interested me. So often when discussed, we talk of either going forward or back and there’s a tendency, I think, to romanticize “going back.” I took my couple in “Journey in Time” back to medieval England. Then, I gave them a world of problems all stemming from the period’s culture and politics. In “Knight Blindness,” I bring a medieval knight forward in time and present him with a totally alien world and a host of troubles. The hero in “Knight Blindness,” is a popular knight from “Journey in Time.”

What's next on your agenda as far as writing and when can we expect it out?

Next month, March 17 to be exact, “Golden Chariot,” will be released in e-format. “Golden Chariot,” is the romantic thriller I mentioned. It is book 1 in a different series, “Dangerous Waters.” I’ve finished the draft of the sequel, which won’t be out for awhile.
After “Golden Chariot,” I hope to have “Knight Blindness” ready for release in the fall of this year.

Tell us about your family and whether or not you allow them to critique your work.

I ask both my husband and my mom to read my later drafts. They’re both big readers, especially my mom, and I trust them to tell me the truth. They’ve got an excellent “eye” for wordiness and pace and what works. My late father saw a tremendous amount of combat in the South Pacific during WWII. When I wrote the battle scene in the beginning of “Heroes Live Forever,” I had him read it for accuracy in how I portrayed the knight’s emotions and thoughts just before the battle.

What is your favorite part about the process of writing?

When a scene that’s really important to you comes together. It’s usually a scene you write and rewrite again and again. Then, there will come the moment when you know you got it. When it gels, you feel it down to your toes.

What are some of your inspirations outside of other authors?

Historical events and places I’ve traveled. I love England and love medieval history. I knew there would be stories with that setting and time period.
I also love Turkey and have visited many times. After the first visit, I knew there would be a story set in Turkey. While walking the ruins of Troy, I found the initial inspiration for a story. While walking the ruins a second time a year later, I got the idea for the plot.

If you had to choose only one of your books as your favorite which one would it be and why?

I hate to choose as they all have special meaning for me. But...since I must, I’d say “Journey in Time.” I knew the hero, Alex, as a wonderful support character from “Heroes Live Forever,” and loved him. I went into “Journey in Time,” feeling very close to him. I had to give him an equally powerful heroine, which made Shakira an interesting character to write. Then, I got to take these two people I liked so much and put them in one of my favorite time periods. I enjoyed exploring the medieval world along with them.

Do you have any advice you'd care to share with other authors? Please leave us your links so we can get to know more about you and your works!

Write what you love. Writing takes a strong commitment. Don’t write to the market or popular sub-genre. If you’re not writing what you love, you’ll lose interest and the commitment won’t be there.

http://chriskarlsen.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Heroes-Live-Foreve....9691108&sr=1 -1

http://www.amazon.com/Journey-Time-Knigh....29691108&sr=1-2

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/heroes-l....s+liv e+forever

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/journey-....ourney+in+tim e

http://bookstogonow.com/heroesliveforever.html

Thank you again Chris for taking the time to allow us this interview. We look forward to hearing more from you soon!

Thank you for inviting me, Kitty. I appreciate the opportunity to visit with Great Minds Think Aloud. In addition to my website, your followers can contact me at chriskarlsenwriter@gmail.com. I love to hear feedback from readers.
Chris

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