Karen Ann Hopkins Interview - Wings of War

Author Bio:

You can visit Karen Ann Hopkins at her website: www.karenannhopkins.com.

Karen Ann Hopkins resides in northern Kentucky with her family on a farm that boasts a menagerie of horses, goats, peacocks, chickens, ducks, rabbits, dogs and cats. Karen's main job is home schooling the kids, but she finds time to give riding lessons, coach a youth equestrian drill team, and of course, write. She was inspired to create her first book, Temptation, by the Amish community she lived in. The experiential knowledge she gained through her interactions with her neighbors drove her to create the story of the star-crossed lovers, Rose and Noah.
Karen grew up about a mile from Lake Ontario in Upstate New York. She was bitten by the horse bug at the age of five, and after diligently taking riding lessons for several years, was rewarded with her first horse at the age of eleven. The feisty horse's name was Lady, a Quarter Horse-Thoroughbred cross, who became Karen's steadfast companion. Through the years, the constant force in her life was horses. Eventually, she found her place as a riding instructor herself. Before accepting her fate in the barnyard, she worked a short stint as a paralegal, traveled abroad, and guided tourists on horseback riding tours in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.
Karen is currently working on her Amish mystery series, Serenity's Plain Secrets, along with the YA paranormal/fantasy series, The Wings of War, and the continuation of the Temptation series. Karen is also excited to announce the Temptation series has been optioned for TV by Pilgrim Studios and is available on Audible.
"I loved joining Rose and Noah during their journey in the Temptation series by Karen Hopkins."-Katie McGarry, acclaimed YA author

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Author Interview

1. Where/how did you come up with the idea for your story? Did it suddenly pop into your head or were you brainstorming?

Embers was a daydream of mine for many years before I wrote the story. It wasn’t until after I published the Temptation series was published with Harlequin Teen that I felt confident enough to make it real.

2. Did you start with the main character, the world or the overarching concept?

I envisioned creatures and people with unusual powers living in the secluded mountains of eastern Tennessee. The forest, rugged terrain and mountain people set the stage for the rest of the story.

3. Panster or Plotter? Or in between?

I’m more in between. It’s important to think a story out thoroughly before diving in and I do that by picturing the scenes running through my mind as if they were on a movie screen. I take notes and set up a basic timeline before I begin writing. The process of preparation might take a month or many months of having the story floating around in my mind before I’m ready to commit to it to the page. Once I get started, I don’t stop to edit or revise. I continue writing with a stream of consciousness until the book is finished. Then I go back and fix the mistakes and any issues that popped up along the way. Too many writers get stuck on a certain page, trying for perfection early on. I’ve found that once you get further into the story, it begins to tell itself and the flow is smoother and steadier.

4. Are you a fan of writing contests?

I’ve never entered one, so I guess not. ;)

5. How did you find your agent? How many query letters did you send?

My first novel, Temptation, was rejected about thirty times before I was finally offered representation by Christina Hogrebe of the Jane Rotrosen Agency in New York. But to be fair to the first agents I submitted the story to, the manuscript evolved through the process, getting much better along the way. It was eventually worthy of representation by the time it reached Christina. Many of the agents who rejected it offered me sound advice, which I took. I incorporated their suggestions into the story, making changes and revising until it was in great shape. I always had a unique story. It just needed work to make it marketable.

6. What's the best marketing tool you've found so far?

Bookbub. Definitely. I’ve been lucky enough to land two promotions with the company, one for Lamb to the Slaughter and the other for Embers. These sales resulted in tens of thousands of purchases and downloads of my books. My fan base grew, as did my online review numbers, and my placement in the rankings rose. No other promotion or marketing strategy I’ve done has come close to a Bookbub promotion.

7. What do you like best about your mc?

Ember is a strong young woman who is kind, loyal and loves animals. These are all traits that I admire.

8. What do you like best about your main antagonist?

In Embers, the antagonists were Garrett and his demon followers. They were pretty scary characters and I was satisfied that they were great representatives for the evil rising up in the world. In Gaia, I like that it’s more a question of WHO are the antagonists in the story.

9. Anything else you like to share about your journey or your upcoming launch, including links to giveaways or ways people can help spread the word?

The Wings of War is an epic young adult fantasy/paranormal that I believe readers of all ages will enjoy. I ask that fans let their friends know about it, and it greatly helps the cause when you post your honest ratings/reviews on Amazon. This is the most important place to give a shout out for your favorite stories and authors.

I love to connect with readers on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or at www.karenannhopkins.com. Please be on the lookout for the release of ETERNITY, the fourth installment in the Wings of War series in December! Thanks for reading!

Karen Ann Hopkins