Guest Blogger Karen Whiddon

I am excited to introduce my first invited DWT Guest Star! Many who follow the blog and comments may recognize the name Karen W. from the comments. Karen Whiddon is my good friend and new critique partner. She writes for Silhouette Romantic Suspense and Nocturne and has so many books coming out over the next few months I can’t imagine the work!

Karen, welcome and as always here at DWT tell us your favorite drink?

Hmmm, I’d have to say it’s a toss up between beer and a good margarita. I love a good wheat beer in a frosted mug. But a schooner margarita along with chips and salsa can’t be beat.

It’s amazing to me how you were able to do this, but you have three books coming out in the next four months! Tell us a little something about them.

My October book PROFILE OF SEDUCTION is the third book in my Cordasic Legacy mini-series, though it’s a stand-alone story too. It’s the thought-provoking tale of a woman trying to overcome having been a prisoner of a serial killer. She thinks capturing the bad guy will be enough, but maybe learning to love can carry her further.

In December I have COLTON’S CHRISTMAS BABY, which is the sixth book in the Colton’s of Montana series. That book features another interesting character. My hero, Damien Colton, has just been released from prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

And then in January I have LONE WOLF, another one of my PACK (Shapeshifter) stories for Harlequin Nocturne. It’s the romance between a werewolf and a vampire, and the amazing child who results from their union.

Werevampie babies! Love it. Let’s take you back… when did you first get that writing spark?

I’ve always been a reader and in my mid-twenties I had to have surgery and stay home for eight weeks, so I wrote my first Harlequin (which never sold). Believe it or not, I didn’t have a computer and wrote it on an old electric typewriter!

Writers who could write a book on a typewriter amaze me! I would have given up after the first bottle of whiteout. Tell us what are you favorite and least favorite parts of being a published writer?

My favorite part is a tie between seeing the cover for the first time and seeing the book in the store. I also love getting fan mail. The least favorite part would be those pesky deadlines! They get in the way of life sometimes!

Tell me about it! Although I do think sometimes those business deadlines are necessary. You’ve written both - single title and category. What are some pros and cons of both?

With single-title, you have to do more promotion. The book stays on the shelf longer and because of the longer length, you have more time to explore the story. Category has way better distribution and though it’s only out one month, it reaches a lot more people.

Interesting. I think most people would think the opposite, but in some cases Harlequin is really the best way to get your name out there. Tell us what you are reading right now?

I just finished reading a book called THE DUFF (DESIGNATED UGLY FAT FRIEND) by Kody Keplinger and another called GREYHOUND by Stefan Piper. They are both Young Adult books and were both amazing. I’ve been reading a lot in that genre because I would like to write one myself.

Young Adult! That genre totally has it going on right now. And finally - the question always makes me pause when I think about it – if you could have written any book on your keeper shelf which one would it have been?

OMG, anything by LyVryle Spencer or Lisa Kleypas. They are both amazing writers. Also, one of the best trilogies I’ve read lately – THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins. Since I got my Kindle for Christmas, I’ve read a lot of amazing books in all kinds of genres. Though I still mainly read romance, my favorite. Which is why I write it!