I love May!
It’s the month we moved to England and such a beautiful time of year here.
I also met May’s Ask the Author victim when she visited London late last year! It was great getting to chat about JAFF while we visited Portobello Road Market with a group of JAFF ladies. Such a great day!
Please join me in welcoming
Karen M. Cox!
1932 is one of my favourite fics ever and now, Karen has released
Undeceived
Karen is not only waiting to answer your questions,
but she also has offered an e-book of
one of her great novels as a giveaway!
That’s right, you can choose between 1932, Find Wonder in All Things,
At the Edge of the Sea, and, of course, Undeceived!
The giveaway is international!
Karen is waiting patiently, so ask your questions!
Rules for the giveaway –
If you ask a question on this post, you get 1 chance in the drawing.
If you comment on the final interview, you get 1 chance in the drawing.
If you leave a question and a comment, you get 2 chances in the drawing!
Please join in and ask a question or leave a comment. Authors love answering your questions and hearing from you!
**Final date for questions is Thursday, 12 May, 2016**
Interview posts Monday, 16 May
Last day for comments for the giveaway is Wednesday 18 May
L.L. Diamond 
How do you organize your time to have free and, most importantly, quiet time to write? I usually resort to working during the night so I don’t get interrupted…
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Joy D. King couldn’t get her questions to post from South America, so she messaged me hers to post for her. 🙂
Greetings from South America, Karen and Leslie! I happen to have one or two questions I would love to have the answers to. Here goes:
1. What is your most cherished writing memory when you look back on your career?
2. Which Jane Austen female would your family and friends say you are most like?
3. Who is your favorite Jane Austen hero? Why?
4. If you had the opportunity to ask Jane Austen one question, what would it be?
5. Are you in love with Mr. Darcy? Do you have your own Mr. Darcy?
6. Which is your favorite era to set your stories in?
7. Do you dream about your stories as you write them?
8. If 1932 was picked up for production as a movie, who would you want to star as your Darcy and Lizzy?
9. If you had the opportunity to go back to Regency England, what three things would you want to take with you?
10. If Lydia Bennet decided she was going to move in with you, what would be the first thing you would tell her?
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Do you keep notepad and pen by your nightstand when a plot bunny or conversation pops in your head and wakes you up?
If Undeceived was picked up for production as a movie, who would you want to star as your Darcy and Lizzy and which star would you like as Wickham? (sorry Joy, I stole your question).
What do you do to relieve stress or writer’s block?
Thank you! Look forward to your answers!
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Steal away, Carole. you have my permission. Be warned. I may chose to pilfer one of yours in the coming months. (Tee-Hee)!
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Joy D King has already taken two of my questions but I have others:
What is your favourite P&P film? (you could maybe say two and why)
What is your opinion of Mary Bennet?
What do think about Mrs Louise Hurst? Would you ever consider writing a book giving her a more important role?
Do you like Persuasion? and would you like to write a variation?
I have just read by you “Northanger Revisited 2015” but what I have read and heard about your books is really good, obviously you are on my wish list on amazon 🙂
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As you know KAREN, I am such a big fan of your books! They are always a pleasure to read and reread! You are so detail-oriented and you have a way with writing that snappy dialogue that I love!!
So, my questions are completely selfish… What are you going to write next and are you going to pursue a story based on “Emma?”
Thanks for this opportunity! Karen is an amazing JAFF writer and a lovely lady as well!!
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What first got you into writing and what made you decide on writing JAFF books or did it just come naturally?
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You have already taken P&P & Persuasion to periods & places very different from the original – and Undeceived is such a globe trotting adventure in many ways – taking in several far flung countries. Is there a time period or place that you think is ripe for an Austen retelling that you haven’t covered before and if so, what is it?
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I love your writing. I’ve told people if they want to read a good JAFF, anything by a “Karen” is good. You top them all, and you know the work of the other Karens! “Find Wonder in All Things” is among my top 5 faves (unranked) for modern Austen-inspired novels, and I’m a die-hard P&P gal! I’ve always found the original Persuasion a bit slow and annoying in the middle, but FWiaT manages that time period well.
Question 1: Leslie and I are constantly working to improve our ability to write in third person multiple, deep point of view, a difficult writing style that’s super reader-friendly. Deep POV puts the reader into the protagonist’s head but allows multiple characters’ narratives. I’d loved books using this POV yet had no idea how to emulate their style until you championed it and suggested “Rivet Your Readers with Deep Point of View” by Jill Elizabeth Nelson. You also indicated that this technique is something you’re constantly improving upon. Can you comment on the considerations required to write in deep POV? What do you see as key issues/discipline for an author who wants to incorporate it into her/his novels? If you’ve read books that came close but failed, what would your advice be?
Question 2: I have memories of a trip to West Germany the spring before the cold war ended, and being constantly buzzed by US military aircraft. In addition, my father did business in Russia in the late 1970s and early 1980s. “Undeceived” took me to a place nearby what I know, but beyond it, into a world my father spoke of suspecting, but he had always seemed paranoid to me, so I blew it off! As far as I know, he had no direct knowledge of the world of “Undeceived.” Where did you find the information that inspired specific events, and and how did you select some of the places in the novel?
Question 3: You had three excellent novels published back-to-back, each very different from the last. A hiatus included a short story in “Sun Kissed: Effusions of Summer” before Meryton Press released “Undeceived.” There’s an early 70s Emma Coming Attraction at AHA. Does that have potential to be your next novel? Is there a time-line you can share for your next publication?
Did I say I love your work yet?
Thanks, Leslie and Karen!
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This is interesting. When I was working with writing coaches (on a currently “somewhat” suspended novel, they insisted I write in deep point of view. I also had to make sure I only had “so many.” I did get the hang of it, and no longer find it a problem, but was frustrated when, for instance, I “needed” to end a big scene in Vivaldi’s head, and the coach said it was a no-no if he was never going to appear again as such. It is a great exercise to write a scene from different points of view, also. On an unrelated note, I’d love to meet Karen sometime, as we live quite close to each other, and she has been known to set foot in the town I live in.
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Any plans to write a full length Regency JAFF?
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Good morning Leslie and Karen. I have a few questions for Karen:
1. Do you have a special time of day and place to write?
2. When your muse decides to be uncooperative what do you do to get her cooperation again (walking, cleaning, listen to music, etc)?
3. Which is your favorite Jane Austen novel and why?
4. Who is your favorite Jane Austen villain and why
5. When writing do you need quiet or do you listen to music, and if so what kind?
6. Who is your favorite Austen heroine and why?
7. Who is your favorite Austen hero and why?
Looking forward to reading your answers. Thank you for being here.
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I’ve been dying to know how you researched Undeceived. Did you watch movies and read books of the time? I feel like you really captured the 1980’s without it being kitschy or obvious.
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What’s your next project?
What do you like most about writing? Editing?
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Thanks for your questions! I’ve sent them on to Karen and look for them to be posted Monday!
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