I recently met Karen Docter, Membership Chair of Sisters in Crime Colorado. Karen is also a writer, and I’m delighted to host her on my blog today.
Welcome, Karen! Please tell us about your books.
Karen: It was great to meet you as well. I enjoy meeting people who love writing and reading as much as I do. Thank you so much for letting me visit with you and your readers.
I write both contemporary romance as Karen Docter (Romance…with a Kick) and romantic suspense as K.L. Docter, (Women hunted by killers…Men who’d die to protect them). My taglines say it all. Basically, I have a split personality.
Some mornings, I wake up and want to work on a lighthearted and sexy story. When I want to write on the dark side, K.L. comes out to play. Light or dark, it’s all about romance for me. I love HEA (Happily Ever After) stories.
I am an Indie author with four books available in digital and paperback formats. (All of my books are stand alone novels, no cliffhangers.)
Here is a description of Killing Secrets, Thorne’s Thorns Book 1, a psychological, romantic suspense novel:
Some secrets are better left dead.
Rachel James’ ex-husband is released from prison determined to reclaim her and her little girl — the child is his key to controlling the James fortune. Frightened, Rachel flees to Denver with the child who hasn’t uttered a word since her daddy went to prison.
Contractor Patrick Thorne wants nothing to do with another of his parents’ charity cases. He failed his own wife so abysmally she took her own life as well as his unborn son’s. After two years, it’s time to concentrate on the bid he’s won and the saboteur trying to destroy his construction firm.
There is no room for trust in either of their hearts. But trust is all that will untangle the secrets that dominate their lives, free a little girl of her silent prison, and save them all from a serial killer who stands too close.
Do you have a work in progress that you can tell us about?
Karen: I was working on the second novel in the Thorne’s Thorns series, Dead Ringer, but I’ve been struggling with life events that are interfering with my writing time. So I’ve turned my attention completely to the second book in my True Love In Uniform series, Cop Crashes the Wedding. It’s a shorter book (around 60,000 words) and lighthearted is what is working for me right now. I have to follow my muse! J
How do you come up with your ideas?
Karen: Everywhere! I’m an avid observer. I might see someone with an interesting mannerism that triggers a character. Articles. News. Social media. I’m a title theme junkie. A title for a book will pop into my head from something I see or write and I know what the book will be about even before I populate it with characters. I have a full spreadsheet and it’s expanding all the time because ideas won’t leave me alone until I write them down. I can’t write a story until the title is firmly entrenched in my mind either. It keeps me on track.
My True Love in Uniform series came about because of a late night brainstorming session with one of my critique partners. I already had the romantic suspense, Thorne’s Thorns series, started and was having a hard time pinning down a contemporary series. My wonderful friend, who is always there to poke my brainpan, told me, “You love cops. Write cops.” An hour later, I not only had the True Love in Uniform series sketched out but I had 24 book titles. I have at least that many suspense titles on my spreadsheet so I currently have more than 50 books to write. Now, if I could just write faster than the speed of snail…or in my sleep.
I mentioned the Thorne’s Thorns series. The first book, Killing Secrets, popped into my head after I read an article about a con artist who’d married half a dozen women. My story isn’t about polygamy, but the heroine’s ex-husband is a con artist. When I started writing Patrick and Rachel’s story, I hadn’t thought in terms of a series. But I fell in love with Patrick’s five sexy, foster brothers and decided they all needed their own stories. And, yes, I have their titles, too. J
What new release by you should we watch for next?
Definitely watch for Cop Crashes the Wedding. I’m aiming for a summer release although it might be late summer since my youngest is getting married next month and I’m remodeling the house. Can we say, “Over extended”? When it’s done, I’ll return to Dead Ringer. I should be ready by then to have a serial killer running around my head again. If not, I’ve already started preliminary planning on a couple more cop books.
Thanks again for allowing me to visit with you. It’s been fun to share. Happy Reading!
Bio: Bestselling Author Karen Docter writes contemporary romance. When she feels the need to feed the dark side, she writes intense suspense thrillers as K.L. Docter. She’s an award-winning author, a four-time Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® finalist, and won the coveted Kiss of Death Romance Writers Daphne du Maurier Award Category (Series) Romantic Mystery Unpublished division.
Connect with Karen:
Website/Blog: http://www.karendocter.com
Amazon Author Link: https://www.amazon.com/Karen-Docter/e/B008TST8TY/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1494089146&sr=8-1
Twitter: @KarenDocter
Karen Docter FB: https://www.facebook.com/KarenDocterAuthor/
K.L. Docter FB: https://www.facebook.com/kldocter/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5754902.Karen_Docter
Killing Secrets:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2m6Bv4P
B&N: http://goo.gl/wsqVxB
Kobo: http://goo.gl/KM563U
iTunes: http://goo.gl/pg58wN
