Author Interview ~ Karen Harter

Karen Harter grew up fishing the rivers of the Pacific Northwest, and has always had a great love of the outdoors. She still loves to fish and explore the wild, stunning landscapes and seascapes of Washington State. She and her family currently reside in northwest Washington State. Karen’s second book with Center Street, Autumn Blue, is scheduled to be published in March 2007 and she is currently working on her third and fourth novels.




What book or project is coming out or has come out that you’d like to tell us about?

My second novel, Autumn Blue will be released March 1, by Center Street, a division of Hachette Book Group. It’s the story of Sidney Walker, a single mom, her troubled teenage boy, and the lonely widower across the street whose useful days seem past. Sidney longs for a man to lean on, someone who will be a mentor to her son, Ty. As she prays to win back the heart of Jack, the man she should never have let get away, the local sheriff seems intent on putting Ty behind bars.

I cried my way through several scenes as I wrote this, having had a similar experience with one of my own sons who, at fifteen, was a runaway and in trouble. He’s a happy, stable young man now and I thanked him recently for the first-hand experience he gave me with the juvenile court system.

Tell us about your journey to publication. How long had you been writing before you got the call you had a contract, how you heard and what went through your head.

Let’s see. I started writing for magazines like Christian Parenting Today, Virtue and Decision back in 1991 when my kids were small. My dream was to write a book, which I assumed would be nonfiction. But the articles that got the most fan mail were stories I wrote about my own experiences as a wife, mother, neighbor, friend, etc. It turned out I was funny, which surprised me, especially when one fan letter dubbed me “the Erma Bombeck of Christian literature” and one editor asked me to consider writing a regular humor column for their magazine. My husband, however, insists to this day that I am NOT funny despite the fact that I have written proof.

Financial demands soon sucked me back into the mortgage business. I wrote a novel during my spare time, which I still have, all neatly bound at Staples and titled with my name in bold print across the front. We might need to kindle a fire some day. Despite the rejections I continued to learn and grow as a writer, attending conferences and workshops and reading about the craft. My second attempt, Where Mercy Flows, was an eight-year project, squeezed out sometimes only a sentence or two at a sitting while raising active boys and running both a real estate business and a mortgage company with my husband.

Finally, completed manuscript in hand, I submitted proposals to an editor and two agents at a writers’ conference. The waiting for their responses was grueling. When the editor’s almost blank comment sheet came back to me I was crushed. He was not impressed. After a good pout session in which my conference roommate and I consoled one another, I checked the table in the conference center again. The agents had returned their packets and both were ecstatic about my work! They wrote comments all over the pages, saying things like “lyrical, literary prose!” and “dynamic characters.” By the end of the week they were fighting to sign me and I felt like Cinderella when her toes slid neatly into the glass slipper while her mean stepsisters looked on. (The editor who rejected me later received the same manuscript through my agent and loved it. What’s up with that?)

Even with an incredible agent like Deidre Knight, Where Mercy Flows was not immediately snatched up. After a number of editors seriously considered but ultimately turned it down, I went back and rewrote, added a couple of chapters and moved others around. I made my main character’s emotions more obvious instead of assuming all my readers were psychoanalysts.

When Deidre called me with the news, I was lying on the couch babying what I thought was the flu. She was so excited that her slow southern drawl had turned to squirrel chatter. A two-book offer from Time Warner with first option on my third! I tried to get as excited as she was – after all, this was what I had been working toward for fourteen years. I remember putting the phone down, calmly getting a glass of water and returning to a prone position on the couch. And then I thanked God. The news was not really a surprise to me; it was what He had assured me all along.

Do you still experience self-doubts regarding your work?

I’m totally inadequate, and yet I believe that my books are destined to be bestsellers and even movies. My self-doubts are what cause me to be totally dependent on God to guide and inspire me. It was He who clearly spoke to me one Sunday morning over a decade-and-a-half-ago that it was time to use the writing talent that he had given me.

I’m critical about my work. I did worry that after getting such rave reviews on Where Mercy Flows, which took eight years to write, that Autumn Blue might not measure up. But the responses I’m already getting contradict that. I seem to have acquired more skill and an intuitive sense about my writing along the way. I guess you could say it took me fourteen years to get my masters.

What mistakes have you made while seeking publication?

Submitting work that was not really finished.

What’s the best advice you’ve heard on writing/publication?

My father used to say, “A job worth doing is worth doing well.” A choir of mentor voices in my head reminds me to pursue excellence.

What’s the worst piece of writing advice you’ve heard?

“This just isn’t the right time. Why don’t you put off this writing thing until your life makes a little more sense?”

What’s something you wish you’d known earlier that might have saved you some time/frustration in the publishing business?

I wish I had understood how to outline a story in such a way that each chapter hurls the reader into the next. Though agents and editors were impressed by my writing style it wasn’t until I learned the art of proper pacing and rewrote the book accordingly that I got my first offer from a publisher. Now, many readers of Where Mercy Flows tell me that they lost sleep because they couldn’t put the book down.

Is there a particularly difficult set back that you’ve gone through in your writing career you are willing to share?

Shortly after receiving the verbal offer from Center Street/Time Warner I was diagnosed with stage 4 nueruoendocrine cancer. The grapefruit-sized growth on my pancreas had already spread to my liver, which explained the symptoms I’d been having for quite some time. Medically speaking, there was not much hope for my survival.

Just prior to my diagnosis, I had finally gotten in agreement with my husband about starting a church. Suddenly it seemed the bottom had fallen out of our dreams. I’ll never forget the conversation we had when he asked me what we should do. “Did God really tell you to build the church?” I asked. He nodded. There was no doubt in his mind. I remembered my own conversations with God, those in which he had showed me glimpses of the impact of my stories, me speaking to large groups, Where Mercy Flows on the big screen. We both knew from experience that God doesn’t play games with us. Like Abraham going up the mountain to sacrifice with his son, Isaac, we chose to obey. God would make a way. I signed the two-book contract and sent it off to the publisher.

That was in February of 2005. I’m happy to report that the church that began in our living room is now a joyful crowd of worshippers that fills the local grange hall. After much research we felt confident that I should not treat my condition with chemo or radiation, which destroy the immune system. Surgery was not an option in my case. I won’t lie. The past two years have been hard and painful – but at the same time possibly two of the best years of my life. My relationship with Jesus has grown deeper than I knew was possible. I’ve implemented a rigorous health regime which includes juicing, a vegan diet, liver cleanses, exercise, etc. I’ve met my editing deadlines and produced two books on schedule while my body is healing itself as it was designed to do. By the grace of God, I’m growing stronger every day and working on the next two books – with many more to come!

What are a few of your favorite books? (Not written by you.)

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver, and I Went to the Animal Fair by Heather Harpham. Non-fiction life-changers would include The Bible, The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale and The Tongue, a Creative Force by Charles Capps.

What piece of writing have you done that you’re particularly proud of and why?

I have to say, I’m very pleased with Where Mercy Flows. When I read it through for the hundredth time for the final copy-editing, I cried again. My characters are like family to me; we’ve been through a lot together. I believe this is a strong piece of writing because it’s not only a gripping story, but also literary due to the underlying symbolism. It’s like a parable only longer. My passion for poetry seeps in, hence what the critics have called “lyrical” prose.

Do you have a pet peeve having to do with this biz?

I love this business. If a peeve surfaces, I remind myself what it was like not that long ago; flying out the door in nasty weather wearing heels and juggling a heavy briefcase with a piece of dry toast clenched between my teeth. I’m sitting here as I write in my leopard slippers, listening to Christmas music. I still have a long to-do list, but my reward is that once I handle the necessary morning details (which involve marketing, returning emails, scheduling events, etc.) I get to play with words. While in the mortgage business, no matter how I stacked the numbers they never moved me like the perfect arrangement of a string of words.

Can you give us a view into a typical day of your writing life?

Now that my health is improving, I’m getting back to my former schedule. I need to have order before I can focus on writing so I try to have the basic housework done, and all important phone calls and emails out of the way first. Hopefully, by 11:00 a.m. I’ve returned from my daily walk and am sitting down to work, and will usually write until about 5:00 p.m.

If you could choose to have one strength of another writer, what would it be and from whom?

This question is too hard for me. Call me greedy, but I want every strength of every great author.

Do you have a dream for the future of your writing, something you would love to accomplish?

I want to write stories of such value that their messages stay on the shelves in people’s hearts long after the mediocre ones have been forgotten. I pray for the movie deals to come also, and that the producers and directors will maintain the integrity of the original work.

Author Randy Alcorn was the keynote speaker at a conference I attended several years ago. His memorable story built my faith and inspired me to do everything for the glory of God. I hope for speaking opportunities in which I too can spread passionate vision and faith in a God of miracles.

We as a family share a longing to build wells and orphanages and clinics in third world countries, so earning a ton of money would be great too.

Was there ever a time in your writing career you thought of quitting?

Yes. In a computer crash I lost eight chapters that had been eked out during rare writing sessions over many, many months while working full time, raising kids, and juggling family and business crises. The backup disc had been lost in an office move. I was devastated, but I had an agreement with God. I started over.

What is your favorite and least favorite part of being a writer?

I prefer writing over marketing, although I thoroughly enjoy meeting readers face to face at events.

How much marketing do you do? Any advice in this area?

So far my marketing consists of a website, www.karenharter.com, a newly implemented newsletter, and occasional radio or web interviews set up by my publisher. I’ve been thrilled with the promotion that has come through articles in the Seattle Times and other newspapers as well as the positive reviews that have appeared on numerous websites. I did several well-attended book signings when the first book was released, but couldn’t go everywhere I would have liked to because of my health. Autumn Blue will be out in two months and I’m excited about hitting the road with renewed energy for many signings and events.

I’ve also had opportunities to speak to groups and teach writers’ workshops, which have connected me with many loyal fans.

Parting words?

There will always be subtle or not-so-subtle forces trying to knock you off the track that leads to your dream. Don’t let them win. If you have to rest on a side-track for a while, that’s okay. Just don’t forget where you’re headed. All things are possible for those who believe.