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Saturday, November 24, 2018

A Twist to the Reindeer Tale- An Interview with Heather Karn

How did you come up with the idea of your Christmas themed book?
When I decided to do a Christmas book, my two biggest criteria were that it couldn’t have a saving Christmas plot or be a Christmas Carol retelling. Those plots have been done so many times I didn’t want mine to be lost among them. Like my other books, I wanted this one to be different.

In the end, I decided Santa didn’t need reindeer to fly the sleigh, but I needed something else, and one thing led to another. So I took my love of shifters and my love of Christmas and combined them, creating an ice dragon shifter Christmas novel where Santa uses dragon shifters to pull his sleigh. Thus, First Christmas was born.

Would you give a short synopsis of the story for my readers?
Vixen, an ice dragon shifter living at the North Pole meets her mate, Lunar, who has no idea about Christmas. It’s up to her and her elven friends to teach him all about their favorite holiday. In the meantime, Vixen is being sought after by another ice dragon with evil intentions, who will do anything to make her his so he can rule her clan. In the end, it is the magic of Christmas that must prevail in the hearts of elves and dragons alike.

What made you decide to do a Christmas themed book?
I love Christmas. I’m actually a bit obsessed. It’s a family trait. Once I started writing my tiger shifter series and it was approaching Christmas, I knew I needed to add Christmas books to my published works. I couldn’t NOT write one. It was thinking of an original, unique plot that was the more difficult part, but now that world and its characters have come alive and won’t stop giving me ideas.

What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?
There are so many traditions that I love. Decorating has to be one of the best traditions. That usually takes place early to mid-November. Every year we open a gift on Christmas Eve with whoever is at my parent’s house. Last year we did a Secret Santa where we all bought mugs for another person. Another year it was pajamas. This year has yet to be determined.

I also love that we can’t touch the presents until it’s time to hand them out, and growing up, Mom and Dad always hid the names on the presents so we couldn’t tell what present belonged to which person. The one tradition I’ve never liked, though, is having to eat a large breakfast. I was usually too excited to eat and enjoy the meal.

What’s next?
I have two other books releasing in November and December:  Cookie Christmas and Evergreen Christmas.

After that, in late January/February, I’ll be releasing the second book in my Gargoyle’s series, called Gargoyle’s Pixie. I’ve begun work on a PNR Beauty and the Beast fairytale retelling, and that should release early to mid-2019 if all goes well.

What’s the best writing tip you’ve learned or been given you’d like to share?
One I’ve strictly followed is to not let anyone read your work until the first draft is finished. The first draft is always bad and needs more attention to make it amazing, but if someone reads a beginning portion and tears it down (in its imperfect state) then it could deter you from finishing the project.

Since I don’t plot out the story in advance, some of my greatest ideas don’t happen until I’m further along the story. So, I’ll go back and redo the beginning parts. I don’t want to be discouraged from completing a project when I know I can fix it later.

What do you know now about writing and publishing you wish you had learned sooner?
Marketing is a lot harder than it appears on paper! Most authors will tell you that, and it’s easy to brush it off, but it’s true. If I’d known that, I would’ve taken marketing classes in college, so I was better prepared. Not only is it harder, but it’s ever-changing, and you have to change with it.

Any last words or tips?
Marketing! Network! It’s so important to network with other authors, especially in your genre. Not only can you give one another tips but having someone right there who you can go to when you feel discouraged is the best thing ever. You need that, and so do they. Plus, sharing knowledge will help you both.

One of the first tips I learned was from a beta reader. In my first draft, all the other characters sort of just existed around the main character. When she and I were done talking, I realized one of the greatest things I could do was to develop those characters. I needed to add what they were thinking, consider the life experiences that shaped them, and show how their motivations drove their decisions. Now my secondary characters have come alive and each one takes on a life of their own as the story deepens.

That’s all for today’s interview. If you’d like to learn more about Heather’s books, here are some links to get you started.

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