Tina and Connie: Welcome, Karen, and thanks for being here. It’s a pleasure to have you with us today. We look forward to being able to get to know more about you and your writing. Before we get right to the questions though, would you tell us a bit about yourself, your book True Pretenses, and what you’re working on now?

Karen: I’m an Air Force veteran, now an Air Force wife. I was born and raised in Washington state. My husband’s from Georgia, though he was born in Japan. We met in Germany and got married in Denmark. Our two oldest children were born in California, while the youngest made his debut in Florida. I left the service to become a stay-at-home mom, but my husband is still on active duty. He’s a photographer. We’re currently stationed in Florida, and we plan to settle in this area permanently when he retires.

True Pretenses is a comedy set in Regency England. Acting on a dare from a prankster friend, Christopher "Kit" Woodard, Duke of Fairborough, masquerades as Serena Langley’s coachman to learn why she refuses to even meet, let alone marry him. Meanwhile, Serena courts scandal by dallying with her handsome, arrogant new coachman in hopes of avoiding her unwanted, arranged marriage to Fairborough, leaving him—and possibly even her—confused as to which man she’s fallen for—the coachman, the duke . . . or just Kit Woodard?

I’ve written three more Regency historicals since True Pretenses, and they’re all up for grabs, including one with Kit’s prankster friend, Nicholas, as the hero.

Connie: A world traveler with several MS behind her. How great!

To me, in True Pretenses there’s a twist on class differences. Is that right? I mean Serena is supposed to marry a Duke, and because of personal reasons she doesn’t want to marry him. Then, there’s the Duke who is disguised as her new coachman in an effort to convince Serena that the reasons she doesn’t want to marry him are unfounded, at least where he’s concerned. Getting involved with a coachman would be beneath her during this time period, correct?

Karen: You’re absolutely right, but one has only to turn on the TV, read any history book, or even open today’s newspaper to see that we crazy Earthlings, regardless of class, will try anything once. The late Princess Diana, who was also the daughter of an earl, caught flak for what others perceived as being too friendly with palace staff. I’m hard pressed to believe that in the 900+ years since the Norman Conquest, she was the first aristocrat to do that.

Connie: At least we can hope she wasn't the first to be too friendly with their staff.

It actually sounds quite fun to have been able to create situations where the Duke would automatically think he would have to behave in a "dukely" fashion but had to instead behave as a coachman would. Was this the case with you, did you have fun with the twist on the class differences or was it difficult to write about the supposed class difference while they were actually, basically, on equal social footing?

Karen: I had a blast writing in Kit’s POV, especially when he had trouble remembering his place as coachman. I loved how he’d glom onto any opportunity to "pretend" to be the duke when it seemed the only way to get out of a jam, making Serena’s head spin. Eventually his own head was awhirl: He was a duke pretending to be a coachman who sometimes pretended to be a duke; Serena had fallen in love with one of these men, and because he himself had fallen in love with her, he had to risk everything to figure out which man that was.

Tina: It sounds like the characters came alive for you.

What was your road to publication like, Karen? What would you tell an aspiring author regarding submissions?

Karen: The road to publication was like the Beatles song—long and winding. True Pretenses was my eighth manuscript, and it comes with a lot of baggage both good and bad. We lost our only daughter, Fiona, to a rare autoimmune polyglandular disease while I was writing the book, but amazingly, it doesn’t show anywhere in the story. While I had a lot of fun writing True Pretenses, I was also in a lot of pain at the time, and I still have no idea how I functioned on both levels simultaneously.

I entered True Pretenses in the 2002 New Historical Voice Contest co-sponsored by Dorchester Publishing and Romantic Times magazine. I was dusting the ceiling fan in my son’s bedroom when editor Kate Seaver called to tell me I was a finalist. I got a lot of ribbing from my RWA chapter about that, and I haven’t cleaned a ceiling fan since. Ultimately I didn’t win, but when Kate called several months later to make an offer for the book, she caught me while I was reading the daily comics. I trust that was a more respectable activity.

About submissions, my advice is to always to find out, first and foremost, if you can actually write the whole book—and there’s only one way to do that. I shake my head at people who write no more than the first three chapters (because usually that’s all editors want to see initially), and figure they’ll write the rest of the book only if the editor asks to see it. I think those people are writing for the wrong reasons. Sometimes, an editor will surprise you and ask to see the entire manuscript up front. An aspiring author who’s serious about getting published is always prepared for that.

Tina: And when you got "the call," what was it like that day at your house?

Karen: Pretty quiet, actually. My husband was overseas at the time, but he came home two days later. I did a lot of celebrating over the phone and online with the members of my local RWA chapter, the Tampa Area Romance Authors.

Connie: Have you ever done any acting, in the name of research, to make sure a scene seemed realistic? Have you acted out a gesture or part of a scene that you were glad no one ever saw you do because you felt silly doing it? Or did someone see you?

Karen: I don’t think I’ve ever acted anything out per se, but I do try to choreograph certain scenes, like page 2 of True Pretenses, when Serena slips off the ladder. Kit doesn’t catch her, instead he merely breaks her fall, and she bashes into him with enough force to send him to the floor. You’ll note he landed on his side instead of flat on his back, which I think might have resulted in more serious injury. (You might say she really knocked him off his feet at first meeting!)

Connie: I think choreography can be important to the flow of reading a book.

One more question about research, Karen. What’s your favorite research/reference book, and favorite Internet research source? For True Pretenses did you find yourself going back to one particular source for your information?

Karen: Two favorites are The Writer’s Guide to Everyday Life in Regency and Victorian England by Kristine Hughes, and What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew by Daniel Pool. On the Internet, Cathy Decker’s home page is the Louvre of links to Regency related sites—you can’t possibly see everything there in one day.

Tina: Who was the first to read your first manuscript, and how did it come about?

Karen: My very first? It was a behemoth three times the length of True Pretenses titled The Age of Eagles, the first in a series of behemoths I wrote chronicling the lives of a fictional European royal family from the Napoleonic era to the present day. I’ve always been fascinated by royalty, and enjoyed reading family sagas, so I thought to put them together because no one else had—and isn’t that how most stories get written?

St. Martin’s Press holds the honor of being first to reject The Age of Eagles. Somewhere I still have the letter—addressed to Dear Ms. Fletcher (I was single then), and signed in ink by a real person, someone named Dianne whose last name escapes me, but she also referred to the book by its title in the body of the letter. She was very nice about it. Not too shabby for a first rejection!

Tina: No, not too shabby, Karen.

Connie: Ideas for scenes know no courtesy for popping in at the proper time or place. Is there a particular time or place where/when your ideas seem to always strike? How do you handle it in order to remember in its entirety?

Karen: Ideas come to me out of the blue at no particular time or place, and they percolate in my mind for a while, slowly brewing until I’m ready to use them. I wish I could close my eyes, tap my heels together, and chant some magic mantra that will conjure ideas, but unfortunately they come only when they decide to come. Just so they never stop coming!

Tina: Yes, I'd say that would be the time to worry.

What is your writing process like? Do you go from start to finish and then edit, or do you edit as you go?

Karen: Thanks to word processing programs and all their little built-in editing features, I find myself unable to resist editing as I go. Afterwards, I go back and edit some more.

Tina: And what is your work area like? What do you find that you consistently have with you at the computer?

Karen: I consistently cannot find anything.

Tina:

Connie: I can really relate to your feelings of shyness and awkwardness throughout your school years, Karen, and to the clothes and haircuts that did nothing for the self-confidence. There are so many readers who have felt and still feel the way you and I did/do, yet we are overwhelmed with books where the heroine is svelte, gorgeous, and loaded with self-confidence. I know that sells books, but sometimes it feels like there’s that message that those are the only women who get the man, not the awkward, cute but not beautiful, size 12-16 women. A Barbie type syndrome I call it. Do those feelings and experiences come through in your writing, do you utilize them, or do you leave them behind when you sit down to write?

Karen: I think it’s because of those feelings/experiences that I gravitated to writing in the first place, so they definitely play a role in my stories. We misfits, despite years of conditioning to think otherwise, are just as worthy of love as the Barbies, and I like to prove it through my writing. Call it self-therapy. Serena, for example, had to endure cruel comments about her nose, small breasts, and the autistic sister of whom she was so protective. She didn’t think she was beautiful or desirable. But Kit Woodard did—and not just because of her face and figure. He saw beauty in the whole package, inside and out, and to me, that’s one of the things that made him so heroic.

BTW, Connie, I noticed in your bio that like me, you’re a fan of Julia Quinn. How ’bout that Penelope Featherington from Quinn’s Bridgerton series? Penelope is me! From the very first, I wanted to reach into the pages, give her a hug and say, "I know." When it came down to how she made lemonade, so to speak, I found myself nodding, smiling and cheering her on. And we both wound up with great guys!

Connie: Yes, I immediately related to Penelope, too! It would be wonderful to have more heroines like Penelope and Serena in the books we read. Whatever it is, self-therapy or proving that us "misfits" are worthy of love and even success, I applaud you and other writers who take the chance on not creating their heroines with perfect features and bodies, and self-confidence!

Tina: I agree with you both and join in on the applause.

Connie: If you had to choose, which would be most rewarding to you, to make a reader laugh, or to make them cry?

Karen: I think it’s a lot harder to make the reader cry than laugh, so I’d have to say it would be more rewarding to make them cry. (Though honestly, dear readers, I really don’t mean to make you cry!)

Tina: We’d like to get to know Karen the person now that we’ve gotten to know Karen the author if we could.

Thinking back, what was your favorite book or author as a child? Do you remember why it was a favorite?

Karen: I liked Nancy Drew. Needless to say, her life was more exciting than mine. And I loved Laura Ingalls Wilder. I was drawn to the cozy, close-knit family life portrayed in her books, and the way they all stuck together through good and bad.

Connie: What is the biggest self-indulgence you allow yourself?

Karen: Chocolate. I don’t need it, but . . . well, yes, I do.

Tina: We're with you there, Karen!

Connie: Yep!

Aside from that self-indulgence, what is your favorite thing to do for recreation and relaxation with your family?

Karen: Our two sons have autism, and they get easily agitated in public, so it’s very difficult to take them on many outings. This sounds terribly simple, but I love it when we all sit in front of the TV, turn on the Sony Playstation, and watch while my husband goes through all the levels of a Crash Bandicoot video game to accumulate lives, before he heads into a really difficult level to try and pick up a hard-to-reach gem. Or better yet, when we plug in a second joystick and go head to head with Crash Team Racing—which I usually win, and not because he lets me—I’m just better at it! But we’re all gathered together, we talk, we snack, and we’re merry, and while both our sons enjoy playing video games, they really love it when Dad or even Mom takes the joystick.

Tina: Where would you like to go on your dream vacation?

Karen: Europe. I’ve lived there, but when I’m not living there, I want to visit. Every week I watch Travels in Europe with Rick Steves, and Smart Travels with Rudy Maxa on PBS, just to get my Eurofix.

Connie: What would be most romantic to you to do with your husband, Karen? Remember, all expenses are paid (hypothetically). Sitting on the porch swing watching the sunset, drinking a glass of wine or sparkling juice, quietly talking about your day, your dreams or a catered picnic, with all your favorites, near a mountain lake with side by side hammocks for after lunch?

Karen: Oh, the picnic near the mountain lake. And since all expenses are paid, I’d want a mountain lake in Switzerland. But we only need one hammock! ;-)

Connie: Switzerland and one hammock it is!

Tina: What is your biggest pet peeve?

Karen: It would have to be a toss-up between wet towels crammed in the laundry hamper, and stores that sell photo frames with the price tag cemented on the glass in front. Meanwhile, I have to stand on my head and rupture internal organs trying to find the price tags on anything else.

Tina: I can relate, Karen.

Karen, would you tell us what is one of your all-time favorite movies and why?

Karen: I have so many favorite movies, it’s impossible to pick out one in particular. I love Indiana Jones and anything with Cary Grant. I also enjoy Hitchcock, James Bond, and comedies that make me laugh so hard, that I’m blinded with tears and have to remove my contact lenses.

But what do these movies have in common that might explain why I like them? Charming, sexy men (not that I don’t already have one at my side), travel to exotic places without all the airport security hassles, and heart-stopping thrills and adventure I can vicariously enjoy from the safety and comfort of my living room. At heart I’m a scaredy-cat and don’t like being jolted out of my well-furrowed rut. Probably explains why I’m a writer.

Connie: Cary Grant is one of my very favorites as well. And yes, he was very charming and sexy.

All of us have different qualities or traits. Sometimes we’re drawn to someone, or click with someone because of our similarities or differences. What qualities do you admire most in a person?

Karen: I place a very high premium on honesty. I admire and respect anyone who can admit they made a mistake, and take responsibility for it. I feel quite the opposite toward anyone who dodges responsibility for their mistake, and tries to cover it up by using someone else—like me—as a human shield. (Can you tell I’ve dealt with both types?) I’m also a bit of a stickler for punctuality, and always appreciate a good sense of humor.

Tina: Please have some fun with this, Karen. It’s your lucky day. You’ve thrown a coin into a wishing well and are granted not one, not two, but three wishes! What would they be?

Karen: Assuming that none of the provisos and caveats cited by the Genie in Disney’s Aladdin are in force, I would have to say . . .

1. I’d like Fiona back, alive and healthy. Among other things, I miss acting out Looney Tunes and Simpsons cartoons with her (yes, now those I’ve had to act out)!

2. A multiple-book contract. I already have a stockpile. Baby, I can produce!

3. To go back to my pre-motherhood weight, and still eat whatever I want.

Tina: Those are three great wishes! If only...

How would you describe yourself? How would your closest loved one describe you?

Karen: I’m very impatient and I worry a lot about everything. I have more self-confidence than I used to, but I’m still very shy, so I usually don’t speak unless spoken to. I think I’m only outgoing when I write. Overall, I’m fairly easy to do business with, but if I haven’t had my first cup of morning coffee, then approach with extreme caution.

As for how my closest loved one would describe me, I went straight to the source. His reply: "About 5 feet, 11 inches tall, brown hair."

Connie and Tina: On that note, we’ll let you get back to your writing, Karen. But not before we thank you for a great time. We enjoyed getting to know you.

One final question, though. Is there anything we didn’t ask that you’d like the readers and fans to know?

Karen: My last name gets butchered a lot—in fact, I’m stunned when someone pronounces it right the first time. It’s three syllables with a hard g—Ming vase, ding dong, ping pong, sing a song, Ling-uh-felt. (I know, the jingle still needs a lot of work.) You can still order True Pretenses online—I have links on my website, http://www.karenlingefelt.com. It was a fun story to write, and I hope it’s just as much fun for readers.

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