Craft with Guest Blogger KAREN ROSE
Let’s give a Plotmonkeys warm welcome to KAREN ROSE, who is guest blogging with the craft crew on our Saturday writing blog!
Karen and I met through my local chapter. She has to be one of the most interesting and generous writers I know. And she writes just about the most emtionally tense romantic suspense on the market today. She’s got a RITA to prove it! Her words of advice come from the heart…and I’m so excited to have her here!
—————————-
First, many thanks to the Plot Monkeys for inviting me today! As I contemplated all the craft topics I could discuss, I was, at the same time getting into the character of my newest hero, heroine, and villain. So “Getting into Character” is the topic on my mind right now!
There are so many different ways to approach character development! I’m going to share how I do it, but this may not be what floats your boat. Find your own way, but you may be able to get a few nuggets from other authors along the way.
When I think about a book that I’ve enjoyed in the past, I’ll sometimes think about the setting or the plot, but I ALWAYS think about the characters. It’s the characters that reach out and grab me and pull me into their world. It’s the characters I want to see survive (or fail!) and it’s the characters’ feelings I will remember long after I’ve finished the book.
So how do you create that unforgettable character? How do you make them so real they jump off the page and into your readers’ hearts? Here are a few thoughts:
I. Creating the character:
- Determine who they are. This is deeper than answering these basic questions, but this will get you started.
o Personality
Outgoing or shy? Or does it depend on the social situation?
Egocentric or selfless?
Talkative or quiet?
Visual or aural or kinetic? (How do they process information?)
Dog lover or cat lover?
Sociopathic or empathic?
o Moral compass
Do they have one?
Is it based in an organize religion?
Is it instilled by their family?
Is it the same as those of the people around them?
o Interests
Sports, language, books, movies, history, sci-fi?
o Physical appearance
This can be “trappings” or it can become a part of who they are
Is there a deformity?
Is there a characteristic that sets them apart?
Are they physically beautiful?
Do they have confidence in how they look, however that is?
o Ethnic roots
What are their customs
Do they embrace or reject their culture?
o Education
Are they self-educated or have they attended school?
Do they learn like everyone else? (Goes back to how they process information)
- Determine who they’ve been – this is perhaps the MOST IMPORTANT PART of character development.
o Who they’ve been establishes their outlook on the world
o Who they’ve been establishes how they will interpret what they seen
o Who they’ve been will direct what decisions they make in the course of your story
- Determine their goals and dreams
o Develop their GMC – goal/motivation/conflict
o Focus on both external and internal goals and dreams
o Separate out goals from dreams – this might surprise you!
- Determine what they will do to achieve those goals, and importantly, what they will not – VERY, VERY IMPORTANT
o Will be driven by their moral compass
o May be linked to values even your character doesn’t know they possess
o A really good way to help your character toward self-discovery
II. Once you’ve determined who they are – become them. When you write from their point of view, feel what they feel, get lost in their world. If you don’t get lost in their world, how can you expect your readers to do so?
Warning: Getting lost in your characters’ world may require you to become emotional. Don’t fight it.
Sometimes a plot line seems to drop off a precipice. Where did it go? What happened? Sometimes I panic. Okay, usually I panic. But then I go back to my character and jump in their skin.
What brought me here, to this place? What decisions did I make? Why did I do what I did? What can I do now?
If the decisions have been true to character, you can usually navigate to where you want them to go.
Some tips: Sometimes I have trouble being a character on a given day. This is especially true for my villains. I write linearly – that is, I write as events occur. I have no idea how not to do this. I’m in awe of authors who can move out of sequence! So when I get stuck, it’s bad news for me – and for my deadline. What I’ve learned to do is to continue the story line – from another character’s POV. Then, when I’m able, I close my office door, warn the family to find other pursuits, and write my villain scenes. They can deplete me, and often scare me.
This is good – it means my readers will be scared, too! But don’t underestimate the toll this has on you, the author. It can be exhausting! My kids think I play all day, and I do love what I do, but it can be tiring.
So in summary –
1. Create your character thoroughly. This is more than “She’s 5-10, blonde with blue eyes, and a killer figure.” Although wouldn’t we all love to be that character, LOL. Dig deep.
2. Know thy character.
3. Become thy character.
4. Make them real to you – or they can’t be real to your readers.
And if you can’t forget a character, that’s good. Chances are, your reader won’t either!
P.S. – often one of my books will start with a thought and a character will be born of a single scene that grabs my heart and won’t let go. Some examples:
1. Kristen Mayhew in I’M WATCHING YOU. A victim of rape, Kristen has a daughter out there that she placed up for adoption at birth. She has a small album in which she keeps pictures of the child, generously provided by the child’s adoptive parents. I can still see Kristen sitting at the vanity in her room, turning page after page in the album and feeling so very alone. Then she meets Abe, and after vanquishing the villain, they live HEA.
2. Mia Mitchell in COUNT TO TEN. All her life she’s tried to please her father and knows she’s failed. Worse yet, she knows her father is a horrible man, not worthy of her efforts. Shortly after her father’s death, she falls hard for hero Reed Solliday, who is a widower and still not ready to release the memory of his dead wife. Mia tells him, “I fought for the love of a man who didn’t deserve it all my life. I’m not going to fight your dead wife for you.” The dialog became different when the scene was actually written, but I remember lying in bed one night, unable to sleep with this scene in my mind, and being so … overcome. I cried then. I cried when I wrote the scene, when I edited, and I’m tearing up now, as I remember it. It impacted me. It impacted readers. That was good.
3. Jeremy, a little boy in COUNT TO TEN. He was never supposed to be a major character, but there’s a scene where he walks out of his house, knowing the police are waiting outside and knowing his mother is too afraid to do the right thing. At seven years old, doing the right thing has fallen on his shoulders. So as I was writing, this little boy opens the door and walks outside, dressed in his Sunday church clothes, his hair slicked back. And I fell in love with this little boy. He was so real to me – and to readers!
4. Sophie Johannsen in DIE FOR ME. Sophie loves her grandmother, but after making some bad choices when it came to men, Sophie isn’t sure she’s ready to love hero Vito Ciccotelli. But Vito wins her heart when he sings to her grandmother in a nursing home, giving back to both Sophie and her grandmother the memory of her grandmother’s days on the stage, of a time she felt alive. The nurses in the nursing home cried. Sophie cried. I cried. Readers have written to me that they cried, too.
Okay, that was a long PS – but you get my point!
Hope some of these tips have made you consider your characters a little differently! Thanks, PlotMonkeys, for having me!
A huge thanks to you, Kate Rose. You definitely gave a lot of great tips.
I really appreciate you sharing your “writing secrets” with us. All in all, it sounds really professional. Honestly, I haven’t read a book written by you (shame on me 
) but now after reading this blog I will definitely try one. Thanks for visiting the jungle. 
:
PS: I
the cover of “count to ten” and I think I’ll try this one.
Comment by Vero — September 15, 2007 @ 6:15 am
Woo Hoo! Welcome Karen!
Not to mention an AWESOME writer. I stand in awe. 
Awesome advice. I’m going to print it out and keep it with me. I get stuck often!
I met Karen when I was writing for Warner (The Bachelor series) and then we went on a Levy bus tour of Walmarts in Ohio. We had a blast. Karen’s fun and warm and really an enjoyable bus mate!
Comment by Carly — September 15, 2007 @ 6:41 am
Welcome to the jungle Karen!
Thanks for sharing a slice of how you make your characters come to life with us. Your tips are awesome. I’m with Carly. Printing them and putting them on my board to see everyday.
For anyone who hasn’t read Karen’s books, let me say first she is a must read. Yes, her books can scare me. The characters are completely real. They also make me cry and smile.
Comment by Vicki — September 15, 2007 @ 7:45 am
Thanks for the tips. I think you summed up well with Know thy character - Become thy character -
Comment by Liz — September 15, 2007 @ 8:57 am
Hi Karen - Welcome and thank you!
It’s so funny that this is today’s subject because just this week I read a discussion on Gena Showalter’s blog (or group) talking about what makes characters real. Someone said certain characters have become so real to them they wonder what they’re doing some days. Wow! That’s what I want to create. Characters that are that real. So I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about that this week.
The thing is…they’re that real to me but how do I get it on the page? One night I was sitting up in the middle of the night thinking about an emotional scene with my hero (sometime they just won’t let me sleep). I realized I was crying and I thought OK this is good. I could see it in my head, I could feel it, obviously, but I’m just not sure how to get all of that emotion on the page so that someone reading it feels it too. I guess maybe that will just come with practice and time and at least feeling it is a start.
These are wonderful tips that you’ve given us and like others, I will keep them to refer back to often. Thank you!!!
Comment by Jodie — September 15, 2007 @ 8:59 am
How’s everyone doing with the journaling that was suggested last week?
3 times in 2 days I heard someone mention The Artist’s Way, so I pulled it off the bookshelf and started doing those darn morning pages. So far I can’t see that it’s doing me any good…except to start me off in a bad mood by having to journal
but I’m sticking with it to see if it helps. I guess Rome wasn’t built in a day…and all that!
Comment by Jodie — September 15, 2007 @ 9:04 am
Hello Karen,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, today. Especially the piece about needing to recover. I often forget to allow myself to do this.
Don’t know if you’re answering questions, but, if you are, here’s one. When I dive into the head of one of my characters, I often get so tangled up in that person’s emotions that I forget to make the other person in the scene behave according to his/her goals and motivations. So, how do you get both the hero and heroine to shine at the same brightness in the same scene?
Many Thanks, Karen.
:-)
Nina
Comment by NinaP — September 15, 2007 @ 10:47 am
Good morning! Thanks for this warm welcome!
Jodie - I hated to look like a crybaby ;-) but when I’m moved to tears, that tells me I’m there. Sometimes it’s embarrassing - like when I started to “get” this new character I’m writing. She’s probably one of the deep-down-angriest, most hurting woman I’ve ever written - and that’s saying a lot!. I starting writing her as this very logical POV - but it was flat.
I was on a plane recently and didn’t have a laptop in front of me - for once! I was listening to one of my fave singers - Josh Groban - and all of the sudden this scene came to me and I started crying, right there on the plane. Luckily it was nighttime and most people were asleep, LOL.
But I was so happy - I finally “got” her! Now I can write her. It sounds a little kooky, and that I sit around crying all the time, which isn’t true - but for me it’s a big sign that I’m going the right direction.
Comment by Karen Rose — September 15, 2007 @ 10:55 am
Hi Nina - that’s a good question. You can get so wrapped up in a character that the others are … overwhelmed. That you’re recognizing that this is happening is most of the battle, I think.
Have you tried writing the same scene from different POV’s? You won’t include all in the finished story, but this can be a good exercise to teach your sub-conscious to balance all the characters.
It’s like developing “muscle memory.” You do an action so many times that you automatically remember it, even if your mind is focusing on something else. Important in things like martial arts - and writing!
Practice telling the story from different POV’s. You’ll have the reactions of the other characters “stored” in your subconscious so that that when you’re in another POV, they are still alive in your mind.
I will sometimes re-tell a scene from another POV if it feels flat to me. A rule of thumb I learned early on was “Choose the POV of the character that has the most to lose.” Sometimes you might not know which character that is until each one has had a chance to tell their side of the story.
Does this help?
Comment by Karen Rose — September 15, 2007 @ 11:07 am
BTW, I LOVE the emoticons! I could have some serious fun with this.
Join me, Luke! I am your father!
:
Finishe the blankety-blank book!
Okay, hubby is making waffles for brunch. I’ll be back soon!
Comment by Karen Rose — September 15, 2007 @ 11:08 am
Wow, I feel better about something else now too. I have started writing the scene twice, once from each person’s POV because I just wasn’t sure which was the right way. Carly - I figured that beat sitting here looking at it for days (or weeks) and then figuring out I was coming at it from the wrong person!
Anyway, I feel like I’m wasting a huge amount of time, I just didn’t know how else to get there. But, your answer to Nina made perfect sense and now I feel better about doing it that way. I think I’m getting more out of it than just figuring out who should be telling the story at that point.
Hope you enjoyed the waffles! Yum.
Comment by Jodie — September 15, 2007 @ 11:34 am
Hi Karen
Good morning, Plotmonkeys!
Karen, we were on the same shuttle bus going to the airport in Dallas after the conference. Don’t know if you remember. It’s great to have you here.
Great advice about characters too. I printed it off so I can save it.
Hope everyone is having a great day.
Cher
Comment by Cher — September 15, 2007 @ 11:54 am
Karen I am SO excited that you’re here today!
I just recently started reading your books and am a big fan.
Can’t wait to read Die For Me…I’m finishing up You Can’t Hide first.
I am so with you on getting so deep into the characters that you feel their emotions. I have found myself crying while writing some scenes and always feel that those that touch me the deepest emotionally will be the ones to resonate most with the readers.
Thanks again for coming today!!!
Comment by Leslie — September 15, 2007 @ 12:01 pm
PS: We’re having a lot of comments hit “moderation” again today…we’re releasing them as fast as we can, don’t give up if you don’t see your comment show up right away!
Comment by Leslie — September 15, 2007 @ 12:01 pm
Welcome to the jungle Karen! It’s a pleasure and honor having you here!
What a great post — like Carly, I’m printing this one out to review at times. You gave us all some awesome tips! And just the fact that I was reading your little story blurbs and *I* started to get choked up (especially the one with Vito singing to Sophie’s grandmother!), tells me just how emotionally powerful this book has got to be!
Comment by Janelle — September 15, 2007 @ 12:08 pm
Hi Karen,
I just picked up a couple of your books to take on vacation.
Leslie had highy recommended your book Nothing to Fear.
I guess I am going to be buying a few more after reading the blog.
Thanks for stopping by.
Comment by jeannie and zoey — September 15, 2007 @ 12:28 pm
Karen, thank you for your response. I never thought about mentally “storing” my other character’s reactions/responses for future activation. Very helpful.
I just got back from reading book experts on your website. You sure do know how to stab your quill into the reader’s heart. Your newest book sounds absolutely fascinating! (And thanks for the warning about the screams. My family thinks I’m weird enough, already.)
:-)
Nina
Comment by NinaP — September 15, 2007 @ 12:31 pm
I’m back from brunch and sipping my coffee …
(Love those icons).
Leslie, I know what you mean about tears when you’re writing a scene. The first time it happened to me, I didn’t even realize it. Unfortunately I was snacking on salty pretzels at the time and went to wipe my eyes. Ow, LOL. Moral of story is to avoid salty snacks when writing emotional scenes.
Janelle - that scene with the singing in the nursing home was the first scene I thought of when I started writing this h/h. I could not wait to write that scene!
I write sequentially, though, and writing a scene before I get there is hard for me. Now I use it like a carrot. “Hurry up, Karen, write faster and you can write the scene you’ve been waiting for!” Ha! The games we play with our muses.
Comment by Karen Rose — September 15, 2007 @ 12:36 pm
Nina, LOL. I figured I should warn folks about the screams. Wouldn’t want to get anyone fired!
This is about the book video on my website for DIE FOR ME, my newest release. The villain in DFM is an artist, anxious to capture “the moment of death” and the perfect scream. He’s very, um, creative as to how he gets his models.
Talking about the DIE FOR ME villain - he was supposed to be someone very different when I first starting writing him. He was supposed to be man obsessed with medieval history, focusing on getting the detail right. He was supposed to be a quiet, unassuming man that detectives could talk to a hundred times and never suspect him.
But as the story grew, I realized that’s not who he was at all. He was this big hulking man, with the ability to make people see what he wished them to see. He was charismatic, and a great actor. He was brilliant, a master of many trades, and willing to use his mastery to achieve his goals. He was cold. He wasn’t fascinated so much with medieval history, but the detail of whatever he did. For him, history became a means to an end. (And a means to HIS end.) He was exacting, precise. But he had a vulnerability, which ultimately led to his failure.
When I teach Creating Chilling Villains, one of the points I make is to give your villain a vulnerability - it makes them far more real.
Comment by Karen Rose — September 15, 2007 @ 12:46 pm
Jeannie and/or Zoey - hope you enjoy the books! And have a great vacation!
Comment by Karen Rose — September 15, 2007 @ 12:48 pm
Hi Karen!
Thanks for being here and thanks for the great information. I’m going to print it out too. Okay, I’m starting to feel a little worried because I’ve never cried with one of my characters. However, I write lighter stuff and do laugh with my characters, so does that count?
Comment by Robin — September 15, 2007 @ 1:02 pm
Robin, laughing counts, ABSOLUTELY. My friends call me the “Queen of Angst,” so my scenes are going to make me cry. Every now and again, my character will say something funny and I’ll chuckle as I write, but I’m no comedian.
I bow to light-hearted writers. I read you!!! When I’m not writing, I read a lot of lighter-hearted fare. Keeps me sane.
Comment by Karen Rose — September 15, 2007 @ 1:13 pm
Hi Karen,
I just picked up a couple of your books to take on vacation.
Leslie had highy recommended your book, Nothing to Fear.
I guess I am going to be buying a few more after reading the blog.
Thanks for stopping by.
Comment by jeannie and zoey — September 15, 2007 @ 1:42 pm
oops sorry sent that twice by mistake.
Comment by jeannie and zoey — September 15, 2007 @ 1:43 pm
Hi Karen.
You have the creepiest villains, and the best heroes. I LOVE how you use your supporting characters to make a deep, textured story–and I get really angry when you kill one of them off! LOL
DIE FOR ME was a great read. I was up all night, and had to turn on all of the lights. I can’t wait for the next two books.
You writers need to write faster! :-)
Comment by Fiona — September 15, 2007 @ 1:56 pm
Karen has very graciously agreed to give away a copy of one of her books to anyone who posts in comments today! Thank you so much for coming, Karen!
I have to admit that I have read Karen’s books and she scares the beejeezus out of me. Reading her books is a lot like INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM. She reaches into your chest, grabs your heart and rips it free. Luckily, it’s a romance, so she does put the heart back and smooth over your skin. Powerful, powerful stuff!
We’re so lucky to have you here today!!!
Comment by Julie Leto — September 15, 2007 @ 2:10 pm
Wow, Karen! Thanks for visiting with us at the Plotmonkeys.
I’m strictly a reader but it is interesting to me how all of you write. It is a lot more work than most people realize. Since I have never read any of your books I’m going to check out your website and decide what book I want to read & then find it!! Die For Me sounds like a must read. I love what the character Vito did, singing to the grandmother. You have to love a man like that! 
Enjoy the weekend everyone.
Comment by Donna M — September 15, 2007 @ 3:26 pm
Hi Karen!
I’m not a writer in any sense of the word, but I had to stop by and read your post. I enjoy learning about the process that an author goes through to write their books. I’m a big fan of yours and your books! I have ‘Die for Me’ set to come in my next order, I can hardly wait to get it so I can delve into Vito’s story! :wallbash: Your books are the best.
Comment by Susan — September 15, 2007 @ 3:47 pm
Hi Karen:
Thank you so much for your fantastic tips. I copied and pasted so I can refer to them often as I’m writing. As an unpub wanting to be pubbed- your sharing such valuable information is well… invaluable!!!
I also know my characters so well, there are times I wish they were real so I could talk to them in person and not just in my head. I agree with you-if you want your readers to relate you have to know your characters inside and out.
I’m reading my autographed copy of “You Can’t Hide” right now and am having a hard time putting it down. The story is rich with amazing characters. Hate to admit this and don’t you dare tell my husband- but I’ve fallen in love with Aidan and I’m only halfway through the book!
I don’t mean to sound like a groupie or anything, but I’m in awe of you and Julie and your willingness to share your knowledge with us . I’m honored to be in TARA with you.
Comment by Rosemary — September 15, 2007 @ 4:07 pm
Thanks Karen~ reading your response has taken most of my worry away!
I say most because as an aspiring writer it seems I’m always a bit anxious about something or other. But thanks to the kindness of writers like yourself and the Plotmonkeys, I’m continually reminded to just keep plugging away. Thanks again! 
Comment by Robin — September 15, 2007 @ 4:25 pm
This question is for Karen and the PlotMonkeys:
I forgot to ask in my post. How do you handle your characters speech patterns? In my books, my characters are italian and speak without using “G” at the end of their words (and use words like ain’t, gotta, wanna, etc.). I’ve chosen not to use a hyphen at the end of the g-less word because to me, it’s distracting.
I’ve seen mixed advice on this. Do I let them talk the way they sound in my head or go with convention?
Your characters are supposed to sound unique, but how do you stop them from being a cliche?
As an example- Sandra Hill, who writes the “Jinx” books, has many of her characters speak in deep cajun.
What are your thoughts on this? Thanks!
Comment by Rosemary — September 15, 2007 @ 4:34 pm
And I just have to use this emoticon because it’s my favorite!
Although this one’s a close second! 
Wendi
Comment by Wendi — September 15, 2007 @ 5:00 pm
Rosemary - concerning dialog with an accent - again, you have to strike balance.
Did you ever read Huckleberry Finn? The dialog sections with Jim are so heavily “accented” that you almost can’t read them at all. (My opinion - please don’t flame the Monkeys!!!!) All I’m saying is that I think a little accent goes a long way.
I tend to use wanna and gonna in my books, but not everytime that person talks. You may choose to use the accented form of dialog early in that character’s introduction to set him/her up, then more sparingly later on.
A true artist at this is LaVyrle Spencer. In her book THE GAMBLE, she sets up the hero Scotty as a deep drawlin’, card playin’ cad of a man. In my mind I can still hear his Mizz’zippi drawl. But it’s not overdone. So even in his dialog that’s written straight - I still hear that deep lazy drawl. She’ll use apostrophes for runnin’ and jumpin’ and talkin’ when she drops her g’s. That’s what I do, when I use accented dialog. But wanna and gonna I write out that way.
Another thing you might try is to sprinkle other kinds of speech throughout that evoke the same sound but aren’t shortened words.
Mercy, it’s hot. I’m fixin’ to pass out. I think I’ll get me a glass of sweet tea.
Wow, it’s hot. I feel like I’m gonna pass out. I think I’ll go get a glass of tea.
Slightly different, but I hear a drawl in the first that I don’t in the second. Does this help?
Comment by Karen Rose — September 15, 2007 @ 5:57 pm
Thanks, Julie! Now I can see that scene in Indiann Jones / Temple even though I never saw that Indy movie. It was too scary for me, LOL. Saw all the others though. Did you see that they’re doing a new Indiana Jones movie, BTW? Indy and Karen Allen are in it and they have a son… Old enough to be my son! When did we get old?
Fiona, thanks for the compliment, sorry about the light bill!
Comment by Karen Rose — September 15, 2007 @ 6:01 pm
Donna and Susan, thanks! Hope you enjoy DIE FOR ME! Vito is yummy.
Comment by Karen Rose — September 15, 2007 @ 6:15 pm
It sure does. Thanks Karen (and no I won’t flame the PlotMonekys!)
Comment by Rosemary — September 15, 2007 @ 6:19 pm
Aw, Rosemary - saw your first post. That’s sweet. I remember being new to RWA and how helpful my first chapter was (the Ohio Valley chapter was where I started). I still greet them with huge hugs and many thanks whenever I see them at National. I always promised myself that if I ever “made it,” I’d be like them. I hope I am, and always will be.
Oh, sshh, I fell in love with Aidan, too! I actually fell in love with him in I’M WATCHING YOU, when he ate his words about Kristen and took her to buy a dog. He had to get somebody special - I think Tess was perfect for him. Sigh.
Comment by Karen Rose — September 15, 2007 @ 6:21 pm
Yay, Robin! Glad your worry is gone
(I’ve been wanting to use that emoticon all day!)
Hi Wendi - you’re so naughty, LOL. I wanted to use the mooning emoticon, but was too scared. Ha!
Comment by Karen Rose — September 15, 2007 @ 6:24 pm
Hey Cher - yes I remember sitting next to you on the shuttle in Dallas. Glad I was helpful today - I don’t think I was terribly articulate on the shuttle, LOL. The Sunday after National, I’m always a zombie-girl. Too much stimulation, not enough sleep! This last year it took me days to recover. At least next year we’ll be able to blame jetlag. Oy.
Comment by Karen Rose — September 15, 2007 @ 6:46 pm
I can’t think of anyone better to talk about characterization than Karen Rose!
One of the many things I love about her writing is her amazing ability to turn each and every one of her characters–even the minor ones–into three dimensional human beings. The reader ends up caring about all of them–even the ones who may not be in the story for more than a page or two.
One of the most memorable examples for me was a pediatric nurse wearing Winnie-the-Pooh scrubs–someone who dedicated her life to caring for babies and children. I don’t know why that particular character–a very minor one–has always stuck in my mind, but Karen brought her to life with only a few words of description, making me care deeply about what happened to her, when she could’ve easily been just another nameless, faceless entity.
It takes a hell of a writer to pull that off. It takes Karen Rose.
P.S. Karen R: “Temple of Doom” didn’t quite measure up to the other two Indies, IMVHO. Picture with a fedora:
Comment by Karen Lingefelt — September 15, 2007 @ 7:05 pm
Karen, the Plotmonkeys can’t thank you enough for being here today.
Your generosity in sharing with everyone here is amazing … and also you’ve gone above and beyond in your posting today. 
You are amazing and inspiring! This is for you: 
from 
: 
:
Comment by Carly — September 15, 2007 @ 9:57 pm
Ugggh, I missed all the fun today :wallbash:
:
Sorry I missed Karen
Comment by Tina Martinesi — September 15, 2007 @ 11:29 pm
Thank you for having me! Have a great weekend everyone!
Comment by Karen Rose — September 15, 2007 @ 11:54 pm
welcome Karen. yes love your books.
Comment by kim h — September 16, 2007 @ 1:28 am
Hi Karen,
It’s really nice to see you on plotmonkeys. Thank you for the tips on how you get your characters for your books. I love your books, keep up the good work.
Comment by Holly L. — September 21, 2007 @ 12:46 am