Why have an FAQ page? Well, these are some of the questions I get asked over and over again. Most people are incredibly nice (see the “polite” questions) but every once in a while I get some real zingers, which I’ve separated into the “rude” column! (For example, please don’t tell me that I write “that porn for women stuff,” snicker, and then ask me if I have any single friends I’d like to set you up with. Yes, believe it or not, this has happened.)
How did you get started writing?
One very painful, doubt-ridden word at a time.
Did you get published immediately?
Bah ha ha ha! No. I wrote three complete manuscripts which never sold. The fourth did: it became SOMETHING ABOUT CECILY.
Do you have any advice for the unpublished writer?
Yes: grow a skin as thick as rhino hide, because you will need it in this industry. And keep on writing . . .
Were you an English major?
Nope. I ended up studying modern/contemporary art. Which is probably why my walls are every color under the sun and my husband has to put on a welding mask before he comes home at night!
What did you used to do in the real world?
I’ve had all kinds of odd jobs. But my favorites were teaching kids about art in museums and working for a really fun gallery.
So who’s your favorite artist?
Dr. Seuss!
Who’s your favorite author?
Dr. Seuss!
Where do you get your ideas?
I keep them in the refrigerator along with the chocolate.
You get lots of good reviews, but do the bad ones hurt your feelings?
Sure. I try to take the useful criticism and learn from it. Mean-spiritedness I ignore. Not everyone is going to love my writing style or my sense of humor. That’s okay.
Do you ever feel that a book is perfect?
God, no! As an author you do the best you can with your material by the contracted deadline. But a manuscript can always be improved, and it’s so hard for me to stop tinkering and take it to the post office.
Do you like to hear from readers?
Yes! Reader mail is a wonderful perk of the job. Feel free to contact me @ karen@karenkendall.com.
“So,” nudge, nudge, wink, wink, “is your sex life as phenomenal as your characters’?
Are you really asking me this?!
“When are you going to write a real book?”
Well, when I get a real life, of course.
Do you have any actual friends, or just imaginary ones?
Yes, I’m blessed with some amazing, wonderful friends. But oddly enough, they don’t let me dress them up, choreograph them, make their life decisions or torture them. It’s a bummer for a control freak with an imagination run amok, so I turn to fiction.
How much money do you make writing books?
Not enough.
You’ve never met me but I have a 1200-page manuscript that chronicles every day of my dog’s life for fifteen years. It’s still a little ruff (get it?) but will you recommend me to your agent?
Uh . . .