Today I welcome Karen Elizabeth Brown and her rescent release Galaxy Nomads - Chronicles of the MacKenzie Clan, she's agreed to answer a few questions.
1. Tell us about a favorite character from a book.
One of my favorite characters
from Galaxy Nomads is a mystic named
Hestia. She is kind of like a mother to all the characters, who is fascinating,
but with wisdom and foreknowledge. She mentors the protagonists throughout the
book and is that steady character in the background. I created her with my own
mother in mind. If my mother was here today, I’d tell her that this character
was made as a tribute to her.
2. Where do you dream of traveling to and why?
I dream of making a trip to Walt
Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Since I live in Southern Oregon, it will be a
major undertaking. I’m fascinated by the imagination that went into making the
creation of the parks. I’ve been able to watch you-tubes of many of the areas
and some on how they dreamed up their ideas. The Animal Kingdom is especially drawing
to me. They created it like a savannah for the animals and one ride takes you
through a number of areas that take you away from Florida and into the African
lands. It’s that kind of imagination that tickles my own brain when I want to
write about other people and places in outer space.
3. I hope you get there soon, but you have quite the imagination, does travel play into the writing of your books?
Absolutely! I love to have my
characters explore new places and get lost in other times. My own experience
with traveling as a young person probably has much to do with it. My parents
would take us camping on the weekends and on holidays. They would take us to
the desert or the beach, where we would put up our own tents and wander the
area. I also traveled to Europe and Japan which gave me insights into different
cultures and landscapes.
4. How exciting Europe and Japan, congratulations. Tell us about your next release.
I’m presently working on a sequel
to Galaxy Nomads which I’m calling Gemini: Chronicles of the MacKenzie Clan. It’s
about a pair of twins that have the predisposition of getting into trouble.
They’re actually good seventeen year olds, but happen to be at the wrong place
at the wrong time. Their pranks catch up with them and they are faced with the
antagonist’s wrath. I won’t tell you how it ends; sorry, no spoilers. However,
it won’t be out until 2016.
5. Has someone helped or mentored you in your writing career?
Aside from teachers and critique
partners, the person who has helped me the most (as a mentor) has been my
sister, Retta Stephenson. Actually, she is an accomplished artist and did the
cover for Galaxy Nomads. But she has
the ability to speak her mind to me, good or bad, which keeps me growing as an
author. I appreciate her feedback, which she does regularly, and it helps me
see myself from another’s perspective. Thanks, sis.
6. Teachers are a wonderful influencee, but sister's are awesome! Are you a plotter or Pantser? Why?
My first attempts at writing were
as a pantser. I just sat down and started writing. They were terrible! And one
was for an inclusion in an anthology. The editor sent it back covered in red,
suggesting I re-think my story. It was then that I started outlining my
stories. Since then, I find that if I outline first, I have an idea of where
I’m going and why. It makes writing the rest of the story much easier.
7. A manuscript covered in red is very familiar, and a good reason to rethink your approach, congratulations. Do you use a pen name? How did you come up with it?
I do use a pen name. Actually,
it’s my maiden name. I decided to use it since I’ve been married twice and I
didn’t want any confusion between names and my books. I’ve heard that some
authors have more than one pen name according to the genre they’re writing in,
but I’ll stick with the one.
8. I think it's a great name and your reasoning is sound. Do you listen to music while writing? If so, what?
I love to listen to one
particular album by Future World Music called A Hero Will Rise. The music is inspiring and has all kinds of moods
in the music. It helps me create different worlds and scenes. It also
obliterates the background noises that distract me while I’m writing.
9. Music does influence creativity, I'll check out A Hero Will Rise How do you develop your plots and your characters? Do you use any
set formula?
My plots are usually developed
while I’m writing my outline. Sometimes I can get stumped and it takes me days
to figure them out. My characters are developed along with the outline also,
but I use a character interview to help flesh them out. This is a long set of
questions that I answer about each character; physical, emotional and
psychological aspects of their character. After I’m done, not all the
information may go into the book, but I’ve got a good grip on the character. In
my next book, I want to add more in the book so the characters are deeper and
the reader gets to know the characters better.
10. The formula changes as the story and characters change, you seem to have it down! As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Did you
pursue it or follow your heart/dreams?
I wanted to be a musician when I
was a child. I even traveled to Europe with an orchestra as a teenager. I went
to college and began studying music diligently, practicing at least eight hours
a day on my viola. I won a scholarship to study at USC-Los Angeles and even
played for the famed Yascha Heifitz, who gave me a critique on my playing. But,
I fell in love, got married and had three beautiful children. I continued to
play on the side, but discovered writing while I was at home. I then went back
to school, studying to be a registered nurse, so I could have a good job. I
continued to write in my journals, but it wasn’t until I retired that I went
back to school and studied writing formally. Now I enjoy it fully and spend my
time at the keyboard creating unique characters and worlds.
Thanks, Karen, appreciate your sharing so much with us. We all love learning about the talent behind the masterpiece. Now onto to your release...
Galaxy Nomads
Chronicles of the
MacKenzie Clan
The MacKenzie clan is forced to flee from the devastating destruction
of a supernova and is challenged to a ruthless game of survival. When all seems
hopeless, a new generation arises to battle their worst enemy in a unique
battle of wits. Will the MacKenzies survive betrayal, pirates and wormholes to
the outer quadrants? Here they find a new race of people on the Patchouli
planet where the female is Alpha. They learn wisdom from the mystics and seers
on their jaunt through the universe and from across the galaxy two brothers are
reconciled to each other. They experience love and hate in the Merridian sector
when a prince is abducted and must be rescued before a cruel cousin steals the
throne. An epic read that will send you spiraling at warp speed through all the
MacKenzie generations.
Available at:
Meet Karen Elizabeth Brown:
My passion for writing is what
fills my entire life with exhilarating inspiration. I spend my days writing,
doing research, and studying about the characters of my stories. Having done
some traveling in my earlier years to Europe and Japan, I find those
experiences have helped color my stories with a variety of ideas for the
characters and places.
When I'm not writing, I enjoy music and reading, especially fantasy and
sci-fi. Born in Southern California, I migrated to Southern Oregon in 1974
where I now reside in the Rogue Valley with my family and friends.
What about you - who was your biggest influence?
Do you have a question for Karen?
