Good morning! Today, I welcome author Karen Rose Smith to my blog. Her book, HER SISTER, is a wonderful women's fiction novel that combines romance and mystery entwined with the emotional complications of a family in crisis. I hope you'll look for Karen's book.
FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS AND WRITING FROM THE HEART
When I wrote HER SISTER, I knew it was a departure from the type of book I
usually write. It's women's fiction with romance and mystery. But
is it really so different? One element that has always characterized my books
is family relationships. Whether I'm writing the ultimate romance or
adding a mystery or suspense plot, family trumps all.
There are many reasons for that. Although I was an only child, my
extended family was large. My parents and I lived with my grandfather and
aunt until I was five and then my parents built a house next door. I ran
between the houses as if they were both "home." On summer
mornings I can remember my aunt singing while she made breakfast. When I
was home sick from school, I stayed with my aunt and my grandfather until my
parents returned home.
My paternal grandfather's house was located on a corner lot. My
neighborhood friends and I had the run of both properties to skate around, to
ride bikes around, to pretend and imagine and create scenarios that we brought
to life, whether it was a western script or simply a family one. Sundays
were usually spent with relatives at my grandfather's house next door.
Decades-old elms cascaded over park benches where my aunts and uncles would sit
and talk. My dad had nine brothers and sisters, so someone was always
coming and going, bringing food, cooking food, laughing and enjoying a glass of
wine. My favorite cousin became a confidante as we grew older into
teenage crushes, discussed favorite music and even wrote a script together.
On my mom's side of the family, I had seven aunts and uncles. They
were scattered a bit more so I didn't see them as often. But every Friday
evening my parents and I would drive to my maternal grandparents' house to pick
up fresh food my grandmother had purchased for my mom at the farmers'
market. They lived in a row house across the alley from the market.
My grandfather's barber shop was on the first floor. The living room was
on the second floor but we hardly ever used it because around the huge dining
room table was where all the conversation swirled. On those Sundays we
weren't visiting with family next door, we drove to my maternal grandparents'
house for supper. This was life. Everyone was connected.
I've lost my parents and all of my aunts and uncles. With those
losses, memories become even more precious. In HER SISTER, I drew on
memories of my uncle's farm where my dad and another uncle worked, too, raising
tobacco. I remember going out into the tobacco field with them on a
flatbed trailer being pulled by a tractor. I helped push the tobacco
leaves onto lathes before they were hung in the barn. I can still
remember the sun on my face, the smells of harvesting, the enjoyment of feeling
free on that farm. In HER SISTER, this was Amanda's background. One
summer she shared it with Max when they fell in love.
So to write this book, I analyzed what happened when a family fell apart
because their three-year-old was abducted. Then I imagined what could
happen as they found their way back to each other in the midst of another
crisis.
After writing for twenty years, last year I sold a mystery series. I
found the genre fit perfectly and I love the challenge of devising puzzle
pieces that fit together to weave a story. So in HER SISTER, I decided to
combine everything I like best about writing--an emotional plot with romance
and mystery.
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| Author Karen Rose Smith |
I hope you enjoy it, too.
©2013 Karen Rose Smith
View a book trailer of HER SISTER
HER SISTER on Amazon
IN TOUCH with KAREN ROSE SMITH
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