Author Karen Sue Burns Answers It All!

Okay, maybe not technically everything you (or I) could ever think to ask...but she does make a pretty big dent! Readers, help me welcome author Karen Sue Burns to the blog today - Karen is one of my Crimson sisters and I think her book is totally fab (yes, that is my hint to go buy a copy. Go on, get one!).

Karen, on with the interview!

Kristina: M&Ms, Chips 'n Dip, Jell-O Shots…what's your snack of choice when you're on deadline?

Karen: Oh, that's an easy one...M&M's, the peanut variety.

Kristina: Mmmmmm....peanuts..... Okay, re-focusing! What most surprised you about the publishing process?

Karen: I have friends who have gone through the publication of their first book so the process hasn't been all that much of a surprise to me, What has surprised me though is how easily I can talk about my book to people I know (family, co-workers, doctors, hair dresser, etc.) as well as strangers and hand out trading cards. I have no hesitation in mentioning it and saying that it's a good read. I even sent the electronic version of the trading card to the guy at Dell who helped me build my new laptop — his wife is a romance fan and has a Kindle...perfect.

  

Kristina: When the writing gets tough, who do you lean on?

Karen: Me. I am the writer and the one responsible for my words. Although I do hope to get a dog soon who could potentially function as my muse and be cute as hell and cuddly.

Kristina: What a great attitude! I totally relate!! What are you listening to right now and does your listening choice influence your writing?

Karen: I'm not one of those writers who has a playlist that matches the plot or impacts the writing process. I usually have the television on, tuned to a cable news show, which functions as white noise for me. If I had music on, I would listen to it and be too distracted. Every writer has her own habits.

  

Kristina: Tell us one interesting thing about this book or its characters that didn't make in 'between the covers'?

Karen: I had several chapters featuring the villain, i.e. the thief of the $25 million gift, that were eliminated to reduce the word count of In Hot Pursuit from 100,000 words to under 80,000. The chapters probed the character's background and mental stability, and the reasoning behind the theft of the gift. In the end, the words eliminated didn't take away from the gist of the story but still, I wish they could have been included. 

All about In Hot Pursuit:

Quinn Wells believes her life is just as it should be — calm, relaxed, and free of relationship entanglements. The theft of a $25 million dollar gift to her employer, Houston Cullen University, changes all that.

With her innocence in question, she takes matters into her own hands by setting off in pursuit of the coworker she believes is responsible for the theft. But Logan Rice, the donor of the gift, isn’t going to let her out of his sight.

As they race from city to city, Logan is determined to win over Quinn. But Logan’s wealth and social position are the opposite of Quinn’s middle-class life, and he devastates her by withholding information about his past. Will she discover what is most important before he walks away?

Karen Sue Burns writes romantic suspense and mystery featuring feisty heroines who find themselves embroiled in risky situations full of adventure and sexy heroes.

All About Karen:

Karen Sue Burns has worked as a CPA for over 25 years. She’s traveled to Rio de Janeiro, London and Oslo, audited glass molds for wine bottles in California, and taken a helicopter to a drillship off the Gulf Coast—all in the name of accounting. For the last 16 years she’s been controller at a liberal arts university in Houston, Texas handling the financial statements, the annual audit, and preparing IRS Form 990. Accounting has been good to her, but writing romance novels is her passion. In Hot Pursuit is her debut romantic suspense novel.

Release Date:  June 4, 2012

Publisher:  Crimson Romance (F+W Media)

Available at all the usual eBook outlets, POD in a couple of months