Author Karen Jones Gowen On Writing And A Giveaway

The multi-talented Karen Jones Gowen wears many hats, but today it’s my pleasure to welcome her to Thoughts in Progress under the cap of author as she tours blogdom with her current release, HOUSE OF DIAMONDS.

Here’s a brief summary of her book: In this sequel to Gowen’s debut novel, UNCUT DIAMONDS, she follows sisters Cindy and Marcie as they reach a crossroads in their lives. HOUSE OF DIAMONDS tells the story of two women, one facing opportunity the other tragedy. Can their bond endure? 

Marcie pursues her dream of becoming a published writer while Cindy must deal with a terrible tragedy. In this gripping story of faith, loss and the transcending nature of sacrifice, Gowen gives voice to a beloved baby who has none. She shows the incredible power that comes to families when they pull together to overcome challenges. It is at these times that a house of pain can become a house of diamonds. 

Thanks to Karen and WiDo Publishing, I have 2 print copies of HOUSE OF DIAMONDS to giveaway to 2 lucky visitors who comment on this post between now and 8 p.m. (EST) on Sunday, Dec. 11. Be sure to leave your e-mail address if it’s not included in your profile.

Karen joins us to explain what inspired your books.

My first book, FARM GIRL was my mother’s story. My second, UNCUT DIAMONDS, based on my husband and me (thinly disguised as Shawn and Marcie McGill), and our experiences as a young couple going through rough times. HOUSE OF DIAMONDS is largely the story of my sister’s baby, who had a brain tumor. It is also about my own ambitions (thinly disguised as Marcie McGill) to write while trying to raise a large number of young children.  

My current work in progress, LIGHTING CANDLES IN THE SNOW, is about addiction and divorce, not based on myself or anyone I know. I guess I had to get all the autobiographical stuff churning inside of me out onto paper before I could move on. But I’m pretty sure my husband will be very embarrassed when CANDLES is published, as people are used to me writing from and about my own life (thinly disguised as the McGill family.)

I enjoy writing from personal life experiences while embellishing things, adding events and characters that never existed except in my imagination. And then my family reads it and says, “I remember  when that happened,” and I say, “Really? Because that scene was entirely made up!”  Haha! 

After reading HOUSE OF DIAMONDS, my husband said, “You never told me about what happened with you and that Professor Yardley character in the Kmart.”  And I said, “It didn’t happen. I write fiction not memoir.” He looked confused and said, “But it sounded so real.”

Good! That means I did my job!

Karen, thanks so much for guest blogging. I love the fact that you can make your husband believe your stories are true. That’s priceless and says volumes for your work. Way to go.

Now for a little background on Karen. Born and raised in central Illinois, the daughter of a Methodist minister from Indiana and a school teacher from Nebraska, Karen has down-to-earth Midwestern roots. She attended Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, then transferred to the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. After converting to Mormonism at the age of 20, she transferred to Brigham Young University in Provo, UT, where she met her future husband. She obtained her degree at BYU in English and American Literature.

Karen and Bruce have lived in Utah, Illinois, California and Washington, currently residing near Salt Lake City. They are the parents of 10 children. Not surprisingly, family relationships are a recurring theme in Karen's writing.

For more on Karen and her writing, visit her website at karenjonesgowen.com and her blog, Coming Down the Mountain: A Writer's Blog. 

Preorder print book HOUSE OF DIAMONDS from the publisher's website and get UNCUT DIAMONDS for free! HOUSE OF DIAMONDS is also available for the Kindle and for the Nook. In addition, HOUSE OF DIAMONDS is now available on the new online bookstore, Celerytree.com, in all formats. 

Thanks for stopping by. Do you enjoy stories that have a touch of ‘real life family issues’ included? Remember you have until Dec. 11th to comment for a chance at 1 of 2 print copies of HOUSE OF DIAMONDS.

 

WiDo Publishing Seeking Submissions

Today I’m pleased to welcome Karen Gowen as the special guest blogger not as an author or fellow blogger but as a publishing executive to talk about how a family-owned publishing company came to be.

Karen is the author of FARM GIRL and UNCUT DIAMONDS. She blogs at Coming Down the Mountain: A Writer's Blog. She is also an Assistant Editor of WiDo Publishing, which is currently seeking submissions. I ask Karen to explain a bit about this small indie press and what it can offer authors.

WiDo Publishing is a small, family-owned press located in Salt Lake City, UT, started in 2007 for the purpose of publishing my book, FARM GIRL. Some say a publisher launches a book, in this case, a book launched a publisher. I blogged about how all this happened in this post (add link). For the first couple years of WiDo’s existence, I was just one of the authors. Now I am more involved in promoting WiDo online and actively working as an editor.

A number of editors live outside the area– one in California, one in Minnesota and one in Germany. There are five editors, two interns and two copy editors who go over each manuscript numerous times to make sure it is polished and professional before it heads to the typesetter. Once typeset, it is again reviewed by an editor and at least one copy editor. No book is released until it is thoroughly and completely edited even if that means release dates are pushed back.

Genres accepted for publication range from memoir, women's fiction, YA, fantasy, mystery, to action adventure. With WiDo, the story is key. If we like the story, the writing style, the characters and feel that the work has something special, we don't care about genre. WiDo likes a manuscript to be around 50K- 80K words, but will publish less than 50K and up to 100K if the work merits it. We do not publish illustrated children's books, middle-grade (unless it has wide appeal), how-to books, self-help, or erotica.

Cover designs vary from original artwork, photography, to computer-generated designs, depending on the genre and the tone of the work. For this reason, WiDo's books do not look anything alike. It would be very difficult to pick out three titles from a group and say "these all look alike and must be published by the same company."

WiDo distributes through Ingram to bookstores and through Follett to libraries. WiDo's titles are sold in numerous independent bookstores from East to West in the United States, although bookstores are cutting back on their purchases for obvious reasons. For this reason, WiDo wants their authors to have a strong online presence to maximize online and ebook sales. Online, WiDo's books are available through their own website as well as the usual online sites, with a select few available through Borders.com and The Book Depository.

WiDo has been slowly building. There have been several business models that have had to be readjusted based on economic and industry changes. An advantage to a small press is the ability to adapt quickly when times call for it. For this reason, WiDo has kept its releases down, with only nine titles published since it started in 2007. There are six more planned for release in 2011, and twelve in the works for 2012. WiDo is currently seeking new submissions. The submission guidelines are here. 

There are those who question our contract because it is short and simple. Any author who has been offered a contract with us is welcome to negotiate any segments they feel uncomfortable with or might want further explanation. We are flexible and easy to work with. We seek to develop a relationship of trust with each of our authors. The highest compliment we can receive is when an author expresses how thrilled they are to be part of the WiDo Publishing family.

Karen, thanks for guest blogging. It’s interesting learning more about your Indie Publishing Company. As more and more author are looking in that direction, I see the demand growing. It’s a wonderful way for readers to find new authors they might not otherwise discover. I think sometimes authors may not realize just how much a small press has to offer them. Wishing your company much success.

For more on WiDo Publishing, check out their website, like them on Facebook and find them on Twitter.

What are your thoughts on small publishing companies? As an author, are you surprised by how much they can offer? As a reader, do you read books published by indie companies? As always, thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.