Meet the Author: Kathleen Rovner!
One of the things I have loved most about featuring other authors on my blog is the oppurtunity to get to know some of them better. The Indie community is HUGE, especially when you consider that the author's I connect with come from all over the globe. I always love seeing how they answer the questions and enjoy the personal insight they give into their lives.
Due to the fact that she prefers her writing to remain a secret, oday's author is normally very mysterious: I don't even know her real name or what she looks like! Needless to say, getting the chance to get a closer look into her life and thoughts on being an author is quite the honor. Let me share her author bio with you, and you'll see what I mean when I say mysterious:
I am a mother, a writer and an avid reader. I write under a pen name due to another professional career. Everyone has a secret in their life, mine is writing. So it isn't surprising that a big theme in all my books is secrets. What's your secret?
I'm intrigued! Here is our interview. I think you'll agree that her responses are facinating, and that while she still remains a little mysterious, Kathleen Rovner seems like a very kind and facinating person.
Enjoy!
Tell us a little about yourself. What made you choose to be a writer and who are you when you aren't writing?
I am not sure I chose to be a writer. It just happened. I remember sitting under a desk at school to start my first novel about a girl on a farm when I was in third grade.
So why did it take so long to do anything? I do have a few 'desk draw books' that I will never do anything with. Also, like a lot of people, I have another professional career that I work in. I never saw writing as a way to make any type of living until recently. And no, since I write anonymously, I will not tell you what my other career is 😉.
What made you choose Indie publishing?
When I was younger getting a book published seemed like winning the lottery more than anything to do with the actual story itself. Something that happened to other people who had connections with agents and publishers, not me.
So I just wrote for myself and never did anything with the stories I wrote. I just liked making the stories. As I got older and I didn’t write them all down. I would daydream them on long drives or while feeding my babies at night. I wonder how many other people are like that out there?
About six months before I really looked into self publishing my father told me about the opportunities offered by that route, and about an author who had a successful book after being rejected a lot of times by publishers. As any daughter would, I ignored him - haha. Then a friend at who had no idea that I liked to write told me about Amanda Hocking. I had read her books on my Kindle and didn't have any idea that they were self published. So I went to her site and saw that she recommended to read J.A. Konrath's site A Newbie's Guide to Publishing from the beginning. I did about 2 years ago. That was what made me start to look into self publishing and not just writing and putting the books in draws without sharing them with anyone.
Tell us about your book! Also, if you had to pick a character in your story that you relate to the most, which one would it be and why?
I write two different series
TV Apocalypse:
Even the suburbs aren't safe from the end of the world…
TV Apocalypse is a psychological apocalyptic thriller set in an all-too-real suburb. If you like end-of-the-world tales, humor mixed with tragedy, and incredible suspense, then you'll love this chilling glance into post-apocalyptic suburbia.
Lightning Series:
The island hides a mysterious secret…
When Lightning Strikes is the first book in a series of suspenseful young adult fantasy novels with a touch of romance. If you like captivating stories, strong female characters, and mysterious paranormal twists, then you'll love this compelling series.
Which character so I relate to the most? It depends on the day. When I am working out I try to channel Julie’s determination from When Lightning Strikes. I often need it when I feel the burn lol. When I want to have a thrill or remember a warm family moment, then I channel Daisy from TV Apocalypse. A lot of the antics from the kids in TV Apocalypse are from my own life. I love documenting things that I may forget otherwise in my books.
Do you have any advice for new authors? Would you encourage them to look at self-publishing?
I don't feel comfortable giving advice to others on writing, except keep doing it. I don’t know about choosing self publishing over finding a publisher. You can always choose one way, and if it doesn't work out then adjust. Just don't stop doing something you enjoy. One of the reasons I like self publishing is that I get to chose everything. I like knowing that I have control of all the good stuff and happens and all the screw ups too.
Thanks for the interview Kathleen! I will be featuring all of her books on my Awesome Indies page, and I encourage everyone to check out her website for news on promotions and new releases. She also has a newsletter you can suscribe to and hear from her personally!
Links:
Website: www.KathleenRovner.com Amazon.com Author Page:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KathleenRovner
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/kathleenrovner/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathleenrovner/
