Author Interview with Karin Beery & a Giveaway

By Deena Adams

Karin Beery is an online ACFW author friend who writes hopeful fiction with a heavy dose of romance. She’s offered her latest novella, Avoiding Marriage, as a giveaway to one person who comments on this interview by July 27. Don’t miss your chance to win!

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Welcome to the blog Karin, I’m excited to have you! Please tell us a little about yourself and your family.

I grew up with two sisters and lived in a sorority house in college; when I got married, I was completely unprepared for living with a man. After 15 years, though, we’ve figured it out (mostly). I’ve lived in small towns my whole life and I love it! My husband would prefer some acreage in the country, but I love being able to walk to the store and talk to my neighbors. We currently live in a village of 1,400 people with our two dogs and two cats.

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Small town life sounds wonderful to me. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Everything! My mom kept one of those books from Kindergarten through high school where we could record things like who our teachers and best friends were. It also asked what we wanted to be when we grew up. I wanted to be a teacher, baton twirler, an actor, and even a snowman.

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Haha! I love that you wanted to be a snowman. Let’s talk about your writing. How and when did you start?

I wrote my first let’s-try-to-publish-this novel in 2007 during my husband’s battle with cancer (he’s fine now!). I read through all my favorite authors and decided to write my own novel. It was terrible, but I was hooked. I’ve been writing (and editing) ever since. 

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I’m so glad your husband is doing well. Why did you decide to write contemporary novels? What unique challenges does writing about today’s culture present?

Honestly, I just don’t want to do the research necessary to make it historically accurate! (I do enjoy reading historical fiction though.) The problem with contemporary fiction is how quickly it dates itself. I wrote a story in 2008, but when it was published in 2018 we had to go through and change all cell phone references from flip phones to smart phones.  

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I can totally relate! Tell us how you incorporate Christ and hope into your writing.

My first novel was Christian, but my subsequent novels have been clean general market books, so I don’t directly mention Christ. Instead, I include biblical truths throughout the story without necessarily saying, “This is from the Bible.” I never intentionally wrote hope into my books, but you can’t separate God’s truths from hope, so it naturally appears in all of my stories.

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Yes, God’s truth and hope are inseparable! Are any of your stories inspired by true events or personal history? 

There’s always a spark of inspiration there, but I like to combine things from my life, what I see on TV, what happened to others, etc. and create something new. (I do, however, like to steal real people’s names for minor characters.)

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How many hours a day do you spend writing?

First drafts are the bane of my existence. I can’t sit down and write a bit here or there (or even for 1-2 hours a day). Instead, I give myself a month and pour all of my free time and energy into finishing a first draft. It’s usually short (50,000 words) and terrible, but then I can edit, and that’s easier for me.

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I understand that. I wrote both of my completed manuscripts during Nanowrimo. How do you balance writing with your other life and family obligations?

Badly! 😊 I have to pencil it into my calendar. If I don’t, I’ll never do it. It’s more like a job in that way. I want to make sure I have time for work and family, so I can’t spend all of my free time writing, but if I love the project, I can get overly focused. It’s a balancing act that I’ve not yet mastered.

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What did God teach you through the writing of Avoiding Marriage? 

He’s still trying to teach me time management and trust (I’m bad at the first which often leads to anxiety and panic). I did better and remembered to schedule all of my editors in advance and had everything lined up to meet deadlines, which I did.

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Ah, time management . . . something we all struggle with, I think. Which character in Avoiding Marriage was easiest for you to write and why? Which character presented the biggest challenge?

Grandma Dot was the easiest. She’s a bit snarky and irreverent, as am I. Carter was the biggest challenge. He’s a sharp dressing scholarly type of a guy. I’m married to a mountain man, so I couldn’t rely on my husband as any type of inspiration.

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Grandma Dot sounds like a fun character. What was the hardest scene to write?

I think the last scene is always the hardest—you have to find the right blend of hope and realism while also coming up with just the right line to end the story. It’s the last thing people will read, so you don’t want it to be a stinker.

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So true. That last line may be even more important than the first. What do you hope your readers take away from the book?

My goal for each book is always the same: I just want people to be entertained. I hope they can escape their lives for a little while to enjoy a clean, contemporary story.

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People sure need that these days! What’s next from you?

My agent is pitching a manuscript right now. I was planning to write book two of that series (book one-and-a-half—a novella—is already done), but I had a great response to Avoiding Marriage, so I’m doing the prep work to another book in that series.

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Besides posting comments on your website, how can your readers and fans support you? 

I’m pretty active on my Facebook page and Instagram. I’m also on Goodreads, where I share all of my reviews and my TBR list.

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Any last words for your readers?

Authors love reviews! It doesn’t have to be long or detailed. We love five-star “excellent book” reviews, but honesty matters. Leave me three stars and, “Not my favorite but it wasn’t bad,” and I’ll be just as happy.

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Yes, reviews are so important! Thanks so much for joining me on the blog today, Karin. It’s been fun getting to know you. I pray God will bless you in your writing, editing, and coaching endeavors.

Join the conversation. Do you think the most important line of a book is the first or the last? Which do you remember most? Do you enjoy clean reads for entertainment that aren’t blatantly Christian in their content? Maybe you can think of a non-Christian friend to share Karin’s books with.

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Please share this interview on social media to help promote Karin and her books!

If you missed last week’s interview with Izzy James, find it here.