A Conversation with Karen Rose
By Angela Etheridge

Having a chance to speak with a favorite author is a joy, and on July 24, I had the opportunity to participate in a phone conference with romantic suspense author Karen Rose. The author was warm, friendly, and she was more than happy to share so much of her personal writing experiences. Clearly smart, educated, and sophisticated, Karen Rose is an author readers love to read. Ms. Rose graciously answered questions posed by interviewers, and here a few highlights.

Ms. Rose indicated she carefully outlines her novels prior to drafting them; with lots of research—both purposeful and sometimes accidental—provides plenty of inspiration for writing. Research includes reading literature, speaking to professionals in areas of interest, and more. Simon Vartanian, Ms. Rose's frightening and recurring villain, is straight from her imagination; Ms. Rose was quick to assure us that she is a nice person, despite the horrible actions of her villains. Ms. Rose was also quick to assure us that Susannah and Luke will have their own story to wrap up the Vartanian series, and readers will no doubt love to see justice served to all of Vartanian's comrades!

Romance fans frequently take a lot of heat for enjoying the genre. I wrapped up the interview by asking Ms. Rose to share her opinion about those individuals who disparage our beloved genre. To paraphrase, Ms. Rose said: There will always be people who can't be swayed, and I walk away from them. For those who will listen, I tell them that each genre has a specific formula that makes up the genre—and what makes us enjoy it. We classify books by genre. If you enjoy reading horror, you expect to be frightened. If you enjoy reading mystery, you expect a mystery to be solved. If you like romance, you expect love. We read what we like because we like the formula.

Can I get an "Amen!", anyone?