An Interview with Karen Katchur, Author of Spring Girls

Praise for Spring Girls:

“Distinctive characters enhance the fast-moving, twist-filled plot, and the killer’s identity comes as a nice surprise…Katchur is on a roll.” Publishers Weekly

“The dilemmas of two good women struggling in very different ways to do the right thing creates suffocating suspense.” Kirkus Reviews

What is your book about?

The survivor of a horrific crime must relive her worst nightmare in order to bring down a serial killer before he strikes again.

Can you tell us about your path to publication?

It was a very, very long road.

Here are the quick stats:

8 years to find an agent.

1 year to land my first publishing contract. (2nd book with agent)

1 more year before I held my debut novel in my hands.

A 10-year journey!

Basically, I taught myself to write at home during my two daughters’ nap times. I joined a local writing group. Occasionally, I attended a writer’s conference. I can’t remember how many books I wrote before I finally landed my agent. Maybe three or four? I found my agent in a spotlight piece in Writer’s Digest, queried her, and she pulled me from the slush pile. The first book didn’t sell (eventually, we did sell it!) But it was the second book that finally sold. Spring Girls is my fifth book! And I’m super excited about it.

Do you have any quirky writing rituals?

I don’t think so! I tend to write scenes or dialogue first in my head, usually while I’m walking, running, showering, or driving. Then I quickly write them in a notebook or in the “notes” on my phone if I don’t have my notebook handy. Once I finally sit at my computer, then I try to make sense of all those scribbles. Oh, I guess this is kind of quirky. My desk faces a blank wall. I get too distracted by pretty sceneries!

Where can we buy your book?

All my books can be purchased anywhere books are sold including:

Amazon

Bookshop.org

What was the hardest thing you had to cut from your book, your favorite Dead Darling?

I’m going to be honest here. I don’t have any Dead Darlings that I remember! By the time I’m editing the book with an editor, I’m at the stage in the process that I don’t care what goes and what stays. Once I turn a book in, it’s no longer mine. So, I guess I don’t mind the editing part. I just want to make the book the best it can be.

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