Karleen Koen
Karleen Koen is a novelist and freelance writer/editor. Her first novel, Through a Glass Darkly (Random House), spent 21 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Her last novel, Before Versailles (Crown Publishing), was included among the best historical fiction of the year by The Library Journal and RT Book Reviews. Her four novels have been Book of the Month Club main selections and Indie Next bestsellers and have been sold in paperback, audio, and international versions. Past editorial positions include editor of Houston Home & Garden magazine, editor of Collegium: The Magazine of the University of Houston, and director of editorial services at the University of Houston. She teaches about writing and creativity through the School of Continuing Education at Rice University and the Writers’ League of Texas and occasionally leads workshops at The Jung Center.
She was a Helene Wurlitzer writing fellow in the summer of 2010 and is one of the founders of Women in the Visual and Literary Arts. Other novels include Now Face to Face (Random House) and Dark Angels (Crown Publishing). All of her novels are still in print and available in bookstores and electronically.
She was a Helene Wurlitzer writing fellow in the summer of 2010 and is one of the founders of Women in the Visual and Literary Arts. Other novels include Now Face to Face (Random House) and Dark Angels (Crown Publishing). All of her novels are still in print and available in bookstores and electronically.
Excerpt from an interview with Word Wenches:
SK: Authors take so many different routes to becoming writers. How did you come to write historical fiction?
KK: I cut my reading teeth sneaking my grandfather's historical fiction, Frank Slaughter, Frank Yerby, and Zane Grey, when I was a very young girl. I was a voracious reader and read historical fiction all the time. When I decided to write, historical fiction was the only thing I wanted to write, though if I'd done a marketing survey, I would have learned it wasn't selling. Luckily for me, I just wrote what I wanted to read. That's what I always do, write something I want to read.
I've always made my living writing. The writing simply wasn't fiction.
SK: Authors take so many different routes to becoming writers. How did you come to write historical fiction?
KK: I cut my reading teeth sneaking my grandfather's historical fiction, Frank Slaughter, Frank Yerby, and Zane Grey, when I was a very young girl. I was a voracious reader and read historical fiction all the time. When I decided to write, historical fiction was the only thing I wanted to write, though if I'd done a marketing survey, I would have learned it wasn't selling. Luckily for me, I just wrote what I wanted to read. That's what I always do, write something I want to read.
I've always made my living writing. The writing simply wasn't fiction.
Recommended Books for Aspiring Writers
- Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain
- The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
- Bird by Bird by Anne Lamont
- A Writer’s Time: A Guide to the Creative Process from Vision to Revision by Kenneth Atchity
- Room to Write by Bonnie Goldberg
Student Testimonials
"I had doubts about how much I could learn from someone whose genre was 18th Century European fiction when my subject was a novel about the modern South Texas Brush Country and what goes on down there, including cartel activities, I'll admit my misjudgment. I've had many, many instructors while obtaining a couple of college degrees and a career of attending continuing education seminars, but I've never had one with such a creative passion for communicating to and motivating the students! Thanks, Karleen."
"She’s terrific. I learned more in the first two hours than in all previous writing classes."
"I had doubts about how much I could learn from someone whose genre was 18th Century European fiction when my subject was a novel about the modern South Texas Brush Country and what goes on down there, including cartel activities, I'll admit my misjudgment. I've had many, many instructors while obtaining a couple of college degrees and a career of attending continuing education seminars, but I've never had one with such a creative passion for communicating to and motivating the students! Thanks, Karleen."
"She’s terrific. I learned more in the first two hours than in all previous writing classes."