Guest Author: Karen Wiesner

Being a writer of series can be a Catch-22. Sometimes a series drags on long past the point of author interest. Other times a series ends far too soon. That was the case for me with the Family Heirlooms Series. I fell in love with so many of the secondary characters in this series that I came up with book ideas for two of those characters, sold them as non-series novels, but then realized I had a lot more tales to tell that connected with but didn’t really fit in as part of the Family Heirlooms Series. The Friendship Heirlooms Series was born.

Zoë Rossdale was first introduced in GLASS ANGELS, Book 4 of the Family Heirlooms Series. Zoë is hands-down my favorite character of all the many, many I’ve created. I knew going into the outline for her book that I wanted to write her in 1st person point-of-view…not something I’ve done often. I wanted to achieve a “Chick-lit” feel for the book, and I knew I could capture it in that POV. But I also knew I wanted to include the hero’s POV, but not in 1st person. I wasn’t sure how to do this, but a friend and fellow author, Diane Craver, encouraged me to go ahead with this idea, which seemed crazy to me. So I did it. I wrote the first two scenes: Zoë’s in 1st person, Curt’s in 3rd. I loved every minute of writing both of these scenes, and they worked. I knew that first sure when I sent them to Diane and she felt the same way I did. I knew this was the only way to write this story, and I also knew I wasn’t done with Zoë and Curt. I’ll be revisiting them in the 5thand 7th books in the Friendship Heirlooms Series, CLUMSY GIRL’S GUIDE TO HAVING A BABY and CLUMSY GIRL’S GUIDE TO HAVING IT ALL. Find out more about these books and the series here: http://www.angelfire.com/stars4/kswiesner/fiction9a.html

Creating realistic, unforgettable characters one story at a time…

Karen Wiesner is an accomplished author with 94 books published in the past 14 years, which have been nominated for and/or won 125 awards, and has 30 more titles under contract. Karen’s books cover such genres as women’s fiction, romance, mystery/police procedural/cozy, suspense, paranormal, futuristic, gothic, inspirational, thriller, horror, chick-lit, and action/adventure. She also writes children’s books, poetry, and writing reference titles such as her bestsellers, First Draft in 30 Days and From First Draft to Finished Novel {A Writer’s Guide to Cohesive Story Building}, available from Writer’s Digest Books. Look for Writing the Fiction Series: The Complete Guide for Novels and Novellas, her next offering from Writer’s Digest Books, in May 2013. Her previous writing reference titles focused on non-subsidy, royalty-paying electronic publishing, author promotion, and setting up a promotional group like her own, the award-winning Jewels of the Quill, which she founded in 2003. Jewels of the Quill produced two award-winning group anthologies per year published by Whiskey Creek Press from 2005-2011. All were edited by Karen and others. For more information about Karen’s fiction and series, consult her official companion guide The World of Author Karen Wiesner: A Compendium of Fiction. Along with her writing, Karen enjoys designing websites, graphics, and cover art. For more information about Karen and her work, visit her websites at http://www.karenwiesner.com, http://www.firstdraftin30days.com, http://www.falconsbend.com and http://www.JewelsoftheQuill.com. If you would like to receive Karen’s free e-mail newsletter, Karen’s Quill, and become eligible to win her monthly book giveaways, send a blank e-mail to KarensQuill-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.