Interview with LK Hunsaker
Published 2013-09-06.
What are your five favorite books, and why?
Only five? That's tough. Let's see:
1) I have to start with the Hardy Boys series because it pulled me back to my local library time and again until I read every single one they had, and thankfully, that was a lot. After I'd gone through them all, I started searching for other books that looked interesting. Of course there were plenty. I do love libraries!
2) John Jakes, the Kent Family Chronicles. I was so fully captivated by that series they might be the first books I reread (since I haven't yet reread a book). I read them back when I was a teen. I love history, especially American history, and the characters pulled me right in.
3) The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. I love the whole inter-connectedness idea and it's truly uplifting. I'm Christian and follow Christ's teaching to love each other and treat people well (at least I try!), but I've studied enough world religion to realize at the heart of it all, the best and most influential religous leaders all really agree on that one thing: love each other and treat each other, and ourselves, well.
4) The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Just ... yes. I haven't read them all yet but I plan to get there.
5) Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson. Not only is it a touching realistic story with beautiful societal content, but her prose is absolutely outstanding. I also love Gilead and Home. These will be rereads, as well. As a literary-bent writer, these are books not just to savor, but to study.
I cheated a bit using series, but I'm a writer who knows you have to break the rules at times.
What do you read for pleasure?
I read a lot of literary/mainstream fiction and I have since I was young. I also love historicals and my current author loves are Edward Rutherford and Frank Delaney. I tend more toward male authors for some reason. However, I do love a nice well-written deep characterization romance when I can find that. Now and then I read non-fiction, often music and other artist biographies. I like cozy mysteries, such as Roberta Isleib and Maggie Toussaint. I'm fairly open to most genres other than horror, graphic suspense, erotica, or sci fi (although I'm a Star Trek and original Star Wars fan).
What is your e-reading device of choice?
I have a Sony Reader, first edition, that still works just fine for me! I still prefer print, but as an author, I don't care how people choose to read, as long as they read!
What book marketing techniques have been most effective for you?
Actually, going out and doing signings at arts fests has been the most successful. People enjoy meeting the author face-to-face and are more willing to give you a try when they've talked with you than if you're another unknown author name on the internet. Establish personal relationships. If your work is enough a part of you, as I think it should be, you are your best marketing tool. Online, be genuine, but never be rude. (If you can't be genuine without being rude, that's another story!)
Describe your desk
Oh... I probably shouldn't! Let's just say that artists are seldom neat, right? I'm an artist on top of being an obsessed novelist. Does that answer well enough? I will say I'm glad to finally have a small den painted light teal with two windows beside my messy desk where I bird watch while I'm pondering my stories. And I can shut the door. That's a huge, huge plus.
Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up in a bitty farm town near Peoria, Illinois in a blue collar family that was the center of everything I did. I was able to walk uptown to the store, library, post office or to the beautiful park and hang out without crime issues. At night, my two sisters and brother and I would play games like Kick the Can with our neighbors until well after dark. Grandma was a highly respected grade school teacher and Grandpa was a highly respected service station owner and welder who everyone around went to for his common sense advice. I learned very early on the importance of the family name and honor and respect and dirty-hands hard work and being proud of who you are and making your family proud of you.
Everything about that upbringing influences my writing now. I still believe in those values and it comes out in my characters and in my stories of real people doing real things. Even when my character is or becomes a "big" name, their inner "realness" and their upbringing comes out into the story and that's where the focus stays.
I did set my first published novel, Finishing Touches, in my hometown area, and recently continued it with the sequel, Final Strokes. You can find them both together in print in a combined edition titled The gallery.
When did you first start writing?
I've been writing and creating stories ever since I can remember. When I was young, around ten or so I would guess, I would write musical plays using Americana music books and such, adding stories to go with them, and my siblings, cousins, and three neighborhood friends would perform with me for our large family gatherings. In high school, I turned to poetry and a fan fic play, and I started a few long stories that sat in my file tub while I had to focus on high school and then college and marriage and kids...
In 1996, I became serious about novel writing and have been fully and full-time obsessed with it since then, even around kids and moving and working and finishing my psychology degree.
What's the story behind your latest book?
My latest is The gallery, and I mentioned it already, but it's the story of a young newly widowed artist with an infant and no direction for her life. She'd married to escape a domineering mother and now she's on her own and figuring out what to do. Finishing Touches, her beginning story, came out in 2003. This year I finished the sequel where she's found a direction and is working hard toward the path she chose but she hits a huge roadblock and has to reevaluate. The sequel is called Final Strokes. They are both here on Smashwords as individual books. The gallery, the combined edition, is in print.
What motivated you to become an indie author?
Back in early 2003 when I had my first novel ready to go, I started researching the industry and what it took to get a book published. It was disheartening to find that it could take months to even get a query answered and if accepted, a couple of years or so for the book to come out. I have a lot of patience in some areas, but not when it comes to getting my books out when they're ready. Also, I didn't like a lot of the contract issues. I didn't want to turn my work over to be more someone else's property than mine. I put my heart and soul into these stories and the characters truly matter to me and I didn't want to give them away, which is how it felt. So when I started reading about companies that offered to help print and distribute books for authors who "couldn't get" a contract, I pushed my research that direction. I studied the process and what each company offered. I listened to others who had gone that route so I knew what to look for and what to avoid, and I chose one that was as close as I could get to what I wanted. Infinity Publishing was reasonably priced and when I emailed, their customer service was friendly and fast, so I went that direction. Now I know many authors and "experts" say never, ever use a "vanity" publisher, but I'd have to argue that. If you're careful and do your research, it can be a good place to start for prints. Back then, ebooks were unheard of and Smashwords didn't exist, so prints were my focus. It was the best option for me since I wasn't willing (and couldn't afford) to take my manuscript to a print shop and have 1,000 of them printed that I would then have to distribute myself. It never would have happened.
When the ebook world began to surge, I started looking for a way to join in that would let me keep control and ownership and not cost more than I could afford to risk. When I found Smashwords, it was still in its beginning stages, but it was exactly what I was looking for, so I jumped right in. I was thrilled with it and sent other authors to check it out. I'm so pleased with the way it's grown and spread.
I believe authors should be able to retain much of the control of their art, because to me, writing is art and art shouldn't be diminished by the "rules" and by what's in and selling at the moment. I'm a big do-it-yourselfer in most aspects of my life, very much an indie in every sense. Do the work yourself*. Take your own risks. Put yourself out there. Put the time and effort into doing it right. And fully enjoy the rewards when they come. *By doing it yourself, I don't mean not to get help. Of course get help as far as beta readers, editing, cover art if you're not design-educated, etc. I mean keep control.
Being an indie author is not for everyone. It isn't. But it's an incredible option for those of us willing and able to do so much of the work ourselves.
By the way, I did not self-pub because I "couldn't get" a contract. I haven't tried. It's disparaging to indies for critics of the self-pub process to say we only do this because no "real" publisher wanted our work. I know it's true for some, although often it's only because the genre doesn't fit the current market, but it is not the general rule. Some of the best books I've read are from indies. And I'm very particular.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
I write because it's who I am and that's a great joy in itself. Doing what you love is a necessity. But more than that is the reaction I get, such as, "You made me cry twice by page 29" and "I just love it!" and "They could be my neighbors because I know them so well and they matter to me so much." (paraphrased quotes from actual readers)
The best thing has been the way they touch others. I've had two people write and say one of my books made such a difference to a family member that it was at their bedside when they passed away. That made me cry. My children's book, Stanley, (not in ebook) has been often bought for friends going through crises and health issues and by missionaries and adult grief groups. It was only meant for my children originally, but you never know how you'll touch someone when you put a book out into the world. There is no greater honor for a writer than to make that kind of difference in someone's life.
Smashwords Interviews are created by the profiled author or publisher.
Latest books by This Author
Rehearsal: A Different Drummer (1-6-Serenade)
by LK Hunsaker
The Rehearsal Series is a musical romantic saga beginning in Spring, 1974 and running into the mid-Eighties. Family, parenting, and friendship mix into a story of lingering and passionate romance. A Different Drummer is the first book of the series, now split into separate sections. In Serenade, part 6, an explosive climax leads to cemented resolutions for the band and the friends.
Rehearsal: A Different Drummer (1-5-Dissonance)
by LK Hunsaker
The Rehearsal Series is a musical romantic saga beginning in Spring, 1974 and running into the mid-Eighties. Family, parenting, and friendship mix into a story of lingering and passionate romance. A Different Drummer is the first book of the series, now split into separate sections. In Dissonance, the band hits the road and friendships hit shaky ground.
Rehearsal: A Different Drummer (1-4-Crescendo)
by LK Hunsaker
The Rehearsal Series is a musical romantic saga beginning in Spring, 1974 and running into the mid-Eighties. Family, parenting, and friendship mix into a story of lingering and passionate romance. A Different Drummer is the first book of the series, now split into separate sections. In Crescendo, Susie's past rushes in and misunderstandings arise. Book 1 Part 4.
Rehearsal: A Different Drummer (1-0-Overture)
by LK Hunsaker
The Rehearsal Series is a musical romantic saga beginning in Spring, 1974 and running into the mid-Eighties. Family, parenting, and friendship mix into a story of lingering and passionate romance. A Different Drummer is the first book of the series, now split into separate sections. In Overture, the prologue, Evan finds Duncan playing in a little dive in Greenville, Pennsylvania. Spring 1972
Rehearsal: A Different Drummer (1-3-Transpositions)
by LK Hunsaker
The Rehearsal Series is a musical romantic saga beginning in Spring, 1974 and running into the mid-Eighties. Family, parenting, and friendship mix into a story of lingering and passionate romance. A Different Drummer is the first book of the series, now split into separate sections. In Transpositions, stronger bonds are created while other bonds are shattered.
Rehearsal: A Different Drummer (1-2-Fanfare)
by LK Hunsaker
The Rehearsal Series is a musical romantic saga beginning in Spring, 1974 and running into the mid-Eighties. Family, parenting, and friendship mix into a story of lingering and passionate romance. A Different Drummer is the first book of the series, now split into separate sections. In Fanfare, the band goes on tour amidst gradual and abrupt personal developments.
Rehearsal: A Different Drummer (1-1-Fugue)
by LK Hunsaker
The Rehearsal Series is a musical romantic saga beginning in Spring, 1974 and running into the mid-Eighties. Family, parenting, and friendship mix into a story of lingering and passionate romance. A Different Drummer is the first book of the series, now split into separate sections. In Fugue, Duncan moves in with Evan, joins his band, and falls for his long-time best friend and love interest.
Final Strokes
by LK Hunsaker
Jenna Rhodes has life set up the way she wants, with a burgeoning career and her artist boyfriend at her side. While raising children and juggling job responsibilities, the two painters with different styles find they also have different visions of the future. Their separate choices and Jenna's resentments from the past push them to the far corners of their canvas. A Finishing Touches sequel.
Moondrops & Thistles
by LK Hunsaker
(4.00 from 1 review)
Daws is a stalwart soldier entrenched in his work. Deanna is a fiery spirit on a mission. Love. Honor. Trust. Sacrifice.
Toward The Sky
by LK Hunsaker
(5.00 from 3 reviews)
Daws returns to NYC from a military funeral to find a burst of new life in the guise of a rain-drenched love-scorned ball of fire. (Pre-edit scene from an in progress novel titled "Moondrops and Thistles," expected summer 2011)
View their profile to see all of their books