FAQ
Thanks for reading to us, Mom.
A: Secret Speakers is a Young Adult fantasy novel, a sort of Wizard of Oz meets Narnia story.
1. Contacting, Contracting, Inviting, Interviewing, or Mailing Karey
Q: How do I contact Karey?
A: Contact Karey Shane by email. If you are a producer and want to book a show, feel free to call me at 801-362-5058. (Media Only) Time zone: MDT.
Q: How do I mail Karey something?
A: I love, love, love hand-written letters. I don’t open anything else. Especially bills. Send them to: Rawle & Windsor Publishing / attn: Karey / 51 West Center Street, Suite 620 / Orem, UT 84057
Q: How do I send Karey a book to get signed?
A: You can send me your copy at the address above. Please remember, you must include a folded, self-addressed, pre-paid padded envelope in the mailing package.
Q: Who are Karey’s agents?
A: I’m pretty much a one woman show right now. It’s sort of like standing on one big toe while juggling plates, singing the national anthem and petting a dog behind the ears with your one free foot.
Q: How can I get Karey Shane to make an appearance at my school / convention / event?
A: Can you believe that K.S.R. Kingworth loves to speak? You mean, an author that isn’t reclusive? Why yes. Just send me an email and let’s have a conversation about all the deets (I am SO hip. That means “details”. You didn’t know that?) I love to speak to teenagers and women about second chances and the importance of placing ourselves in the role of hero in our own life story to make our lives legend. For that matter, I’ll talk to anyone who will listen about how important they are and how important it is to claim second chances. We all get as many chances as we need to get it right, and there is always, always hope. Did I make myself clear, dear? I also love, love, love to speak about the craft of writing. I believe we all have a story to tell.
Q: What are your tour dates?
A: For now I’ll mainly be doing blog tours.
2. Innovation, Brand, Uniqueness
Q: Why are people saying no novel has ever been promoted like Secret Speakers?
A: Probably because Secret Speakers is the first socially-reviewed, poll-driven, and edited novel done by early readers who participated in the global event, Secret Speakers: Read & Rate It on Goodreads and Facebook. I made the manuscript available to the 700+ participants who joined and then provided me with phenomenal feedback that helped shape the story. Also, I’ve formed great relationships with my current and future readers on Goodreads where, by some fluke of nature I’m on the most-viewed profile page of all time. For me, my brand is in the intimate connection I have with my readers. I wrote with the cherished reader in mind, snuggled up with the story in a quiet, private moment wherever that might be: bus, comfy chair, or during lunch.
3. On K.S.R. Kingworth (just call me Karey)
Q: When do you write?
A: The best time for me to write is in the morning. Sometimes I’m up by 5:30 and I don’t eat breakfast until about 10:00. The magic hour for me to get dressed, have lunch and get out the door on the days I feel strong enough is 2:00. I usually go for a walk then come home and write way past supper time. I used to walk every morning at 6:00 a.m. THAT was in another lifetime.
Q: Who are your heroes?
A: We’re all heroes when we live out the heroes role in our own life’s story. To name names though, my heroes are my mother, Oprah and Audrey Hepburn because of their inner and outer beauty as well as their commitment to higher ideals and service. My husband is one of my heroes, too. He’s been one of my greatest supports even when it’s been tough, and he has taught me a lot about pressing forward no matter what your limitations are.
Q: How did you go about self-publishing?
A: Two ways. I began by creating online relationships with my readers years ahead of time. In my mind, the most valuable part of Secret Speakers aside from the story, are its readers. I wrote Secret Speakers with the solitary reader in mind, cuddled up in her private world of discovery. I cherish each unknown future reader already. Also, I do two or three deliberate things every day to plan, promote and organize. For the last two years I have spent about 70 hours a week studying up marketing and promotion, just so Secret Speakers can end up in the hands of those readers.
P. S. I’ll be offering an online K.S.R. Kingworth course on writing novels, marketing and publicity in the months ahead. If you want to know when that starts, you can sign up for the newsletter. I hope to hear from you.
Q: What has been your greatest challenge in writing Secret Speakers?
A: I can think of three right off the bat, except that I would call them my greatest gifts. Gift Number One: Over two years ago I came down with symptoms of fibromyalgia after I painted the master bedroom. As a result, I re-wrote most of Secret Speakers lying on my back in bed and my husband had to fix his own dinner. This meant I had to give up distractions, including my social life, except for reaching out to my friends on Goodreads. Interestingly enough, my twin sister was exposed to paint fumes during an opera rehearsal for Mozart’s, The Magic Flute where she performed the role for Queen of the Night. For both of us, within days we were too weak to get out of bed–something which lasted for years. I’ve worked with a beautiful team of fatigue specialists who have done a lot to help me get back on my feet. They scold me if I’m not a good patient, which is most of the time.
Gift Number Two: I went blind in one eye in in 2008. Like my twin sister, I came down with an early onset, rapidly developing cataract even though we are way too young for them! Last year it became incredibly difficult to write, but it was a blessing because it allowed the story to lie fallow in my mind so that new seeds could sprout to make the story grow into something more beautiful and clear. I’ll never forget how pristine the world looked when, thanks to a surgeon and a new lens, I was able to see again. Everything looked like it was cut from colored crystal. I also discovered that there are many ways of seeing the world that go far beyond sight.
Q: How do you write novels?
A: Some authors write from the hip. I have been blessed or cursed with a very analytical mind. I do mountains of research on character analyses, story structure, and place. That’s the fun part. My husband and I went to Edinburgh a year ago for the World Cross Country Championships for a recruiting trip. (He’s a university coach, and a very amazing one at that.) Since we had a few extra days, I planned a jaunt in the Highlands to do research.
I like to watch films and break down the sequence of events into timed character and story arcs that really have a profound impact on me. I’m there with the remote control, stopping and starting, timing, taking notes. Importantly, I’ve spent most of my reading life devouring the classics. So, of course, they’ve had a huge influence on me. I’m sort of a geek that way. I studied English literature for a term at the University of Cambridge (yes my deahh, in England) just to give you an idea. Most importantly though, I get on my knees and ask for help every time I sit down to write. I feel like I have a great work to do here on earth, just like you do. Creativity is inherently divine, and so I ask for divine help.
Q: Secret Speakers is full symbolism, but it’s subtle enough that it doesn’t overpower the story. How did you do it?
A: I consider myself more of a teacher and observer than a writer, trusting in the power of metaphor to transform souls in life-changing ways. Teachers need to know their students and be in tune with what is going on in their lives, and be aware of the struggles they face in the world around them. Teachers need to look in order to understand. Then, the teacher’s task is to teach without preaching. I believe students learn best through stories.
Symbolism and metaphor have fascinated me since I was in Shirley Collin’s Honors English class at Skyline High School. She told me I had a gift for understanding symbolism in story. It is still a passion of mine, as are myth and fairy tales, and so I choose to write stories with metaphor and symbolism in mind. I recently came across an article on Charles Dickens, who apparently believed novels had a moral purpose to “arouse moral sentiments and encourage virtuous behavior in readers.” Our world is hungering for those very ideals. When I read that, I felt as though I had found a kindred spirit because the same purpose drives my writing.
Q: Who designed the cover for you?
A: Yours truly, thanks to my uncle and a couple of high school kids in the neighborhood who answered my questions about Photoshop CS3 and my dear Uncle Bill. The gold background is from a shot I took of a gold-leafed ceiling in Montréal during my daughter’s graduation trip. The blue Morpho butterfly is just like the one my grandmother had on her living room wall when I was growing up. It reminds me of her. Like everything in my life, I’m self taught, thanks to a mother who taught us that necessity is the mother of invention.
Q: Why did you write Secret Speakers as a serialized cell phone novel?
A: Just before Textnovel’s submission contest ended my younger sister said, “Hey Kare, why don’t you submit Secret Speakers?” I said it wasn’t a cell phone novel since it was so long (I mean, really. It’s almost 500 pages and the audiobook is 10 hours long. Sheesh). She encouraged me to try anyway, so I contacted the CEO. He said, “Sure! You can upload it from your blog.” I did some research and found out that in Japan where the cell phone novel has a well-established tradition, there is a short form and a long form, and cell phone writer’s also use their blogs. So I entered. I was shocked when Secret Speakers won the Reader’s Choice Award. It made a lot of “short form” fans upset, but there you have it. I’ve since deleted it from my blog because it was so huge. You’ll just have to trust me that it really was there. Pinky promise.
Q: Will there be a sequel to Secret Speakers?
A: It’s been in the works for some time now. There will be several to follow, God willing. Ideally though, I’d just like to finish raising my youngest son, putter around in the garden, cook dinner and spend time with family. But I feel driven to write on top of it all.
Q: How did you come up with the idea of glowing balls called secret speakers spinning in our adam’s apple?
A: I awoke one morning at 4:30 a.m. when the title of Secret Speakers popped into my head. The idea came to me that they were note-takers of our lives. it wasn’t until months later that I realized the perfect place for them to reside inside us was behind our adam’s apples. When the thought came to me I couldn’t stop smiling. In fact, I’m smiling now.
Q: How long did it take you to write Secret Speakers?
A: I wrote different versions of Secret Speakers over the course of twelve years, and it took it’s final shape four years ago on that day I asked God what I could create out of my life that was good. Three words were spoken distinctly to my mind. Not the sort of, “Ah oh, she’s hearing voices” sort of words, but three quiet, calm words: “Love your sisters.” With those words came the deep knowing that I was to write a book about what I have come to know of God’s love. Like all of us, I’ve had my fair share of challenges, and God has carried me through them all–even though I didn’t always think so.
Q: Where did you get the name for Selador?
A: Years ago my younger brother and I were talking about all sorts of things and he mentioned that a group of British literary scholars had decided the most perfect sounding words in the English language were, “Cellar door.” Selador was created from that conversation and it took me a while to come up with the spelling that felt right. One critic claims I borrowed it from J.R.R. Tolkien’s estate. I have no idea what that even means, since (I’m embarrassed to admit) I’ve never read anything of Tolkien’s except The Hobbit and a book in French translation of the illustrations he did for his children. I did try reading Lord of the Rings last year, but the darn words were so close together. I gave up.
6. Competitions, Awards, Contests, Events
Q: Didn’t Secret Speakers win an award as a cell phone novel?
A: Yes. It won Textnovel’s 2008 Reader’s Choice Award, thanks to the votes of many much-appreciated readers.
Q: How do I write a cell phone novel?
A: If you go to Textnovel.com the instructions are there.
Q: Is it true that Secret Speakers is the first socially edited novel ever?
A: Possibly. 700+ participants were part of the Secret Speakers: Read & Rate It global event beginning December 25, 2008. 5% of them valiantly read the manuscript online, reviewed it, provided editing and filled out an online poll where it was voted equal to or better than Harry Potter and Twilight in terms of likeability not genre. At first I only gave the option to let readers compare it as being equal to or worse than, but readers asked to have a “better than” option. I was stunned.
Q: How do I do my own Read & Rate It Event?
A: I’ll be offering an online course in fiction writing, marketing and publicity so all the information is in one place for people. I’ll go over it in easy detail for you there.
Q: What other events do you have planned?
A: Quite a few fun things, but I’m making the events are known to my private email list first.
Q: Why do you use the term “Show No Mercy Discussion Guides”?
A: The Annenberg Foundation has wonderful videos where teachers provide fantastic suggestions for book discussions. One teacher said something to the effect that students need to show no mercy with themselves when it comes to sharing how books affect them. I think books allow us the privilege of seeing life, human nature, and our own hearts in new ways, and we can absorb what we come to understand as we talk about what we learn–especially if we say what’s really in our hearts and show no mercy in holding back.
I also want to offer sincere thanks to Kathleen T. Horning for her recent help on book discussion suggestions. She directs the Cooperative Children’s Book Center at UW-Madison and is the 2010 Arbuthnot Honor Lecturer, a worthy honor for a worthy presenter.
Q: Why do you offer more than one discussion guide?
A: Book discussions are held on many levels for different audiences: Classrooms, book groups, in a family setting, and even a setting with a student and school counselor.
8. Influences
Q: What authors or books have inspired you?
A: Victor Hugo and Charles Dickens have certainly inspired me. They both succeed in combining the sublime and grotesque to create works of beauty that portray the social climate of the times. George MacDonald has inspired me in his writing style and use of symbolism. I’ve been particularly inspired by his Wee Sir Gibbie of the Highlands.
In high school, William Faulkner’s, As I Lay Dying was my first revelation of the power of voice in narrative, and my teacher’s reaction to my paper on the novel launched me into a passion for writing. In fact, one day she had me read my paper in front of the class and after I sat down she said, “You know, for all those who are moving on to AP English, you’re all going to do phenomenally well–except for . . .” then she said my name. Everyone’s heads seemed to swing around in my direction in slow motion and look twice as big. Then she said, “Because Karey has a gift for creative writing that won’t fit in with the more formal style required in AP classes.” That backhanded compliment launched me into believing I could write, and write well. I called a few years ago to thank her and was saddened to hear that she’d passed away.
Q: Did The Wizard of Oz or Narnia have any influence on the book?
A: Let me tell you a story. The only memory I have of my father before he died, with the two of us together one on one, is of the two of us watching The Wizard of Oz on our stomachs, with our chins in our hands. I was six. Because of that, The Wizard of Oz has influenced my writing because it’s message is part of what I love about life’s purposeful journey and what it means to return home. Narnia influenced my writing to the point that Secret Speakers is a story of redemption, love, and ultimate sacrifice. I’ve tried to make appreciative nods to both sources of inspiration without imitating them.
The biggest inspiration for writing Secret Speakers, though, came from a mythic poem on a set of somewhat intact tablets, called The Descent of Inanna. Fair O’Nelli descends to the underworld, like Inanna, and like Inanna she brings things she’ll need with her when she leaves home. Whereas Inanna’s experience is mostly negative and dark, Fair’s is more hopeful. The one thing both stories have in common is that they are both symbolic of an acceptance of the need for death in order for life to continue, realizing one’s own strength through an episode of seeming powerlessness, and also learning to accept one’s negative qualities, including coming to terms with the negative qualities in others.
Q: You say Orson Scott Card influenced you, too. How?
A: I attended one of his workshops and he taught me to keep “else-ing” my way through creating a story, to keep asking myself, “What else?” He also taught me to write the synopsis of a story first on a 3 x 5 card. Incredibly important if you want to keep the story going in the right direction and not get sidetracked on writing exciting but fruitless threads that have nothing to do with the beginning, middle and end. By the way, I have a hilarious (to me anyway) picture where he scooped me up in his arms like something out of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. I had no idea what was coming and I laughed about it all day afterwards.