Interview With Carol Ann Kauffman

Today I am delighted to be joined by the ever lovely Carol Ann Kauffman. Carol write all kinds of fiction and I'm so pleased to be able to interview her today. Here's a little about Carol.

Carol Ann Kauffman is the author of sixteen books to date, from short stories to full-length novels. Her novels, classified as romantic action adventures with a sci-fi/ fantasy twist, and mysteries. They’re about life, love, loss, and lunacy. She is a retired teacher from a local school district in Ohio, where she taught for thirty-five years. She has worked as a printer, managed a department store office, worked as an insurance agent, and worked in the hardware and automotive departments of a large store. She was a Red Cross volunteer. Carol loves to travel; her favorite places being Italy and Aruba, which show up in her novels quite a bit. She loves to play Bridge and to garden. She grows African violets and orchids. Carol loves dachshunds and trains. She is the author of the Time After Time series, which follows a pair of lovers through their many lifetimes together, and the Cat Collier Mysteries, as well as holiday short stories with Books To Go Now Publishers. 

And onto the interview!

1 - What made you want to be a writer?
I never made the conscience decision TO BE a writer. I always wrote. As a child, reading and writing were part of my life. My mother was blind so my earliest recollection of childhood defiance was written so she never knew. My first college major was English Literature and Composition. But then I discovered you need to actually be able to support yourself when you graduate, so I switched to Education. I taught for 35 years.

2 - What kind of books do you read for pleasure?
I read everything I can lay my hands on, except scary stuff like zombies and bloody-gory stories, because I like to sleep. And I don’t read erotica and S+M stuff. By my bed right now is Michio Kaku’s Hyperspace and Jeanne Cooper’s Not Young, Still Restless. They are both outstanding and very enjoyable. But I think we can gain something from reading ANY book, even if it is just what not to do.

3 - What kind of writer are you: plan or not?
The first inspirations for a story are flashes of inspiration. But then, much planning goes into connecting these scenes into a whole, coherent story. I am known in my writer’s group as Queen of the Convoluted Plot.

4 - How does your average writing time go?
When I started seriously writing as an adult, I wrote at night. I wrote well into the wee morning hours. I did my best writing then and I loved it. When my husband retired, I had to change my writing schedule to fit into “normal” life, so now I write in the morning. I usually start between eight and nine a.m. and write until one or so. Then I review, add, subtract in the early evening for an hour or so. There is still the occassional night in the office, where time gets away from me.

5 - What book/character of yours is your favourtie?
The hero of my Time After Time series, Richard is my favorite. The series follows a pair of reincarnated lovers through their many lifetimes together, so Richard (Braedon, Andrew, Kenneth, Jason, Mark, and Derek) shows up in every book as the quintessential flawed, lovable male.

6 - If you had the chance to write anywhere, where would you choose?
I have and DO write anywhere I am. We travel. I usually bring my laptop. But when we went on our second honeymoon, my husband asked me not to make it a working trip, so I brought nothing, not even a notebook. But in the middle of the night I came up with the inspiration for a new book. I ended up writing two pivotal scenes in Charming Deception secretly on my phone. I’ve written on a balcony in the Grand Cayman Islands, on the beach in Aruba, and curled up on a windowseat in Stresa, Italy, overlooking the beautiful Lago Maggiore.
Italy. If I could choose, it would be Italy. It is breathtakingly beautiful, the people have a joy of life, the atmosphere is relaxing, and the food is wonderful.

7 - What attracted you to your chosen genre?
I never chose it. I never gave it a thought. Do I have one? I don’t think so. I wrote what was bubbling (or seething) up inside me.

8 - How have other writers influenced your own writing?
M.C. Beaton (the author of the Agatha Raisin series, about a newly retired London publicist who moves to th Cotswolds to relax, and the Hamish MacBeth series, about a Scottish piliceman) has influenced me the most. Her stories are character driven and her plotlines are terrific. And fun. I also love Sue Grafton and Janet Evanovich, who taught me reading a book should be like going on an adventure with a good friends.

9 - Do you prefer to type or hand write?
Type.

10 - Do you have a writing playlist? Or do you prefer silence?
I need quiet to write. But I like nature. I can write out on the deck, with the sound of the waterfalls and the birds.

11 - Do you have any hobbies?
I play bridge for the other side of my brain. I like to watch the ponies run at the racetrack.I love trains and go to train shows. You find some fascinating characters in those places. I have made quilts and afghans. We travel. I LOVE to garden and grow orchids and African violets, which suffer greatly from my travels. I paint in watercolors. I like to cook, and I like my own cooking because it’s not TOO (not too salty, not too spicy, not too bland) but hate baking because it is too much like chemistry.

12 - What's your favourite kind of scene to write?
Emotional. Gut-wretching, raw emotion.

13 - Would you ever like to branch out to a different genre?
Because my reincarnated lovers show up on other planets, I have branched out into Sci-fi! Also my new series, Cat Collier Mysteries, are short stories about a smalltown woman who opens her own detective agency. So, I’ve written contemporary fiction, romance, action, adventure, and mystery. What’s next? ?!?

14 - What does your writing space look like?
The sunlight streams into my office window in the morning and lights up my glass desk.There’s an old wooden desk behind it and I swivel between the two. I like everything at my fingertips, so keeping it looking neat is a challenge. Since my days as a teacher I have a weakness for organizing things in a binder. So I have a shelf-full of binders. I like the window view of the woods and sometimes deer playing or foraging. Lots of daydreaming takes place in the office as well as writing.

You can follow Carol here on her website, Facebook and Twitter.

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