(as featured in the November 2006 Newsletter)

Interview with Karin Tabke…

Thanks Tawny for having me!

How do you describe your writing?
Sexy, fast paced, and to the point.
 
Your writing process?
While I’m fairly disciplined, my writing process is constantly evolving. I can sit in my office during the day and knock out pages, but most likely I’ll work on my Alphasmart down stairs in the evening. That way, I’m not removed from my family. The television doesn’t bother me, and when I’m writing a ‘hot cop’ scene like I was last night, hubby is right there to ask specific questions. Last night I asked him what he said in a death notification.

How long have you been writing romances? How long were you seriously writing before you were published?
I wrote my first romance in long hand in high school. LOL, let’s just say it was immature amateur. I wrote another romance about 15 years ago, again long hand and more mature but it was more of whimsy. Those characters however will see a book shelf. I began to write toward publication almost six years ago. A little here, a little there to begin with. When I landed my first crit group about 4 years ago, I rolled up my sleeves and got very serious.

What drew you to write hot, sexy books?  
I love to read them! I love passion in all things in life, the emotions, the tastes, the sounds, the smells of it all.
So natch I write what I know!
 
Who is your favorite hero you’ve written. Do you find it hard or easy to fall in love with one of your own characters, and how does your husband feel about that?
I fall in love with each of my heroes. My first real hero was Hunter, I wrote him 15 years ago and think of him often. If I couldn’t fall in love with my heroes then my readers certainly couldn’t. I write sexy alpha cops. In my real life I’m surrounded by alpha males. My husband is a retired cop, so, if the shoe fits… Hubby doesn’t mind my created ‘hot cops’ so long as I keep those alphas between the pages.

What do you do to prepare yourself to write a hot love scene? Do you have a ritual, special music, candles, etc?
Nothing in particular. By the time I get to a hot love scene not only are my characters ready to go, so am I!

Are there any books, websites, or tips you offer writers who want to write hot, sexy stories?
Well, no. My thought is fundamental. I believe to write a particular scene whether it’s a hot sexy scene or a funny poignant scene you have to have certain emotional aspects of in your dna. As a passionate person myself, I can easily incorporate that passion for life and love into a scene. Whether it’s a love scene, food scene, family scene i.e the birth of a child, a sad scene, perhaps the loss of a loved one, I transfer my feelings and emotions into my characters and they react accordingly. I love deep, I can also hate deep, so do my characters.
So for me there is no formula to find on a website or read in a book to write a hot sexy story. The mechanics? Sure but the passion? The emotion? No. That has to come from a deeper place.

Can you share any exciting career news?
My debut novel GOOD GIRL GONE BAD which is put now, is excerpted in the November issue of Cosmopolitan!
And, I just sold two historicals to Pocket!

Please include a brief bio, including recent and upcoming books and your contact information (website, etc).
 My debut novel GOOD GIRL GONE BAD featuring ‘hot cops’ is in stores now!
SKIN the second of my ‘hot cop’ series will be in stores April ’07.
You can always stop by my web site at www.KarinTabke.com to check out what’s going on. You can always email me at Karin@Karin Tabke.com
For a long time, controlled chaos ruled Karin’s life. Busy mother of four, owner of her own successful business and wife to a street cop, she harbored thoughts of twisting plots and hot romantic scenes. Now, with only one child left at home and hubby retired from law enforcement, Karin pounds out those steamy scenes at her keyboard.
Still semi distracted by the near daily crisis of two daughters living away from home, two sons playing football, one in college and one in high school and her husband, now a successful football coach and co-founder of a football camp (www.linemeninc.com), Karin manages to turn out stories about empowered women and the hot cops who penetrate their lives. A full time writer, Karin draws on a lifetime of stories and backdrops that few outside of the law enforcement community ever see, let alone hear about. Controlled chaos now reins supreme through the pages she writes where hot heroes serve, protect, and pleasure from page one to The End.