Years ago−we’re not saying how many−Karen Quinn, resplendent in green
knee socks and plaid skirt, wandered the halls of St. Pat’s in Sarnia. Today, Karen Block is a literary editor for
Turquoise Morning Press in Kentucky. It
must be her strict Catholic upbringing that limits her to editing romance
submissions. Erotica? uh uh
Our shaky start continued. Karen
passed along a rebuke from Turquoise Morning Press. The publisher was offended that I had linked
the terms erotica and porn. Oops! My apologies.
We placed our dinner orders. In
no time, Karen and I were sipping an icy draught and switching sandwiches. Her wrap had my goat cheese on it. Oh well, Karen realized the mistake before we
started eating the second half. By then
we were like old friends. Some of my
fries were nestled next to her healthy salad.
There is nothing like food to promote fellowship.
It was time to get down and dirty discussing the nitty gritty of the editing
profession and the publishing business.
Karen invited me to continue the interview in the comfort of the
screened-in porch of her cottage. To the
concerto of a trickling fountain and cacophony of crickets we sipped wine and
enjoyed a lively literary discussion.
Q: Is sweet traditional romance
popular today?
Karen: Probably not. Erotica has steamrolled over the whole genre. Women aged fifty or sixty are reading sweet
romance. The thirty year olds are
reading erotica if they are not interested in a plot and are just looking to be
sexually titillated.
Q: Do all the stories have a
fantasy feel to them?
Karen: Maybe in some lines. Primarily the man is the power person and the
heroine is some poor little girl. In
Fifty Shades of Grey he was a powerful man and she was a young girl. He dominates her, right?
Q: Did you read the book?
Karen: No, I read your review
and didn’t bother. (Gulp)
Q: Is erotica always about
casual sex and multiple partners? Can the
stories be about a husband and wife in a faithful relationship?
Karen: This is my opinion: Erotica is forbidden lust. If it is committed sex then it is romance− no
matter how explicit it is.
Q: Erotica arouses sexual
desire. Is that more important than the
quality of writing?
Karen: Turquoise Morning Press
is looking for a balance of the two.
They want both. This may not be
true of every publisher.
Q: I downloaded some short
stories from TMP (research again) and was impressed with the user friendly
website. Various ereaders were listed
and the downloading decision was easy.
Can’t get that with Amazon.
Karen: According to our data, Amazon
is clearly the top seller of our books.
(Since I have a Sony ereader, I would
prefer to download TMP’s author’s books from their own site.)
Q: Has there been an increase in
submissions since Fifty Shades of Grey hit the bestsellers list?
Karen: I can only speak to TMP. We have a lot of new authors; most of them
are writing erotica. A lot of Canadians!
Q: How many men versus women are
writing erotica and romance? As an
editor, can you tell the difference?
Karen: I’m not sure of the percentage. It is obvious when a man has written a
romance story. A woman is more
emotional. A man’s writing is more
physical. The emotional depth is not
there. It is the emotional aspect of a
romance that appeals to me. That gives
me the satisfaction. It is the ‘ahhhh’
factor. The ‘Happily Ever After’ doesn’t
seem to be as important to men. I truly
believe that women are more interested in the romance or ‘HEA’ factor.
Q: But then again you spoke of
the preferences of different age groups.
Karen: Yes, the younger ones may
think that illicit sex is more exciting.
(Yet, Fifty Shades and the movie,
Magic Mike, certainly got a lot of attention from the ‘old girls’ too.)
Q: Is romance strictly a woman’s
genre?
Karen: Oh no. According to TMP, men buy erotica and romance
as often as women.
Q: I sometimes find it difficult
to read a book without analyzing. How
does an editor read a book for pleasure?
Karen: (chuckle) That’s a
problem. Everything I read is with an
editor’s eye.
Q: Karen, you’re a hometown
girl. What is your most cherished memory
of Corunna?
Karen: It is the river. In the States I always feel like a fish out
of water. (This statement struck me as
particularly funny) As soon as we get on the Bluewater Bridge and I look
over the side and see the river, it’s like everything drops into place. It is the weirdest sensation.
Q: How would you like to be
remembered?
Karen: I would want to be
remembered as a kind person. That’s very
important to me.
Q: I can’t believe this. An editor wants to be remembered as a kind
person?
Karen: (a burst of laughter) That’s paradoxical. I have this helpful personality and I
sincerely want a writer to succeed.
Q: Is there anything else?
Karen: (grinning) I want a lot
of weeping and gnashing of teeth at my funeral.
(schoolgirl giggles from both of us) I went to a funeral in my teens. There was lots of drama and wailing. It was the best funeral. I thought, yes, this is what I want.
Karen, I love your spirited attitude!
Thanks for your candidness and insight into the world of romance. Keep on editing!!!
You can check out Karen Block’s editor profile on http://www.romancenovelcenter.com/karenblock
Contact address karen.block@yahoo.com
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