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Literary Spotlight: Kay Hooper
By Carlotta G. Holton
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Kay Hooper is a New York Times bestselling, award-winning author of more than 60 suspense and romance novels. Her Kay Hooper Foundation promotes humane treatment of animals.
Q: What inspires you to write in the romance/suspense genre?
A: I write the sort of story I love to read, which is probably what most writers do. Human relationships fascinate me, and I’ve always been a sucker for a good love story. As for suspense/mystery, I love puzzles, love following a trail and trying to reason out motivation from actions. So merging the two, for me, just made perfect sense.
Q: What do your fans expect in your books?
A: I think my fans expect strongly character-driven stories, hopefully with a few twists and surprises along the way. I know they enjoy seeing characters reappear in subsequent stories. There’s a strong interest in exploring the limits of human abilities – which is very cool because that was my own reason for developing a series in which my characters struggle to understand and use their psychic abilities.
Q: What advice/tips can you give to new writers?
A: Read. Read, read, read. Read the kind of thing you want to write, and read the kind of thing you don’t believe you would ever, could ever, write. And then write. A lot. Don’t expect your stuff to be perfect, but polish it up until it’s the best you can make it. Take advantage of the enormous resources on the Internet. And don’t expect shortcuts, because there aren’t any.
