Write2Ignite

Karen Whiting is an international speaker and award-winning author of eighteen books, including The One Year Devotions for Active Boys.

Her writing experience includes more than 600 magazine articles in more than sixty periodicals. She has had more than one hundred children’s dramas and puppet scripts published.

Sought-after speaker Karen speaks at Christian writers’ conferences and will present three workshops at the 2015 Write2Ignite! Writers’ Conference in March.

Until then, let’s get better acquainted.

Karen, what were three of your favorite moments in 2014?

1. Working with children at the I-FEST (at ICRS)
2. Retreat with the Midshipmen from the Naval Academy
3. Enjoying Christmas with my family

What is the ICRS?

ICRS is the International Christian Retail Show (where the industry gets together once a year to display the new releases to retailers). I signed my book, Nature Girl, there with my daughter and co-autor (Rebecca White)

Congratulations! I’m sure that was a special time for you and your daughter. Tell me more about the Naval Academy retreat.

The retreat was an OCF (Officer Christian Fellowship retreat) held at the OCF conference center in Mann’s Choice, PA. I help with the OCF fellowship and Bible studies twice a week and I’m always available to talk and encourage mids. I’ve been in OCF for 49 years (late husband was a Coast Guard Officer). I cook the meal for Thursday nights and bake cookies for Tuesday nights during the Academic year.

Karen, what a wonderful gift of you time and talents.  At what point in your life did you know you wanted to pursue writing?

I never wanted to be a writer. My degree is in mathematics and I love numbers. God called me to write after my first child started college.

Looking back over your writing journey, what is one thing you wish you had known earlier?

How many adventures I would have and how much fun it would be to connect with readers.

Is there anything particular you hope to learn this year?

A little more about writing fiction.

Do you remember one of your favorite books from your childhood? What made it special?

Five Little Peppers and How they Grew. My mother read it to us, and we laughed together as we listened.

What was one of your favorite books when you were a teen?

Flatland by a Square. It opened my mind to relativity and other wonders of science and math.

If awarded one day to talk with three authors (from any time period), whom would you choose?

Lewis Carol, Paul, and Pearl S. Buck

What three helpful hints would you recommend to writers to make their work shine?

1. Use strong verbs and then find stronger ones to replace them.
2. Use sidebars and other pizzazz factors to add fun elements to your book.
3. Be creative and let your imagination go wild.

Karen, thank you for sharing with us. We look forward to seeing you and gleaning some of that pizzazz from you in March!

Readers, you can connect with Karen at her website: www.karenwhiting.com

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarenHWhiting

Twitter handle: karenhwhiting

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Encouraging others is Sally Matheny’s mission in life. She enjoys “reflecting on ordinary life under God’s extraordinary Light.” A member of SCBWI and ACW, her articles have appeared in children’s magazines such as Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse Jr., Cobblestone’s Appleseeds, and in the international devotional Keys for Kids. Sally also writes articles on parenting, homeschooling, and Christian living for on-line publications as well as print publications such as Practical Homeschooling, The Greenhouse Report, and Homeschooling Today. One of Sally’s most rewarding projects was writing Who is Jesus?, a VBS evangelism curriculum for missionaries introducing Jesus to children. A former public school teacher, with an MEd, Sally has homeschooled for over fifteen years. Married for over twenty-five years, she and her husband make their home in western North Carolina. Their greatest blessings are their two daughters and one son. Find encouragement from Sally on her blog: http://www.sallymatheny.blogspot.com/ and Twitter: @sally_matheny.