Author Kay Hooper

WRITING A BOOK REPORT?

If so, I'm sure you have some specific questions for me, probably about specific books, and I'm happy to answer them for you, time permitting. But please do us both a favor and check out all the pages of this site first.

If you ask me a question I've already answered here on the site, I'm going to get the impression that you haven't bothered to read the information I've provided and, quite frankly, will put your request on the bottom of the pile, so to speak. As in any profession, my time is valuable; I'm not going to waste it by repeating myself.

So please do check out the site to make sure I haven't already answered your questions before you get in touch with me directly.

That said, there are a few common questions I hear from students every year:

The length of the books I'm writing these days tends to be 100,000 words or, roughly, 450-500 manuscript pages.

Yes, I do my own research. I also write fiction, which means that I make stuff up. If you as a reader can't separate the real facts woven within the story from the fictional constructs, then I've done my job.

The transition I made from romance to suspense/thrillers wasn't an abrupt thing, but a gradual evolution. I used elements of mystery, suspense, even the paranormal, when I was writing short category romance; the real difference now is simply a question of balance.

Teachers always seem to want to know which writers influenced me. They're probably hoping I'll reel off a list of all those "classic" stories you have to read in school, but ... no. (I mean, doesn't everyone find Lord of the Flies depressing??) The truth is that I've been far more influenced by popular/genre fiction than by anything classic — with the possible exception of Shakespeare.

So if your list of questions includes which writers influenced me and/or which are my own personal favorites as a reader: Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Georgette Heyer, Dorothy L. Sayers, Elizabeth George, Anne Perry, Terry Pratchett, Andre Norton, Isaac Asimov, Anne McCaffrey, Elizabeth Peters, Robert A. Heinlein, Jane Austen, Agatha Christie, Lawrence Sanders, Alistair MacLean — and more. Many, many more.

Writers are always readers first.

Do I feel writing is easy? No. It's a job, like any other, and it has good days and bad ones. Do I feel it's rewarding? Immensely.

And if your teacher demands trivia: I collect dragons, gargoyles, and wizards — and teapots; I love animals and baseball; I love TV and movies; I love looking at the mountains, but being at the beach; and my favorite color is blue. I prefer my caffeine in Pepsi rather than coffee, though I love lattes, and I think life would be really dull without chocolate.

Biographical information about me is available in various Who's Who volumes probably in your school library, as well as on my About Kay page.

I don't have a separate page listing awards I've received over the years, but here are a few: RIO (Reviewer's International Organization) Dorothy Parker Award of Excellence; Romance Reviews Today, Best Mystery/Suspense; GRW (Georgia Romance Writers) Maggie Award; Romance Communications Reviewer's Choice Award; Waldenbooks Award; B. Dalton Award; Bookrak Award; Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award; Romantic Times Love and Laughter Award, Career Achievement Award, & Lifetime Achievement Award.

Again, if you have a specific question not answered on this site, or require information you haven't been able to find here or elsewhere, please do send me a note directly and I'll do my best to get back to you as soon as possible.