Inspired! I’m often asked what inspired me to start
writing, and I must say…if it hadn’t been for a challenging childhood, I might
not have wanted to write. We were poor and
an extremely dysfunctional family. At
night, hungry and trying to block out parents screaming at each other, I would
climb into bed with my four siblings, close my eyes and dream up stories to
block out the rest of the world….I was ten years old.
A little left
of center? To this day I start my night by creating a story in my mind…before
falling asleep. How has this process influenced
my writing…it’s been incredible. It
helps me think my story plot through as I play the scenes through like a movie
in my mind. If the ‘story’ I’m working
on stalls…I will bring that scene into my mind…and start dreaming. The next day I sit in front of my computer
and start typing… the story unfolds beneath my fingertips! I’m not joking… many of my stories are
created or resolved this way.
In
the beginning….I started writing when my kids were little. My office was in the front room living room,
and fortunately we had a nice family room a little further away. I never told the kids I didn’t’ have time for
them, but they were wonderful in their attempts to tip-toe past my desk. Most
times it was way after 10:00 or 11:00 pm before I was able to sit at my
computer and start writing…until the wee hours of the morning.
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It was only later that the
kids shared their many stories about the click…click…click…of my keyboard they
listened to as they fell asleep! I never
knew that until they started teasing me about the click…click..click…pause… and
they’d hope I was done for the night … low and behold it would start up all
over again… click..click..click…pause! (Of
course I would stop only to think before clicking away again!) I love them all the more for never
complaining or giving me grief about it!
And of course my husband has been nothing but 100% behind all my
efforts. We are married 40 years this
October and I think he’s more proud of me… than me!
I’ve started writing and I can’t stop!! It seems like I’ve been writing forever! Help!!
It’s my goal in life to be an International best selling author. I’m happiest when I’m writing. I get lost writing about Native Americans in
the 1800s, and although I didn’t live in the 1800s… you might say I feel I
have. I sense the air, the mountains,
the land, and of course the people. I
can relate to the laws of the people and the way of their lives.
I put how
I feel about relationships in my books.
I interject the conflict of the times such as white vs. red. Prejudices haven’t changes all that much…they
are still wrong and cause heartache and grief.
People in the 1800s were no different than we are today… we want to love
and be loved. We want harmony and
happiness. And of course I love
humor…and I strive to add as much as I can into my books. Indians loved playing jokes on each other and
teasing.
I
write from my heart ~ I don’t think there is
anything more sexy and ‘breath-taking’ than a Native American warrior with a
bare chest and wearing nothing but a breechclout! Maybe it helps that I’m about one-sixteenth
Chippewa Cree Indian and I’m drawn to anything with feathers, beads, and
leather! I love the history. I love how the tribes existed and how they
carved a living in tune with nature and each other. If the white man (napi’-kwan) hadn’t been so
sure they were right…. they might have learned a lot from the red man.
I write mainly about the
Blackfeet tribes. Why? Because everyone writes about the Sioux,
Apache, Comanche or Cherokee… but who writes about the Blackfeet, the fierce
and most feared tribe of the plains?
Rita Karnopp does!
It seems I’ve been writing forever… I have just released my
fourteenth book with Books We Love. I
write Indian historicals and suspense, but no matter what genre’ I’m
writing…you can be sure you’ll experience either the west of the 1800s or the
west of today.
Several of Rita's books are undergoing price reductions in the Amazon Countdown deals. At the moment, the poor dear is trying to recover from a retinal tear and a very painful wrist surgery that is causing her to endure more agony through physical therapy and a brace that pulls on the healing ligaments. So...make a note because I know you'll want to partake of these special discounts on her books:
Scheduled 3/1 through 3/7/2014
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