Saturday, July 28, 2012

Author Chris Karlsen (Interview/Giveaway)



Today we have author Chris Karlsen stopping by to see if she can interest you in a tale about plots, the black market, sunken ships, and a little love.

Lexi: Golden Chariot is your newest release and your first venture into contemporary/mystery as your first two were historical romances. Were you excited to try writing Golden Chariot?
Chris: Very excited. I love history and Turkey is one of my favorite places. In Golden Chariot I got to explore the world of nautical archaeology, the Trojan War and do all that in Turkey.
Lexi: Even though Golden Chariot is not a historical, you still seemed to bring some history into it. The Trojan War is not a time in history that is written about very often. Did you have to do a lot of research or had you been interested in this time period before?

Chris: I don’t know why the Trojan War isn’t written about more. The larger than life characters from Homer’s, Iliad (Hektor, the noble Prince of Troy, Achilles, Helen of Troy, and Paris among others) led to my interest in Troy. I let my interest be Charlotte, my heroine’s interest. The research was daunting. I read on the language of the region during the Bronze Age, artifacts that reflect the cultures of the area, ships of the period, the archaeological work at the Troy site, nautical archaeology, artifact smuggling and several other issues involving a recovery project. But I have to say, I found most of what I read fascinating.

Lexi: The cover for Golden Chariot has a couple of scuba divers on it. In your entire travels have you ever been able to give that a try?
Chris: I took a class several years ago in the Bahamas. I was horrible at it and never took another lesson. I wish I was better. I don’t have the knack needed. I’m very good at having a glass of wine by the pool and looking out over the gorgeous Aegean or Mediterranean. 

Lexi: When you are traveling do you get inspired to write scenes that take place where you are visiting? 
Chris: Absolutely. The first time I traveled to Turkey I knew I’d set a book there. Visiting the ruins of Troy gave me the idea for Golden Chariot. The same with England. I’ve been many times and love the country and used England for my other romance novels.
Lexi: I hope you continue to enjoy traveling and writing. Thanks for stopping by to answer some questions for us!
Chris: Thank you, Lexi for inviting me. I enjoyed our talk


Heroes Live Forever
Elinor Hawthorne has inherited a house that is haunted by the ghosts of two medieval knights, Basil Manneville and Guy Guiscard. Basil is the man of her dreams, her knight in shining armor. She falls in love with him and he with her. Basil soon realizes she needs to live a normal life, a happy life with a mortal.
A lifetime later fate intervenes. Basil, still in love with Elinor, is told her spirit lives on in another young woman. He’s given another chance at life to find her. 
Read an Excerpt & Watch the Book Trailer
Add to Goodreads




Journey in Time
London attorney, Shakira Constantine finally agrees to spend the day with her handsome client, Alex Lancaster. While riding in the countryside, the couple finds themselves caught in a time warp and transported back to the 14th century- and an England preparing for war. Everyone believes Alex is the Baron Guy Guisard, a baron who died in the upcoming battle.
If they can't find a way to return to the 21st Century, Alex will have to sail with the army to certain death. Shakira will be left alone to survive in the alien and terrifying medieval world.
Read an Excerpt and Watch the Book Trailer
Add to Goodreads


~*GIVEAWAY*~
Chris is giving away Heroes Live Forever and Journey in Time ebooks to two readers. To enter, just leave a comment on question for Chris on this post and then fill out the rafflecopter below. Additional entries are available but not required. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

10 comments:

  1. these look really good. are they eBooks or real books? :)

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  2. I would love to read these books. They sound very good. Tore923@aol.com

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  3. Hi Ryan,

    They are available as ebooks on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. I appreciate your interest in my stories.
    Chris K.

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  4. Hi Tore,

    Thank you for the lovely comments on my stories. Kind words are always appreciated:)
    Chris K.

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  5. what a lovely covers...
    please count me in to this giveaway...
    thx u :)

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  6. Wow! That's quite a fascinating topic for your 3rd book. Fascinated by the research you did; it must have taken ages! Hope you'll not be abandoning the historical romance genre tho as that's my fav!

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  7. Hi Nurmawati,
    I'm glad you like the covers. I'm lucky in that my publisher worked closely with me. I had a lot of input on them. The castle shots are from my personal album. The man is Jimmy Thomas who has done many romance covers. The rest are from stock image sites.
    I hope you checkout the trailers too.
    Chris Karlsen

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  8. Hi Linda,

    I did a ton of research for Golden Chariot. I spent over a year researching before I wrote a single word of the story. On my website: www.chriskarlsen.com I have a section where I list some of my sources.

    Fear not regarding the historical romances. I'm currently writing the first draft of the next in that series. It's called Knight Blindness and is another time travel.
    Chris Karlsen

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  9. I am a huge history geek so I appreciate all the research you do for your books Thank you! Carin
    mawmom(at)gmail(dot)com

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  10. Hi Carin,
    I love hearing from other history geeks:) For me, only certain periods and places really fascinate me. I find that is true for many history buffs.
    Chris Karlsen

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