Stories in the anthology:
ESCAPING DEATH ONE SLEEPY SUMMER AFTERNOON (Escape, as Karen Petersen)
BEWILDERED REFLECTIONS UPON AN ACHING LIFE (Romance, as Kushka Girl)
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico
Writing Space: Bed
Website and social media: karenpetersenwriter.com
Selected Q&A with Karen Petersen
(Karen answered every question. We didn’t have the heart to cut it.)
Favorite artists/paintings?
Renoir
Favorite movies/shows/actors?
Black Orpheus
Favorite countries?
Madagascar
Do you have a writer/artist circle?
No. Only a few people I occasionally use as a touchstone for edits.
Who’s your audience?
I write for adults. Define that as you wish.
Do you drink anything to get in the mood to write?
No. I just sit down and focus.
What do you wish humans would stop doing?
Being cruel to other sentient beings, and being careless towards the environment.
What’s the best way to make art?
I don’t like the way the question is posed.
How do you relax?
By watching British detective stories.
Best animals on earth?
The elephant (land) and the whale (sea) because they are ancient and wiser than we are.
Greatest achievement in writing?
Finishing.
What got you into writing?
Been a writer forever. Created a neighborhood broadsheet when I was 8.
Books you’ve read recently?
All the Light We Cannot See
Best writer besides you?
Absurd question. There is no hierarchy, only differences.
Do you write with music or shows on?
Nope.
Is anyone in your family a writer/artist?
Father. Mother. Grandmother.
Living or deceased writer/artist you'd like to meet?
So many...
What’s the greatest award you hope to receive?
Anything with serious money attached to it. Being poor is exhausting.
Are your friends writers/artists?
Yes. But they like their privacy, sorry.
Have you ever been in a writing group or workshop?
Avoid them like the plague.
Most drafts you’ve done of a piece?
3
Main distractions?
My ass gets sore from sitting too long.
Pet peeve?
Incompetent editors with tin ears. But when you find a good one, priceless.
Editing process?
Alone, then sometimes a friend.
Writer/artist you hate?
I hate all poseurs.
Fill in the blanks:
A reader who likes poetry and short stories will enjoy my story, which they can find in links on my website: karenpetersenwriter.com
Longform Answers
What inspires you to write, and what keeps you going?
The stories of the world. I have a duty of care to tell them.
How do you handle rejection and celebrate acceptance?
Shrug and move on. Small smile.
Do you outline?
WTF who outlines? Lol
What do you do if you get creative block?
Stop writing and go outside into Nature to relax. Watch murder mysteries. Sooner or later, a sense of guilt and anxiety hits me and I go back to writing.
First story you ever created? Was it published?
An elegy on the death of a friend from a drug overdose one summer in Italy. I was 19, and it ran in The Vassar Quarterly.
How do you organize your creative life?
Organize? An artist’s life is not a normal one. It dominates everything. Total commitment.
Your current goal?
Finish and deliver my book before the year is out. All else will follow.
Was there a question we didn’t ask that you wish we did?
Why are you bothering with this?
Where can people find your work?
Kushka53 on Twitter, FB, and LinkedIn.
https://karenpetersenwriter.com
📘 About 42 Stories Anthology Presents: Book of 42²
42 Stories Anthology Presents: Book of 42² features 1,764 stories, each exactly 42 words long, spanning 42 different genres. This global collection brings together 1,281 authors from around the world—new voices, seasoned writers, and everything in between—united by the challenge of saying more with less.
Available now in print, ebook, and audiobook formats:
🔗 www.42storiesanthology.com
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