Have you ever wondered what it is like to write a book series? Pen & Story Blog Editor Beth Bacon interviewed author Karen Kane about writing two middle grade mysteries for Disney Hyperion.
Beth Bacon: Your debut novel is a mystery for middle graders. You sold it as a two-book deal, without the second book complete. Share the experience…
Karen Kane: I love the characters and the world I created in Charlie & Frog. I was thrilled to have a two-book deal so that I could continue to write about them! Each book was a very different writing experience.
BB: How much time did you have to write each book?
Karen Kane: I wrote the first book while I was in graduate school. I had the benefit of three different advisors reading my drafts and commenting on them. By the time it reached my agent, Jennifer Carlson, she told me it was ready to send out with no revisions—which is rare for an agent to say!
I then edited book with Tracey Keevan, my Disney Hyperion editor. She loved the characters and the voice, but the mystery-plot needed revision. That was hard because I had a tight deadline, but it was very rewarding because I learned so much about plot and structure. Total time was about three years from starting to write to copy edits being finished.
For my second book, I had about a year and a half from brainstorming to copy edits. Really, I had more time because I knew after I sold my first book that the second book had to be written. But I had to first finish editing Charlie & Frog first. I was exhausted after finished two years of graduate school, writing non-stop as well as doing my day job and being a parent. And I was scared. Could I do this one my own? In August 2017, I was able to come to Washington State and stay at a friend’s cottage. While there, I started brainstorming ideas for the second book. In June 2018, two months after Charlie & Frog was published, I sent a draft of The Boney Hand to my agent. Finally, I had something concrete that she and I could work on!
BB: What was easier about writing the second book? What was harder?
Karen Kane: What was harder was I was on my own—no graduate school advisors reading my work and sharing their wisdom. But three things made it easier:
- I already had my world and characters created. I had new characters for the mystery, but the foundational characters were there. Also, my editor and Disney understood so much more about Deaf culture and how we would format the book. Frog is Deaf and signs. Charlie is hearing and speaks. They write to each other to communicate as Charlie slowly learns sign language. The Disney art department and my editor had worked with me on how to best show those modes of communication in the first book. With my second book, the formatting was already set.
- I had my editor to brainstorm ideas. It was really fun talking the story through with her and riffing ideas until we found the right ones. She is brilliant with plotting.
- I was a more experienced writer with my second book.
BB: What did you learn from the first book that made your second book better?
Karen Kane: I learned how to write a mystery with my first book. I had to rewrite the mystery, so while I was rewriting, I was also studying mysteries and teaching myself the genre. I also plotted this book with an outline first, before writing the full draft. I wanted to make sure I had the foundation of the story right and my editor on board.
And everything I learned about writing Charlie & Frog I put into The Boney Hand. The Boney Hand is a more complex and richer book because it stands on the shoulders of Charlie & Frog.
BB: What do you wish you knew writing the first book that you learned in the second book?
Karen Kane: I honestly can say there is nothing I wish I knew with the first book that I learned in the second book, because all of it was the journey I was supposed to take. I knew so little about structure and plot while I was writing my first book. I learned BY writing. And by having advisors and an editor who guided me. I really listened to them and to my readers. I had both Deaf and hearing readers for both books. Their feedback was invaluable.
By the time I got to my second book, I knew what I needed to look for in terms of plot and structure. I was ahead of the curve with my second book because I could edit myself in my areas. But I could only do that because I had to learn the hard way with my first book.
BB: Talk about it the launch of each book. How were they the same or different?
Karen Kane: For my first book, my husband and some friends helped me plan a book launch party at one of our local bookstores here in Washington DC. I invited many people from my local Deaf community, and the event was in ASL with interpreters for the signing-impaired. The Deaf illustrator for Charlie & Frog, Carlisle Robinson, also came and gave remarks.
It was such a joyous event, I knew I couldn’t replicate that special moment for my second book. Also, that type of party took a lot of energy for this introvert. So instead I did a book presentation close to the day The Boney Hand was published to local Deaf students.
BB: How are you different now than you were during the launch of your first book?
Karen Kane: I have a lot more confidence in my writing craft ability. But even as I type those words, I know they are both true and not true. Because the better skilled you get at something, the more you realize how much you don’t know. It is the ultimate paradox. I am more confident and I am also more aware of how much I have to learn. So, let me say this instead— I am more confident in my ability to learn the craft of writing and to keep learning.
BB: Are there more books to come in this series?
Karen Kane: I hope there will be two more Charlie & Frog books to make a full year of their adventures! The first two books happen in the summer and in the fall. I want to write a winter adventure and then wrap it up in the springtime.
For now, I just finished a picture book that I have been working on and off for four years (I started it in graduate school). Remember I mentioned Charlie & Frog was ready to go and that my agent, Jennifer Carlson, did not need to do anything to it? Well, I had to edit this book three times for Jennifer before she said it was ready! She is a great editor as well as a great agent, and her feedback really helped my book shine and become what it needed to be.
BB: Thanks for speaking with us, Karen,