Interview with Ken Weene - Tragic-Comedic Author

It's great to have author Ken Weene on my blog today. His projects fascinate me because he tells the stories of the less fortunate people of our world -- the poor, the lonely, the infirm, and the mentally challenged to name but a few.
First, Ken, can you tell us what genre or genres you write.
I primarily write literary fiction, which means that I emphasize language and character more than plot. However, my agent currently is shopping one of my novels that is more coming of age and historical and my newest project is historical fiction. If there is one unifying them to my writing it is the combination of a quirky sense of humor and a deep appreciation of the painfulness of life; I call that style “tragic-comedic.”
Are you a pantser? (You write by the seat of your pants and the story is all there in your head.)  Or are you a plotter? (You prefer to create a plot first?)
I start with a plot in mind, but usually the characters refuse to go along with my plans. I’ve even had a character wake me in the middle of the night to tell me that I’ve missed something.
An example: In Widow’s Walk I had expected Mary to take much more time to get involved with a man. That was why I had her meet Arnie, somebody so totally different. I figured they might have some good conversations that would leave her ready to meet somebody else. The guy I had in mind was this easygoing adult education teacher whose class she would take to expand on what she had picked up from Arnie. Well, she did take the class, but she was already in love with Arnie; that had happened before I could get them out of their first meeting. Wow, love at first sight. Now I understand how desperately lonely she really was.
Even while I am working out the plot of a book, the characters can start changing the story. The historical fiction novel, Red and White, that I am currently writing is changing right before my eyes. Lonely Cricket informed me that his best friend was a girl, that she was trying to teach him to read, and that the young man who was interested in Happy Turtle was not Christy’s brother but her uncle. Even more important that uncle was going to rape Happy Turtle. This all before I started writing. What more will change?
So many authors find that their characters take over and tell the story. Do you write a detailed list of your character's habits, likes, dislikes and family members?
No, but I do get to know them. I listen to them and slowly that overview grows in my awareness. I would no more create such a list than I would do so when getting to know a new friend. It would interfere with the development of an authentic relationship.
What do you think today's readers want and how does it differ from readers of the past?
Today’s readers want action. They are used to television and movies and they expect pacing to be fast and events to unfold quickly. Another change is they generally require much less description—that is unless the book is taking them to a place that is very different from their experience, such as a school of magic or in my case when I wrote Memoirs From the Asylum the interior of a psychiatric hospital.
Another change is the increase in explicit sexual description, except of course for Christian literature. Going along with that change is a dislike for narrations that stress characters’ internal states.
All that having been said, readers still are about reading. They want a good story and writing that will keep their minds flowing.
An excellent answer. I totally agree. What book do you want to feature in this post? Tell us about it. 
 Of my three novels, today I want to focus attention on Widow’s Walk.  Perhaps because I am writing this just before Valentine’s Day, but I am thinking about love, romance, and the impediments to true happiness. There are three central romances in Widow’s Walk, the relationship between Mary and Arnie, two older lovers both of whom having been married before and sadly unfulfilled. Their love scenes are filled with tenderness as they explore themselves. Katleen, Mary’s daughter, also falls in love, sadly with a control freak. Then there is Mary’s son. Sean. The great barrier to Sean’s life is that he is a quadriplegic. Yet, Sean finds the most stable and lasting relationship, one built on mutual need and friendship. All this exploration of love takes place against a background of religion and personal pain. 
Does your book have a message? 
In the end Widow’s Walk tells the reader that life and romance are filled with tears and with hard choices, but that love is possible.
Did you self-publish or query and hope a publisher would accept your work? How did that work out for you?
My novels are published by a small house, All Things That Matter Press. They have been very supportive. However, I do have an agent and am looking for a larger home for my newest books.  Small presses do put real skin into the game. For example, ATTMP provided me with fine cover art and editing. However, they don’t have the resources to place my books in stores or to underwrite marketing. One thing they do that I greatly appreciate is handling the foreign sales venues. I know that self-published writers can deal with Amazon and Barnes, but I do a lot of selling in Great Britain and even some in South Africa. I’m glad to know that somebody else is handling all that bookkeeping.
What do you do to promote your writing, and what advice do you have for your fellow writers and authors?
I now realize that writing is the easy part of being an author. Marketing is the most difficult part of the whole business. Start marketing as soon as you can see a publication date for your book. Get your name out there. To do that be sure that you know who you are, how you want to be seen. Especially if you write fiction, it is very important that prospective readers see you as a real person not just an endless fount of spam. That is why I give interviews like this, why I maintain an active presence on the social media, why I co-host an Internet radio show, and why I try to regularly publish my shorter writings where people can read them.    Why should we buy Widow's Walk?
Good books make us look at life differently, make us feel and think not only about the characters and the plots but also about ourselves. Widow’s Walk will offer you laughter and tears, love and outrage. It will make you think about the nature of love and about God, about taking charge of your life, and hopefully about what is really important to you.
That's what I want from a book. Thank you so much for being a guest here on my blog, Ken. Can you tell us a little about yourself -- a mini bio?
Life itches and torments Kenneth Weene like pesky flies. Annoyed, he picks up a pile of paper to slap at the buzzing and often whacks himself on the head. Each whack is another story. At least having half-blinded himself, he has learned to not wave the pencil.
A New Englander by upbringing and inclination, Kenneth Weene is a teacher, psychologist and pastoral counselor by education. He is a writer by passion. His other passions include his wife, their son, good food, theater, and good music.
Ken’s short stories and poetry have appeared in numerous publications including Sol, Spirits, Palo Verde Pages, Vox Poetica, Clutching at Straws, The Word Place, Legendary, Sex and Murder Magazine, The New Flesh Magazine, The Santa Fe Literary Review, Daily Flashes of Erotica Quarterly, Bewildering Stories, A Word With You Press, Mirror Dance, The Aurorean, Stymie, Empirical and ConNotations.
Ken’s novels, Widow’s Walk, Memoirs From the Asylum, and Tales From the Dew Drop Inne, are published by All Things That Matter Press. Ken is co-host of It Matters Radio on Blog Talk. The show airs Thursday evenings.
Where can we find out more about you and your work?
WEBSITE http://www.kennethweene.comRADIO SHOW http://itmattersradio.wix.com/radioTWITTER http://twitter.com/Ken_WeeneFACEBOOK – look for Kenneth Weene and for It Matters Radio AMAZON  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&search-alias=books&field-author=Kenneth%20Weene