Hi everyone! I was recently lucky enough to interview Karen Hollis, who kindly sent me a digital copy of The Abandoned House in exchange for an honest review. Before I get into the interview, I would like to say a massive thank you to her for her time and her kindness.
How old were you when you wrote your first book? What was it about?
I wrote one about gymnastics in the 1980s, I’d be a teenager then. It was profiles of my favourite gymnasts with photos I cut out of magazines. Writing gymnastics books is now one of the main things I do, I think I have 9 books out on gymnastics (often interviewing former gymnasts). I also have a magazine I do called Classic Gymnastics.
Who’s your favourite character in The Abandoned House?
Probably Elizabeth. Although she’s completely fictional, I really felt driven to tell her story. She was going to be quite evil, but developed differently than I had envisaged.
Which part of The Abandoned House was your favourite to write – Rebecca’s or Elizabeth’s?
Rebecca’s was the easiest! I had to go into some dark places for Elizabeth’s story. Plus I set Rebecca’s story in 2021.
What advice do you have for aspiring authors?
Write every day! I found that getting into a writing routine really helped me get The Abandoned House finished. If it’s something you’re writing every day, the characters live with you, you’ll think of them a lot and ideas will come to you.
What inspired the idea of the ghost in The Abandoned House? Do you believe in ghosts?
Well, I’m not usually a reader of ghost stories at all, but I read The Quickening by Rhiannon Ward this year and I liked how she included a ghost in a way that meant you could believe in them, or not. I’m on the fence with ghosts really, I was in the same room as my mum when she saw a ghost once. But in The Abandoned House, only one person sees the ghost and it’s written in a way that you can argue it’s real or it isn’t, either viewpoint is valid.
What was the hardest scene to write in The Abandoned House?
The sexual abuse. I was sure it was going to be “behind closed doors” but it was still hard to write, because I “saw” it while I was writing it.
Which character in The Abandoned House is most similar to you?
Rebecca! She’s certainly not me, but I had a similar ex and my cat appears in it in a cameo role! I could certainly relate to her.
Do you have any plans for future books? If so, can you tell us a bit about them?
I will continue my gymnastics books, I’ve got the next one planned in my Gymnasts in Conversation series. I’ve also nearly finished writing my first novel which, at the moment, is called A New Start. It’s set in the early 1980s and is about a family who move from a city to a village so the daughter can go to a good secondary school. They move into a cul-de-sac and we follow the lives of the people who live there. So it’s got characters in it from toddlers to a guy in his nineties, there’s a village book club, a Twinning trip to France, all sorts! It’s a bit Maeve Binchy.
Do you have a key message you want readers to take away from The Abandoned House? If so, what is it?
Ooh I think I’ll let the readers decide that, but maybe that both women have difficulties to overcome, but get the better of the “bad guys” in the end.
Finally, in a sentence, how would you describe The Abandoned House?
A modern day love story with a spooky twist.
I hope you enjoyed this interview, and it inspired you to pick up The Abandoned House!
Ceri
Read And Review It 
That was a great interview! Loved it ❤️❤️
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I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed it, thank you so much for reading and commenting ❤ ❤
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I love reading author and blogger interviews as it is always interesting to see how the writer views their own writing. I love hearing that Karen saw and felt the scenes she wrote and felt close to the writing!
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So do I, I always find them so intriguing! Same, that whole process seems like an amazing experience. Thank you so much for reading and commenting!
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This interview was really interesting. I haven’t read the book but it sounds great. I love her input on ghosts. It does seem much more fun (whether one believes in it or not).
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I’m really glad you enjoyed the interview despite not reading her book! Me too haha, I was super curious over what she’d say and I loved her answer. Thank you so much for reading and commenting!
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Great interview! I always love reading author interviews because they often provide additional insight into the author’s writing.
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Thank you! Me too, it’s always really interesting getting to know the author more. Thank you so much for reading and commenting!
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Great interview Ceri!!! It’s very Interesting to hear the thoughts of an author!! Thank you for sharing!!
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Thank you! It definitely is, thank you so much for reading and commenting!
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You did really well in writing this interview! I agree, writing every day is a great way to practice your writing skills. Thanks for sharing this!
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Thank you so much, that means a lot to me! Me too, it’s definitely a habit I need to get into though, haha. Thank you so much for reading and commenting!
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I really enjoyed this post. Writer’s interviews is always one of my favourite topics. I am also a huge fan of horror books and reading about a ghost story and how it was written is definitely interesting. I do love reading about how the author lives each story while writing it. Lovely post! Thank you ❤️
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I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed it! Same, I always have so much fun conducting them. I would definitely recommend reading it if you’re into horror. Me too! Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment ❤
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This sounds like an intriguing book! I’m a sucker for a love story, I love how Karen created her first book 🙂
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It definitely is! Me too, I love a good love story, haha. Thank you so much for reading and commenting 🙂
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Love the idea and mesage behind the book..
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I’m so glad to hear that, thank you so much for reading and commenting!
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This is such a wonderful interview. Thank you for asking such thoughtful questions. I enjoyed reading about Hollis’ inspiration for the book and her advice for aspiring writers. Great choice of questions as always!
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Thank you! Same, I found her advice really insightful. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment and for continually supporting my blog ❤
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I loved reading more about this author. Thanks so much for sharing this interview!
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I’m really glad to hear that you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for reading and commenting.
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We would totally read the gymnastics book! Great interview!
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I’m so glad to hear that, thank you so much for reading and commenting!
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An insightful review! I love the part where she says to write every day because then the characters stick with you. And you have a better sense of who they are. Even though it’s November, a spooky twist is always a fun read!
Sejal | http://www.thelazygal.com
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Thank you! Same, it’s such great advice that I really need to take on board, haha. It’s definitely perfect no matter the time of year! Thank you so much for reading and commenting.
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Great interview! I always find it interesting to learn more about authors and see a bit “behind the scenes.” How fun that her cat makes a cameo in the book! 🙂
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Thank you! Same, I love finding out more about the brains behind the book. It’s definitely really cool! Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment 🙂
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I’m not normally into spooky books, but this one did pique my interest. BTW I’m now listening to Good Girl, Bad Blood as you recommended the first book and I loved that. 🙂
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I’m so glad to hear that you still like the sound of it despite not being your usual genre! Ooh let me know how you get on, I really hope you love it as much as I did. Thank you so much for reading and commenting 🙂
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I really enjoyed reading this interesting interview. I can definitely see how writing a little everyday would help to keep the characters alive.
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I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed it! Me too, it’s really great and sound advice. Thank you so much for reading and commenting!
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I love this post! It was so interesting to learn more about the author’s backstory of her book, I’ll need to check out this book now x
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Thank you, I’m so glad to hear that you liked it! I really hope you enjoy the book, thank you so much for reading and commenting x
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This is such a great interview, I throughly enjoyed reading this! Thank you so much for sharing Xo
Elle – ellegracedeveson.com
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Thank you! I’m really glad to hear that you enjoyed it, thank you so much for reading and commenting.
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Lovely interview with an author. It is always so interesting to get a writers perspective from their own work especially as we can all interpret different books or whatever we read in many different ways x
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Thank you so much! Same, I love finding out more about their intentions as it just provides that little extra backstory. Thank you so much for reading and commenting x
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Nice interview session with the author of the abandoned house. It seems interesting!
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Thank you! It definitely is, I’d really recommend it. Thank you so much for reading and commenting!
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It’s so cool that you were able to interview the author. She seems like such a lovely person! I haven’t read Abandoned House but I think after reading this interview, I might give it a go! Em x
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It definitely is, I’m so grateful I had the chance to! I really hope you enjoy it, thank you so much for reading and commenting x
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