Lights, Camera, FRACTION! Uh, I mean ACTION!
Aug 20th 2007
Karen HawkinsGoddess Readers Speak Out
I’m on tv. Better yet, I’m on Romance Novel TV. Check out my interview and see what I mean. Better than tv, isn’t it?
Naturally I was talking about my new book, TO SCOTLAND WITH LOVE, which is out today. Just to make shopping a bit easier for you, here’s a picture of the cover:
Ok, enough touting the latest release. Let’s get back to what we’re REALLY about here, which is “Interviews and the Things They Can Teach You.”
1) WEIGHT GAIN, EVEN FAKE TV WEIGHT GAIN, IS A PAIN. No, really. I am not as heavy as the camera made me look.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
2) DON’T WEAR A THIN BLACK SHIRT IF REALLY, REALLY BRIGHT LIGHTS WILL BE POINTED YOUR WAY.
Nuff said.
3) EDITING IS THE BOMB. Note how you can’t see the many, many times where I’d accidentally catch sight of the camera and, like the dweeb that I am, would stop talking mid-sentence and stare at the camera as if in a trance, mouth agape until someone snapped their fingers in front of my glazed-over eyes.
It wasn’t pretty.
and 4) YOU ALWAYS THINK OF SOMETHING BETTER TO SAY AFTER THE INTERVIEW IS OVER, usually immediately afterwards while in the hallway, waiting for the elevator.
This, my dear ones, is the real story of my life. I’m the queen of the Three Day Later Zinger, which benefits no one but myself.
So tell us, my lovely Goddess Pals, have you ever been interviewed for tv or a job and thought of The Perfect Thing To Say after it was over? Did you wear a thin black shirt while sitting under very, very bright lights? And when are you going to pick up a copy of my newest book, TO SCOTLAND WITH LOVE, which is available today?
49 Comments »
49 Responses to “Lights, Camera, FRACTION! Uh, I mean ACTION!”
KMB25 on 21 Aug 2007 at 12:19 am #
Oh the memories this brings back! I actually had a tv interview last year for a gig I was doing in my hometown….they really worked the “native fiddle player comes home for a concert” kind of thing. It was on the afternoon local show…we have one here in Nashville in the middle of the day called “Talk of the Town” and man….was I nervous!!
I’m so not a makeup person and I’m really with ya on the weight gain/camera angle thing. That part sucked. And I also thought of some really awesome things to say…in the car on the way home! Oh well…a number of people saw it and commented, so I guess it was a good thing!
And I just bought a copy of the book–I’ll let you know once I finish it!
~Kim
Judy on 21 Aug 2007 at 12:22 am #
I swear, I’m not trying to kiss a** here, but Karen you look gorgeous, not that you don’t look like it in the pictures, but I guess because it’s a close-up, you notice your eyes more.
The last job interview I had was earlier this year in the late spring, I was caught off guard because I got interviewed right after I apllied, can you say “Not Ready?” Boy, was I not ready, I was not only nervous, but my usually eloquent tongue was nowhere to be found. Needless to say I wasn’t surprised when I didn’t get a call from them ::sigh::
And Karen, me and you have the same problem of Three Day Later Zinger, I never have a great comeback until after the conversation is over and done with, and really, it’s very anti-climatic when you try to go back to it. Maybe it’s my short attention span…
Stacy ~ on 21 Aug 2007 at 5:54 am #
Yes, I am an expert at thinking of just the perfect thing to say hours or days after I hand the opportunity. I guess I don’t think very quickly on my feet.
Karen Hawkins on 21 Aug 2007 at 6:08 am #
Kim, I was on Nashville’s Talk of the Town Once! They were very nice but kept asking me if the president would make a good hero. Our president that is, G Bush. I was like, ah, well, I ah, I suppose, I mean, it’s possible, if uh, you know, IF he ah … It was sorta awkward. Did you play your fiddle? I bet it was cool. I’m going to google it and see if I can find the clip.
Btw, I didn’t wear bright enough lipstick or eye makeup. I was asked to ‘find something brighter.’ Which I couldn’t, so ah … I look a bit washed out. S’ok. I don’t feel comfortable in brighter stuff and I was nervous enough as it was!
Judy, thank you! That’s a very sweet thing to say.
am so glad they cut out my ramblings. I’d have a topic and I’d start talking and then I’d think … WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT? Sheesh. I hear you on the Not Ready. How DOES one get ready for an interview, anyway?
Stacy, me, too! On-Feet Thinking is a tough trick to master!
FreshEChelle on 21 Aug 2007 at 7:29 am #
Looking forward to watching your interview when time allows.
There’s a line from an Everything but the Girl song “It’s so easy to be witty in retrospect.” Ain’t that the truth.
I did on a makeover Phil Donahue episode wearing a non-offensive Jones NY suit. My boss saw it and was upset I didn’t tell him before so I could be wearing Dior (part of our company). That might have been over the top for daytime tv. My poor mother who was the victim of the makeover - that was the embarrassing part - oh what they did to her hair - not nice. I’ll be on the lookout for your book in all the airport newstands today. Wishing you heaps of best sellers weeks!
AndreaW on 21 Aug 2007 at 8:14 am #
Your RNTV interview is priceless, Karen! So hilarious! I don’t know how you kept a straight face through the whole thing. Love it.
I’m off to purchase my copies of TSWL.
J Perry Stone on 21 Aug 2007 at 8:27 am #
Don’t say ANYTHING about this book! I’m in the middle and I will have a Gran Mol if anyone spills anything good.
And you are just so fullofit, Karen. You looked/look gorgeous!!! I’d kill for a body like yours (not to mention your face and your talent). If could see yourself through my eyes, you’d be demanding buff men bow down and smear your toes with drippy chocolate.
That said, I’m with you on the belated zinger thing. I get shocked and freeze. Makes me so mad. My brain kicks in later.
And if I wore a thin black shirt in bright lights, people would say, “hey, what’s that boy with long hair doing over there?”
And I’ve got my glorious Gregor in my hot little hands.
J Perry Stone on 21 Aug 2007 at 8:31 am #
And what are you talking about? You never once froze in that interview.
That was stinkin’ hilarious!
Karen H in NC on 21 Aug 2007 at 8:39 am #
I don’t know what you are talking about Karen, you look stunning (and I mean that in a nice way LOL) and I like your work ethic. What could be better than being in your jammies, drinking rum punch and always being out to lunch?
Can’t wait for the subsequent parts to air.
J Perry Stone on 21 Aug 2007 at 9:01 am #
Karen, we’re already talking about TSWL on the Avon off-topic board.
Julia London on 21 Aug 2007 at 9:32 am #
Oh Karen, that was a wonderful interview! And you looked maaaah-velous, darling!
I turned a book in yesterday. What does that mean? It means I can change out of my pajamas, put down the rum punch, and trot out to get TSWL this very minute. WOOOOO-HOOOO!
KMB25 on 21 Aug 2007 at 9:35 am #
Karen,
I thought the interview was great!
That’s awesome about talk of the town…but I can see how you would have trouble with the whole Bush/hero thing….that’s just wrong on so many levels.
I wasn’t actually on talk of the town in nashville–but a show like that one in my hometown in Buffalo, NY. (I wrote my comment late last night when I got home from the movies, so I guess I was not very clear!..and if you googled it for the nashville one, it might not come up!) I was actually on a show called PM Buffalo…on News Channel 7…it was a cool experience though!
~Kim
Claudia Dain on 21 Aug 2007 at 10:01 am #
Karen, that was so great! You looked and sounded adorable. The camera loves you!
RachelG on 21 Aug 2007 at 10:08 am #
Karen,
Very funny and you look beautiful. Make up was great. The best thing about working at home is the dress code. Oh, and I don’t set an alarm clock. Love that.
When I did my interview with RNTV, my flight was late to Dallas, so I literally walked into the hotel and did the interview in the lobby. I was in a white sundress that makes me look huge and I kept looking around to make sure no one was messing with my luggage.
My worst TV interview was in Salt Lake at 7:30 in the morning. The idiot woman asked me what I look for in a man when I date online. If she’d read my bio, she’d know that I’m married. I said something like, “Mr. Gibson and I have a rule about dating other people.”
rachelg
Nicole Jordan on 21 Aug 2007 at 10:12 am #
Great interview, Karen! And you look gorgeous.
And yes, no matter how much you prepare, there will always be questions that throw you and that days later you say, “I wish I had thought of that then!”
I’ve got TSWL on hold at my local B&N and am picking it up this afternoon! Can’t wait to read it, esp since I’ve heard such great things about how much fun it is.
J Perry Stone on 21 Aug 2007 at 10:46 am #
Rachel G said: “My worst TV interview was in Salt Lake at 7:30 in the morning. The idiot woman asked me what I look for in a man when I date online. If she’d read my bio, she’d know that I’m married. I said something like, “Mr. Gibson and I have a rule about dating other people.””
You couldn’t plan a better answer than that, Rachel.
Claudia Dain on 21 Aug 2007 at 11:56 am #
What I love about being a writer is that I get to have my characters be so quick and witty with their replies. All those zippy rejoinders that take me hours to come up with in real life just zing out of their mouths!
Ah, fiction.
Karen Hawkins on 21 Aug 2007 at 12:07 pm #
Fresh, we gotta hear more about the Oprah makeover. DO TELL! And how bad was the hair? I was watching Extreme Makeover this morning and they redid some poor woman’s nose and she looked so much better BEFORE. How would that be for an oopsy? “Ah, I think I liked my nose better the other way. Can you put it back?”
Thank you all for saying I look good in the interview — you guys are the best. Seriously. I really do need to lose some weight. I was wayyyy down and then I met this guy, and then I got Happy Fat. I’ve never been Happy Fat before, so it’s a new thing, but I’m determined to stay happy AND lose weight. I’ll let you know in a few months if they both can be done at one and the same time.
Kim, I’m gonna see if I can find your interview. It’d be such fun to see it! I bet you did awesome, too.
Rachel, I saw your interview for RNTV and it was awesome! I didn’t know that was the lobby, though. You seem very cool and composed, as usual and even manged to deliver bona fide zinger!
RachelG on 21 Aug 2007 at 12:24 pm #
Karen, during the whole interview all I could think about was that I was breaking the two cardinal rules for appearing on TV. I was wearing white and my arms were bare, but I didn’t have time to change before the interview.
J Perry Stone– That answer was kind of a no-brainer. The question that always stumps me is when they ask my advise to single girls on how to get a man. Sheesh, I have no idea.
twolilhahas on 21 Aug 2007 at 12:34 pm #
Oh, I’m a terrible conversationalist. I’m so afraid I’m going to say something stupid, I usually don’t say anything at all. Of course, with close friends, it’s different. I torture myself for saying the wrong things and never think up the right things I could have said until days later. lol So, I definitely have the zinger problem.
For example, I had a job interview the other day and was totally unprepared for the questions. I guess it wasn’t an odd question for an interview, but I really didn’t expect to hear, “What are your expectations for this job?” I’m thinking to myself, “I can’t say “none,” and I do expect to get money,” so I said, “To get money to pay my bills.” And that didn’t feel like a retarded answer until I watched him write down word for word that sentence on his interview sheet. And the bad thing is, I still don’t know what else I could have said. That is my expectation. Oh well.
cail on 21 Aug 2007 at 12:39 pm #
its not the interviews that i have trouble with- its the fights. i always think of the clever and appropriate response in a fight hours after it was finished. drives me up a wall!
ps karen you look great, can;t wait to get the book
KAY on 21 Aug 2007 at 12:59 pm #
Great interview, Karen. You looked great and really hit the high points about your work environment. I’ll have to remember the one about lunch! LOL
I can’t wait to go out and get the book this afternoon!
Sabrina Jeffries on 21 Aug 2007 at 1:30 pm #
OMG, Karen, that interview was hilarious! I’m with you on all those wonderful reasons for working at home. I can’t wait to watch the other parts!
I got my copy of TSWL yesterday after restraining myself from buying it on Saturday at B&N. I was pleased with myself. They had it at my Borders on both the new release table AND at the front by the register. Great placement!
gannon on 21 Aug 2007 at 1:36 pm #
Karen, your interview was awesome. As usual, you crack me up!
And you looked beautiful!! On my way out to get your new book!! 
Caren Crane on 21 Aug 2007 at 2:14 pm #
Karen, can’t wait to watch the interview when I am home (and away from the fascist computer at work!). Also, TSWL is at the Borders waiting for me!
Twolilhahas, the answer to your interview question is, “To utilize my prior experience, be recognized for doing a great job and to be the best team player I can be.” Try it, it works for almost every job! I’ve used it loads of times, from my first job at Hardee’s to jobs in engineering. *g*
twolilhahas on 21 Aug 2007 at 3:01 pm #
Wow, Caren…that is an AWESOME answer! Wish I could have thought that up off the cuff in the interview!
Karen Hawkins on 21 Aug 2007 at 4:30 pm #
Wow. We need Caren to blog on Career Counseling day! That’s an AWESOME answer. It really incorporated “group player” and “strong individual aspects” all in one answer.
The rest of the interview is more conventional. I talk about the series and why I wrote it and why I chose a weather curse. All in all, it was a lot of fun — just wish I’d prepared a bit more!
Suzanne Enoch on 21 Aug 2007 at 4:33 pm #
Yes, you looked great, KarenH! I also did an interview for them, but by the time they take out all the deer-in-the-headlights moments it’ll be about 8 seconds long.
When I did the interview for E! on Star Wars, I told everybody that the camera adds 20 pounds, and I had 14 cameras pointed at me. I don’t think anybody believed me. *g*
Ann in IL on 21 Aug 2007 at 4:47 pm #
Karen,
I sent you an email because I couldn’t get on the blog today. It’s working now.!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Musta been a sunspot interfering with my reception.
darkshire007 on 21 Aug 2007 at 6:07 pm #
For the record Karen, I thought you look wonderful on camera and I didn’t notice any glazed eyes or mid-sentence stops. The interview itself was hilarious! I can picture you talking to a lawyer about sueing for sexual harassment! Laughed out load at that one! Have to totally agree about the lunches and afternoon snacks….I’m eating frozen Reese’s miniatures while I write (had a really bad day fighting to put seat covers on). I have to close on a happy for me but bad for me note: I am leaving for Vegas tomorrow and will be unable to reach y’all. I will make up for it when I get back and I think all the martini’s will help me get by. I’ll tell the guys at Thunder from Down Under hello for ya!
zambonigirl (zambi) on 21 Aug 2007 at 6:18 pm #
I think you’re really beautiful.
I get pissed off at interviewers. Seriously, I was so darn excited when the Ducks FINALLY brought the Stanley Cup to California for the first time ever, and the stupid interviewer kept asking the same broke ass questions. “How did it feel to lift the Stanley Cup over your head and kiss it, knowing this would be the last game of your career?”
Selanne just stared at the guy like, “Are you crazy, you stupid American?” I would have, too. I should totally interview these guys.
“So, tell me, Rob Niedermayer, how would it feel to pick *me* up and kiss me instead of the Stanley Cup?”
Ahhh…my dreams…
Lisa H on 21 Aug 2007 at 6:44 pm #
Hi Karen—I thought your interview was hysterical and I loved your eyeshadow and lipstick! You should never worry about being interviewed you were cute, funny and smart. I hope to see another one sometime!
Brandy on 21 Aug 2007 at 8:01 pm #
You looked awesome! And were very articulate! Wonderful interview!
I was interviewed once, when I was 16. On C-Span. Must I say that 16 year olds think they are evr so witty, but now I think “what an idiot!”
Kim on 21 Aug 2007 at 8:45 pm #
Karen–don’t be silly! You were mahvelous in your interview and you look stunning. I just wish I had been there for all of it instead of just the wrap up. *wwahhh*
There will be another segment from Karen tomorrow where she talks about her fabulous MacLean Curse series! Can’t wait to see it. And Karen’s also been visiting with us on the message board. Come wave to her and tell her how fantabulous To Scotland, With Love is
Karen Hawkins on 21 Aug 2007 at 9:10 pm #
Suzanne Enoch, you get 10 lbs added for EACH camera. Oh. Well, then. There were ah, twenty — no, twenty-one cameras on me which makes me ah 210 lbs heavier than I normally am. Thus, the double chin.
So it isn’t me, people. It’s all those bloody cameras. Suzanne told me so.
zamboni, you are absolutely right and interviewers ask the STUPIDEST questions. I saw an interview when the bridge collapsed in Minneapolis and the interviewer kept interrupting the person who was telling how their truck fell off the bridge and into the water with the same question over and over and over … “So did you think THEN that you were going to die?” I bet the guy asked the question twenty times! And the person talked kept frowning and saying, “Not really. I didn’t have time to think that.”
Sheesh!
freshechelle on 22 Aug 2007 at 8:37 am #
Karen, the show was kids makeover their parents, I was in my mid20s I think and my mom forced me to do it. It was her Mom day gift that year. Mom is pretty and admittedly vain so our angle was mom needs to take it down a notch. I’ll admit we were in it for the stuff. To our embarassment, the didn’t run it for months. Good God, they ran it for sweeps week. I’ll never forget the daughter who chose to dress her dad in jeans and a sport coat when the producers offered an Armani suit. Dude, you had to know they would let us keep the clothes!
Karen Hawkins on 22 Aug 2007 at 9:23 am #
zamboni, now THAT’S the question to ask … why DO they kiss those cups anyway where there are so many of us WILLING to be a warm-lipped replacement? Humph. Men and sports.
Fresh, they turned down ARMANI? Sheesh! What WERE they thinking? Did you like the show? i’ve heard they always ’siuggest’ things you should say or do. Did they? I love talk shows, but I can’t watch them or I’ll never get my page count done.
freshechelle on 22 Aug 2007 at 6:43 pm #
Karen, hope vegas is swell. It’s a better town in which to observe than participate. Notice how no one gambling smiles. The donahue. Folks offer three looks, all safe. They didn’t let the kids go to salon which was the appealing part for mom and me. I was hoping to whine enough about her hair to get her something better than the single process you can do at home. They didn’t. She got bowl but that really was wrong for her face and caused he to give her best fake smile on national TV. I was just so proud to tell everyone what mom taught me: never leave home without make up and nice clothes because you never know when you’ll run into someone from high school and you want to make sure they eat their heart out. It’s funny when she says it.
Karen Hawkins on 22 Aug 2007 at 7:59 pm #
Oh freshechelle, that’s a GREAT logo! I’ve always heard that living well is the best revenge — which is sort of like your mother’s saying. i looove that!
Hmmm . . . that gives me a great idea for tomorrow’s blog!!! THANKS!
FreshEChelle on 22 Aug 2007 at 8:43 pm #
aw shucks. Can’t wait to see your topic tomorrow. BTW, pardon all the typos. I wrote that last entry from my Blackberry as I was deplaning. I’ve got to lighten up on the multitasking. g’nite.
Aspen on 23 Aug 2007 at 12:54 pm #
Hey just started reading your book. It’s great! It reminds me a bit of Jane Austens Emma?
Anyway love it!
Karen Hawkins on 23 Aug 2007 at 1:05 pm #
FreshEchelle, no problems! I sometimes do the same on my smartphone and it’s tough not to have typos.
Aspen, YES, that’s exactly what the story was based on. I looove Austen and thought it would be a nice ‘nod.’
Thanks for picking up on it! You made my day!!!
Aspen on 23 Aug 2007 at 4:32 pm #
That is so COOL!
You did a wonderful job. I love when authors breathe new life into the classics. Kind of gives them a new birth. Another chance to become a classic. Does that make sense?
Anyway my vote is P&P next. LOL
Aspen
Santa on 23 Aug 2007 at 9:36 pm #
Thanks for those pearls of wisdom! Your interview was great and my eyes didn’t wander once….my deli thugs, well that’s another story. I got comments like “Do all romance writers look like her?” To which I answered “Of course we do.” To which New Guy responded “Huh, Maybe something changes once you get published.” That reminds me I have to go to Staples and pick up some pink slips.
Got the book even though J Perry lauded her ARC over me. She’s an ARC lauder, that one!
I will be immersing myself in your book while on vacation next week. CAN’T WAIT!
Karen Hawkins on 23 Aug 2007 at 10:49 pm #
Santa, tell J Perry that gloating Isn’t Pretty. Well . . . i mean, if you found Perfect Shoes or you lose ten pounds, THEN you can gloat. But over an arc? Nope! Not fair.
Enjoy your vacation and TSWL! Hope you’re going to the beach; I loooove to read at the beach.
J Perry Stone on 24 Aug 2007 at 7:54 am #
Hey, I may laud arcs, but after I read them (and thank God the ones I’ve gotten are from my must-read authors), I sing it on the mountain and help to drum up excitement for the upcoming release (which is why, Karen, I should always be on your arc list).
Santa, you’re sneaky, Mrs.!
Santa on 24 Aug 2007 at 7:55 pm #
It’s okay, Karen. We torture one another on a regular basis and arcs are our weapons of choice.
And J, I thought it was my soothing, melodic voice that lulled you to sleep….huh, earplugs.
Mitzi on 03 Sep 2007 at 7:53 am #
Imagine, there are actually other Goddesses out there. Anid I thought I was the only one.
I actually earned my title during my days in TV weather. One of the news anchors called me Weather Goddess. Although, I would have eventually figured out that I was a Goddess all by myself because of all my royal attributes, ex. Up until last year, my son didn’t know my true age. How is that possible, you ask? I am the Queen of Denial when it comes to the age thing.
Once a title is earned, it is forever. Four years after leaving the Television station I worked for, when I call my friend and some Newsroom peon asks, “Who’s calling?”, of course I reply, “This is the Goddess.”
I am surrounded by queenly things, should reality kick in and I need reminding of my royal status, like coffee mugs emblazoned with Queen of Everything and a PC mouse pad with It’s Good to be Queen, and refrigerator magnets that remind my family and peeps, Life is too Short to be Anything but Queen.
Karen Hawkins on 03 Sep 2007 at 8:08 am #
Hi Mitzi! And welcome TGB! We’re glad to welcome all fellow goddesses to our blog. i hope you post often!
I’m also glad to see that you’ve put up Goddess Reminders for your fam. One can never remind the kids too often of one’s goddessness. It’s imperative, especially when they reach the snarky teen years. Sometimes, the only thing my son and I have in common is that we both think we’re right! A little Goddess Edge keeps me from being trumped by his teen-ness!