LEE WARD
ASHLAND — Inside the respectable brick house that sits in a sedate, well-kept neighborhood exists a world of dark chemistry, destruction, remains and death.
That world exists in the imagination of Karen Newman and on the pages of the books, magazines, journals and Web sites that have published her work.
The valedictorian of the class of the Paul G. Blazer High School class of 1983 began by writing poetry.
During an honors English class at Blazer, a teacher had students enter the Jesse Stuart Invitational Literary Festival, in which she won an honorable mention.
However, her higher education focused on more precise sciences. Newman received a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from Georgetown College and a master of science degree in chemistry from Marshall University.
“I needed to get some life experience,” she said. “I needed to meet a lot of different people and observe a lot of different people.”
She got that experience in the work place; eventually, though, her interests and goals returned to writing.
In 2003, she started writing in earnest.
“I was in a good place and I wanted to see if I could make a go of it,” she said.
Although there were many rejections, as all writers receive, in March 2004 she had a poem published for the first time. It is titled “Atomic Mistress” and was published in Scared Naked magazine.
Since then, Newman has sold 129 poems and 13 short stories. She recently learned she on third place in the Balticon 40 Poetry Contest for her poem “The Missing Link.” In addition to selling her work to online magazines, she’s also associate editor of Appalling Limericks and horror editor for Afterburn S.F. She’s also had a book of horror haiku published by Sam’s Dot Publishing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The book is called EEKU: A Collection of Dark Scifaiku. Her book of 50 horror poems titled “ChemICKals” is due out in July from Naked Snake Press and she hopes to write a novel soon.
Last year, she won first place in the Kentucky State Poetry Society with her poem, “A Survivor of the Titanic Remembers.” Previously, she had placed on the competition and this year, she will be a judge.
Reading horror and watching horror movies are not only something Newman likes to do, but the help her career, to an extent.
“I like to know what other writers are doing so I won’t duplicate it,” she said. “But I don’t want to know too much because I don’t want to copy their style.”
There’s little chance of that, though. Newman said she never lacks for ideas and the opportunity to be creative is what drew her to the genre.
“I like to really use my imagination,” she said.
Money played a role, too.
“I started with poetry and went to the Poet’s Market (reference book),” she said. “A lot of stuff that paid was horror.”
Newman said she does write some mainstream pieces.
“The poem ‘The Man Without Arms’ was inspired by a childhood experience,” she said of the poem that was in the online magazine Verse Libre Quarterly. “It’s based on a man who had no arms and begged outside
the Lazarus department store in Columbus, Ohio.”
Newman has advice for writers of any genre.
“Be patient,” she said. “Don’t give up. I know I’m unusual. I had success very quickly. It’s work. You just have to keep at it and be patient.”
Don’t let rejections get you down, she advised. She doesn’t. Every week, she makes sure to send out something to a publication.
“Just because one editor doesn’t like it doesn’t mean another editor won’t,” she said.
Sometimes, editors give constructive criticism. That’s a good thing, Newman said, adding she considers what they have to say and use the criticism if she agrees with it, and she often does.
That kind of flexibility is another important quality to have as a freelance writer.
“I don’t have a degree in it,” she said. “So I might be more flexible because I know I don’t know.”
Most of her advice can be followed if, she said, “you put your ego in a thimble and develop a tough skin.”
LEE WARD can be reached at lward@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2661.
