You have been multi-published in a variety of genres.  Do you have a favorite, or Is that like asking you to choose your favorite child?

I always like the book I'm writing best. I grew up reading all kinds of books, and I still enjoy almost all genres. When I have an idea for a story, I simply try to tell it the best I can. Sometimes I'm surprised by the genre I end up working in.

I actually started writing short fiction. I was incredibly influenced by Southern writers like Eudora Welty, Flannery O'Connor, and Doris Betts. I never imagined writing anything longer than a short story. But when my agent suggested I try a novel, I boldly stepped off the ledge. And free fell for a long way.

But I give myself permission to explore any story that I imagine. My newspaper training has taught me to "write fast" and that does give me a chance to try new things.
 
Kirkus Reviews' excellent critique of your earlier book in the series, Bones To Pick, describes your cozy mystery series as "Stephanie Plum meets the Ya-Ya Sisterhood."  That review also says your series gives "an informative peek into an alien culture"--meaning southern life.  What are some of the unique cultural attributes and foibles of southern women like your heroine, Sarah?  Do you personally know whereof you speak?

I am a Southerner, a native of Mississippi. Stereotypes of Southerners abound, some amusing and some not so. In the books, I play with that a bit. Tinkie is a Daddy's Girl, a woman who has her father wrapped around her finger and who knows how to "manage" a man so smoothly he never knows he's been managed. Sarah Booth was raised in a different manner, but she knows and understands the DG culture. Beneath both Tinkie's and Sarah Booth's exterior are complex characters. That's so much of the fun for me--to peel back the surface of my Zinnia gang members and expose the rich, complex center of each character.  And if I get to throw in a few Southern expressions, which I adore, then all the better. Jitty, the haint, is a perfect foil for all of this, and for binding the present to the past, which is a fine Southern tradition.
 
You have written nonfiction and essays tied to your home state of Mississippi for which you have won a prestigious award.  Although there are obvious differences between writing non-fiction and fiction, as a teacher of creative writing, what would you say are some of the similarities--perhaps some which strengthen your fiction?  Has your background as a photojournalist also contributed to the power of your award-winning fiction such as your Bones series?

When I worked as a journalist, I loved my job. It gave me access to people and places I wouldn't otherwise have had. I witnessed some hard and tragic things--fires, drownings, wrecks, homicides. Those things leave lasting impressions, and it likely explains some of my attraction to crime fiction. So my background has greatly influenced me.

I left journalism with one clear bit of wisdom: News reporting involves facts. Fiction involves truth. While my fiction is made up, there is emotional truth on every page. In fiction, I can tell the whole story. The facts seldom, if ever, reveal the entire truth.

Both fiction and nonfiction live or die based on structure. In fiction, you have to make it up. In nonfiction, you have to assemble the facts you have--it's two different skills, really. But character development, forward movement, voice--those are tools shared by both fiction and nonfiction writers. And both types of writing share passion. If I'm not passionate about a character or story, I won't write it. Life's too short.

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Karen Harper has been published for 25 years. She won the 2006 Mary Higgins Clark Award.  A former college and high school English instructor, Harper currently writes contemporary suspense for Mira Books and historical novels for Putnam. She and her husband divide their time between Ohio and Florida.