Today we’d like to introduce you to Connie Kronlokken.
Hi Connie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
If I had known what I wanted as a little kid in North Dakota, it would have been to write. The oldest of eight kids, I was the one with my nose in a book and a kid on my hip. I am in the third generation of a cohesive community of Norwegian and Danish immigrants. After getting a classical education at a Lutheran college and a library degree at the University of Michigan, I came to California, where culture was being made. By this time, I knew I wanted to write. I had to make a living, of course, and I participated fully in the party that was San Francisco in the 1970’s. But, in addition, I have now published ten books, mostly under my own imprint, Lightly Held Books.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Time and money have been challenges for me, as they are for any artist. By the time I was able to write the series “So Are You to My Thoughts,” I felt so pressured to finish the books, I didn’t take enough time to look for an agent or publisher. My work doesn’t fit in currently marketable genres, in any case. Self-publishing presented itself and my ace in the hole was my husband, Don Starnes, who designed stunning covers for the books.
Book publishing is terrifically competitive, but despite these challenges, I feel privileged to be able to tell stories that bring us back to human feelings and experiences. We learn from each other, and good fiction acts like a thoughtful friend with whom we can exchange ideas while away an empty afternoon or seek understanding. Reading all forms of literature opens us up!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
In “So Are You to My Thoughts” I tell the story of three siblings growing up in an insular community who are seduced by the multiplicity of the external world. Using the strengths they derive from a close family, they make their lives in ways no one could have expected. This is long-form writing! I gave myself seven books to tell the story over a 50-year period, from the Eisenhower presidency to that of Barack Obama. The books are episodic, realistic, and hew to a classical, rather than a romantic sensibility. I expect them to stand the test of time.
The work I am currently doing also excites me! I publish a blog detailing admirable women characters (Women and Mountains), which I’ve been updating since 2013. I recently started one which considers the relationship between our infinite inner lives and our finite external ones (The Work of the Pilgrim). This blog reflects my own experience and thinking as honestly as I am able to do.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
The COVID-19 crisis didn’t affect my writing schedule, but it has interrupted my attempts to get to know Los Angeles! I had been here not quite a year when the lockdowns started. I live east of the river, close to downtown, and I can’t wait to get back to the garden at the back of the Disney concert hall. I love coffee shops, writing in them while watching the world go by. I was sad to lose Demitasse in Little Tokyo. I look forward to the opening of the Sixth Street bridge and the new Regional Connector transit project.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: http://lightlyheldbooks.com
- Instagram: @conniekronlokken
Image Credits:
Don Starnes
