UPDATE: Our sincerest apologies. This post was suppose to publish yesterday (2/20/13). Due to a technical error, that didn’t happen! So without further ado, check out our EXCLUSIVE on Kalen Nation’s HARKEN.

What made you choose to write this story in a modern day,
non fictional world as opposed to the magical world in Bran
Hambric?

There are so many conspiracy theories in our world that I didn’t need to make up
a new place for them. Because HARKEN deals with actual beliefs involving our
government and media, I knew I had to set it as close to our world as I could.

There’s also something special in being able to go to the city where your
characters live. I’ve been to Arleta many times and I can clearly imagine
something mysterious happening there.

Are there any parallels between Michael and Bran?

Not intentionally. I think in every character I create, there’s a tiny piece of me
inside, so Bran and Michael will always have that echo in common. I also
realized long after I’d finished the book that both Bran and Michael express
themselves through visual art: Bran likes to draw, Michael likes to take
photographs. Somehow they both use pictures to decode the world around them.

What made you choose the setting of Los Angeles (aside from
the fact that you live there)?

Los Angeles is ENORMOUS. I can set a scene at the beach, in a skyscraper,
in the mountains, or in a neighborhood, and still have my characters in Los
Angeles. I like the freedom and my familiarity with the city. LA is also so large
that many of its corners could easily go overlooked, and secrets could lurk in the
shadows without raising suspicion.

What made you decide to self publish Harken?

While I was writing HARKEN, I posted videos and blogs talking about it, and it
gained a large following around the world before I even finished. That means
some people were waiting three years to read it. Publishers can take eighteen
months to get a book in stores and even then it’s only in the USA. I decided to
put HARKEN on Kindle before selling it to a publisher so that everyone could get
it immediately at a price teens can afford. And when HARKEN hits bookstores, it
will already have a dedicated following of readers who heard about it early.

Want to win some HARKEN swag? Of course you do!

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