It does not surprise me in the least that Republicans have made a young woman the focus of their fears. When they fail to get wins in every other area of their lives, this political group has always focused their attention on young women. It[..]
CNN asked a former evangelical what it would take for Evangelicals to abandon Trump and he replied: "People are often looking for some revelation that’s going to get people to stop supporting him but I think we’re beyond that in most cases." What CNN and[..]
Perhaps you read the story of the Alabama pastor who took his own life this week? My social media feeds have been full of the story of Bubba Copeland of Smiths Station, Alabama. I saw it when the news first broke of Copeland's death by[..]
I got word he is running for a job as a state legislator. That surprised me because as a public official in one of Oregon's rural cities, he's done nothing much other than show up at ribbon cuttings and every other photo op event. Years[..]
I grew up in a household full of frightened women waiting on that telegram in World War II - Joseph Galloway. On the day Joe Galloway died, I bought a wind-chime and hung it outside my office window. It had to be a certain kind[..]
There is an Appalachian word that been on my mind all day - Airish. You might hear one of the locals say, "Hit's kinda airish today." What they mean is the air feels lighter, not as much humidity or heaviness to it. They say it[..]
My plan was to tell you how grateful I was for all the work you all did to elect Jon Ossoff and Rev. Warnock. My plan was to tell you how all that work had ensured that my grandson, born on Epiphany, was welcomed into[..]
Someone asked poet Nikki Giovanni what she was most proud of as she looked back over her life. She replied: "I'm proud that I'm still sane. I think that sanity is important. I'm proud that I have enough sense to love the people who love[..]
I once preached a Sunday morning message at a church in Lumberton, North Carolina. The pastor had reached out to me while I was working as an editorial writer at the FayObserver in Fayetteville. He had read my book - Where's Your Jesus Now?[..]
To tell this story I have to take you back first to the summer of 1974. I was preparing to head to college in the North Georgia mountains. My family had already moved to the Pacific Northwest. I was living with Judge Rufe McCombs and[..]
Karen Spears Zacharias is an Appalachian writer, a former journalist, and author of numerous books, both fiction and non-fiction.
She holds a MA in Appalachian Studies from Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, West Virginia, and a MA in Creative Media Practice from the University of West Scotland, Ayr, Scotland.
Her debut novel Mother of Rain received the Weatherford Award for Best in Appalachian Fiction from The Loyal Jones Appalachian Center at Berea College, Kentucky.
Zacharias was named Appalachian Heritage Writer in 2018 by Shepherd University.
Her work has been featured on National Public Radio, CNN, the New York Times, Washington Post and in numerous anthologies.
She lives at the foot of the Cascade Mountains in Deschutes County, Oregon, where she’s an active member of the League of Women Voters and Central Oregon Writers Guild. She is a member of Phi Beta Delta and Phi Kappa Phi. A Gold Star daughter, she is a fierce advocate for democratic principles and women’s rights.
Zacharias taught First-Amendment Rights at Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington, and continues to teach at writing workshops around the country.
Her forthcoming novel No Perfect Mothers will be released by Mercer University Press, Spring 2024.
For more information on Karen and her books, click here
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