They say it is about God not the guns ... They say it's because America needs to humble itself before God. They say it's because we took prayer out of schools. They say it's because we are no-longer a God-fearing nation. They say it's because[..]
[caption id="attachment_5706" align="aligncenter" width="345"] Ned & me in Portland following a surgery he had undergone a few years back.[/caption] We met on plane somewhere over the Pacific. Or maybe it was the South China Sea. I don't know for sure, given it was pitch dark[..]
Like thousands across this nation, I start back to school next week. My graduate program was always going to be through distance learning so Covid doesn't disrupt that. As this week's DNC proved, there is a lot to be gained from virtual realities. Narrative[..]
[caption id="attachment_5051" align="alignleft" width="933"] This is a picture of what it means to have socialized healthcare - Those who are able carry those who are unable.[/caption] Everyone, except the one-percenters, know that our healthcare system is broken. It's not just that a trip to the[..]
I was not born in the United States. I am, in fact, the only family member who was not born in Hawkins County, Tennessee. My mother, my father, my sister, my brother - all born there. As far as I know all my aunts and[..]
I asked a classroom full of high school students: How many of you grew up in a home where your parents read books? Two students raised their hands. Two. Each one answered that "my mom reads." I asked again: "Anyone here grow up in a[..]
The Associated Press put out this story about the family of Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot who murdered 149 people with an airplane last week. It was an article stating that the Lutheran pastor and their church community was standing with the Lubitz family during[..]
There is this open-door policy at The Art Factory. Well, not so much of an open door as it is just an overall hospitality thing. Mary Beth Holladay has the gift of hospitality. She's a terrific hostess, always serving others and creating spaces of beauty[..]
We were invited to attend a concert in the village up the road a'piece. Every artist needs a promoter who believes in their work and direct others to it Claire is her mother's biggest fan. "She wrote a song for me," Claire says. "Middle child."[..]
Author/Journalist Karen Spears Zacharias is a Gold Star daughter and an alumna of Oregon State University, Shepherd University and University of West Scotland.
Karen's work has been featured in the Washington Post, New York Times, CNN, National Public Radio, and Good Morning America.
Her debut novel, Mother of Rain (Mercer University Press), received the Weatherford Award for Best in Appalachian Fiction from Berea College and was adapted for the stage by Georgia's Historic State Theater, The Springer. In 2018, Karen was named Appalachian Heritage Writer by Shepherd University, and Mother of Rain was chosen as the One Book One West Virginia Read.
Her first true crime book A Silence of Mockingbirds was chosen by the city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as the One City Read.
The Murder Gene is her second true crime work.
Karen and her husband, Tim, make their home in Deschutes County, Oregon.
For more information on Karen and her books, click here