My friend the always witty and brilliant Celia Rivenbark reached out to me to ask what did I think of all the "Karen" memes going around on Social Media. She is the only person besides my husband who has asked how I felt about having my[..]
There are times when grief feels selfish. Today for instance, on the seventh anniversary of my mother's passing. It feels like an act of selfishness to even admit that I associate the holidays with her death, and that such an association leaves me feeling conflicted.[..]
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[..]
Things have been busy around these parts, what with a wedding approaching in two weeks, Spring Break this week, sick kiddos last week, and finally buying a new (to us) rig more suitable to this region. The stuff of life. Car shopping is such a[..]
Under Arizona law, the task of replacing Senator John McCain falls to Governor Doug Ducey. Political pundits far and wide are speculating on who the governor might appoint. Frontrunners include Jon Kyl, the former Senator from Arizona (1995-2013). Kyl has taken the lead on the[..]
She was telling a story, as people do when they gather together on a porch, or around a dinner table. Just a funny story, something that made her laugh, that made us laugh as she recounted it. But right in the middle of her story,[..]
I had an opportunity recently to go around the neighborhood and meet my neighbors. We are all new here. I met a nurse from Texas, a soldier from Portland, a retired life flight fella who is Jewish, an immigrant from Germany, two moms of toddlers.[..]
There I was at my desk working my way through some pretty awful crime scene photos. A girl I once knew splayed out on the floor in a pool of blood. They aren't the first crime scene photos I've seen. I've witnessed a bloated[..]
The first thing I usually do after preparing a manuscript for publication is to read new work. That's right. I start reading all the books I didn't have time to read prior. Currently, I'm reading MY NAME IS LUCY BARTON. The book got great reviews[..]
Some of my best friends are white evangelicals who voted for Trump. As you might imagine that has created a fissure Grand Canyon-wide between us and threatens to destroy the very relationships that have weathered storms for 30 years or more. I am saddened by[..]
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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