I have been a fan of Jaclyn Weldon White's writing since I read Whisper to the Black Candle (Mercer University Press), so I was delighted when I learned she had put out a new book. Pure Evil is the riveting and often shocking account of Rebecca Akins, formerly[..]
I made cornbread. The old-fashioned kind. You know, with corn meal and flour, not the kind that comes out of a Jiffy or Dave's box. There was a time when I knew how to make cornbread from heart, the way I do my biscuits. Today,[..]
Editor's Note: I first met author Ann Hite through her book Ghost on Black Mountain. It was one of the best ghost story novels I had read in decades. Ann and I share a love of Appalachia and the stories that come out of the mountains.[..]
Just to give you a bit of insight into how messed up our current Veterans Administration system is, listen up. A couple of weeks ago, I received an official letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs. That might not seem like an unusual thing to the[..]
Almost daily now I receive a text or email from folks wanting to know 1) if I am okay 2) why haven't I been on Facebook. I am touched by the many kindhearted people I have encountered over my life, on and off Facebook. Many[..]
I arose with a hangover. I wish it was the result of drinking on Mamie's front porch. To be sure, the wine was wonderful, the stories swapped compelling. The best thing about book tour is the people I meet, the stories I hear. The[..]
Readers often ask me how I come up with the names for my characters. Some of them, come from some deep cave within me, a place so unfamiliar to even me that I cannot possibly identify the reasons why I chose that particular name[..]
It's the time now when I have finished one book and about to get started on another. It's time for resetting. A time where I prepare for book tour. This last book in the Appalachian series will include a talk/presentation for ancestry buffs, so I'm[..]
One of the great joys of being a writer is getting to read the work of other writers before it goes to print. I did that recently with a novel by Milinda Jay of Panama City, Florida. I have known Milinda for several years[..]
Author/Journalist Karen Spears Zacharias is a Gold Star daughter and an alumni of Oregon State University.
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.
Karen's upcoming book 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