I live in the state of juxtapositions. For the past week I've been in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, home to Shepherd University, where I am enrolled as a graduate student in Appalachian Studies. It's a program I've been a part of for the past couple[..]
I have friends who knew from the time they were young'uns that they wanted to be writers when they grew up. I don't know how a child knows such a thing. I loved reading from an early age but I never gave much thought to[..]
Y'all please excuse me for this post. It's a bit of a bragging one, so my apologies up front. I just can't be hush about this any longer. Over a year ago now, I was contacted by the brilliant Dr. Sylvia Shurbutt. Dr. Shurbutt is[..]
I love new things, don't you? New socks. New mascara. New sheets. New towels. New shoes. New books. New friends. I mean I love old things, too. Old jeans. Old boots. Old photos. Old jewelry. Old books. Old friends. There's just something comforting[..]
In late February, four short weeks ago now, a letter arrived in my inbox. I was on the phone with a big city New York agent working out details for another literary event, for another author, when I clicked open the email from Jason Howard,[..]
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