I don't actually know her but I met her father a long time ago, back when she was his son. Nobody is born into the world hoping for a difficult life. No kid growing up ever wants to be shunned, disowned by their own family.[..]
I've been working through the topic of forgiveness all year. It is the theme of the upcoming book - Christian Bend (Fall 2017, Mercer University Press). It's one of those God poetry things. I knew when I began writing this Appalachian tale that takes place in Tennessee[..]
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