I love to write about empowered women in history, horses, unconventional characters, and real-life historical events. My enthusiasm for these subjects gives my life purpose, and I am dedicated to sharing that enthusiasm with the world through my writing. I continue to learn and hone my craft to provide readers the joy of an escape from their everyday lives into a mystery from the past.
I love taking the spark of an idea and growing it into a full-length book. The spark often comes from something or someone in history that moves me or makes me think. I often wonder how people in the past, real or imagined, might have reacted to a mystery in their life.
I’m working on three separate series, all about empowered women in history. I have been honored to receive some awards for some of these unpublished novels. My manuscript Grace in the Wings placed in the Romantic Suspense category of the 2012 LERA Rebecca contest. In 2014 it placed in the NTRWA Great Expectations contest and in 2016 RWA’s Daphne du Maurier contest. In 2012 the unpublished manuscript of my recently released novel Girl with a Gun placed in the NHRWA Lone Star Writer’s contest.
I’ve written stories for as long as I can remember. I still have a note my third-grade teacher wrote to my mother saying “Kari loves writing stories in class.” That love of storytelling only grew stronger as I grew older. While working towards a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature at the University of San Diego, I finessed my coursework to include independent studies in my senior year. Those independent studies consisted of short story writing, playwriting, novel writing, and a debut as a theater director.
When I graduated, I took a job as a technical writer for a Fortune 500 Company. I wrote articles for the company newsletter, worked on video scripts, and completed an inter-company teleconferencing manual. To feed my creative side during this time, I volunteered in community theater and worked as a stage manager.
After marriage and children, I continued to work part-time. I wrote for magazines and newsletters, and also worked as a teacher of literature, reading, and drama. Later, I worked as an educational software provider and instructor. But, my passion for writing historical stories of romance, mystery, and intrigue could not be ignored. In my thirties, I wrote my first two novels and acquired my first agent. After several magnanimous rejections, combined with the demands of motherhood, I temporarily set aside my writing passion.
“Temporarily” because one’s passions never die. Several years later, I resurrected my writing career and completed three more novels. I continue to work on my three historical mystery series and hope to share them with the world, soon.
In addition to my passions for writing and my family, I am an avid horsewoman (see EquusPlus here). I train my own horses and compete at the local, regional, and national levels. I have won numerous awards in Dressage, Sport Horse, Western Dressage, and Western Trail. Always interested in improving my horsemanship skills, I study and practice natural horsemanship with the Parelli Program. I am currently on hiatus from competition, but enjoy playing with and riding my four horses several times a week.
My husband, Kevin, and I live in New Mexico, also known as the Land of Enchantment. We own a beautiful horse property nestled along the Rio Grande and live there with our two cats, four dogs, and four horses. Our two children are our greatest achievements, and I am proud to say they live happy, productive lives as entrepreneurs and professionals.