aised in a family where storytelling was as common as eating a meal together. Her father created vivid characters such as, Ralph, the pig who floated down creeks and stole pies from window sills. It was years later during a conversation with her grandmother that she learned Ralph never really existed. These fictitious tales and fables fueled her imagination and it was no wonder her first published books were for children. She was equally influenced by the multicultural community in which she lived and the power in the stories that were told. She began writing for teens and adults out of the sheer desire to write about culture and the biases that live in America and to invent characters and scenarios that are innately human. Karen wants to entertain readers while noticing human insecurity, biases, injustice through story. But like Ralph, her novels are pure fiction from places where a story was simply lying around waiting to be noticed. Artista by the Sea is her first adult novel and was spurred by her love for Italia and Monterey magical coastlines and by her own struggles as a writer/performer. Karen is a writing professor at American River College in Northern California. She also teaches dance and yoga and has her own production company.