It pains me to say, my parents used to get upset with me for reading too much. They went so far as to ban reading at the dining room table. I guess I can’t blame them because they rarely saw my face. Reading was my escape from the chaos of my reality. Being one of ten kids meant there was rarely peace and quiet. Add to that the fact that my parents took in foster children for 17 years and you can certainly imagine why books were my much-needed escape. By the time I finished 5th grade I had read Gone with the Wind three times. I truly wanted to be Katie Scarlett O’Hara.
I was recruited out of college to teach English and Speech in the Appleton Area School District (6th largest district in Wisconsin) and stayed there for a couple of decades. During that time I earned a Master’s degree in English and a Doctorate degree in Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Administration. Talking about books with middle and high school kids was an amazing experience, but I chose to move on to a professorial appointment.
I won multiple poetry writing contests before graduating from high school and started writing my first novel my senior year. Sadly, I never finished that one (historical fiction), and then life found a way of intruding upon my creative writing time. In the past two years I have finally given myself permission to WRITE!
I have the three most wonderful kids in the world. To them, I have given the gifts of travel, curiosity and sarcasm (a language in which I am fluent). To me, they have given enough material to write books for the rest of my life.
I will be perfectly happy as a human being to live out the rest of my days writing, talking about writing, exploring new topics for writing, and reading every opportunity I get…even if it is at the dining room table.
Upcoming Author Events 2026
Evening With the Arts
Friday, March 13th, 3 pm – 6 pm
The Highlands at Dove Mountain, Marana, AZ
Sizzlin’ Summer Gala
Saturday, June 13, 11 am – 3 pm
Circle B Rec, Cedarburg, WI
Autumn Harvest
Saturday, August 15th, 9 am – 2 pm
Tundra Lodge, Green Bay, WI
Fall Harvest Craft and Vendor Fair
Saturday, September 19th, 10 am – 3 pm
Fond du Lac County Fairgrounds Expo Center, Fond du Lac, WI
Fall Fest
Sunday, October 18th, 10 am – 3 pm
Poplar Creek Barn, Oshkosh, WI
Holiday Gift and Craft Show
Saturday, November 28, 8 am – 5 pm
Resch Expo Center, Green Bay, WI
Holiday Gift and Craft Show
Saturday, December 19th, 8 am – 4 pm
Fox Cities Expo Center, Appleton, WI
Karen Gibson 