Karen, a well-known artist, has also enjoyed writing poetry and novels in the last twelve years. She started with a poetry class at North Island College with instructor Derek Hanebury, then went on to completing “The Writing Studio” program at Simon Fraser University with mentor Stella Harvey in 2019 and in 2021 the Grad Studies in Creative Writing at SFU with Aislinn Hunter. Writing became another medium of expression and she often sits down to complete a sketch and ends up with a poem. Her writing credits include her first novel, “Across a Prairie Sky”, “Ronald and Donald”, a childrens’ book written and illustrated by Karen, and an instructional book on teaching drawing to children, “Artworx for Kids”. In 2019 an excerpt from “One Thousand Days” was published in Emerge and another excerpt in July 2021 in iHastings. In September, 2021 she contributed a short story, “Fishing in the Alberni Inlet” to the Alberniology book. Her poem, “Almost September” was published in the Ladysmith Arts Council publication last spring. Her latest novel, “One Thousand Days” is a story about a young Canadian soldier, her father, who was a member of the Queens Own Cameron Highlanders of Winnipeg, deployed to England in December, 1940. His tour of duty in England lasts until August

1942 when Lloyd and his fellow Camerons find themselves swept into a devastating and bloody battle on the beaches of Dieppe in northern France.  He was captured in the ill-fated raid and imprisoned in Stalag V111B and later Stalag 2D as a prisoner of war for a total of two and a half years. The reader follows his footsteps through his struggles in the camps, his attempts at freedom and resulting solitary confinement, the death march from Stargaard, Poland to Neubrandenburg, Germany and finally the long march on foot through war torn Germany to the British lines in 1945, to freedom and home. It’s a story of violent clashes and love, its hard and soft edges against a background of stirring tension bring the reader through the turbulent years of World War 2.  She says this about her novel, ”One Thousand Days”: “The personal details that make a story come alive were passed to me by my parents. It is in fact their story. My mother lived a long life and during her later years she was a wonderful source of information, both about the war and what life was like in wartime Canada. She had saved journals and letters and what a treasure trove of information. I have included some in the body of the story to add authenticity and interest.”

She adds: “With a new project constantly on the horizon, I’m never bored and am grateful for the enjoyment of a lifetime of creating.”

 

January 31st, 2024 Atma 10 min  Spotlight ( Gibson's B.C)

Event Details => https://alberni.ca/events/37360 YouTube => https://youtu.be/eYk64SHY_co