Karen Carnahan is a YA fantasy author whose love of storytelling began in childhood in Maryland. At eighteen, she joined the U.S. Navy, where traveling the world deepened her sense of adventure and broadened her understanding of people and cultures, using experiences that now shape the worlds she creates. She devoured the works of V. C. Andrews, Terry Brooks, and later R. A. Salvatore and J. K. Rowling.
Karen’s writing journey began with poetry in the early 2000s, earning placements in several anthologies and teaching her early lessons about the importance of reputable publishing. In 2008, she submitted her first manuscript to Harlequin, whose feedback strengthened her resolve to grow as a writer. A devastating hard drive failure erased her revised manuscript, prompting a pause in her creative work but not in her passion.
That spark reignited in 2017, leading her to pursue formal study at the Open University in the UK and later at Southern New Hampshire University, where she is earning her BA in Creative Writing and English with a focus on fiction. She self‑published her YA fantasy A Ranger: Solsticeborn and Legacy of the Seven White Towers.
Karen lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of West Virginia with her husband, granddaughter, and their energetic Chihuahua/Jack Russell mix, Spunky. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys cooking, baking, crocheting, sewing, and reading. She is committed to crafting immersive, character‑driven fantasy stories that inspire young readers to embrace courage, curiosity, and hope.
To contact me, please email me at K.L.Carnahan@outlook.com.
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