​I've posted a new "Put This One on Your TBR List" review of Miscellaneous Selections by T. Kingfisher/Ursula Vernon on the Alien Romances Blog.
 
Check it out here: https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2026/02/put-this-one-on-your-tbr-list-review-of.html

In an off-shoot of my Put This One on Your TBR List review series, this week I review Trapped by Michael Northrop on the Alien Romances Blog.
 
Check it out here: https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2026/02/put-this-one-on-your-tbr-list-book.html

I’ve posted an original article called “Valentine's Day: Passion, Peace, and Purpose” with my artwork on the Alien Romances Blog.
 
Check it out here: https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2026/02/valentines-day-passion-peace-and.html

​I was featured in Margaret L. Carter’s February 2026 News from the Crypt Newsletter. You can read it here (and sign up for the Crypt): https://www.margaretlcarter.com/newsletter-245-february-2026/

Below, I’ve reposted the interview in its entirety:
 
What inspired you to become a writer?
 
Honestly? The library! From the time I started grade school, my favorite place was the library. I'd never seen so many books in one place before! All we had for reading in my home were a very old dictionary (which I read from page one to the last--it was missing both front and back covers as well as a couple of the end papers; a moldy, cloth-bound copy of a Nancy Drew book that was pulled from the well; and weekly editions of TV Guide that I read compulsively, as it was really the only consistent reading material that came into the house). Even in kindergarten, the librarian saw my love of books and stories and reading. She gave me a job working in the library, and I was always allowed the right to check out the brand new books as soon as they came in. Storytime was a special part of every day for me. I would fall into wonder, becoming the main characters in each one, with the varied stories that the librarian (or my mom) read to us. I was in my single digits when I wrote my first story (and illustrated it, too). Fast-forward from my first book being published in 1998, and I've now written all the books I ever plan to (156 of them!) and will retire from writing as soon as my publisher and I finish editing the last of them--hopefully this year or shortly thereafter. We have seven last ones to finish up, not including a children's story I'd like to see reissued. In my retirement, I'm hoping to illustrate the children's books my sister (author Linda Derkez) and I write either together or separately.
 
Please tell us about your work. Are they connected among each other in any way? Does the reading order of the novels matter?
 
​My contemporary romance series include Adventures in Amethyst Series, Angelfire Series, Cowboy Fever Series, Gypsy Road Series, Kaleidoscope Series, Wounded Warriors Series. Other contemporary romance single-titles I've written include RESTLESS AS RAIN and a 2-in-1 set of novellas. For most of these, there is some overlap in terms of certain characters or locations making appearances in one or more of the other series titles or within the standalones. My favorite among these series: Adventures is Amethyst Series, set in Amethyst, Wisconsin, a small, peaceful town on a pristine lake with an active tourist season in summer. When the air turns chill, the area is transformed into a ghost town with only a handful of lifers who stay. Populated with colorful characters, Amethyst is bursting with mystery, romance, and jealousy. Come and visit a place where anything is possible all-year-round.
 
As for inspirational/Christian romance, I've written Family Heirlooms Series and the spinoff Friendship Heirlooms Series. Peaceful Pilgrims Series is set in the same town of Peaceful, Wisconsin and features some of the secondary characters from the Heirlooms installments. Some of the Peaceful Pilgrims stories are Christian, but not all. Peaceful is a small community with old-fashioned values and friendly people you'll want to get to know and visit often.
 
I also write suspense. Denim Blues Mysteries is a cozy mystery trilogy. Falcon's Bend Series was a long-running series set in my made-up Falcon's Bend that was more hardcore with police procedurals--including both novels and many shorter offerings collected in "Case Files" anthologies. My romantic suspense/action-adventure series, Incognito, features a covert branch of the government called The Network and deals with the complicated, dangerous lives of its operatives. This award-winning, 12-book series is in the process of being reissued by my publisher (fingers crossed that Books 9-12 become available again this year or possibly next).
 
I have a romantic science fiction/futuristic series called Arrow of Time Chronicles that features a descendent of my beloved clumsy girl Zoë Bertoletti (from Family and Friendship Heirlooms series) on board the human spaceship Aero. When mankind realized Earth would become uninhabitable, Humans built space habitations. Their first allies arrived in 2073 and shared their technology to power ships through space corridors that fold space and time. Only 58 years into their struggle for survival, an enemy emerges. In the wake of this threat an organic menace is only beginning to be recognized, ensuring the annihilation of every living thing if, together, they can't find a way to stop it.
 
Bloodmoon Cove Spirits Series includes paranormal/supernatural horror novels all set in the eerie (made-up) town of Bloodmoon Cove. Nestled on Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin is a small, secluded town with volatile weather, suspicious folk…and newly awakened ghosts. Don’t close your eyes…
 
Woodcutter's Grim Series has a mix of shorts and novels. These speculative romances contain twists of fantasy and horror that stem from retold fairy tales. For the ten generations since the evil first came to Woodcutter's Grim, the Guardians have sworn an oath to protect the town from the childhood horrors that lurk in the black woods. Without them, the town would be defenseless…and the terrors would escape to the world at large.
 
In the single-title realm under the speculative romance umbrella, I've written SWEET DREAMS and a 2-in-1 set of novellas.
 
I've also written a smattering of poetry and children's books, and my seven-volume writing reference collection 3D Fiction Fundamentals is in the process of being published and/or reissued with a brand new offering on the horizon. This how-to course covers the A to Z's of crafting the highest quality fiction. Each of the main books comes with a Bonus Companion Booklet which has any blank worksheets from the main book provided free in an editable digital file. A print edition is available for a fee. Some of the bonus booklets also contain detailed examples and exercises.
 
My body of work is undergoing all new covers and manuscript formatting, and this overhaul has resulted in the decision to offer many of my series installments in a single volume. As such, book re-numbering is also being undertaken for several of my series. I hope this huge task will be completed this year, or, at the latest, 2027.
 
The reading order for all my series is listed on my website on a page called "Suggested Reading Order".
 
What is your latest or next-forthcoming book?
 
My very last work of fiction came out (fittingly, given the supernatural theme) in October 2025, the epic conclusion of Bloodmoon Cove Spirits Series, BAD BLOOD, Book 11, which wraps up all the series arcs that have developed over the course of the previous ten installments. George and Rafe, some of the last descendants of the Mino-Miskwi Native American tribe whose elders disappeared 125 years ago after tearing a hole in the veil between worlds, have been featured in all previous books in the series. From the beginning, George has been cautious about anything mystical. But is eldritch justice the only thing that can heal Erie County's paranormal vulnerability once and for all? In this wrap-up novel, the already thin veil between worlds may be sundered completely.
 
My very last brand-new book will come out hopefully within the next several months: Volume 4 of my 3D Fiction Fundamentals Collection: WRITING THE OVERARCHING SERIES {or How I Sent a Clumsy Girl into Outer Space}. As I'm writing this, my publisher and I are editing Volume 3, which will be the reissue of WRITING THE STANDALONE SERIES, formerly published by Writer's Digest Books as WRITING THE FICTION SERIES {The Complete Guide for Novels and Novellas}. I've extensively re-written it to detail how to most effectively write these two very different types of series.
 
What is the URL of your website? What about other internet presence?
 
https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/
https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog  
http://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/karenwiesner   
 
I have a large collection of articles I've written, as well as videogame reviews and checklists, which you'll find on my website. Be sure to check out my blog while there, where I post my sporadic art practice (with the goal of illustrating children's books), my weekly (Friday) posts including hundreds of my "enriched" book reviews on the Alien Romances blog, book releases, reviews, and other updates concerning the entire scope of my work.
 
As I head rapidly toward retirement as a writer, this interview feels like a fitting summary and wrap-up of my entire career. Thank you for this opportunity, Margaret.

I've posted a new "Put This One on Your TBR List" review of Three Fantasy Horror Selections by T. Kingfisher on the Alien Romances Blog.
 
Check it out here: https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2026/02/oldies-but-goodies-put-this-one-on-your.html