 Zinnia in the Dirt Photography @ Karen Wiesner  Zinnia in the Dirt Sketch @ Karen Wiesner This year, for the first time, I planted seeds and had them come up. This first zinnia came up in a very dirty, messy place. I took a photograph of it, printed it, then sketched it. After that, I printed two copies of my sketch. The first copy, I rendered in watercolor. The second, I used coloring pencils. The dirt and debris was the hardest to deal with in each of the mediums. Not sure I was entirely successful, but in any case, I had fun working on this one photograph in a variety of ways.  Zinnia in the Dirt Watercolor @ Karen Wiesner  Zinnia in the Dirt Coloring Pencil @ Karen Wiesner
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 In an off-shoot of my Put This One on Your TBR List review series, Oldies But Goodies, this week I review Mount Dragon by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child on the Alien Romances Blog.
Check it out here: https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2025/06/oldies-but-goodies-put-this-one-on-your_0473619102.html  House in the Woods, Day 1 Sketch @ Karen Wiesner This sketch of a house in the woods was done over the course of two days. I did light lines to set the house and fences in place, then I worked on the forest around it along with the yard plants. Today I darkened all the lines and added details. I'm not sure how to do realistic water. Apparently the shore line at the bottom was supposed to be horizontal without any vertical to help achieve that. I really like the technique I used for creating texture in the plants. It's very hard to see in the (bad) photo I took of the sketch though, so this really doesn't do it justice. Another one you have to see it in person to get the full effect. I loved doing this. Loved the straight lines and the forest texture. I want to do more like this next week.  House in the Woods, Day 2 Sketch @ Karen Wiesner
Some "vintage" sketches I did. Kids are very hard. They have big heads and no necks so they look like small adults. But I also feel like these two sketches are a little like the Little House kids book illustrations (though, of course, nowhere near as good). I'm enjoying these.
 In an off-shoot of my Put This One on Your TBR List review series, Oldies But Goodies, this week I review Final Girls by Riley Sager on the Alien Romances Blog.
Check it out here: https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2025/06/oldies-but-goodies-put-this-one-on-your.html I’m easing back into art and chose a simple, coloring pencil project. Started out promising the first two days but I didn’t end up loving the end product the final day. In any case, it did give me back my eagerness to return to practicing art.  Cat Day 1 by Artwork @ Karen Wiesner  Cat Day 2 by Artwork @ Karen Wiesner  Cat Day 3 by Artwork @ Karen Wiesner  I received my first review for REKINDLED, Book 6: Peaceful Pilgrims Series:
4 Stars! “The motif of a couple reuniting after years apart is not uncommon in romance fiction, but making that couple middle-aged grandparents is seldom seen. I enjoyed reading a passionate love story between two people of mature years. Their youthful romance reminds me of Romeo and Juliet, falling in love at first meeting, in defiance of the furious opposition of the girl's father. Instead of a tragic double suicide, however, the whirlwind elopement of Landon and Nickira ends in a bitter breakup that would apparently justify an ‘I told you so’ reaction from Nickira's family. After sad misunderstandings, faults on both sides, and decades of estrangement, how can these two possibly reconcile with each other and rediscover a deeper, more solid incarnation of their first love? Although a happy ending seems impossible for them, the author leads us to accept it as not only possible but, finally, inevitable. I admire the intensity created by sticking to the classic ‘unities’ of time and place, with all the present-time action occurring over a couple of days dominated by preparation for a wedding--a situation ideal for forcing long-separated family members together with stressful emotions running high. At the same time, strategically constructed reminiscences and flashbacks lend depth to the story, as do the subplot threads involving Landon and Nickira's children. We root for the hero and heroine and believe in their hard-won emotional growth.” ~author Margaret L. Carter https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/peaceful-pilgrims-series.html https://www.writers-exchange.com/a-peaceful-pilgrim-novel-series/  I've posted a new "Put This One on Your TBR List" review of The Genius of Leonardo Da Vinci by Barrington Barber on the Alien Romances Blog.
Check it out here: https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2025/06/karen-s-wiesner-put-this-one-on-your.html  New Book Release!
REKINDLED, Peaceful Pilgrims Series: Book 6 Landon Robinson and Nickira Cassidy met and fell hard. The only child of filthy rich parents, she’s an heiress with obligations to fulfill. Her father had picked out the son of a close business associate for her when she was just a teenager, and she was already engaged years in advance of the anticipated wedding of the century. Landon convinced her to give it all up for him. He’d never fallen for any woman before, but he lost his head completely over Nickira. Her family disowned her when she got pregnant. In the fallout, a princess realized she wasn’t cut out for squalor and a dirt-poor playboy didn’t have the skills to hold onto the heaven he never expected to capture. Forty years later, divorced, neither of them feel any older or wiser. Reconciling how badly they’d messed up the one thing in their lives they both wish they’d given themselves to unconditionally seems impossible. Can dying embers rekindle? Genre: Contemporary Inspirational Romance/Women’s Fiction ISBN: 978-1-922548-64-1 ISBN PRINT D2D: 9798231827060 ASIN: B0FBGT16L8 Word Count: 67, 965/276 pages Read an excerpt and find out more: https://www.writers-exchange.com/rekindled/ https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/peaceful-pilgrims-series.html https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0FBJWB755?ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_tpbk_5&storeType=ebooks  I've posted a new "Put This One on Your TBR List" review of “The Oblivion Bride” by Caitlyn Starling on the Alien Romances Blog.
Check it out here: https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2025/06/put-this-one-on-your-tbr-list-book.html  Karen Wiesner’s Karen’s Quill Newsletter June 2, 2025 Website: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/ Blog: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog In addition to having been a popular writing reference instructor and writer, professional blurbologist and freelance editor, Karen Wiesner is the accomplished author of 156 titles published, which have been nominated/won for over a 130 awards. Karen’s books cover such genres as women’s fiction, romance, mystery/police procedural/cozy, suspense, thriller, paranormal, supernatural, futuristic, fantasy, science fiction, gothic, inspirational/Christian, horror, chick-lit, and action/adventure. She also writes children’s books, poetry, and writing reference titles which have been repackaged in the 3D Fiction Fundamentals Collection. WHAT'S NEW On the Alien Romances Blog, I'm reviewing books I love. Here are the latest: Warriors Anthology edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois: https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2025/05/oldies-but-goodies-put-this-one-on-your_0782512335.html The Terror by Dan Simmons: https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2025/05/oldies-but-goodies-put-this-one-on-your_0862620599.html “Caver, Continue” by Caitlyn Starling: https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2025/05/put-this-one-on-your-tbr-list-book.html “The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince” and “Words Like Coins” (The Realm of the Elderlings) by Robin Hobb: https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2025/05/oldies-but-goodies-put-this-one-on-your_02084389014.html NEWEST & UPCOMING RELEASES HELL HATH NO FURY, Book 10: Bloodmoon Cove Spirits Series Romantic Paranormal Horror Available now in paperback and electronic formats https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/bloodmoon-cove-spirits-series.html https://www.writers-exchange.com/bloodmoon-cove-spirits-series/ REKINDLED, Book 6: Peaceful Pilgrims Series Women's Fiction Available in paperback and electronic formats https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/peaceful-pilgrims-series.html https://www.writers-exchange.com/a-peaceful-pilgrim-novel-series/ EXILED HEARTS, Book 7: Peaceful Pilgrims Series Inspirational Romantic Fiction Coming soon in paperback and electronic formats https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/peaceful-pilgrims-series.html https://www.writers-exchange.com/a-peaceful-pilgrim-novel-series/ AUTHOR PAGES Writers Exchange: http://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/ Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Karen%20Wiesner Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/karenwiesner Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/karenwiesner BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/karen-wiesner WORKS IN PROGRESS MOMENTS https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/works-in-progress.html In 2025, I intend to work as if I'm already retired, except in the case of whenever my publisher is ready to work on editing my last nine books for publication/issue (not counting an OOP children's book I hope will be reissued). In that case alone, I will work on a schedule. Otherwise, I'll just follow whatever makes sense to work on at any given time. For the moment, my plan to practice and begin illustrating children's books has been put on hold. 2025 WIP Goals: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/works-in-progress.html |
AuthorWelcome to Karen's Quill, the blog of author Karen Wiesner. In addition to being a popular writing reference instructor and writer, professional blurbologist and freelance editor, Karen is the accomplished author of nearly 150 titles published in the past nearly 30 years, which have been nominated/won 134 awards, with 9 more releases contracted for spanning many genres and formats. Archives
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