Karen Truesdell Riehl
Bellingham, Washington, Terre Haute, Indiana
Although I cursed it in my youth, dyslexia turned out to be a blessing in disguise. My eighth eBook, Ghosts of the Queen Mary, was published last year on Kindle, Nook, iBooks and other digital readers. My nonfiction novel, Helga: Growing Up in Hitler's Germany, was a 2015 San Diego Book Awards winner.
Not being able to read or write until the age of ten forced me to express myself through acting. At the Stephens College playhouse in Missouri I fell in love with an actor, a married actor. That experience led to the publication of my first book, Love and Madness: My Private Years with George C. Scott.
When I found myself pregnant, my friend, Tammy Grimes, who later became a two-time Tony Award winner (The Unsinkable Molly Brown and Private Lives) helped me find the Florence Crittenden Home for Unwed Mothers outside of Boston, where I gave birth to our daughter. My play, Bad Girl, was based on that experience.
Years later George returned to my life (Hello Again).
The hardships of war and the Great Depression that mark my family's history led me to write Saturday Night Dance Club.
After living in Terre Haute, Indiana, and earlier in North Conway New Hampshire, near the home of Peyton Place author, Grace Metalious, I was inspired to write Freedom's Sins, a story of scandals in a small town.
Getting lost for several hours during a brief stay near the abandoned military base scared me into writing The Ghosts of Fort Ord.
My nonfiction novel, Helga: Growing Up in Hitler's Germany, is based on my interview of a former member of the Jugend, Hitler's child army.
My many overnight weekend getaways on the famous Queen Mary led me to write The Ghosts of the Queen Mary, a whimsical ghost tale.
I love to hear from readers of my books. Email me, follow me on twitter, or friend me on Facebook. Click here for my in-depth Q/A interview on Smashwords.com.