Karen Lynn Allen writes with a wide-ranging imagination grounded in compassion and humor. Her latest novel, In the Land of Porcelain, is a romantic comedy that reflects her experiences in corporate America. Her second novel, Beaufort 1849, is historical fiction about the birthplace of the secession movement in South Carolina. Her earlier novel, Universal Time, is a sci-fi comedy set in San Francisco and a host of extraplanetary locales.

Karen spent her early childhood in San Francisco and her later childhood in Edmonds, Washington. Always a voracious reader but concerned about job prospects, she studied both English and industrial engineering at Stanford University. Careening from Chaucer to circuits sometimes made her brain hurt, but no doubt it was good for her. After graduation she worked at several large corporations, alternately frustrated and amused by surreality of it all. Writing was always her true love, and eventually she made her way back to it. Now, as an indie author, she doesn’t write to formula. She follows where her imagination takes her.

Karen lives in San Francisco with her husband and cat in a house with eighty-eight stairs to the front door. She has three grown children, and she loves to run in Golden Gate Park and walk the hills of San Francisco. She’s grateful she has such fantastic fans, and she always enjoys meeting them.