Karen Harter dreamed about being a writer for years, especially after getting strong encouragement from college professors. But the practical demands of life set the dream aside until it raised its head again in 1990. Harter’s work won second place in the contest at her first writer’s conference through Seattle Pacific University. She then began writing for magazines and soon editors began soliciting her for more stories. The following year she won first place at the same writer’s conference. She was asked to consider writing a regular humor column for a national magazine, but her life took a detour and she found herself back at work full time. For the next 10 years Karen and her husband, Jeff, ran a real estate business and their own mortgage company while raising three sons.

Where Mercy Flows was written in the dining room on rare Sunday afternoons. The first eight chapters were lost in a computer crash, and Karen was devastated. Despite the temptation to give up, she knew the story had to be told. It took eight years to write this first novel - sometimes only a sentence or paragraph per sitting. It was published in 2006 and has since won the Christy Award for Best First Novel. Her second novel, Autumn Blue, has also received rave reviews. Both books have been published in Reader’s Digest’s Select Editions along with other bestselling authors, like Mary Higgins Clark and Lee Child and have been translated into multiple languages.

Karen grew up fishing the rivers of the Pacific Northwest, and has always had a great love of the outdoors. She still loves to fish and explore the wild, stunning landscapes and seascapes of the Northwest. She and her husband, Jeff, currently reside in Mt. Vernon, Washington where they serve as pastors of The Valley Church.