I entered the Army in 1994 and spent 20 years in the military. During the 20 years I spent 68 months in deployment/combat tours. 9 months was in Bosnia and the rest was in Iraq and Afghanistan. After the Military I opened up my own company in the trucking industry. I closed it shortly after covid. Since than I have started a podcast called Spirits and Stories with Donald Dunn to highlight the struggles and the success of our veteran community and I am building a nonprofit called Heroes Voices Media Foundation to help Veterans reach their dreams while getting therapy doing it.

I have just released my first book called Echoes of War.

My podcast: www.spiritsandstoriespodcast.com

My nonprofit: www.heroesvoicemediafoundation.org

Podcast program for veterans: www.militaryunitedpodcaststreams.org

Radio Station Program for Veterans www.gunroomradio.com

Hello, I'm Karen. When I was old enough to climb the stairs into the attic of the colonial house I grew up in, I’d sit in front of the fanlight window and compose poems about the mysteries of the night—the moon, stars, and unseen planets. I still love all things mystical, magical, and provocative. My most inspired moments are still those spent in pondering and sharing ways to help individuals embrace and live their authentic selves regardless of their age or past history.

My love of language, coupled with my identity as an androgenous gay woman manifested an aspiration to delve into academic studies that married my innate passions. I’m a published author and hold a Ph.D. in comparative literature, within the context of women’s meditations regarding gender identity, sexuality, and the gendered body. (I also write queer erotica under Author Annie Moon and I have 800+ followers.)

When I’m not gazing at the night sky, writing or reading, I can be found meditating, cooking Italian specialties, or walking Rachel and Jasper, my two lab-mixed breed companions.

Karen’s Website, Facebook, Instagram

Karen’s Books

Paradise

The Yellow Braid

Books under Karen’s pen name Annie Moon

Late in Love

Daddy in Love

Saving Luca

Healing Luca

Touch

Halloween Matchmaking for Daddy

The Proposal coming out, September 20, 2024

Christmas Wedding, coming out, December 20, 2024

Poet Alex Murdock on Story-Power, Episode 96 aired on 3/13/24

Little Women Louisa May Alcott

The Old Man and the Sea Ernest Hemingway

Author, Anais Nin

Lilith Nikki Marmery

Hoopla and Libby library e-book apps

Damsel (2024) available on Netflix

Poet Elizabeth Bishop, The Complete Poems 1927 - 1979

Morgan McCarver was born and raised in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Her work is inspired by her female mentors of past and present, as well as her connection to Victorian corsetry through her scoliosis journey. She received an art degree with a ceramics concentration and a double minor in art history and business in 2019 from Anderson University in Anderson, SC. McCarver had the honor of receiving the 2019 Outstanding Art Major Ceramics Award her senior year. As a 2020 701 Center for Contemporary Art prize finalist, she had the honor of being the youngest artist to ever make it that far. She is a multi-award-winning artist who recently received an Artist Support Grant to attend a national ceramics conference. She has had the honor of displaying her work in 2 solo exhibitions, “FemininiTEA” 2020 and “The Strength of a Wildflower” 2022. She recently completed a residency at Edgewood Cottage in Blowing Rock Summer 2023 and participated 2022 as well. McCarver has studios in Asheville, NC and Spartanburg, SC. Her art can be found in various galleries around the Carolinas and Tennessee. Her first book, “God the Artist: Revealing God’s Creative Side Through Pottery,” was released with Morgan James Publishing January 9, 2024.

Website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Book: God the Artist: Revealing God’s Creative Side Through Pottery

Lilith, Nikki Marmery