Karen E. Olson
Born in New Haven, Connecticut, I grew up in the city's suburbs. Early on, I developed a love of books and great pizza. I wrote my first "book" when I was 9.
I went to Roanoke College in southwestern Virginia to study literature. In addition to reading a lot of dead white male British writers, I worked on the school newspaper. Woodward and Bernstein had inspired me, and I still wanted to write fiction, but thought I could supplement that with a newspaper job.
I found a job as a reporter at a weekly newspaper in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. That was when I discovered my salary made me eligible for food stamps. I also realized I wouldn't be taking down any presidents, since my first story was an interview with the town's new dog warden and then I spent a lot of time at planning and zoning and school board meetings. I hopped from small paper to small paper, until finding out I could make a decent wage working nights as a copy editor.
Being a vampire wasn't so bad, and I started writing fiction in the middle of the night when I got home from work.
I had been reading a lot of Oprah-type books, in which women characters spent a lot of time being victims. I discovered that in mysteries, the women protagonists were smart and didn't allow themselves to be victimized. I decided that was the sort of protagonist I wanted to create.
Annie Seymour is a tough-talking, smart police reporter at the fictional New Haven Herald. She's not as cynical as she thinks she is, but she has strong ethics and a curiosity that's necessary to be a good journalist. I wanted her to live and work in New Haven, because it has such diverse neighborhoods, a gritty past and great restaurants.
Annie and I have a common bond in that we're both longtime journalists, but she's a much more fearless reporter than I ever was. She's also chosen to continue to be a reporter, whereas I discovered I really enjoyed editing and page design.
I left the newspaper business in 2006 after a 20-year career. I now edit a medical journal part-time at Yale. It was not an easy decision to make, but it's made life a lot more simple, and I have more time to devote to my fiction writing. Also, unlike Annie, I've settled down with my husband, a former journalist now political flack for a high-ranking elected state official, and our daughter.
I have to admit, however, we do both enjoy the thrill of a good story.
