Karen L West, Author

Quarterly Newsletter 2026 – Issue 4

For My Readers

A detective named Cat sits on a porch with two golden retrievers, Kels and Tigger. She holds a coffee mug that says 'Good Dogs Better Days'. The setting has a cozy home backdrop with a 'Home Sweet Home' sign.

Thank you to all my readers and followers. Starting this quarter, you will have the opportunity to download a free Exclusive Guide to one of my books. This is offered to new subscribers, and I wanted to also give my current subscribers the option to enjoy this gift. Free Exclusive Guide

Spotlighted Book

I was delighted to see The Girl in the Redwoods featured by Literary Chronicle, which called it “A Thriller That Stays With You Long After the Final Page.”

Read the full feature: Literary Chronicle

A search and rescue worker in a red jacket kneels on a muddy trail holding a map, next to a black and brown dog wearing a harness. The background features a scenic view of trees and mountains at sunset.

Featured Book: Sand Dollar Cove

Paradise was free. The price was five years.

A beautiful island offers an impossible bargain: live in paradise without paying a cent, but agree to stay for five years. What begins as an escape becomes something stranger as secrets surface, relationships deepen, and the island proves it may be holding more than anyone expected.

Why it matters: Island mystery, adventure, found family, and the beginning of a world that may have more stories still to tell.

Ways to Read: Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Google eBook.

Learn more

Awards & Recognition

This quarter brought several wonderful moments for my books, and I’m grateful to the readers, reviewers, and judges who continue to discover these stories. I’m also anxiously waiting to see how The Girl in the Redwoods and Sekoia Shifters: The Redwoods Remember do in the BookFest Awards, with results expected October 24.
Every award and review means a little more because it helps new readers find these worlds. Thank you for being part of the journey.

Book cover for 'The Girl in the Redwoods' featuring a person standing in a forest with a dog, illuminated by beams of light through the trees.
The Girl in the Redwoods

Booky Award — Tensest Thriller
ACCI Fiction-Literary Award — Best Mystery/Thriller
Reader Views – 5-Star Editorial Review
Readers Favorite – 5-Star Review

A collection of four award badges, including 'Reader Views 5-Star Review,' 'Readers' Favorite Five Stars,' 'Booky Awards Winner,' and 'ACCI Winner.'
A mystical forest scene featuring towering redwood trees and wildlife, including a bear, a wolf, and a fox, blending with a path leading through the woods. The image includes the title 'Sekoia Shifters: Redwood Shifter Community Stands' by Karen L West, along with award badges.

Sekoia Shifters
Booky Award — Most Distinct Character Voices
ACCI Fiction Literary Award – Fiction


The Hometown Hero’s Last Shot
Booky Award — Best Detective Procedural
Readers Favorite – 5-Star Editorial Review

Book cover for 'The Hometown Hero's Last Shot' by Karen L. West, featuring a basketball court and a spotlight illuminating a basketball hoop against a dark background.
Book cover for 'Jubrozan Dragon Riders' featuring a female warrior in armor standing alongside a red dragon and a dog, with a fantasy landscape in the background.
Jubrozan Dragon Riders

Booky Award — Most Vivid Place
ACCI Fiction-Literary Award — Fiction
Reader Views – 5-Star Editioral Review
Book Life – 9/10 Originality

A collection of four award seals including a 5-star review badge, a winner badge from ACCI, a Booky Awards winner badge, and the BookLife logo by Publishers Weekly.
Book cover of 'Sleepers of Earth: A World No Longer Ours' by Karen L. West featuring a figure in a lush, overgrown landscape with futuristic elements.

Sleepers of Earth
Booky Award — Most Distinct Character Voices


Sand Dollar Cove
Booky Award — Best Internally Consistent World

Elegant logo featuring the name 'Karen L West' in a stylish gold script with decorative elements.

Coming Next

Ready for the next Rose and Clive Thriller? Lost in Turkey Run, Book 2 in the Rose & Clive Search & Rescue series, about SAR adventures in Indiana. It will release November 25, 2026.

What does deployment feel like for the child waiting at home? Katie and Patch is an illustrated story for readers ages 9–13, exploring the emotions of military family life and the comfort of companionship. Through Katie’s story, I hope young readers feel understood and know they aren’t alone.
Releases November 24, 2026.

Several new stories are already taking shape for 2027. Beneath the Kentucky Hills, Book 3 in the Rose & Clive series, is planned for the first quarter of the year. Soon after, the Sekoia Shifters series will continue with Unexpected Shifter.

I’m also hoping to add a third book to the Howliofrea Chronicles, while the fifth book in the Sleeping Evil series is currently planned for July 2027.

More worlds, more danger, and more stories are already waiting for readers.