Karen profile picture

Karen

I have to tell the stories I have to tell, not the stories someone else thinks I should tell. -Poppy

About Me


I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. I have a BA in Film Production from CUNY Hunter College.
I'm the author of His Insignificant Other (2002), Such a Girl (2004) and the forthcoming Whiskey Road: A Love Story (2008). My short story Nice Jewish Boy appears in the anthology This is Chick-Lit .
His Insignificant Other was a Borders Original Voices selection and named one of Cosmopolitan Magazine's Sexy Summer Reads. It was published in Serbia in June 2004. A mass market edition will be released in September.
Such a Girl was a Main Selection of Black Expressions Book Club.
In my third novel, Whiskey Road: A Love Story (2008), the relationship between a black city girl and a white small town boy takes a dark turn in rural New York.
Whiskey Road is now available for preorder at Amazon.com
Praise for Such a Girl
Solidly grounded in the backstairs culture at posh New York hotels,
Such a Girl gives a hilariously eye-opening account of how these celebrity-crazed hotel workers eavesdrop on famous guests and treat themselves to four-hour stays in unbooked luxury suites.
-Boston Herald
A sly urban update of Persuasion, Jane Austen's classic romantic novel.
-Essence
Praise for His Insignificant Other
Casey chases around town trying to keep up with Mali's and John Paul's whereabouts and potential reconciliation, decidedly resisting his protestations of innocence, debating whether or not to exchange her three-month celibacy for revenge sex, and wondering what to do with her so-called career. She meets friends for drinks, eats, and backbiting gossip in a swirl of clubs, bars, bistros, and cramped apartments. Siplin's delightful debut novel sports a multiracial cast of characters and contemporary urban sensibilities.
-Booklist
His Insignificant Other is a deftly written novel that's hilarious, sentimental and sad. Hilarious because it shows that when people lie about their feelings they do truly triflin' things. Sentimental because sometimes taking chances means divorcing yourself from bad things, even if they are familiar. And sad because Casey, like many of us struggling 20-somethings, is bright. But she'll remain stuck in mediocrity unless she finds the confidence to break away from the crowd, follow her gut and set her own parameters for perfection.
-The News & Observer

My Interests

boys in leather, bull riding, castles, Choctaw Nation, corsets, filmmaking, freedom, good coffee, good wine, helicopters, motorcycles, mystery, noir, paranormal, pop culture, redemption, rodeos, scars, screenwriting, strength, tattoos, weakness, werewolves, wineglasses, writing

I'd like to meet:


readers, writers, librarians and booksellers

Music:

Louis Armstrong, Belle and Sebastian, Solomon Burke, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, John Coltrane, Sheryl Crow, Cesaria Evora, Roberta Flack, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, John Legend, Mazzy Star, Loreena McKennitt, Natalie Merchant, Wim Mertens, Missy Elliott, Thelonious Monk, Sinead O'Conner, Beth Orton, Janis Joplin, Lhasa, Nina Simone, The Smiths, Suzanne Vega, Cassandra Wilson, U2

Movies:

A History of Violence, Apocalypse Now, A Walk on the Moon, Batman Begins, The Best Man, Betty Blue, Broadcast News, The Celebration, Clueless, Crimson Tide, Dirty Dancing, Flirting with Disaster, Go, Gosford Park, Hotel Rwanda, Hud, Husbands and Wives, The Hustler, Impromptu, The In-Laws (1979), Kill Bill, The Kingdom, La Femme Nikita, The Landlord, Love Jones, Mama There's a Man in Your Bed, Mansfield Park (1999), Mississippi Masala, North by Northwest, The Outsiders, Paris Blues, Pulp Fiction, Quick Change, Rear Window, Repulsion, Scream, Secrets and Lies, Something New, Sometimes in April, Strictly Ballroom, The Taste of Others, Thelma and Louise, To Sir with Love, Three Days of the Condor, Truly Madly Deeply, Trust, Walk on Water, The Way We Were, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Working Girl, You Can Count on Me

Television:

Angel, The Amazing Race, Barefoot Contessa, Barney Miller, Bernie Mac, Big Love, Bill Moyers Journal, Brothers and Sisters, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Closer, The Daily Show, Entourage, Everybody Hates Chris, Frasier, Girlfriends, The Golden Girls, The Job, Life, Little House on the Prairie, My So-Called Life, Oprah, Reno 911, Scrubs, Sex and the City, Soap, Washington Week in Review

Heroes:


American Cancer Society

American Diabetes Association

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Doctors without Borders

The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity

The Fistula Foundation

The Gordon Parks Center

Missing Kids

National Ovarian Cancer Coalition

Nelson Mandela Foundation

Oprah’s Angel Network

Save Darfur

Team Darfur

You can click a button to support the cause

Click here to post this on your page or 'blog

My Blog

Recovery.

Had a little surgery last week, so I've been off my feet and quiet. I'm finally getting around to checking myspace, gmail, facebook, wordpress, etc. My apologies for leaving messages unanswered. ...
Posted by Karen on Sat, 24 May 2008 03:43:00 PST

Publication Day!

Today is the official pub date for my third novel, Whiskey Road: A Love Story. The book has actually been on the shelves at Barnes & Noble since Saturday. I signed some copies at the store on 68t...
Posted by Karen on Tue, 20 May 2008 07:01:00 PST

Whiskey Road Giveaway Winners!

Thank you to everyone who entered my Whiskey Road giveaway. I tossed all of the names in a bag, my husband shook it, and I picked out 8 slips of paper. Yes, 8. I decided to add 3 extra books...
Posted by Karen on Sat, 10 May 2008 06:47:00 PST

Whiskey Road Giveaway

To celebrate the May 20th release of my third novel Whiskey Road: A Love Story, I'm giving away five copies of the paperback original. Please email me at [email protected] to let...
Posted by Karen on Sat, 03 May 2008 02:57:00 PST

Interviews

Author Connie Briscoe interviewed me last week. Please visit her site at ConnieBriscoe.com to check it out. There's also an interview with me in the June issue of Today's Black Woman, on stands now!...
Posted by Karen on Thu, 01 May 2008 03:40:00 PST

Library Journal Review

Publisher's Weekly trashed my new novel last month (we won't talk about that), but Library Journal gave it a pretty nice review: When paparazza Jimi Anne Hamilton shows up in rural Darby, NY...
Posted by Karen on Fri, 07 Mar 2008 06:01:00 PST

Kinky Gazpacho - Review

There's actually a reason why I've never wanted to visit Spain. Back when I wasn't afraid of airplanes, and I thought I'd spend my life traveling around the world as a photojournalist and no...
Posted by Karen on Sat, 09 Feb 2008 11:24:00 PST

Whiskey Road: A Love Story

My third novel, Whiskey Road: A Love Story, is now available for preorder at Amazon.com! A passionate and edgy novel about a savvy female photographer and a white small town contractor that asks, wher...
Posted by Karen on Wed, 15 Aug 2007 05:58:00 PST

Update and New Blog

I haven't posted an entry in my blog at Blogger since my husband and I moved from Brooklyn to Manhattan in August 2006. Wow. I'm such a loser! No, seriously, I've been sick a lot and I've be...
Posted by Karen on Wed, 30 May 2007 07:20:00 PST

My Online Journal - Secure but Not Safe

I've decided to keep an online journal again. Let's see how it goes. Secure but Not Safe  
Posted by Karen on Sat, 22 Jul 2006 04:12:00 PST