By DONNA LEE ANDERSON
Kitsap Weekly columnist

For writers, writers’ conferences are a wonderful source of information. Besides meeting fellow writers, you can meet, talk to and present your work to agents, publishers, editors and generally submerge yourself into WRITING.

It’s a great opportunity for beginning writers to start or enlarge their knowledge base.

Our local Pacific Northwest Writers Association (PNWA.org) is one of the best. At this conference, you can also enter their contest by submitting part of your finished product, both fiction and non-fiction, and if you win, you get not only recognition from everyone attending the conference, but the winners also get a cash prize and an introduction to an agent that has selected this winning writer for a meeting.

I’m telling you all of this because a couple of years ago at this conference, I met Karen K. Brees. She had entered the contest and was pretty excited that she was a finalist. Well, she won first place and her book, “The Esposito Caper,” is, according to New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Bayse Sander, “a fun read! It takes off on a rollicking pace and never slows down.”

I asked Karen where the idea came from for this adventure.

She said, “I’ve always loved capers — the crime is secondary to the fun of plotting all the twists and turns — and I’ve always been intrigued by the Mob. Probably a result of too many ‘Untouchables’ episodes with Robert Stack as Elliott Ness … so it was a logical jump to write something that blended what I like with who I am.”

Karen has also published the novel “Headwind”: The Intrepid Adventures of OSS Agent Katrin Nissen,” writing under the name of K.K. Brees, and is working on a sequel, “Crosswind.”

“It’s the second volume in a WWII series featuring my heroine Katrin Nissen, an OSS agent and Yale professor of botany,” Karen said. “I’m reaching the stage where I pester my friends to read the rough draft and offer suggestions, which I will consider after pouring a nice Shiraz.”

I asked if she planned to keep writing in this genre and she replied, “Sure hope so. There are so many people to bump off and so little time left.”

Don’t her replies sort of give you the idea of how much fun she and her writings are?

Like most writers, Karen loves to read. She said, “I taught English literature for too many years, so now I read nothing with redeeming social content. That leaves me with mysteries — usually with the corpse already dispatched … so, psychological mysteries, mostly.” Some of her favorite authors are Laurie King, Rita Mae Brown, Lee Child (the exception to the corpse-already-dispatched rule), Shakespeare, Winston Churchill, and Mare Chapman — a Washington writer, among many others.

“I’m also a fan of Donna Lee Anderson.” (Wasn’t that nice of her to say that?)

Before her fiction publications, Karen authored and co-authored six titles in the health and general interest field under the name of Karen Brees, PhD, including “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Preserving Food” (Alpha Books).

You can find her books on Amazon.com and at www.museituppublishing.com.

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During the winter months, our local Kitsap libraries get lots of visits — kids doing research for that paper that’s due tomorrow, and adults getting something to read in the evenings. But you should be aware of all the good and fun things that go on in the summer months.

There are story hours for preschoolers, teen gatherings to discuss books they’ve read, and book clubs for adults. It’s a busy place, and not only just to check out books. Look at your local library’s online calendar and put those activities that interest you on your calendar. I wouldn’t want you to miss something special.

There are Kitsap Regional Library branches in Bainbridge Island, downtown Bremerton, Kingston, Little Boston, Manchester, Port Orchard, Poulsbo, Silverdale, Sylvan Way, and the Bookmobile.

Go to www.krl.org and look at your favorite library’s site for the calendar.

— Donna Lee Anderson writes Bookends for Kitsap Weekly, circulation 65,000. She teaches writing and is the author of two adult fiction novels and one  reference book for writers. Contact her at welltoldtales@aol.com.