Karl Erickson
Karl and his wife Kimberly first moved to Oregon in 1996. In 2016, they moved from South Salem to the town of Monmouth, not far from Western Oregon University. While he's been a state employee for just under three decades, he identifies himself primarily as an author and essayist. He's the writer of two lighthearted children's books: Toupee Mice and Tristan's Travels. Rafka Press publishes both. His wife, Kimberly Erickson, is their wonderful illustrator. The Blood Cries Out, a mystery novel, is his latest work. The latter tale is set primarily between Seattle and Friday Harbor.
Besides writing fiction, his articles have appeared in a wide variety of publications — including America, The National Catholic Weekly, and Seattle Pacific University's Response — as well as occasional guest opinion pieces for the Portland Tribune and the Statesman Journal. While he also enjoys humorous writing, he doesn't do much regularly.
In Karl's infrequent "spare time," he works for the Oregon State Employment Department. He first began working for the State of Oregon at the Department of Revenue (DOR) in the summer of 1997. He's worked as a Revenue Agent, Status Examiner, and Tax Auditor. (He was even one of the founding members of DOR's Tobacco Tax Task Force back in July of 2001, but he's hopeful he'll never need to check another Oregon cigarette tax stamp again in his state career.) In 2018, he graduated with a BA in English Literature and New Media from Marylhurst University. (Unfortunately, his was one of the final graduating classes for this long-running Oregon institution.)
When time allows, he loves hiking in the Pacific Northwest forests or along the Pacific Ocean, and you will often spot him carrying his trusty Canon EOS R50. (One of Karl's favorite hikes is into Mt. Jefferson's beautiful Lake Pamelia.) He is also working on a new writing project that is sure to delight readers.
* A note on experimental eBooks: over the years, I have discontinued and significantly revised a few of my titles. This is why you may notice a book Amazon still associates with my author page is no longer available. At this point, I plan to step back a bit from self-publishing on Amazon and ensure any future works are published through the traditional market.
