Karen Hand Allen

Award-Winning Nurse, Educator, and Author

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About

HI, MY NAME IS KAREN!

I'm a nurse, author, educator, creator, and voice behind my blog. I love writing and am

passionate about storytelling. I am an avid fan of mysteries and adore domestic thrillers

with a twist, they are just my style, hence my debut novel, Orphan Girl!

My Blog includes my inspiration behind my novel, Orphan Girl, my own journey

from an Orphan Girl myself, to becoming a writer, a nurse and an educator.

I am also often inspired by everyday life and wish to share cooking, recipes, gardening,

travel, lifestyle and Cat kid, all areas in the blog from slices of my life with photos and

videos.

On my blog I enjoy writing about:

Cooking, my favorite pastime, brings joy and unrequited happiness.

Gardening, I love to dig in the dirt, we have fruit trees, a spring and fall raised garden bring hours of utter contentment. We grow some of what we eat in our small island home garden with fall and spring plantings and are often surprised and amazed when we cook them in delicious recipes. We want to share them with you.

Travel, going around the block, or on an international trip satisfies in a most delightful way.

Lifestyle, family, entertaining, holidays all welcome us home.

Pets, our pets never disappoint, their enchanting antics warm our hearts.

Don't forget to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, and TikTok!

Learn More

A vibrant, textured painting of a flower vase with yellow and pink blooms. Warm tones dominate. "Karen" signed at the bottom.

Get Back to Kroger: A Funny Art Class Misadventure and the Rice Krispy Treat Recipe That Saved the Day

You know Marilyn , my friend from nursing school and fellow ER nurse that worked with me. Yes, that Marilyn, that totally insanely crazy friend of mine had somehow talked me into taking an art class, convincing me that we could hang our pictures proudly in our homes, people would admire them when they came to visit, stare at them fondly. Marilyn thought she had real promise as an up-and-coming artist, as for me, neither of us held out a glimmer of hope. I couldn’t draw if

Start a Tradition Series: 10 Quick Tips for Holiday Friends or Unexpected Stopover Guests for Fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving Parties

Holidays or unexpected popover guests don’t need to be stressful, anxiety-provoking, or expensive. Even if it’s an impromptu Halloween party, a cozy fall evening with friends, or Thanksgiving company that pops by, a few simple touches can make your home feel warm and welcoming. With just a few quick tips and ideas, see what works for your group or family. Keep a few items in a box or area of your home for quick access season to season, and let the good times roll! Holidays o

A cat lounges on a fluffy gray blanket in a cozy room. The cat has a relaxed expression, surrounded by books and soft colors.

Thanks for Nothing, Marilyn: A Wild Friendship and the Texas Trash Chex Mix Recipe That Survived It All

Marilyn is an original, I’ll give her that. More than outspoken, more than verbose. She is one of a kind, when they made her, they threw away the key. When she was around, if you heard laughter, it was coming from somewhere in her vicinity. She was funny, but I liked to tell her she was funny looking. I hurried across campus, taking the stairs two at a time to Old Red, also known as the Ashbel Smith Building, on the University of Texas Medical Branch Campus in Galveston, Texa

Vegetable garden with rows of lush green and purple leafy plants, surrounded by a wooden frame, on a grassy yard. A sense of growth.

Start A Tradition Series: 10 Quick Tips For Fall Vegetable Garden

Getting your garden ready for fall planting needn’t be a headache or overwhelming. A few simple tips and techniques can help you start a...

Karen's Roast, Mashed Potatoes, and Gravy

The Best Stovetop Pot Roast Recipe That Tastes Like Childhood Memories

The drive to Aunt Ruby’s wasn’t far, just about forty-five minutes or so to Baytown Texas, from our home In Alta Loma, Texas, but it...

Start a Tradition Series: 10 Easy Tips for Hosting the Ultimate Pumpkin Carving Fall Party

Three weeks before the Halloween party or event, send out invitations via mail or text or email: Let guests know if costumes are required...

Currently...

Last updated: October 16, 2025

Reading: French for Dummies & Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim

Gardening: Lettuce, spinach, onions, cat grass, carrots, mustard greens, Meyer lemons, chrysanthemums, & croton

Cooking: Pickapeppa turkey burgers with rice & peas; Eyeball shortbread cookies

Writing: My blog post about one of my favorite restaurants in Galveston...Gaido's!

Karen Hand Allen's Debut Novel

Orphan Girl

ELLA, nurse and founder of DONATE, a nearly billion-dollar Women Owned Endeavor

has it all, respect, prestige, and wealth. DONATE becomes a global phenomenon that everyone

wants in on, then Ella’s world is capsized after she receives a blackmail letter demanding

millions for something she did as a child, forcing her to delve into past trauma that marked her in

the Spring of 1963, when she was just eight. Ella’s parents abandoned her and three-year-old

brother Donnie, leaving them to fend for themselves on Galveston Island.

Hidden secrets in Ella’s childhood threaten to upend her picture-perfect life and carefully

crafted façade. All those years ago, she did the unthinkable, a fact she has buried in her

subconscious. The blackmailer sends her increasingly menacing letters and taunting emails,

upping the payment demand. She is desperate, hiring Private Investigator Brian Nickson, a

retired cop who quickly recognizes Ella for the cunning liar that she is.

PI Nickson gets the FBI involved and meets one roadblock after another in the decade’s

old mystery to untangle a past that has more questions than answers. Ella suffers haunting

dreams and flashbacks and again relies on her own childhood Psychiatrist, famed Dr. David

Siegfried to help uncover a web of deceit to unlock answers in this twisty domestic thriller.

Contact for Manuscript