Karen was born in Paisley, Scotland in 1967, and brought up in Glasgow. On leaving school, she attended Glasgow University, where she did an MA in English, Drama & French, then, as you do, joined Strathclyde Police as a uniformed police constable. Day one in the job was made much more interesting by the arrival of fellow new recruit who eventually became her husband.

After enduring what they gleefully call ‘rigorous’ training at Tulliallan Police College, Karen served in Glasgow’s ‘A’ Division, right in the heart of Scotland’s biggest (and most definitely best) city – and where much of her first novel, The Twilight Time, is set. Karen left the police five and a half years later, on the birth of her first child, and took a career break to bring up her family. Two daughters later, she went to work for Glasgow City Council, ending up as a media officer in the Press Office, before going on to edit the Council’s staff magazines and other publications.

During this time, Karen was accepted for the prestigious Glasgow University Creative Writing Masters degree, and began writing in earnest, with several short stories published in various magazines and anthologies. The Twilight Time evolved from some of these early pieces, with Karen completing her first draft of the book as part of her final portfolio. She was also awarded a Scottish Arts Council New Writer's Bursary, before graduating with an MLitt (Distinction) in 2003.

Thanks to the services of her most excellent agent Lisa Moylett, Karen was signed by Hodder & Stoughton for an initial two book deal in 2006. And has been scribbling away ever since.

In 2009, Karen won Best New Scottish Writer at the Scottish Variety Awards.