Karleene grew up in an ethnic family and is a descendant of the German colonists whose history was the inspiration for this historical fiction novel, Destinies. She holds a B.S. Honors, Sociology and M.S. Educational Psychology. With the first as the study of cultures, group social behavior and the latter addressing the mind and personal behavior, these disciplines proved beneficial in the writing and understanding of another people in another time. Karleene shares her home at the beach in the Pacific Northwest with her Pomeranian show dogs,