To purchase any of the books below, just go to www.amazon.com, and type        V Karen McMahon in the search bar.

 Don't let the title fool you -- it's a murder mystery!  

The story of a woman who leads a rough life, and fears nothing--except the needle. 


                                                                                A collection of 50 short stories, ranging from humorous to dark

Backseat was a baby koala that lost its family and was in danger in the forest. Dr. Maddox the local vet and his wife Stephanie took Backseat home with them until they could figure out what to do. Read about how the baby koala got the name Backseat and his journey of love with the Maddox family. A children's book that will also teach them some facts about koalas.

Where No One Would Think to Look --  There it stood, alone in the overgrown brush—that horrible building that had caused me untold pain and anguish throughout my entire life. I came back to try to force the memories I had suppressed since childhood to come out and to try to figure out why an outhouse had dominated my entire existence. I hated going to sleep because I knew I’d wake up screaming again; I knew I would dream about the outhouse again. I had to know what had happened to me there, and I decided to let Dr. Stevenson hypnotize me to find out. Nothing could have prepared me for what he pulled out of the deep recesses of my mind. 

Patricia’s mother had told her all of her life that no matter how much she thought she wanted to die, when the time came for the last breath, she would struggle for it. Patricia always wondered how her mother knew that, but throughout her young and tragic life, she had more than one chance to test that theory.  Travel with Patricia on her journey to struggle through depression and tragedy while she seeks the happiness that seems to elude her. 

To My Last Breath keeps the reader engrossed in the storyline and turning the pages. Readers can identify with the main character on a personal level. The powerful situations and the believable characters take on a life of their own, allowing the reader to feel the emotional ups and downs experienced throughout the story.  This is one the avid reader won't want to miss.

Poems, Songs, and Other Miscellany


Athough the poems, songs and short story in this book are also on this site for you to enjoy, if you are interested in a compilation of them to keep, you can purchase this one.



The Greening of Trish

Trish was born into a world that was already in decline--with barren lands, garbage piled high on the streets, and a gray sky. She liked to scrounge in the garbage piles, much to her mother's chagrin. She loved to read all of the old books she could find there, especially the ones that described an earth full of green trees, flowers, blue skies, and clean streets. She vowed at an early age to make it her life's work to replenish the earth with trees and to clean up the garbage. Trish dedicates her life to doing her part to make the earth a cleaner place to live. 

Lower Bravia is Burning 

Princess Lelah enjoys a carefree young life, riding her white Stallion, Lancer, throughout the Kingdom of Bravia. Her favorite part of the kingdom is a small village below her castle called Lower Bravia. Without revealing who she is, she plays with the children, visits with her friend, and falls in love with a commoner there--until her father learns of it and sends him away. But Lelah holds to her vow to never love another. Now, with her father and mother both dead, she must accept the role of Queen. Tragically, her first crisis is the enemy burning her beloved Lower Bravia. Journey with Lelah through perils and some tough decisions as she learns how hard it is to be called Queen.  This book contains original artwork by Virginia artist Leonida Ivanetich.

 

 

Book Formatting Tips

A Guide for Self-Publishing Authors

A tutorial for Microsoft Word to help authors conquer some of the tougher issues of formatting in Word, i.e., section breaks, page numbers, table of contents, etc. Illustrated with screenshots of the appropriate menus accompanied by written directions, it will lead you through all the steps to get your book ready to submit for publication.

 

The Frozen Leaf

Betsy's mother warned her to stay off the ice or one day she would fall through and they'd never see her again.  But Betsy did go on the ice, and she did fall through, and she did die, but she was sent back to earth because her job was not through. Betsy could not remember her time "away" but knew something had happened and that she was "different."  The dramatic events that took place throughout her long life on earth made it very clear to her and her mother just why she had to return.

 

 

 Home is Where My Heart Is

A little girl decides one day that she can find herself a bigger and better home and a better mommy and daddy but she forgets to take her heart. Find out how she finds her way back to her heart. 

 

Back There: A Female Assassin Proves You Can't Go Home Again

This is the story of a young girl who is abused physically and mentally her whole life. She meets a young, brooding boy who becomes her friend and then her lifeline and soulmate. To be near him, she allows herself to be drawn into his life as a paid assassin, with the caveat that some day she would go "back there" and seek revenge against all of those who had abused her and made her into the monster she feels she has become. She achieves that goal, but finds out that revenge isn't exactly as she had imagined it all those years. The story has a lot of twists and turns, and a surprise ending. 

 

 

The Tunnel

Reviews of The Tunnel say this is Karen's best work. A story about a man with an irrational fear of tunnels his whole life, without ever knowing why. As he descends into madness, he tries to seek help but finds none. On this, his last tunnel ride, he finally learns that his fear of tunnels was not that irrational after all. Another surprise ending. 

 

Dancing with the Stars

The townspeople call her the crazy lady and tell their children to stay away from her.  All they know about her is that she comes out only at night, dressed in a white dress and ballerina slippers, raises her arms and dances with the stars--oblivious to anyone who happens to see her and stares. Nobody knows the great deeds she is doing behind those closed doors every day--and she wants it kept that way.  

 

 I Saw A White Horse Today

This is a children's book that began as a poem. It is a combination of a poem with photos and illustrations that depicts a child's fantasy of watching a white horse fly away with a beautiful lady on it.  It is beautifully illustrated by well-known equine artist Loretta Dovell Bailey and photographer Janet Black. 

It's a Matter of Faith--Or Is It?

This book entitled Its A Matter of Faith--Or Is it? Is Faith Really a Private Matter? was written during a time of grief by the author after losing her oldest brother.  It is a frank discussion of having or not having faith, and how the idea of faith differs for everyone.  There are no judgments in the book, just personal opinions of the author and her experiences during the prolonged illness and death of her loved one, and unexplained things that happened that made her question her own faith or the lack thereof.  The book includes several stories of her upbringing in the coal mining territory of southwestern Virginia and what impacts that upbringing may or may not have had on her idea of faith and God. 


This is the euology that was written by Karen for her brother Dan, and read at his funeral by their cousin, Sheryl Greynolds. This euology is inside the book above.

 

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