Remembering a friend …

• Posted in About Books, Crown of Shards series, My Writing, On Writing

Today is bittersweet.

On the bright side, Crush the King, Crown of Shards #3, has been released (Go! Read! Enjoy!).

On the not-so-bright side, today, March 17, is the birthday of my friend Karen Borrelli, who passed away in February from metastatic breast cancer. She would have been 62. I dedicated Crush the King to Karen (among other people), although she never got to see a finished copy of the book.

Karen was a self-described “diva” who had a rescue dog named Biscuit, a cat named Rewrite, and a red Cadillac that she nicknamed “Ruby Sue”. She was a journalist and romance author who loved to travel and take photographs. Karen worked at The Buffalo News, which ran a very nice story about her life and journalism career: https://tinyurl.com/sty77sa

The last book that Karen wrote (under the pen name Trixie Stilletto) was Do Grave Harm, which focuses on a woman undergoing breast cancer treatments who comes across a murdered technician. I always got a kick out of the fact that Karen named the book’s heroine “Jennifer”.

Karen was one of the most cheerful people I’ve ever met, and she always tried to look on the bright side of things. She was also one of the most determined people I’ve ever met. When she got her cancer diagnosis, Karen had to cancel her dream vacation to Alaska. But she went to Alaska the next year, even though she had to take her chemo medication with her in a cooler. Karen had moxie. 

Karen was always there when I needed to talk about book stuff or just life in general, and she always loved to chat over lunch, often saying, “Hey, we gotta eat!”

In honor of Karen, I’m going to make a donation to my local food bank. I hope that you will consider making a donation to your local library, animal shelter, food bank, etc. Let’s put some positive vibes out in the world, just like Karen did.

Thank you for reading.

Tags: , , ,

10 Responses to “Remembering a friend …”

  1. Chicory says:

    I am so sorry about your friend. She sounds like such a wonderful person to be in your life. I know you’ll miss her a lot.

    • Jennifer Estep says:

      Thanks. I appreciate that. I keep wanting to pick up the phone and call her, especially with everything that’s going on right now. Karen would have found something funny to say, even about this. LOL.

  2. Jolene Blanchard says:

    What a fun pen name, Trixie Stilletto! Karen sounds like she was a beautiful person. It’s so hard to lose a friend. When this happens, life seems to be a bit more vivid for a while. Thank you for sharing your memories of your friend and thank you for writing great books. You help brighten the world with your talent.
    I just purchased Crush the King and look forward to diving in! During these “hunkering down days” it’s great to have something to look forward to. Please keep writing! You are one of my top 5 faves. Best to you.

    • Jennifer says:

      Thanks. I appreciate the condolences. You’re right. The world does seem a little less bright without Karen in it.

      And thanks! I appreciate all the nice words about my books. I hope you enjoy CRUSH THE KING. Happy reading! 🙂

  3. Jen T. says:

    GIANT HUGS. I’m so sorry for your loss. Congrats on the book release (I’m reading it now!). I hope you and your family are staying safe during these crazy times.

  4. SAmbrose says:

    My condolences for your loss. I just finished Crush the King and I hope you continue to write more for this wonderful series! I have so many questions about what could happen next!

    • Jennifer Estep says:

      Thanks. I appreciate that.

      And thanks! Glad that you enjoyed the book. I am planning to write more in my Crown of Shards world. I should have more news to share on that soon. Thanks! 🙂

Back to Top