Karin Ficke Cook
 Agent: I am looking now.
La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States Email: karinfickecook@yahoo.co.uk
Home page: http://www.karinfickecook.com
Yahoo: imakerosaries
I come from a family of writers, many of whom have been published. One in particular, Arthur Davison Ficke, was a celebrated modernist in the 1920's and 30's. He was also quite an artist and a real character. One of my sisters, Janice Ficke Walker, is a retired Episcopal priest, psychologist, writer and artist. Both parents, Parker and Dorothy are deceased. Parker was a travel agent in Davenport, Iowa (a family business which I was proud to be part of), while Dorothy was a home maker and clothing designer. I am also adopted and my birth family has been part of my life for the past thirty years or so. They have been an integral part of my adult life and it has been a true delight getting to know them. My sister Debra Osmun is also a writer, professional photographer and businesswoman.
My literary inspiration comes from the years of travel as a child (and as a travel agent) and from living in Great Britain with my husband Michael, a/k/a Mick. Both writers, we have been professional photographers (landscape, weddings, still, video) and have had our own company since 1997. The Cook Companies is shared with Michael's brothers, Austin and Kevin in England. Our American portion's web site is: http://www.thecookcompanies.com. In addition, we restore plaster cast statuary for churches and private clients, plus specialise in statues over 125 years old.
Not to be confused with the other writer named Karin Cook, I have included my maiden name in my bi-line. We are both novelists, but of different genres.
Now I have resurrected my domain, so you can check my web page at: http://www.karinfickecook.com or check out my blog at: http://www.karinfickecook.blogspot.com. You can see my husband's blog as well by going to: http://www.MickCook'sPlace.blogspot.com. He's pretty goofy, but there is always something fun he relates. We try to keep these updated every few weeks.
Northwoods Forest Mystery (ISBN 1-4241-0595-1) launched 20 March 2006 through PublishAmerica.com and Death Across the Pond (ISBN 1-4241-5114-7) on 26 December 2006. The books currently published are part of a four-novel series of mysteries about an American family with some very odd relatives. The stories begin in 1883 and move to the contemporary time frame, then back to part of the original 1883 story line, with the pieces to the puzzle coming together at the end of the series. The 'Ghost' in Bolton Hall went live 15 January 2009, with the official rollout on 12 March 2009. The final book in the series, Murder and Pasta Don't Mix went live 9/23/09. ISBN 978-1-61582-557-8 (although the 'official' rollout was on 14 November).
One of the publications is an e-book called, Seven Doors of Time, sporting seven stories (obviously) - one a potential catastrophe due to Global Warming; the second about forgery in an English Abbey in Cornwall and the third is the paranormal murder mystery with time travel back and forth between two centuries. Plus there is a love story and a comedy! The others are a surprise. If you like shorter stories you can read in a day, these are lots of fun to read. This book has gone live as of June 11th. If all goes well, I will turn this book into a printed one. The ISBN is: 978-1-4524-9424-1, available through Smashwords.com for all ereaders and on home computer. I've made a 30% sampling available at no cost to the reader and the book is 431 pages (in the HTML format) and costs $3.99 US dollars. Take a look at: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/66076. You will also see three new stories (shorts); Always Have - Always Will, which is a love story and Good Old Uncle Norman - a semi-comedic mystery, with these two books selling for $1.99. The Town Gray Built is a "short" which is a novelette, only 24 pages, but too long to be a short story. I've priced this at $.99 to make it affordable. Five new ebooks are coming for next year! And now, The Fault Lies Beneath is in publication at Smashwords.com. This is the first story in the larger edition of Seven Doors of Time and it is an environmental story - a first for me.
I'd also like to sell some additional photographs - which means I need to get back to Ireland and the UK for that!!! (And I need a new camera, too.) I'm even trying my hand at writing prose and poetry - for the first time - with the focus on the West of Ireland....the Northwest of County Galway to be exact (with a spill-over in County Mayo). Now I really MUST go to Ireland for the photos to go with the poems!!
New books will be mostly historical novels set in the UK and Ireland and will be a total departure from the current series. One mystery currently in production is Murder at Bosworth Field (an ebook) about a group of re-enactors whose friend is murdered during the re-enactment. It's up to them to find the killer - and why their compatriot was murdered. And it is highly possible it's one of them. All the re-enactors are suspects - every last one of them just for starters - even the horse! I'm working with a re-enactors group to get the militaria correct for the time period. And that's a lot of work for all of us. Plus, now our location must be changed, as what was thought to be the battlefield, isn't! Now the actual location has been discovered a mile from where they thought it had been!
The BIG novel will be The Marlinspike Murders about three sailors on the three US ships, Bonhomme Richard as they come together from their various centuries to solve the murders of several townspeople from Whitby, England shortly before, during and after the Battle of Flamborough Head in 1779. Each man has their own traditions, technology (or the lack thereof) and experiences to bring to the investigations. This novel will take me about two years to research and write - possibly more. But I'm getting help from some of my maritime friends.
The illustrated children's series will be in the works for 2013, geared toward the 2-6 age range. And I also have a new project - ghost writing a true crime novel, so you could say I have my plate heaped with work for the next three years or so!
Interests: History (US and UK), Maritime law, battle re-enactment, digital and medium format photography, Internet research, furniture and old house restoration (I ADORE DIY), regional cooking, gardening, landscape design, antiquing, Border Collies, Maine Coon cats.
Published writer: Yes
Freelance: Yes |
