Karen Roderick

Karen Roderick was born in a small house in Warwickshire in 1974.

   Aged 3, she moved with her parents and older sister to a council estate that was to become her home for the next 15 years.  Aged 11, the shy girl at school, she picked up a pencil and started making up stories. 

   At 14, during a family holiday, she fell in love with her beloved Cornwall, a place that has inspired almost 20 years of novel writing.

   At 15, through music, she discovered the city of Manchester, and the crucial link between music and writing was born.  After a brief stint in the South East, she also left a part of herself in London.

   With aspirations of becoming a Journalist, Karen’s love of English appeared sure to secure her  a place at University, until she discovered a passion for people and places and moved away from the stigma of council estate living to study Sociology in Bath.   

   During her degree, Karen began flexing her imagination in her writing. Her clumsy and unfulfilled love scenes, gave way to experimentation and Erotica.  This exploration introduced Karen to the works of Anais Nin. 

   Fascinated by such an understated woman and writer, Karen used Nin’s writings as a blue print for her own and began taking writing seriously.  She quickly dipped into Henry Miller, and at 22 wrote her first Erotic novel .  She continued to be heavily influenced by Nin and Miller’s literary and love affair , arousing a desire for a more cultured life.

   A move to Cardiff offered her the City Life she aspired to; meeting people and visiting places considered taboo for her social background.  In 1999 she graduated from the University of Bristol in Social Care and soared into a successful career that has so far spanned 10 years. 

    In 2002, she married her husband at a ceremony in Gretna Green, after knowing him for just 9 months.  A move to rural Cheshire followed before returning to Warwickshire.  In 2005, she had her first child, transporting Karen from 30 something career woman to stay at home mum.  The culture shock was such, she lost herself and her identity, and once again, she started making up stories in her head about a life she wished to have.  She began writing.  

   Balancing a family and writing, grew increasingly difficult and once again, writing took a back seat as she attempted to adjust to her new life, but one character refused to stop banging on her door until she’d told his story.  After months of slamming the door in his face, Jefferson Howie won the battle of wills and “A Love That Makes Life Drunk” was born.

   Karen has continued to write over 15 novels.  A compulsive writer, she always has a story in her head.  In 2006, she launched her alter ego, “Pink Cupcakes – Karen Roderick – writer.  author. blogger “, a blog that offers a glimpse into the reality of being a mum, writer and career woman.