About Me
Karen lives in South Wales and is a single parent of four sons, including twins. She gained her Diploma in Social Work from the University College of North Wales in Bangor and studied Social Policy at the University of Exeter. She worked as a Children’s Social Worker for over 15 years, which has given her great insight into the nuances of modern family life.
When she's not working, she enjoys spending her time performing and watching musical theatre and going on random adventures. This is her debut novel.
About 'Twinned'
Two women. Two towns. Two failed relationships.
Eighteen-year-old Siobhan, originally from Kilcastle in southwest Ireland, finds herself running away to escape her controlling mother after falling pregnant following a drunken encounter on the beach. She arrives in Llandewi, a small town in mid Wales, to live with a man she met online. As is so often the case, hard choices can often turn out to be bad choices.
Siobhan is scared, lonely and struggling to cope with her twin baby girls when she falls under the care of social worker Suzy Cartwright.
Suzy, herself, is a single mother and has found herself in Llandewi with no family to support her. She is an expert in loneliness and has also made her fair share of bad choices.
Fate has brought these two women together and, with the help of Suzy’s humour, determination and zany team members, their worlds change in the most unexpected of ways. There are moments of passion, heartbreak and pure hilarity as we follow them all down this bumpy road called life.
This novel explores empathy and what it means to stand in someone else’s shoes. It offers a message of never giving up on ourselves and those we care about.
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Rachel Watson-Lyon
This book had me hooked from the get go. I couldn’t put it down and devoured it in just over a day. It’s hard hitting at times, sure, but you fall in love with the characters and genuinely want to see them happy. I couldn’t recommend it enough!!
Reviews
Sue Lent
I loved this book. It really captures what Social Work is like including the humour and absurdity of the job sometimes. Very few TV programmes and novels ever show this. They are usually so serious! I worked with Karen so I know where she’s coming from!
Amazon Customer
I totally enjoyed this book, being drawn into each of the character's lives and keen to see the story unfold. It has left me wanting to see a sequel, to continue to follow the lives of those portrayed within. As an 'ex-neighbour' of Karens, it is all the more poignant, as I saw just a chink of what she had to put up with for real. I am proud to say that I know her, she truly is an inspiration! Keenly awaiting book two ;-) x