Sweet Fall Story Now Available

Karen McCullough Posted on by  

The Kissmet Quarterly anthology for Autumn 2026 is now available. It’s titled  KissMet Quarterly: Shine On Harvest Moon.  My story in this titled, “Apple Picking Time.”  Here are the first few paragraphs:

“There are no apples on the lower branches,” Liddy said. “How are we going to collect any?”

Julie sighed. Her twelve-year-old sister was right. The lower branches were stripped bare by others who’d already harvested the pick-it-yourself orchard. She looked around, but all the trees she could see suffered the same issue. Neither of them was very tall, and Liddy could only stand for a few brief moments at a time, anyway.

Julie hated to disappoint her sister. She had so few outings like this. Julie had promised her apples fresh from the tree.

“Ladies,” a deep, smooth voice said from behind. “Can I help you?”

Order here: https://www.amazon.com/KissMet-Quarterly-Shine-Harvest-Moon/dp/B0HPNG6RMX

Full Novel of Black Diamond is Posted

Karen McCullough Posted on by  

It’s not too late for a spooky story. Black Diamond is still available as a free read on Substack. The entire novel is posted there, but for a limited time! https://mcculloughblackdiamond.substack.com/ Enjoy a paranormal romantic suspense novel with a resourceful heroine, intriguingly different hero pitting themselves against a complicated plot that includes supernatural forces melded to human greed.

Melissa Kinelly’s normal life shatters when her brother comes home with a diamond ear stud that transforms him from normal college student to raging human volcano constantly threatening a violent eruption. After the private investigator she hires to research the diamond’s history is murdered, she takes on the investigation herself, with the reluctant help of the manager of the pawnshop where her brother bought the gem. Pitting herself against a group of monstrous creatures connected to the diamond, she grapples with its dark history to find a way to stop it before it destroys her and everything she holds dear.

Trying Something New

Karen McCullough Posted on by

This is an experiment! I’m giving away one of my never-before-published books – totally free! You just have to sign up for the Substack list here , and the chapters will be delivered to you every couple of days. (And by the way, I will never sell or otherwise distribute your information. You can read my privacy policy here and Substack’s is here.)

Sometime before the final chapters are posted (and just so you know, there are around 50 of them), I will make the book available in ebook and paperback at most major retailers, but I promise you that I will also post the complete thing here over the next couple of months.

What is Black Diamond?

The novel defies easy genre categorization. It is part romance, part mystery, part paranormal thriller, part adventure, part family drama. I hope it is entirely entertaining. The story is set in contemporary times, in the town of Montclair, N.J., with flashback chapters to older times. A resourceful and intelligent female protagonist is matched with a male love interest who is much more than he seems and pitted against an ancient evil that threatens to destroy everyone she cares for. I should make clear that I wrote this novel entirely myself. No AI was ever used in its creation.

An ancient gem wreaks havoc on the lives and families of the men who’ve owned it.

Melissa Kinelly’s normal life shatters when her brother comes home with a diamond ear stud that transforms him from normal college student to a raging human volcano always on the verge of a violent eruption. After the private investigator she hires to research the diamond’s history is murdered, she takes on the investigation herself, with the reluctant help of the manager of the pawn shop where her brother bought the diamond. Pitting herself against a group of monstrous creatures connected to the gem, she grapples with the dark history of the diamond to find a way to destroy it before it destroys her and everything she holds dear.

When Does it Start?

I’ll post the first three chapters on Tuesday, Sept 8, 2026. After that, I’ll post a chapter or two, depending on length, every few days until it is complete. My hope is to finish posting around the end of October.

Can I Read All of It Even if I Come in Late?

Yes, for sure. You can come back to the Substack site to read chapters you might have missed. The entire story will remain posted on Substack, at least until the end of the year. Beyond that, I haven’t decided. But it will also be posted for sale at all major book retailers.

Is This Story in the Public Domain?

NO! Black Diamond is copyrighted by me, so I ask that you if you want to share the story, please do so by forwarding the Substack email or direct link. It’s hard enough to be an author these days. Please don’t make my life even harder by copying the text in any way, shape, or form.

Sign up to receive Black Diamond:

Family Reunion in Black Mountain

Karen McCullough Posted on by

My three children are widely scattered, one in Beaufort, NC, one in South Bend, Indiana, and one in Kent, England. All three have children of their own, so I am grandmother to eight. They’ve remained friends over the years, but distance means they can’t all get together very often.

With my son in England, we’ve generally alternated years for traveling to visit during the summer. Last year, my son suggested that for his family’s turn to come over here, we do something that would allow his children to meet and get to know their cousins, who they’d last seen almost four years ago.

I rented a large cabin (not as rustic as that sounds) in Black Mountain for the first week in August.  Joe and Steph with Freya and James flew over from England, Liz joined us from Beaufort, and Sarah, her husband, and her four boys drove down from Indiana to meet us there.

We had a fabulous week. Despite the threat of rain, it held off enough most days that we were able to get in the activities we wanted to do. The same for the sickness that threatened. Even the flat tire on the rental car (yes, again!) failed to slow us down much. (And I will definitely be renewing that Triple-A membership!)

We took the children gem mining at Emerald Village and they had a blast.  We visited the farm where my husband grew up for a day. When they heard we were coming, many of the extended McCullough family made the effort to join us there (and brought tons of food!) We had a few other assorted side trips that various people took to Asheville, the town of Black Mountain, some local hiking trails, and we finished it off with a trip to Catawba Falls. The Falls are divided into lower and upper falls. Reaching the upper falls meant climbing around 500 steps, so some of us were content with viewing the falls from the bottom.

The week went way too fast. I felt like I barely had any time at all with some of the family. Due to the imminent start of school the following week, Sarah and her family had to head back to South Bend and Liz needed to get back to work.

We still had some time with Joe and his family before they returned to England, but we’d already made some wonderful memories with the whole family.

My one regret is I never got a group picture of all of us, though I did get one (at a distance) of all of the children.

But when we got home we did a few more side trips with Joe and his family, visiting the Greensboro Batting Center so everyone could try out the batting cages, Common Grounds — the local coffee shop, and Urban Air, an extensive indoor play spot. More on that later.

It was tough saying goodbye to everyone, but great memories remain.

Boosting an Older Book

Karen McCullough Posted on by

I’m trying to give some love to an older book that I re-released several years ago and have pretty much neglected since . But I still think The Wizard’s Shield is a rollicking good story! To encourage people to try it, I’ve lowered the price to just $.99 for the rest of the month of July. Particularly for fans of Ilona Andrews, Jim Butcher, and Patricia Briggs – Why not try this contemporary, paranormal, romantic suspense novel?

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0060Y5IQ6
Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-wizards-shield-karen-mccullough/1114296122
Other ebook formats: https://books2read.com/u/4E1Bag

Surviving the Heat

Karen McCullough Posted on by

It’s July in North Carolina and that means heat. Serious heat. Blast furnace levels of heat. And for the next few days we’re expecting some of the highest temperatures we’ve seen in several years, with highs around 98 today and in the 100s tomorrow, going back down to 99 for the 4th of July holiday.

We usually go to a baseball game on the 4th if our local team is in town, to enjoy All-American hot dogs, ice cream, and fireworks. The team is playing here, and the show will go forward, but without us this year. We’re just too old to sit for hours in 95+degree heat, even in shade and with plenty of cold beer and water available.

Instead, we’ll cook our own food at home, scoop our own ice cream, and watch a baseball game on television in the comfort of our air-conditioned living room.

On the Garden front, I try to get out most mornings to do some maintenance work while it’s still—relatively—cool. But when the day starts out at 81, I give myself a break and pass on the weeding and mulching.

I do water the plants regularly when temperatures stay high and rain stays away, which is currently the case. And the garden is repaying me efforts with some pretty spectacular blooms. The pots on the patio are looking especially good this year, I think, but it will take daily watering to keep them happy when the daytime highs go above 90. It’s worth it to me when I get to sit on the porch swing in the shade and listen to the birds sing and admire the flowers surrounding me.