Karyn Monk - the Author's Official Site
Karyn's Biography

That's Karyn with a 'y'...

Arriving as the fourth child and the third baby in three years for John and Lorraine Monk, Karyn surprised her weary but delighted mother when she turned out not to be Karyn at the age of 3the boy her mother had believed she would be. Since her chosen name of Philip would not work particularly well with the squirming little girl in the doctor's arms, her mother was at a loss when the nurse in the delivery room cheerfully asked her what she planned to call her new baby.

"I don't know," her mother confessed. "What's your name?"

"It's Karen," the nurse replied.

"All right, I'll call her Karen," her mother decided agreeably, feeling much too tired and elated to give the matter any further thought.

Later, when her father was completing her birth certificate, neither parent was entirely certain how the hastily selected name was spelled. So they improvised and spelled it with a 'Y', thinking that looked more or less right. Hence began a lifetime of Karyn having to spell her name for people, giving everyone the impression that her parents were striving to be different when they named her, when in fact they were only trying to quickly finish the paperwork and get some much-needed sleep...

Karyn on Stage ...The world was her stage...

Of a rather theatrical temperament, Karyn loved to perform for anyone willing to be her audience from an early age--and when no one was willing, her imaginary audience enthusiastically filled in. Upon seeing the movie The Sound of Music, she decided that she wanted to grow up to be just like Julie Andrews, except without that short haircut. Her passion for singing and acting took her onto the stage in a number of musical productions over the years, in which she played a variety of roles, both serious and comic. After graduating from university with a major in history she began to build a career in advertising, while still making time to perform.

...and then came the books...

After working for a number of years in the hectic world of fashion and advertising, Karyn decided she had to pursue her dream of becoming a writer. So she resigned from her job and set to work writing a novel, tapping away each day in a small room on a temperamental, antiquated computer. After laboring for nearly two years, she was immensely encouraged when an agent agreed to represent her before the manuscript was completed. Her optimism swiftly diminished, however, Author Karyn Monkwhen the first rejection letters arrived, claiming her romantic historical was too dark and detailed.

The next day, she received a call from her agent telling her that her book had sold to Bantam.

Surrender To A Stranger was released to critical acclaim, and was nominated Best First Book by Romantic Times. Karyn went on to write more books, winning awards along the way. She quickly became renowned for her powerful, sensual style, which also incorporated her own special warmth and humor. She was also known for her compelling characterizations of children, whom she adored...

After the birth of her third child, Karyn took a break from her writing career to focus on her family. She is now working on a memoir and a children’s book.

 

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