Karen Harvey has been a resident of St. Augustine since 1978. She is an author with a long list of nonfiction books. And now at 81, she has released her first novel.
Harvey is originally from Long Island, New York, and she has known from a young age that she had a passion for writing.
“In seventh grade the teacher gave a short writing assignment with play money as the motivator. I became a millionaire and figured I must be doing something right,” said Harvey.
Harvey recently released her first novel, titled “Amanita’s Sin.” The novel took her about two years to write, and it highlights the history of St. Augustine as Amanita saw it at the turn of the last century and then through Phoebe’s eyes in 1985.
“‘Amanita’s Sin’ is a haunting and emotionally resonant narrative that weaves together generational trauma, memory and healing the interacting lives of young Phoebe King, her adoptive family and the lingering spirit of Amanita, who lived more than a century earlier,” said Harvey’s publisher.
Harvey has had many different life experiences, which have all been a part of her writing in different ways.
“I wrote a novel about death and dying after I returned from Vietnam,” she said. “I was a Red Cross field director there and lived on a compound with helicopter fighter pilots. I was moved by their attitudes on the subject.”
Harvey spent time working with The St. Augustine Record’s arts and entertainment section, and she is a member of the St. Augustine Historical Society. In 1989, while working at The Record, her feature story about Lewis Sanks’s black history tales won third place in a statewide competition sponsored by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors.
She also wrote “Daring Daughter, St. Augustine’s Feisty Females,” which is currently her most popular book.
A few years back, Harvey was approached by The University of Florida Press to write a book about the history of ghost stories in St. Augustine. That book is currently in its third printing.
Harvey is actively involved with the Florida Heritage Book Festival, and she has also served on local citizens’ boards including the Historic Architecture Review Board and the Historic Preservation Advisory Committee.
Harvey has appeared on the History Channel, the Discovery Channel and in numerous documentaries about spiritual activity in St. Augustine.
In 2008, Harvey won the Tourism Employee of the Year Award.
Harvey was also one of the original winners of the ROWITA award. ROWITA (Recognizing Outstanding Women In The Arts) represents lifetime achievement and is awarded to women who have made significant contributions to the St. Johns County arts community.
In her free time, Harvey enjoys reading and photography.
“I love feeding the deer that come to my back yard and am compiling a picture album of the beautiful creatures,” she said.
