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A devout history nerd since childhood, I\u2019m a national & international bestselling author of historical fiction, and an active screenwriter who\u2019s worked with some of Hollywood\u2019s big guns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n<\/div> Favorite Flower: Rose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Three Sisters. One War. A Harrowing Escape. Few knew of this Jewish family\u2019s shocking secrets, painful pasts, and harrowing journey from Nazi-dominated Europe to America and from obscurity to celebrity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Run, Darling<\/strong> is that untold story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n RUN, DARLING<\/strong> reveals more about the Gabor sisters than their presence in the gossip columns, TV and movie screens, talk shows, and tabloids. Along with their talent, clever quips, and utter disregard for society\u2019s rules, Run, Darling dives into the untold story of three sisters, one war, and a harrowing escape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “RUN, DARLING is a splashy soap opera romp of a good time, with surprisingly serious themes of sisterhood, family, and the danger of being a woman who knows her own mind.” KLEOPATRA: The Early Years<\/strong>, tells the little-known story of the princess\u2019s harrowing \u201cThis stunning sequel to Kleopatra completes the story. Readers will enjoy the vivid \u201cEssex combines art, political intrigue, family feuds and sex to create a page-turner.\u201d \u201cStealing Athena firmly entrenches Karen Essex as one of the top historical novel writers “Brilliant. Sweeping. Breath-taking. Essex’s journey into the social expectations of Victorian women \u201cAn intensely erotic story of romance and obsession. . . . Lusciously sexy and Though my work is female driven, it\u2019s also chock full of two <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sign up below for Karen\u2019s newsletter bringing tidings of literary joy and adventure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n (I vow to never share one iota of your personal details with anyone. Ever.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/karenessex.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1000006455-e1738993531743.jpg\")
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Before the Sexual Revolution, reality TV, and social media, there lived the glamorous Gabors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nMORE ABOUT MY NOVELS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\u2014 Kate Quinn<\/p>\n\n\n\n
rise to the throne, surviving her murderous family members, exile, war, riots in the
streets of Alexandria. If you think your family has problems\u2026at least they\u2019re probably
not trying to kill you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\u201cKeenly researched and brimming with exotic, erotic detail, Essex\u2019s style is as seductive
as her subject.\u201d
\u2014 Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
PHARAOH: Book II of Kleopatra <\/strong>begins when twenty year-old Kleopatra meets Julius
Caesar and takes the reader on her fascinating journey partnering with him and another
powerful Roman, Mark Antony. But rather than concentrate on mere romance, the novel
also explores Kleopatra\u2019s extraordinary political acumen, diplomacy skills, and foresight.
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portrayal of Kleopatra and the period in which she lived.\u201d
\u2014 Library Journal<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LEONARDO\u2019S SWANS <\/strong>puts Leonardo da Vinci\u2019s rivalrous female muses at its core,
aristocratic women who shaped the art and politics of the Italian Renaissance. The novel
was a runaway bestseller in Italy and won the prestigious Premio Roma for foreign
fiction.
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\u2014 USA Today\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n
STEALING ATHENA<\/strong> is a sweeping historical saga from the perspectives of two
fascinating women, Aspasia, philosopher and mistress to Pericles, and Countess Mary
Elgin, who twenty-three hundred years later saw the demise of Pericles\u2019s great Athenian
monuments.
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of our time.\u201d
\u2014 Bookreporter.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DRACULA IN LOVE<\/strong>, born from my love of fellow New Orleanian Anne Rice\u2019s work and a
childhood fascination with reruns of DARK SHADOWS, retells Bram Stoker\u2019s classic tale
from the perspective of the vampire\u2019s obsession, Mina Harker, who surprises readers
with her own supernatural lineage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
through the telling of the Dracula story is genius.” \u2014 Book Banter<\/em>
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outrageously chilling by turns.\u201d \u2013 Newark Star-Ledger<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NOTE TO MALE READERS<\/em>: <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
things that male readers love: politics and sex. \ud83d\ude42 So join the party, please!<\/p>\n\n\n\nJOIN THE NEWSLETTER<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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