Energizing Esprit, Reporting for Duty.
Kari Luna is the author of The Theory of Everything, winner of the Oregon Book Award for Young Adult Literature and an Indies Next New Voices pick. She’s also a creative director/copywriter, works with authors on branding and promo, and her bands are all famous in Europe, of course. She’s currently working on a middle grade series about animals and the climate emergency and publishes essayettes about her dog, canine cancer, Bowie, and the beauty of iron-transfers at the Petey Sellers Secret Society. You can also find her work at Entropy, The Weeklings, About Place Journal, and online @wordette on Instagram and Twitter. Kari was born under the big, blue skies of Texas but now lives in Portland, Oregon, land of moss and mischief.
I’ve always been a natural detective.
The first time I took an aptitude test in high school, the results came back with three suggested careers: writer, musician, and detective. The first two I already knew, I’d been doing some form of both since birth, but the third one was a surprise. I remember glossing over it since I had no desire to do police work, even though being a P.I. sounded slightly intriguing. Can’t you picture the office? (Swoon.)
As it turns out, writing novels is part imagination, part music, and part investigation. I’ve always been a natural detective, asking the big questions and doing whatever it takes to answer them. It’s helped me in my advertising career, which has been my day job for decades. It’s helped me as a musician, too, whether I’m playing in bands or writing songs for my dog. And ultimately, it’s helped me write stories. My grandmother loved mysteries and my great-grandmother wrote them, so being naturally curious is in my blood – along with a love for vintage Vera scarves and tiny sandwiches.
If you see a girl out and about in a vintage detective coat, peering around corners in Portland, Oregon, it might be me! Please say hello – I love surprise friends.
I painted my office the color of a swimming pool, even the ceiling, because I wanted to feel like I was underwater while writing. I call it The Office Aquatic.
Before I wrote books, I played in bands – ska, garage-punk-soul, and soul-piano-plunk. I played with such passion, I earned the nickname “The Secretary.”
I’m never happier than when I’m tromping through a rainforest or gazing at the ocean. I love them so much, I thanked them in a speech when I won the Oregon Book Award.
I have a degree in Journalism and unofficial degrees in punk rock and whimsicology. I’m a Scorpio, dreamer, water-lover, animal enthusiast, and want to write books that make everyone feel more included and hopeful in this big, beautiful world.
My dog gives high-fives, tells secrets, and never says no to a Friday Night Dance Party.
Baby howler monkey! Baby howler monkey!
I’ve always loved making collages, and still do! They’re all over my house.