Karelia Stetz-Waters is the author of the novel The Admirer and the serial novel The Eastbank Killer; her work has also appeared in Calyx and First Time: An Anthology of Lost Virginity. She holds a master's degree in English from the University of Oregon and a bachelor's degree in Comparative Literature from Smith College. A member of Willamette Writers and the Gold Crown Literary Society, Karelia teaches technical writing and English composition at Linn-Benton Community College. She lives in Albany, Oregon, with her wife, Fay, their pug, Lord Byron, and their cat, Cyrus the Disembowler. Having grown up during the violent political debate surrounding Oregon's infamous anti-gay Ballot Measure 9, Karelia's first young adult novel, Forgive Me If I've Told You This Before, is loosely based on her own experiences of growing up gay in Oregon in the early nineties.
Washington State's Olympic Peninsula is what the short novels in
the collection Three Sides Water have in common. It travels from a
1925-set harrowing, suspenseful tale of a woman's assault and its
lifelong aftermath, to a 1970 coming-of-age tale set in the waning
days of a juvenile detention center, to a present-day wry, comic
look at one man's obsession with... wait for it: Bing Crosby. In On
Rialto Beach, Marguerite is half of an identical twin set who has
entered show business via the flim-flam performances of her mystic
act boss. While on vacation in his remote luxury camp, Marguerite
experiences the delight of drawing in a treehouse and the company
of visiting silent screen idol Harold Lloyd. But she is also
brutally attacked by a hired man. The summer and its secrets haunt
her. In At Fort Worden, readers meet chronic delinquent Avery, who
spends his last year as a ward of the state. He runs away from his
detention center, experiences his first love with fellow inmate
Brenda and friendship with a transgender teen. Through them he
awakens to the tumultuous world at large. Finally, Out of Shelton
follows Chris, who has been brought up by his grandmother in the
image of the singing star Bing Crosby, and finds his own identity
submerging into Der Bingle's, warts and all. It proves promising
for his entertainment career but wreaks havoc on his love and
family life. The pull of place comes to his rescue, along with some
dosing with Anafranil. Though widely different in tone and genre,
these three short novels unite in their compelling setting. Each
shares the pull of place: this spectacular corner of the continent.
A delightful tour de force. Highly recommended. By Eileen
Charbonneau for the Oregon Historical Society--Oregon Historical
Society "Three Sides Water"
I absolutely loved this book. I cried my eyes out, so touched and
amazed to read something that so closely echoed my own
adolescence... The injustice and fear that homophobia unleashes on
society's young people has twisted so many coming-out stories into
ones of tragedy. I will cherish Forgive Me and its message of
kindness and hope while cheering the trailblazers who came before
me; in their simple acts of defiance and love, they have changed
the world. - Sara Quin, of Tegan and Sara--Sara Quin
Smartly set in a dangerous time, when the politicizing and
normalizing of a virulent homophobia was gripping Oregon, a teen
must find the audacity to simply be who she is. Stetz-Waters has
drawn a genuine young heroine who reminds us, not without humor,
that small acts of courage move the world forward. -Heather Lyn
McDonald, director of the documentary film Ballot Measure
9--Heather Lyn McDonald
Take a deep breath. Step back twenty years to a virulent antigay
political campaign, when being queer meant being branded a pariah
and an abomination. Walk with Triinu, a shy and achingly honest
girl who tries to navigate love and friendship, hold to her faith,
and accept her draw to other young women. At the end of the road,
you'll thank author Karelia Stetz-Waters for this bold and lucid
story that is compelling, compassionate, and leavened with humor.
Stetz-Waters dedicates her book to queer kids everywhere, but you
needn't be queer or a kid to appreciate Forgive Me If I've Told You
This Before. - Ruth Tenzer Feldman, Oregon Book Award-winning
author--Ruth Tenzer Feldman
Queer Books Across America: Incredible Lesbian and Bisexual Novels
and Memoirs Set in Every State Sara Quin's front-page endorsement
of this novel -- she cried her eyes out, and was "so touched and
amazed to read something that so closely echoed my own adolescence"
-- is likely all you need to fall for the story of shy, nerdy
Triinu Hoffman of rural Oregon, who in 1989 is finding herself (and
her love for girls) while her town takes sides over equal rights.
--Auto Straddle
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