About the Freelance Writer

     Karen Jean Matsko Hood has been a freelance writer for almost fifteen years.  Her poetry has been published in over seventy publications nationwide.  She is currently working on a submission to Parenting magazine about the desperate need for foster parents.  Hood is passionate about reforming the foster care system in the United States through transformational leadership.  Sharing her voice on the issue is her first step in her campaign for reform. 

     Hood was born and raised in Great Falls, Montana.  As an undergraduate, she attended the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota, and St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota.  She attended the University of Great Falls in Great Falls, Montana.  Hood received a B.S. Degree in Natural Science from the College of St. Benedict and minored in both Psychology and Secondary Education.  Upon her graduation, Hood and her husband taught science and math on the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Hood has completed postgraduate classes at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa.  In May 2001, she completed her Master’s Degree in Pastoral Ministry at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington.  She has taken postgraduate classes at Lewis and Clark College on the North Idaho college campus in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; through Taylor University in Fort Wayne, Indiana; University of Washington in Seattle, Washington; Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Washington; and Washington State University, in Pullman, Washington.  Hood is currently working on research projects to complete her Ph.D. in Leadership Studies at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington.

     Hood resides in Greenacres, Washington, along with her husband, thirteen children, and foster children.  Her interests include writing, teaching, and volunteering as a court advocate in the juvenile court system for abused and neglected children.  Hood is a literary advocate for youth and adults.  Her hobbies include cooking, baking, photography, indoor and outdoor gardening, and the cultivation of unusual flowering plants and orchids.  She enjoys raising several specialty breeds of animals including Icelandic horses, bichon frises, cockapoos, Icelandic sheepdogs, and a few rescue cats.  Hood also enjoys bird-watching and finds all aspects of nature precious.  She demonstrates a passionate appreciation of the environment and a respect for all life.

     You may contact Ms. Hood

through the publisher’s office:

Karen Jean Matsko Hood

c/o Whispering Pine Press, Inc.

P.O. Box 1469

Spokane Valley, WA 99037-1469 USA

Phone: (509) 927-0404‌│Fax: (509) 927-1550

Website: www.karenjeanmatskohood.com

Email: Karen@karenjeanmatskohood.com

     You may order Ms. Hood’s other books including poetry, fiction, and nonfiction for adults and children, by requesting them from your local bookstore and your local library.