Date | Sunday, Nov 22, 2026
Time | 9-9:50a
Location | Parlor

Author Karen Garloch to Discuss Debut Novel

MPCov’s own Karen Garloch will visit with us to discuss her new book Stray Voltage.

Karen will discuss her debut novel which is based in rural Indiana in 1995. Born and raised a Hoosier, Karen knows her subject well. The story is loosely based on the real life experiences of a friend of hers in Indiana who owned a large dairy farm. Many of his cows suffered from a mysterious illness that eventually killed them. Solving the mystery of his cows’ illness was an involved and long process.

The book tells the story of a traditional farm wife who tries to figure out what is harming her family's dairy herd and must decide if she can risk challenging her husband and other powerful men in the community to make her voice heard. Frye Gaillard, who spoke to our class a few weeks ago, gave this review of her book: "Part medical mystery, and partly a tale of corporate greed and family values put to the test, this gracefully written page-turner will hold you in its gentle thrall until the final page is turned."

Stray Voltage was published this fall by Regal House Publishing in Raleigh after receiving the company's Petrichor Prize for Finely Crafted Fiction in 2024.

Karen Garloch retired in 2017 after 45 years as a newspaper journalist, including 30 years as health writer for the Charlotte Observer. She was also a part of a team of reporters at the Observer who were finalists for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting. She is a native of Indiana and a graduate of Ball State University, where she is a member of the Journalism Hall of Fame. She and her husband, Larry, live in Charlotte.