Karen never told her fans what her stories were about; their interpretations were more interesting.

Some saw the salvation of sex. Others a search for God. One reader in Australia insisted Karen was a psychic channeling his own unrequited longings.

Karen knew they were really about her best friend’s husband.

Robb Lanum is a failed screenwriter in Los Angeles. Some of his longer-form, epic works have appeared on 101words.org.