"You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. You can't get there by bus, only by hard work and risk and by not quite knowing what you're doing, but what you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover will be yourself." Alan Alda spoke these words to a 1980 college graduation, the same year 16-year-old Karen Ross posted his words on her dresser mirror. Then and now, Karen challenges herself personally and professionally to live on that outside edge of comfortable, and writing does this. She had a story to tell about life experiences: Gutsy romantic love (something not easily found, and often lost); soul-tickling romantic Italy; delectable food and wine (especially Chianti); and passionate living and traveling. So, she put pen to paper, not sure of what she was getting herself into, and the experience was sometimes easy, often challenging, but was always exhilarating and satisfying. It was definitely outside of her city of comfort, but undoubtedly worth the hard work and risk.