“It’s the kind of place that passersby barely notice and would never stop. It’s also the kind of place that’s cherished if you live there.”

If you like cozy-style storytelling full of history, charm and a few restless spirits, I’m so glad you found Casten House Books. My name is Karen Ringel and I’ve embarked on a self-publishing journey to reveal the secrets in Casten’s Horn.

In 2020, I retired from an engineering career to settle in the Driftless Area of Wisconsin with my husband. It took me a little while to adapt to country living, but I always wanted to give writing a try. Now that I’ve recharged my energy and have time for storytelling, I’m quite literally writing my next chapter.

The place I live is full of history, character and charm. My goal is to share that with you in a fictional setting. I created Casten’s Horn by imagining how a small town might have developed in a valley like the one I live in. I sketched it out in pencil, adding and erasing features as the first story unfolded. That sketch wouldn’t be very legible if I scanned it in, so I’ve created a simplified map. I expect I’ll update the map as the series unfolds, so check back on the Maps page after each book.

Driftless Spirits, the series starter, was published in October 2025. Character-driven and cozy, you can read the hook and find links to related blog posts on the landing page or skip straight to previewing the Prologue.

Tangled Roots is the sequel and is coming in September 2026. The stakes are raised in the overall story arc. Still written in a cozy setting and style, this one is still a bit scarier, fitting for a book set around Halloween.