About me
My relationship with the written word began at an early age when I was fortunate enough to grow up in a family whose members loved books and reading. My mother, in particular, is a true bibliophile and engaged us in frequent trips to both the library and of course, the bookmobile – which was, perhaps one of the greatest methods of bringing books to children. (We really need to bring it back.)
As a result, I was thrown into the world of books, a place I grew to love above anywhere else. It may sound hard to believe, but I remember the exact moment that I began to understand how to read. Every evening, my mother read to me from a book of my choice. Like many small children, I was eager to read by myself and often pretended to mimic the words I had heard my mother speak from the page. One day, however, I was staring at the pages from the Emily Reed book, Let Papa Sleep!. I’m not sure how exactly it happened, but I suddenly began to make connections between the words my mother spoke and the ones in print. I remember a proverbial “light bulb” going off in my mind as the block letters took shape and formed words. It was a truly, amazing thing to experience.
Let Papa Sleep! by Emily Reed
Having developed such a love of the written word, it was only a matter of time before I began to create my own short stories and poetry. I wrote frequently and with passion and shared my work with my parents, teachers – and just about anyone else who was interested. There was no doubt in my mind that I would grow up to become an author and spend my days joyfully playing with words.
However, as clear as our path may be to us as children, we sometimes find that it does not always follow the straightest of lines.
By the time I got to college, I decided to major in creative writing and contributed to school publications. I became involved in writing longer fiction and drama and was asked to oversee a university-run production of one of my plays. At the same time, though, I felt called to service and decided to use my love of writing to help others.
I subsequently began working at an inner-city Bronx high school where, I taught English and creative writing to teenagers. Under my tutelage, several students were the recipients of local and state awards and were selected to be a part of a Show Time short film project. In addition, I worked as an adjunct instructor at a local college teaching literature, myth and archetype, as well as creative writing.
Feeling deeply committed to teaching, I obtained a masters degree in English Education and began working as a professional developer. I pursued a second masters in School Leadership and planned to begin working as a school administrator. As determined as I was, however, a small voice began to remind me that I was ignoring my first love and I started to once again feel the pull of the written word.
After some dabbling in blogging, I finally gave in and surrendered once again to the world of fiction. After much soul searching, I decided to take a leave of absence from my job and move to Ireland with my Irish-born husband in order to pursue writing on a full-time basis. My first novel, Confirmation, is a subsequent result of this decision. It is intended to be the first in a series of novels that will describe a young woman’s adventures as she journeys towards self-discovery, matures, and uncovers the truth behind various cultural and mythological teachings.
In retrospect, the novel is the inevitable consequence of my various teaching experiences. Although the book is not intended for a young adult audience, the story is told through the eyes of a seventeen-year-old woman. Jessica is an intelligent and strong-willed, young person – a compilation of some of the wonderful students I’ve met along the way and a bit of myself. In addition, the novel touches upon the links between some of the biblical and mythological stories that lie beneath the fabric of our collective beliefs – topics I am fascinated with and have addressed in my various courses.
In short, Confirmation represents the many people, experiences, and lessons I have learned as I traveled along the different roads which led me back to my original path. I hope that when you meet Jessica, you will grow to love her as much as I do and follow her rather unusual journey towards self-discovery.
Click here for a synopsis
or here for an excerpt.
About the site design:
Kristina is the creator of beautifullyartful.com
This website was lovingly and painstakingly created by my dear friend, Kristina Brooke, an unbelievably talented web designer, freelance author, and social media navigator.
A self described, “techno geek,” Kristina has been involved in all things Internet related for many years. In 1998, she created Epiphany, an online creative writing magazine which served as a launching pad for several, successful authors.
Commercial and navigational issues compelled her to abandon Epiphany when Yahoo purchased Geocities and she went on to pursue writing, editing, and blogging. She has worked with various authors including Anastatia Clark, Niki Giovanni, Pamela June-Kimmell, and many others.
She eventually decided to use her knowledge of HTML, CSS, and PHP to create webdesigns and launched her own business, Beautifully Artful, a design studio which offers web/graphic design and website development, as well as print/desktop publishing services.
Beautifully Artful is a subdivision of her parent company, KristinaBrooke.org, which offers web design in addition to a host of other services which reflect her many talents and interests.
For more information about Kristina, visit any of the following sites: