About Christine

Addicted to Reading From Early On

“I was born in a log cabin in the woods….

Scratch that. Writing has been a passion of mine for many years. I grew up in Ohio, near one of the best libraries in the world. I still miss it. The downtown branch consists of a city block of buildings with marble columns, stone floors, grand staircases . . . and books. Rooms and rooms filled with them. The corridors seemed to go on for miles and I was in heaven. Books were my escape and my portal to the rest of the world.

I read every spare moment and made up adventures of my own. I became an escaped princess from Persia. I convinced my neighborhood friends that my parents were doing a favor for the king by hiding me from assassins. After confessing my ruse, I divided my friends into groups of spies ala “Man from U.N.C.L.E.” and “Mission Impossible.” I was always the evil villain. Somehow those characters had the broadest range and the most fun.

During that time I wrote even more implausible stories. It took many more years before I had the courage to follow my dreams. I thought writers were famous people like Dr. Seuss and Laura Ingalls Wilder. I didn’t know that writers were ordinary people with extraordinary passion.

People just like you and me.

My writing took an unusual route that included a New England boarding school, two MIT degrees (Engineering and Art & Design) and a series of jobs that included working for a start-up software company, several years at Harvard University and more than a decade as a Graphic Arts Manager at Hallmark Cards. Still, the desire to write kept whispering in my ear.

My daughters read prolifically as did their friends, but many of their urban peers did not. There’s a good reason for that. Multi-cultural children were not seeing themselves depicted as being relevant in today’s society – as making a difference. Back then, they didn’t get to be the “heroes.” So why bother? And yes, while more books are now being published that depict children of color, most show us mired in stereotypes, or are tailored to who publishers “think” we are so the voices don’t ring true. Like a familiar accent, I can tell when the voice is off right away. We are a diverse and wonderful people from continents all over the world. Children of all colors spring from rich cultural and spiritual beginnings that publishing hasn’t even begun to tap.

So I decided to lend my voice and help change the climate. Ninety-five books are published so far. And in the process I realized that just as we need to inspire people to read for pleasure. We also need to show them how art and science are not mutually exclusive. It’s how higher order thinking is developed. Now my life has come full circle. I was appointed as an MLK Visiting Scholar at MIT for 2023-2024. That was renewed for a second year. I live in Kansas City, Missouri with my husband, a very old fish and cats who think I’m their personal servant and head of the pride.

Welcome to my writing life. May you have many blessings on your journey as well!