A little about me and my writing journey

 

THE EARLY DAYS

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love books. Though I can’t remember signing the back of my first library card, I do remember having a card at a very young age. Growing up in Queens,New York, I remember being in awe of the stacks at the Queens branch of the New York Public Library. What better place for a budding writer than New York City? I remember coming home with more books than my little hands could hold.

Beyond books, I love notebooks. Still do, and sometimes it seems I have more journals than the words in my head can fill. Before typewriters and computers I wrote three YA novels longhand. I only wish I knew what became of those early manuscripts, but regardless it spurred my love of writing on. Then came the day when I, in my mind, became ‘a writer’. My first typewriter. It was an old manual that my father, then a sanitation worker, brought home from work. Just wondering about the previous owner was fodder for an imaginative mind. I continued to write stories all through high school and eventually dipped my toes in the world of non-fiction, writing articles for a local newspaper.

THE MAKING OF A WRITER

Though I did not pursue a writing related degree after high school, I continued to write as I jumped from job to job. Years later I now see that I was not alone in my erratic job history – it seems to me to be the hallmark of the writing life. Having become friends with many authors, I have found that most of them meandered through many ‘odds and ends’ jobs before settling into the writing life.

Fast forward to the years when I got married and became a mom to a precious baby boy (who today is a successful entrepreneur and still precious to me). Finally I had the time, or at least a different set of times, to pursue writing. I did. Not only did I write but I worked as a research assistant for other writers as well as teaching online. A baby girl, the light of my life, quickly followed in the tracks of that baby boy and though writing got pushed aside as I dealt with colic, terrible twos and more, I never really stopped writing.

As my children grew so did my writing career. That old typewriter relinquished its spot on my desk, demoted to a dusty box in the basement, as I began writing on my first word processor. As the years sped by, I upgraded equipment as I added to my writing credentials. In 2006 I won a journalism award from the Society of Professional Journalists ( https://www.spj.org/)

FICTION – A NEW DIRECTION

As excited as I was about winning that award, and despite the doors it opened for me, I had an urge to try something new. And so my fiction career was born. And what better place for a book lover to be than immersed in the exciting work of creating imaginary people and worlds?

With more than two hundred articles published in magazines, newspapers and websites, I jumped in to fiction writing with both feet. The water is nice. Yes, sometimes it’s a bit cold (rejecting your baby hurts) and sometimes it’s choppy (publishing is changing so fast you can barely keep your head above the water), but I love spending my days surrounded by my characters in a world that I created.

I write small town romance and women’s fiction. I love happily ever afters, but I also love exploring women’s journeys in life. Writing women’s fiction is an adventure. The possibilities are unlimited and my own life has helped shape my writing.

My first book, A Husband for Danna, released in 2014. My latest release, Ruth’s Garden, released in January 2019. I am an Amazon bestselling author of ten books. Four of my books, Ruth’s Garden, Harvest Blessings, The Christmas Coin, and a novella collection, Faithful Women, have been on Amazon bestseller lists. Ruth’s Garden, a Christian romance based on the Book of Ruth from the Bible originally released in the collection Faithful Women: Legacies of Grace, was an Amazon #1 bestseller in both religious romance and contemporary religious fiction. The title is now available on Amazon as a single and is on Amazon’s bestseller list in New Releases in Contemporary Christian Fiction. Many of my books have found their way on to library shelves. I’ve been very blessed in my writing career. 

 

 

A PASSION FOR HELPING OTHERS

After talking to readers who were dreaming of becoming writers, I began offering writing workshops both online, in person at local libraries, and at my local Barnes & Noble. I love seeing readers who dream of writing and getting published make their dreams a reality.  I also offer one on one coaching for writers to take their writing to the next level. As I step on each rung of the ladder toward my writing dreams, I want to reach back down, grab another writer by the hand, and pull them up. 

When I’m not writing or reading, I love spending time with family, my three cats, taking walks with my Cocker Spaniel Yogi or riding on my new bicycle, a three wheeled adult tricycle I’ve named Wanda.  I am a member of the Published Authors Network (PAN) of the Romance Writers of America and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association.

I hope you’ll check out my books or work with me in my next writing workshop or coaching services. I’d love to work with you. Let’s keep in touch!

OTHER PLACES ON THE WEB YOU CAN FIND ME

You can find me at Facebook.

Follow me on Pinterest.

I’m on Instagram now too! Have fun with me at https://www.instagram.com/christina_lorenzen/

 

HAVE A LISTEN FOR FUN

Radio Interview

On May 11, 2016 I was interviewed by Barry Eva of the internet radio show A Book and A Chat. I had a great time talking about libraries, writing and my books. You can listen here https://www.newvisionsradio.com/2014-02-26-19-59-03/a-book-and-a-chat/a-book-and-a-chat-2016-pg-1

Radio Interview with Creative Caravan Road Show

On June 7, 2016 I was interviewed by Suzanne Lieurance and Wendy Dewar Hughes from the Blog Talk Radio internet show, the Creative Caravan Road Show. You can listen to the interview here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/creativecaravanroadshow/2016/06/07/author-christina-lorenzen-talks-about-her-new-book

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