I was born in west Texas, raised in Arkansas, graduated high school in Kentucky, and gave birth to my kids in Tennessee. When people ask me where I’m from, I say I’m from SEC country. That’s the Southeastern Conference for you non-sports-minded people. I’m from the South, and if you don’t consider Texas the South, then South and Texas but not South Texas. I currently live in North Texas (It’s important to specify which part of Texas a Texan is from.) I’ve never lived outside the Central Time Zone.
I spent seventeen years of my life working as a high school science teacher. I taught all levels of science: Biology, Chemistry, Anatomy, Physics, Environmental Science, both regular and AP levels. I tried my hand at administration as an assistant principal for a little while and a curriculum director, and I have a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership. But ultimately, it wasn’t meant for me to stay in that line of work until I became old and confused. Instead, I decided to be a stay-at-home mom while my kids finished school.
Like many authors, I didn’t start right out of college dreaming of becoming an author. I once had dreams of being a TV News Journalist or a performing artist doing musical broadway theater, but those are dreams of a disillusioned teenager. Life has a way of becoming all-to-real as we get older. Toward the end of my years as a teacher, I started taking courses towards a doctorate in counseling psychology, but that didn’t work out either.
So, what is a person to do when they know a lot about a lot of things but has no real clue what to do with all that knowledge, well, write, of course. So I set out to write my first fiction novel. It was horrible at first, and, yes, I self-published too soon, but after several years of rewriting and learning everything I could about the writing industry, I think I have finally got the hang of this. There will always be more to learn. (I’m still a lover of learning.) I will never stop learning and growing.
I’m excited to see where this new chapter in my life takes me. If it all works out, I have about 20 books stored in my little brain dying to be born into the world. Each one is a labor of love and when published feels like a child going off to discover a life on its own. No matter what becomes of them, they are my pride and joy, and I will love them as a mother loves her children. Hopefully, they will be loved by others, too.
Chanda Christine 