Julie Christen Says Hello Writers!

 

 Here I am, writers!

     It's taken a while, but I've finally stepped into this amazing author world. And I owe it to my passion for this boy, RainyDay, our other Nokota horses Red Eagle and Moon, and my husband for making me brave.

Here's a little about me. 

    I live in central Minnesota and have all my life. I have taught 8^th grade English plus 6^th and 8^th grade health in the same room in the same district for 27 years. Some say I have “staying power”. I am fiercely dedicated to the things in life that make my heart happy – books books books, my family, my animals, and my writing. My husband and I ride a Harley and our horses when we’re not working on some part of our new hobby farm. I've decided I have way too many hobbies, and I'm not good at any of them, but they bring me joy and, I think, keep me young.

    I’ve been writing with purpose since 2010 when I learned about the Nokota® horses in Linton, ND and started my YA novel Paisley Noon: Voices of Forever Fields. I write poetry when it must come out of me. I write short stories when they must be told. And I write “The Sister Chicks” children’s stories because my hens provide just too much great material not to, and my nieces seem to think they’re pretty fun. 

    Paisley Noon: Voices of Forever Fields will be my first published novel. YA is my wheelhouse (maybe from being surrounded by middle schoolers for so long), but I also love playing around with children’s stories starring my farm animals. “The Sister Chicks” and “Nester the Donkey” are a way for me to fiddle with rhyme and dabble with a bit of my own artwork. I have written another shorter chapter book titled “The Painted Peacock” and am working on my newest endeavor inspired by my love of cloud-watching – Cloud City, a YA fantasy fiction novel.

    I would love to round out Paisley Noon’s and the Forever Fields family story with at least a second book. After that, I’d like to focus on Cloud City as I think it has great fantasy fiction potential – this book will be the first of a series.

Here's a blurb about Paisley Noon: Voices of Forever Fields

    What do you do when you want to contribute to something so much bigger than yourself? How do you discover something you know is inside you, but it sits deep and unreachable? How do you get this special part of you to the surface so you can offer it to others?

    You strike out on your own with your faithful dog and beloved horses and drive across the stretches of North Dakota to find the true meaning of family in a place that’s been waiting for you – a humble horse farm where Nokotas® fly across the prairie. And then, you let the horses show you.

    Come ride the Nokota® wave with this story of self-discovery, inner magic, and heritage as seventeen-year-old Paisley Noon discovers her eclectic extended family living in a forgotten little town in North Dakota. On these open plains pound the hoofbeats of a rare and magnificent horse breed. The Nokota®. Narrowly escaping extinction twice, these descendants of Sitting Bull’s war ponies relentlessly call for their families – their people. When the Lakota neighbor sweeps into Paisley’s life like the prairie winds through the manes of his small herd of preservation-bred Nokotas®, Paisley soon discovers her purpose lies with them. The enchanting voices these horses carry have whispered to her for some time. She hears their call. She just needs to know what they’re saying.

I do hope you come ride the Nokota® wave with Paisley and me!