Teacher. Christie is in her tenth year as an educator. She teaches senior English, AP English Literature, and the creative writing elective at an all-girls school, as well as a summer camp creative writing course for girls in the 5th-8th grade. She also teaches online courses for gifted students enrolled in Duke University's Talent Identification Program. She is a Google Certified Educator, Level 2.
Writer. Christie writes short fiction and novels, primarily fantasy and magical realism about strange people, beautiful dreams, and magic. One of her biggest inspirations was attending the 2016 Madcap Retreats Aspiring Writers Workshop with Maggie Stiefvater, V.E. Schwab, Julie Murphy, and other amazing authors—all while deep in the fairy tale woods of Tennessee in a beautiful house full of light.
She is currently set to begin her MFA in children's and young adult fiction writing at the Vermont College of Fine Arts in the summer of 2020.
Christie recently completed a non-fiction book which is part of a series aimed at teen readers titled Depression: Tips and Insights for Teenagers (Rowman and Littlefield). Her book addresses depression in teenagers, offering relatable, accessible situations and strategies to guide teens struggling with mental health—including identifying signs of struggle, recognizing stress factors, de-stigmatizing shame, implementing strategies for self-care (both in immediate crisis and long-term coping skills), and finding resources for help. It will be released October 14, 2020 and is available for preorder on Amazon.
Scholar. Christie earned her PhD in English literature at Louisiana State University. She received a dissertation-year fellowship from the LSU Graduate School for her dissertation project titled Inside Voice: Charlotte Smith, (In)Sensibility, and Emotional Cadences in Lyric Silence. Christie holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature with a special concentration in creative writing (minor in anthropology) and a master’s degree in English literature from the University of New Orleans. She has presented her scholarly work at conferences across the country. She also studied abroad several times, taking graduate courses in creative writing (fiction and non-fiction), British and French literature, book history, print culture, and French language in France and Canada Her research interests include Romantic and Victorian literature, the lyric, social and physical histories of affect, and the multi-faceted role of silence in expressing emotional and sensory excess.
Dreamer. She enjoys spending time with her lovely kitties Lord Tennyson & Mister Browning (aka Teeny & Mister). Her interests include reading and writing beautiful dreamy fictions, traveling the world taking pictures and eating delicious cheeses, and learning new things every day.
