About the Author
A relatively blank display greets you. It has only a handprint in the stone with a single phrase written above it: "Touch me."
You raise an eyebrow with a smug smile as more than one anecdote comes to mind, and you pause a moment, considering. Yet, glancing around, you decide this mundane aisle of a room shouldn't produce anything you can't handle, so you place your hand in the imprint.
Your vision blurs and you close your eyes against an odd sensation of pressure all over your body. Your thoughts
change. You have new memories of a different world... a different time.
An Author's Brief Tale
I have always loved to read - a passion I imagine you share. My favorite genre (though many are enjoyable) is Fantasy, or Sci-Fi/Fantasy. Excited to write, I began my very first story at the age of five. It was quite the endeavor, as I had intended it to be a novel. Yet, I have difficulty bringing a story to a close, and never did finish that tale about Seca (a young foal in a wild herd of horses trying to avoid capture); my interests took a different turn as I grew older. (Though I have kept the manuscript - just in case.)
In writing "A Ray of Hope" in February 2000, I had created a new story and world I wanted to write about, and began fleshing this out. Yet, at the end of my junior year in 2002, I wrote 2 sentences as a yearbook entry... and couldn't get them out of my mind. I transferred them to paper and just kept writing. This new tale became Queen of Thought, and I believe I finished its first draft circa 2009.
Until 2012, the bulk of my writing centered on fantasy (mostly focused on Queen of Thought), yet I felt God's pull to specifically write something I was thankful to Him for each day. I had battled depression and anxiety my whole life, and this seemed to be the avenue through which God shone His light. So, putting my fantasy writing on pause (excepting occasional jaunts), I began a blog called "A Thankful Heart." After over 500 thankful things written, I had to take a hiatus to care for my two children, but I still add to it!
My first self-published book, in 2013, was "My Thankful Beginning ~ A Shift in Focus," a compilation of my first 100 thankful things into a devotional journal meant to aid others to experience the freedom and joy Christ bestowed on me through the practice of intentional thankfulness to Him. I later decided to separate my fiction writing from my real-life writing, so I re-published the book under the name "Jen Kramer." Sorry if there was any confusion!
In 2016, I collected what I had learned on thankfulness into a study and self-published "How Do I Give Thanks in Everything?"
In 2019, I reconnected with a friend - also a mother of young ones - and discovered she wanted to consult as an editor. Excited, I asked if she'd like to take a look at Queen of Thought. To my delight, she shared in my excitement and jumped at the opportunity for some experience! She was able to work through my first three chapters before her life took a distinct turn and she had to stop. However, not only did her advice and point of view help me up my writing game, but this seemed like the perfect opportunity to switch my main focus back to fantasy. I have since continued to work on Queen of Thought's organization, backstory, editing, and honing my writing skills - in those moments I can snatch away.
I came to know Christ at an early age, discovering God's "lovingkindness is better than life." (Psalms 63:3) I married my high school sweetheart at the age of twenty. Six years later, we had our first child (a son!) and began the journey of parenthood. Three years after that, we had a second child (a daughter!). Care for these two has taken center-stage, but hasn't completely halted progress on my compositional works.
I have many and sundry hobbies (another reason it's taken so long to work on Queen of Thought!), including singing, writing, knitting, role-playing games, creating "waive" art, and toying with graphics. Once upon a time, I also acted and danced, but have found adults (especially parents) have this disease called "time constraint."
Whether you fancy my short stories, devotional journal, novel, or blog, my hope and prayer is that my compositions would bless you. "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." - Romans 15:13