Pronounced, Kierstan Jown, when I read James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl, I knew I wanted to be a writer. After getting a diagnosis of MS in 1999, being called “disabled" and experiencing "invisibility" when my condition got more visible, I wanted to tell stories. I felt it was important to have characters that elevate perceptions of those who have ever felt marginalized by labels or categories. We are all pieces in the same puzzle in which every piece is needed to thrive. Disability is a legal term I am forever grateful for, yet for me it does not fit and I prefer to use the word challenged instead of disabled. Having a career as a trained counselor and living a life striving to encourage one to always listen to your own voice, I recently started a blog "Squiggly Songs." It is in reference to feeling like a squiggly line in a world of straight lines. We all have something to manage, so let’s sing our Squiggly Songs!
Writing since the age of seven, my journey began after I was offered opportunities at work to publish poetry and articles in college publications. For two years, I wrote non-fiction articles for several online magazines. Here, I was given praise and could claim the credit “published writer.” Yet, I yearned to write fiction. I write stories to elevate and named them "Tenacious Tales.”
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