BY KRISTINA HARRIS
I suppose editing has always been my calling in life: my family dubbed me “the walking dictionary” when I was just a small child. When I was a teenager, I was promoted to “walking encyclopedia.” Do those hard-bound sets of encyclopedias even exist anymore? I used to read ours just for fun.
English was my favorite subject in school. It actually interested me to learn about different sentence structures, why adverbs and adjectives were different, and when to use a semicolon. But, most of all, I loved reading. I’m told that, by the age of two, I was eagerly devouring words.
I’ve never stopped. Whether it be a novel by Stephen King or Joyce Carol Oates, a nonfiction about someone’s personal history or something interesting in nature, or even Gribben’s search for the fabled Schr?dinger’s Cat, I’ll happily read anything!
All of that reading led me to writing, of course; it’s such a gateway drug! Writing is my secret obsession in life.
So why do I have a degree in business, of all things? All I can say is that it seemed like a sensible thing to do at the time. My husband and I figured that it was an all-around useful degree that would be far more acceptable in the job market than something in the English field.
Obviously I just can’t stay away from my passions though!
A few fun facts about me:
I live in Tucson, where my other job titles are Wife—for 15 years, and Mother—to three teenage boys. Yeah, living in a house full of guys is a dirty job, but my Scentsy and I try to make up for it! (We won’t even talk about the menagerie of animals that lives with us…)
I collect Mister Potato Heads. There are some really neat ones out there. I just learned that there is a steampunk one!
I love to cook. Come on over for dinner; my youngest son will insist you have the meatloaf, and I swear that you’ll love it!
I’m excited to be one of the newest members on The X Team. After being a freelance editor for a long time, and then working in journalism for a short time, landing with a publishing house is a dream come true. I can’t wait to get to know my way around!
Kristina has made reading and writing a focal point in her life. No matter how busy she is, she has always found relaxation in books and editing. She started her published career in her high school newspaper by submitting short stories. Now, she has edited three published works: two adult novels and one children’s book, and has written and edited for numerous national specialty magazines.
Kristina holds a degree in business administration, has been a model for a nationally recognized talent agency, and leads the way in her household, managing a husband, three sons, two dogs, two cats, a guinea pig, and a lizard!
Kristina’s first project with The X, Relative Evil by Debra Erfert, is slated for release in July 2014.
