Author’s biography

Kathleen King has been passionate about books since the day she walked into her first grade classroom.  When she got a small, pink diary with a tiny gold lock and key several years later, she discovered her second passion – writing. The thrill of recording the events of the day and later, in junior high, the possibility of inventing stories of her own, ignited a love of words, writing, and creative imagination which has never diminished.Her third passion – helping people discover the possibilities of their life – has its roots in her mother’s constant reminder that you can be whatever you want to be when you grow  up – if you are willing to work for it.

Kathleen says, “I believe firmly that many people limit their possibilities because they are afraid of actually accomplishing their dreams.  Instead they convince themselves that this is all there is.They content themselves with jobs that offer no challenge or lives that offer no joy.  But I also believe that you don’t have to wait until accomplish your dream to experience it — that by using our creativity and playful imagination, we can experience the joy of our dreams today.  All my personal growth workbooks are rooted in this philosophy.”

She says that writing fiction allows her to explore the often unanswered questions in life, in particular, “Why?” and “What if?”  Her characters allow her to “explore, ask questions, re-examine experiences, make different choices, and look into alternate futures.” 

“Writing is how I make sense of life – whether it’s in my journal, or in a novel or by writing creative non-fiction. It both anchors me and frees me at the same time.”

Fiction (soon available in downloadable PDF manuscript format)

• Jenna’s  Journey: The Bronze Key.  In the early 1700s, 12-year-old Jenna lives a simple life with her parents and five brothers on the edge of the great lord’s lands. But Jenna has a secret. In dark dreams too frightening to describe, she hears a woman’s voice begging her for help while sensing a menacing presence that warns her away. When her new friend, Daniel, takes her to see Olmigria, the old woman who lives under the mountain, Jenna discovers the only way she can end the horrid nightmares is to journey to an enchanted kingdom where time has stood still. There, with the help of a bronze key, a dancing flame, and a boy who is locked in his tower room every night, Jenna must find enough courage to face the evil Keeper and free a mysterious prisoner in the castle dungeon who has been calling to her across time and space.
• Jenna’s  Journey: The Boy in the Tower.  Jenna remains trapped in an enchanted kingdom terrorized by a dark, evil presence, The Keeper. Fighting the powerful magic of The Keeper, who nightly erases their memories, Aidan, the boy in the tower, and the four sisters who live in the castle, plead with Jenna to help them. In the Great Hall they encounter the other residents of the castle – who sleep by day and watch by night. In that discovery they find the link to Aidan’s past, his connections to the four sisters, and an unexpected bond to the hostile Hatian who resents their intrusion. In a night of swirling evil and frightening storms, Jenna finally comes face to face with The Keeper.     
• Jenna’s Journey: The Winter Child.  Aidan’s Kingdom has been plunged into endless winter. Jenna, Aidan and Hatian go in search of The Heart of Ice, the sacred object which will restore the natural cycle of the seasons to Adian’s kingdom and enable Jenna to return home. On their journey they encounter Chryrstaline, The Winter Child, who lives alone with her raven-companion, Ruock, and dines on icycles and snacks on snowflakes.  Chrystaline welcomes them with gracious hospitality and eager curiosity, but Hatian, still bent on revenge against The Keeper, inadvertently opens the way for the evil one to follow them and jeopardizes their search and Chrystaline’s life.
• Jenna’s Journey: The Wisdom of the Woods.  (In progress)   With an aching heart, Jenna leaves her friends, Aidan, Chrystaline and Hatian and begins her journey home on Midsummer Night’s Eve.  What she expected to be an overnight walk on a newly visible path turns into time of wandering in dark and frightening mountains. There Jenna encounters Ashoon, a young girl of the ancient forest-dwelling people, and her brother Tilung, who lead her through the dangerous path to Hokmah, the Spirit of the Woods. Jenna learns her way home is held by the ancient yew tree which appears only on the night of Winter Solstice. But to get to the tree, she must find the secret words which will allow her to pass through the Guardian Stones which encircle the tree.