DJ Jameson Smith

IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: Some of you are aware that my publisher passed just before Christmas of 2017, leaving all of her authors in limbo. I have felt completely unequipped to try to publish as an indie author—until this spring. Finally, a fire was lit under me—my confidence in my abilities grew along with my expertise. I will soon have book one of the "Secrets Beyond Sycmaria" series back out there for the public. Republishing book two and three will come soon after—followed by (finally) the publishing of book four. So, by the end of October look for the "Secrets Beyond Scymaria" series to begin resurfacing.

In the meantime, I am excited to announce that I have finally published my long-awaited children's book, "CJ and His Very Big Adventure," a book for children, ages 5 to 10 years of age. It was planned as a one-off publication, but my brain is pushing for at least one more book. So ... I guess I am inclined to make it a series.

BIOGRAPHY:

MY LOVE OF READING began in second grade. Even a child with learning disabilities, when given the right mentor, can learn to enjoy—and devour books. My mentor was our elementary school librarian. She introduced me to my first book, "Big Red" by Jim Kjelgaard, then "Rikki Tikki Tavi" by Rudyard Kipling. After that, there was no stopping me. I loved the world these books drew me into. My active imagination easily produced a wonderful 3-D portrayal of the characters and the settings.

For me, it was only natural to wander from the world of reading to creating my own stories. Spurred on by my sixth grade teacher's assignment to write a story, even with the criticisms of the other kids, nothing could stop me. I was hooked.  As I grew up and became busier in my own world, I found less time to write, or even read. And often I wondered what it was that was missing.

With the arrival of my daughter, and the endless days and nights of "Read to me, Mommy", it dawned on me what had been missing: telling stories! First, I found myself ad-libbing with her storybooks. There were mild protests at first, but even she was having fun listening to these new story lines. As she flew through her elementary school years, so did I, storytelling in her classroom, then for other classes at her school. It was fun and I was never at a loss for material. The children helped me weave the stories by supplying descriptive bits and pieces—and sound effects.

Soon, I was trying to transcribe these stories—a much more difficult task that it seemed. When that failed, I simply started to write my own stories and came up with the idea for my personalized stories.

Then, the novel began to form in my head and I started on my long journey that brings me to now: just completed and published a children's story, and working on the YA fantasy series, "Secrets Beyond Scymaria". I'm a storyteller, turned writer, turned blogger, turned novelist (or should I say novellaist—my stories are deliberately short for the reluctant reader, but still thoroughly engaging for the more advanced readers). Along the way, I also managed to dabble in photography and many forms of art. I find my life filled to the brim...and overflowing.

And I owe it all to the marvelously delightful talents that God has chosen for me.