About the Author
Kristiana Sfirlea is the best-selling, award-winning author of the middle grade fantasy series, The Stormwatch Diaries. (AKA the literary love of her life.) Book One, Legend of the Storm Sneezer, took home gold in the 2021 Children - Mystery category of the internationally esteemed Readers' Favorite Book Awards and was a finalist of the international Wishing Shelf Book Awards and two-time finalist of the popular Realm Awards. Her short stories, featuring clueless zombies, undercover werewolves, grumpy ghosts, carriages pulled by headless chickens, and marriage counselors for fairy tale couples (let's just say Kristiana puts the "whee!" in "weird"), have been included in numerous anthologies.
A homeschool graduate (no, she did NOT do school in her pajamas!), Kristiana credits her incredible schooling experience for turning her into an author. Her mother, a former elementary school teacher, gave her a top-notch education, filled with innovation, creativity, and life skills, that has encouraged Kristiana in perseverance, faith, the celebration of diversity, and community outreach. She has worked as a volunteer at her local library, The Open Door, and as a historical reenactor at Fort Michilimackinac.
Kristiana is proud to live in the great Mitten, Michigan. Her books and her inspiring journey of overcoming health challenges to become a writer have been featured on Detroit's Channel 7 Action News. (You can watch the feature here.) Kristiana is passionate about connecting with her community's young people and encouraging them to pursue their dreams no matter what obstacles they face. She loves Jesus, her family, laughing too hard at her own jokes, and imaginary life with her characters.
Interviews:
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Kristiana's Favorite Reads:
Passion Behind Work
Kristiana started writing the world that would become her first book, Legend of the Storm Sneezer, when she was twelve years old. She had dreams of being a published author by twenty-one. But those dreams had an obstacle: a severe medical condition that would take all of her teenage years to diagnose.
It was in the waiting rooms of hospitals that Kristiana discovered the joy of laughter, magic, and adventure through reading. From that point on, she knew she wanted to bring others the same joy through her own stories, which is the heart of her passion for writing. She wants her books to be a safe place and a source of hope for readers going through any sort of struggle.
Instead of her health challenges holding her back from her dreams, they inspired her. Kristiana did publish her first book by twenty-one, and she encourages young people everywhere to pursue their dreams no matter what age they are or what obstacles are in their way.
Schedule an inspirational author visit with Kristiana here!
The Curse of the
Paralyzed Stomach
Kristiana has a rare and serious condition called gastroparesis, AKA The Curse of the Paralyzed Stomach, a unique—and uniquely challenging—digestive disease. The muscles of her stomach do not function properly, making it nearly impossible to digest food and causing a multitude of life-altering and life-threatening symptoms.
Like all writers of the fantastical, Kristiana dreamed of getting her own set of powers—and in 2020, her dream came true. She now has a very unusual ability: she can eat through her arm! Kristiana is on a type of tube nutrition called TPN (total parenteral nutrition), which bypasses her faulty digestive system by pumping all the nutrients she needs into her bloodstream through a tube in her arm. How's that for a superpower? And with it comes her trusty medical backpack on which to show off her nerdy button collection.
Legend has it that a great evil cursed Kristiana at birth in order to prevent her writing career, not realizing the symptoms that would often keep her homebound would also bind her to a writing desk. Days on the couch would become days in her imagination. And a diet of tube-fed nutrition would whet her mind’s appetite for so much more.
