Glorious Stories

Hello!  My name is Emmarayn, and I am a Christian, homeschool graduate, author, and artist.  I live on a pretty little farm on the plains of North Dakota with my family, two dogs, too many cats, and several goats.   I write stories and music, draw and paint, and retell legends and fairy tales around the campfire when given half the opportunity.

When I’m not writing or drawing, you might find me hiking my favorite trails at the state park, or plotting my next big adventure.

BACKGROUND

My parents introduced me to the wonders of storytelling before I could even walk, or speak in full sentences.  They told me first the stories that really matter—of God and His love for the world He created, of Jesus and the sacrifice He made for us all, and of the future kingdom He has promised.  Then they told me stories that reinforced a sense of magic and adventure that became a core part of my being.  Some of the most influential tales I remember are the Chronicles of Narnia, which my dad read to me chapter by chapter, and Tolkien’s Middle Earth works, which I obsessively read from ages 12 to… now.

            I started drawing first—it was always my goal to become an artist.  I started with graphite pencil on the back of my math sheets, then charcoal, then I moved on to acrylic and watercolor, and finally oil.  I often drew comics, or single pieces to illustrate a concept which I would later narrate for my siblings or my parents, or anyone who would listen.

            After I discovered that reading and writing were cool, they quickly became my passions. I began scribbling down stories in notebooks and journals, then later on an old Macintosh computer, before finally upgrading to an actual laptop and catching up the current century.

            Music was an essential part of my formative years.  My mother Amy Redding is a singer-songwriter, and my dad, Paul, was a music teacher for most of my childhood, and a brilliant musician himself.  They produced two albums together, and we used to travel around singing with them.  Most of us learned a few instruments, and I eventually turned to writing my own music, which we occasionally include in our concerts.

CURRENTLY

In addition to all this creative stuff, I also work as a paraprofessional for a Christian school. Of the many and varied jobs I’ve had over the years, this one is one of my favorites. Children are precious, and I’m so honored to work with them and their teachers as they learn and grow.

 MY WORKS

I say I’m a Christian author—primarily because I am a follower of Christ.  But my works, for the most part, are not explicitly Christian.  My books so far have leaned toward escapism, and when dealing with fantasy, I prefer to keep that separate from reality.  Yet the greater themes of love, redemption, justice, mercy, and eternity that God has woven throughout creation are pervasive in my works, whether Christian or otherwise.  I always want to keep it that way. I want my books and my works in general to have a kind of purity, accessible by anyone, and reminiscent of something grander than all of us.  Human hearts ache for something beyond the world we live in, and fiction is one way to sooth that ache.  Then, someday, like in the fantasies we so admire, the True King will return, and all the world, as crazy as it is, will be set to rights.