About

Hi! You’ve found me, me, Christina Anne Hawthorne. Me, the foremost authority on the World of Ontyre. I write Otherworld Historical Fantasy. There are many novels in my past that I’ll never publish because I was learning. I’ll learn forever, of course, but I’m also going to publish.

When? Autumn 2024.

Riparia at Lake Seclusion.
Riparia at Lake Seclusion.

Yes, this year I’ll start releasing the entire Kovenlore Chronicles series, Riparia Dellbane its protagonist. The entire series, seven novels, is written. The first book, Trust in the Forgotten, is essentially ready, but I want to be ahead before I begin releasing books every 3-4 months.

The true beauty of Ontyre is that I can tell any story there, thus there are three series begun, though I won’t publish from the others until Kovenlore Chronicles is fully released to the world. It takes place in Carrdia, an isolated, dystopian nation located at the center of a vast continent. A nation once modernizing (think 1890s with magic, but rendered medieval—for some) after an overthrow. The series is about trying to take the nation back.

The continent of Tremjara, simplified version. ©2023 CA Hawthorne
The continent of Tremjara, simplified version. ©2023 CA Hawthorne

The other two series take place in the archipelago nation of Pannulus. Having escaped the oppression of the since collapsed Emprenson Empire and the resulting Brillica Cataclysm, it’s prospered, evolving into a 1920s-esque society. One series is titled Pannulus Mysteries, the protagonist different in each book. The other is called Thornwillow Tales and follows Tharlise Martavien, a woman who left her position as a professor to mentor seven exceptional teens at Thornwillow School for the Gifted.

I have certain themes that I often touch upon, like determination, equality, freedom, friendship, hope, and purpose.

Yoga in 2021.Photo: CA Hawthorne

Childhood taught me about holding onto hope. Returning to college for my degree opened my mind to the world and myself, pointing me on my writing path, even though that wasn’t my major. Surviving a lengthy illness (2009-11), where I came within a whisper of my last breath, taught me about determination, as did the recovery that lasted until 2017. LGBTIQA has taught me about equality, and its absence.

The tales of Ontyre are about adventure, suspense, and romance, but above all they’re about purpose, personal triumph, and all that cooperation makes possible.

Not everyone will be interested. That’s okay.

Me in a nutshell? It’s vital we believe in ourselves and in each other. No matter the good or bad in my past, it’s still the story of how I arrived in the present. Its value exists in lessons for myself and my characters. Rather than focusing on what we believe cannot be done, let’s strive for the impossible and make it possible for the betterment of all.

December 2023. Photo, CA Hawthorne
Dec 2023. Photo, CA Hawthorne

I’m tired of hearing “can’t” from those lacking vision. “Can’t” was what I was told after an autoimmune disease ravaged my lungs. Life became an oxygen tank and, in 2010, I was told to consider hospice.

Heck no.

These days I walk, bike, practice yoga, and meditate, and last year returned to hiking. There are limitations, but limitations are exactly that, they limit, they don’t prohibit. So, welcome to my little corner of the internet. There are several short stories available that provide a glimpse of my writing. I publish poetry each Tuesday and Saturday. I don’t really consider myself a poet, but I know about taking a lyrical view of the world. There’s also the blog, which I’ve faithfully posted to each Thursday for, according to WordPress, eleven years, though I took down the oldest posts four years ago.

Be everwell.

(Updated 04/2024)

Atop Mt. Sentinel. Photo: CA Hawthorne
Atop Mt. Sentinel, 2023. Photo: CA Hawthorne
Photo: NA Hunt
Hiking, 2023. Photo: NA Hunt

55 Responses to About

  1. Jenn Radcliff says:

    I’ll be checking in from time to time! 🙂

  2. Bethanie says:

    Most excellent. I can’t wait to read more!!

  3. Sounds like great fantasy novel, see you in the tribewriter

  4. T.K. Coleman says:

    I like the blog and I’m very intrigued by the novel. I can’t wait to read it. There’s no world like an alternate world. Cheers 🙂 -T.K.

    • Thank you so much. Yes, it’s an alternate world, but it’s an alternate world with many this world problems. Sometimes contrasting the everyday with the unfamiliar helps to bring the everyday more fully into the light. Loved the comment, T.K.!

  5. Christina you inspire me to keep punching at my keyboard. I have nominated you for THE BEST MOMENT AWARD

    • Oh my, Kath, thank you. The feeling is certainly mutual. I’ve sat here for the past minute thinking about how I read your message after taking a break from writing dialogue for my heroine. Long isolated, she finds herself addressing a crowd and expressing her heartfelt gratitude. Such is this moment for me.

  6. Sona says:

    Wonderful journey of reading….and zud lyk to continue…

  7. Lonna says:

    Hey Christina, you know I have always been a fan of your writing. Keep up the great work and I will be expecting to get my signed book. Seeing as how we have a history. After all I did read the first draft.

    • Hi Lonna! Glad to see you here in WordPress land. I have a signature here with your name on it. Your feedback way back when was dearly appreciated, though you’d barely recognize the tale now. I hope you investigate the other writing here. “Last Word Before Dying” is the only Ontyre writing available at the moment. Your opinions were and continue to be intelligent and well thought out. You’re a writer’s dream.

  8. AmazingSusan says:

    Cats are particularly skilled at demanding. Not so much at contributing. At least in my experience.

    • Demanding? Yeah, I can agree with that. At the same time, my perspective is that in their demands for attention, affection, and play they contribute to my life. My cats and I interact continually and have many arguments, but at the end of the day when I lay in bed and read Misha sets her head on my shoulder and Mr. Calvin curls up against my waist. I love dogs—am babysitting one next week—but I don’t coexist with them well for long periods because. I think it comes down to personality matches where each match is wonderful simply because it’s a match.

  9. sknicholls says:

    Your alternate world looks inviting. I could probably dream there. I wish you success with this project.

  10. Gwen Bristol says:

    I nominated you for a WordPress Family Award. 🙂

  11. Good morning, Christina!
    I found you via T.K. Colman. I shared your comment from his current post on my facebook page.
    I had a quick peak about your site and was very impressed to see your pinterest board…very cool how you can pull up existing images to realize your vision for your readers.

    • Good evening, and thank you very much. I’ve been following T.K. for a long while, since before he was on WordPress and before he had many followers on FB. He has inspired me more than I can say and the comment I left was more than a response, it was his words inspiring mine. It’s at such moments that social media is at its best.

      Thank you, too, for your comment concerning the Pinterest board. Having a visual link was always a dream of mine and I was excited to realize it. Too, I strive for selectivity. I don’t create wrong impressions. In other words, I don’t put up pictures that also include modern this-world trappings. As in theatre, I try to maintain that “4th wall.” Searching for such images can be frustrating, but it’s also a lot of fun.

  12. laserscope says:

    Seems like great fantasy novel.

    • Thank you. I like to think of it as “alternative fantasy” because it differs from Tolkien-like works. Some may not like that I’ve gone off in a different direction, but it’s my hope that many will enjoy reading it as much as I’ve enjoyed developing and writing it. Thanks for taking the time to comment!

  13. Gede Prama says:

    Thank you for writing which is quite good and best wishes always, and greetings

  14. John Moralee says:

    Thanks for leaving that comment on my blog. I really like the layout of your website. That’s a great fantasy picture at the top of the page.

    • Thank you. The picture has a story. I’m certain it’s derived from one or more Albert Bierstadt paintings with new elements added (castle, tower above cliff). When I stumbled across it there was no credit as to who’d done the work, though. Someone more skilled in Photoshop than me, that’s for sure. What I did know was that it fit a scene from my novel almost perfectly. To make it perfect I flipped it horizontally, removed the geese flying over the water, and darkened the castle. Now it’s Ergain on her horse, Doppla, seeing abandoned Talonton Keep for the first time along Lake Seclusion in the Colossus Range. Thanks for visiting and leaving the comment!

  15. Hi, Christina,

    Hello, it is nice to be able to write to you.

    Thank you for the beautiful tribute to Billy. I am your Aunt Suzanne and Billy was 14 years older than I. I have always called him Billy because that is what Grandma Chapman and my Mom called him. Dorothy let me know about his passing the day you called her. He was out of Mom’s house as far back as my memory goes, but I remember him as a Policeman, and the corvette he had for awhile. He also loved the drums. Later, as an adult, I would look forward to his occasional visits back east. My husband, Gary, the children and I were saddened at his death. We all remember him as someone with great stories to tell, but happier in the company of mountains than with people, and that’s all right.

    I don’t remember where you fit into the age group of grandchildren, sorry. My oldest son, Robert (Robbie), will be 49 this year. He is married and lives in L.A. Pete (46 this year) is married, with 2 kids, his son is a freshman in college, his daughter is a junior in high school and hopes to become a Policewoman. My youngest, Heather (44 this year), is married with a son in 3rd grade. Heather is a writer, also, and has one book published with a second just finished. Best of luck with your book, by the way.

    I am recently retired, a paper crafter and a sometime writer and poet. I have a blog, though I seldom remember to write on it. I am hoping to put more of my work on the blog this year. I love making cards, scrap booking and I am just getting involved with art journaling. Gary and I live out in a rural area of NY and have the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets to watch.

    I, too, don’t see much of the family across the river (Hudson). I keep in touch with Dorothy and Danny mostly through Frances who calls me about once a month. There is usually a family party at Dorothy’s every year or so we all try to attend; her home is centrally located. Alison and I talk about 1-2 times a week and we visit 3-6 times a year. I have the most in common with her and she is closest to my age.

    In the recent past, I have re-met Sharon after a gazillon years and met her girls. We follow each other on FB.
    I am excited about your move, glad you also love mountains and happy I found your blog. I will drop in from time to time.

    Oh, we also love cats. We have a semi-feral group (6) that live outside in heated houses. We have more than that inside ranging from 15 years to 9 months. They are pampered and are the stars of our lives.

    Once again, I am happy to greet you after all these many years. I am sure that Billy welcomed your company at Christmas time. I am thankful you were there to help him with his last journey.
    With love, Aunt Suzanne or just Suzanne

    • Oh my gosh, Aunt Suzanne, hi!

      It’s truly wonderful to talk to you. I’ve always thought of you as “Aunt” so I guess I’ll stick with that. I’m 54 now, 8 years younger than Sharon. She has on occasion related stories about family gatherings, but by the time I was old enough to remember much they either occurred less frequently or we didn’t attend. I remember visiting your home once, but the memory is dominated by the migraine I suffered.

      Heather and I became friends on FB a few hours ago. I noted the writing theme to her page, but forced myself to return to my packing. It’s exciting to discover I have relatives with similar interests. Too, I see that you also do some writing. I never knew that.

      I’ve been in touch with Aunt Dorothy for several years now. I became severely ill back in 2009 after I contacted a bacterial infection in my lungs that kept me from working for a couple of years. It was during that time we reconnected. Too, I’ve had limited contact with Aunt Frances.

      It was Aunt Dorothy who most enabled my reconnecting with Dad. She supplied me with the support and contact information. In a strange twist I then became the contact the nursing home sought when they found a card from me in his room. Apparently he’d not given them any numbers to call.

      I have two daughters. Nicole is 31 and a traveling laboratory technician who’s currently in Philadelphia. For the past eighteen months I’ve been housesitting her home. Now I’m moving and she’ll return in early March to sell the house before taking her next assignment. Cheryl is 28 and also a traveling laboratory technician. In the oddest of coincidences she’s just begun an assignment in Missoula, Montana where I’m going.

      Currently I live with my two cats, Misha and Mr. Calvin. Like my mother I adore cats and have had them around all my life.

      All my love, Christina

  16. karmicangel says:

    Christina my dear, can you please email me your contact info? My publishers are trying to set up that blog tour of mine that you were kind enough to volunteer for. You can email me at karmicangie at gmail dot com. THANKS!

  17. olami2014 says:

    Interesting and lovely

  18. Hi, thank you for the likes and follow on my blog, good being across yours too 🙂

  19. Thank you for connecting on my blog and I am glad to come here and learn more about you 🙂 I look forward to reading your posts!

  20. Great – keep it up!

  21. bwcarey says:

    may your words open hearts and shine on the issues, thanks for your story, amen

  22. V. Ananya says:

    Hello Christina!
    It is so nice to meet you. Frankly, I followed you on Twitter after that pinned poem and seeing that you’re a writer of historical fantasy. Nice blog you’ve got here!

    • Thank you, it’s nice to meet you as well. I was happy to follow back a fellow writer on Twitter and have noted your responses for Fantasy Indies there. The blog is, in many ways, a chronicle of my writing journey, which has been long in the making. It also keeps me on a regular schedule given I post on certain days. It’s me expressing myself, but it’s also me learning, making mistakes, and passing along my experiences. Thank you again for stopping by.

  23. What a bio! It’s a pleasure to have “met” you. Also, I love maps! I don’t make them, maybe I should.

    • Thank you so much. It’s been a pleasure to meet you as well. You prompted me to reread my About page, which I hadn’t done since I drafted the new version. Whoops. That short story is no longer up because the writing wasn’t up to my standards (I edited that line out).

      Oh, I get far too excited about maps. All I need is a map in my hands and I can travel the world in my mind. Real traveling is even better, but I digress.

      The need for maps depends, to a degree, on the genre, though I’d advocate that they’re always helpful in the writing process. A mere sketch can be a huge help. My present maps are borderline art and wouldn’t reproduce well on, for instance, an e-reader. That’s okay. I’ll take care of that.

      Thank you so much for the comment. It was exciting to discover it upon returning from my walk.

  24. Angel28 says:

    Hey Christina . Angel here , I hope you remember. Been ages since I heard from you. Fb told me it’s your birthday today. Made me remember all the good times and wonderful conversations we used to have . Wishing you a very happy birthday. I hope you are well . Sending lots of good wishes and love . I make sure to wish you every year on this day but I think the messages fail to reach you. Wishing the best for you today and beyond . Xoxo

    • Oh my gosh, Angel, I absolutely remember you, and I’m so glad to hear from you. 😃

      I’ve not been on FB in over three years. There were too many bad experiences. I’ve no idea why I haven’t received any of your messages or notifications.

      Thank you so much for the birthday wishes!

      I hope that you and your family are doing well. I do remember the conversations we used to have and the pictures we shared. Please do share what’s new! 🤗

      This is my lone website, but I’m also on Twitter, though not as often anymore. Each day, though, I’m on Mastodon.

      My health is the best it’s been in over a decade, especially after I made a lot of life changes in 2020. I’m also due to publish the first book of a drafted 7-book series this autumn, so I’m pretty excited.

      Please let me know what is going on, no matter what, and how we might stay in better touch. ❤️

      • Angel28 says:

        Hi Christina.it’s wonderful to hear from you finally . I was wondering where have you been all this time . So glad to know that you are well and in good health . I so miss talking to you. Loved those cute videos that you used to share and your smiling face in them. Plz stay in touch . My email id is gurdeepkr28@gmail.com . We are all well . My son is 10 now a big boy and I remember we met online when he was just born . A long long time . You and Brenda always had wonderful advice for me and always guided me so well with a lot of stuff.
        it’s a privilege to have known a wonderful person like you . Stay happy , healthy and keep enjoying doing what you love the most . Regards and good wishes . Xoxo

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