about
Award winning author J.C. WELKER has been, among other things, a fashion designer, a graphic designer, a filmmaker, and occasionally a kickboxer (seriously).
Her short documentaries, which focused on homeless Iraq veterans and LGBTQ+ issues in the military, were selected by the North Texas Film Festival and featured on CURRENT TV.
Her recent YA Fantasy novel, THE WISHING HEART, won a YARWA Rosemary award, Athena award, and was a finalist for Best First Book.
As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, she strives in telling authentic stories featuring diverse characters, and giving a voice to stories that are needed, while facing magic and monsters along the way.
Trinity Prep Author Fest
I wrote this book with a prayer and a dream to reach those hearts who needed it. In its simplest form, the story was created with the premise of an unloved girl looking for it through stories and magic. In many ways it's a metaphor for my own experiences growing up, at a time where I felt invisible, depressed, hiding who I was, and like the character, I looked to stories to fill that hole. This yearning for emotional bonds is at the center of the story, where a girl is searching for healing, for the magical, and for ultimate love.
My deepest gratitude to the gentle and fierce readers who will pick up this book, and to those who may have to hide it from others. I wrote this story for you. Never forget you are loved. Your love matters.
~ J.C. Welker
Author's Note
AUTHOR SCHOOL VISITS
7-12
CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP (grades 7-12)
In this 45-minute hands-on creative writing workshop, we will explore how students can use their own experiences and curiosity to create compelling writing and believable characters. With a few writing prompts, we will discuss strategies for finding ideas and developing their skills at creating well-developed stories.
5-12
BIRTH OF AN IDEA (grades 5-12)
In this hour-long session, we trace the journey of how an author can take an idea, and expand it into a full 300-page book with a little bit of sweat, imagination, and a lot of tears. I illustrate how I used the Who, What and Why, formula in THE WISHING HEART, by taking a simple idea and creating a fully developed story around it. We move on to an exercise focused on taking an idea and using the formula to develop a concrete premise for a story. This hour also includes a question-and-answer period.
Skype
SKYPE/ZOOM ONLINE VISIT AND CHAT
If a physical visit is not possible then a virtual visit works as well.
This includes a 30-minute Q&A session.
I am available for school visits, presentations, writing workshops, and conferences. All presentations can be fitted to the needs of a particular group or class. Please contact me for more information.
