About
Christie Selph
A fifth generation native of Washington, DC, I grew up on a farm in Southern Maryland and spent many summers in the city with my grandparents and maiden great aunt in a three bedroom, one bath rowhouse in Anacostia with no air-conditioning, sort of a demonic reversal if you think about it. However, it was here I took my first trolley ride, learned how to make change at the candy counter in my grandfather’s grocery store, and fell in love with a city I still cherish today. And if memory serves, it was here I learned from a cousin of my grandmother I was related to Agatha Christie, Benedict Arnold, and that guy Stowe who tried to fix the Liberty Bell but failed.
This link to the famed British mystery writer remained lodged in my psyche and may be the reason I worked especially hard on high school essays, edited my school’s newspaper, and majored in English and history at the now merged Case-Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. The fact my family owned weekly newspapers and, by the time I was sixteen, I ‘banged the keys’ and wrote fluffy copy was another step in my journey to now.
My path from journalism to now was circuitous, divergent, and often wrong-headed. Somewhat jokingly, I claim writing fiction is profession #17. Learning how to write a novel and complete three took me almost a decade. I will leave it to you, dear reader, if I have learned enough to corral your interest.
Anyone who writes knows it’s a solitary vocation. I spend my time in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico overlooking the Pacific and in places around the world, I have been fortunate to visit or have an inkling to see. Maybe our paths will cross or even better come for a visit and share a Margarita and a sunset with me. I like mine with salt and a splash of Grand Marnier and if our eyes are steady and focused, perhaps we’ll see ‘the green flash.’ Or if that’s not possible, do send me a message or a question or whatever else flashes across your mind and I will be happy to respond.
