Amazed by the toy structures her grandson, Raphael, creates with building blocks, Genia decided to write a story based on her grandson's creative skills, and the joy he had shown while playing in the playground that she and her husband, Roy, built for Raphael. Genia's passion is to inspire others through writing, visual arts, and creative development.
Originally from Kansas, Genia and Roy have a son and daughter. Genia attributes her success to God and her family. Having earned a Bachelor of Science in Marketing, and a Master of Applied Science in Information and Communications Technology with a focus in Web Development and Design, she combines her experience and skills in technology, graphic design and business to fulfill her writing projects. The passion that kindles Genia's writings and designs stems from a creative background as a young artist. During her earlier years she won numerous art awards including the Hallmark Cards, Inc. Grand Prize in a national art competition. Her artwork earned for her two scholarships, recognition in several editions of the local newspaper, a radio interview, and the opportunity to be published in Arts & Activities, the nation's leading art education magazine.
From paint and canvas to digital applications, Genia continues to demonstrate her innate ability to create a work of art. Her most recent inspiration led to her first published book, Blessings In Blogs: Living Effectively in 2012. Over the years Genia wrote Christian content for websites, newsletters, and other faith-based works. Currently, she is working on projects for children's books and novels that take you on a journey to build vibrant, positive and lasting relationships. Regardless of the genre -- Christian content, novels or children's books, her purpose in writing is to inspire others to keep dreaming and believing that God has a good plan for their lives, regardless of any unexpected twists and turns. This journey as a writer has been a challenging, creative experience to enjoy for a lifetime.
Genia continues to work on a children's book series called "Raphael's Playground," a story inspired by her grandson, Raphael, who was around 3 years old at the time when Genia and her husband, Roy, designed and built a wooden, indoor playground during the COVID-19 pandemic, so he could continue playground activities, stay safe and have fun. Raphael enjoys playing with dinosaurs and building blocks, so this project allowed him to be creative with a real building project. It also gave Genia and Roy the opportunity to spend time with Raphael while he participated in the construction process. After seeing how much Raphael enjoyed playing in the playground, Genia decided to write an adventure story. Occasionally it includes the endearing names of Roy and Genia as grandparents. Roy is referred to as Papi (pronounced Poppy) and Genia, as G.G.--usually spelled Gigi, however, Genia prefers G.G., which stands for Grandma Genia. Looking forward to writing all of the possible adventures this playground might present, Genia enjoys sharing her story ideas with Raphael, who actually builds the structures in each story with his building blocks. Stay tuned for upcoming adventures.
What is your philosophy of writing?
I believe that writing is not only a form of expression, but an act of releasing the energy of inspiration -- energy that builds up inside until you find the time and the tools such as pen, paper, or computer, to make your thougths visible.
It seems like my greatest ideas come to mind when I am unable to write them down. For instance, an interesting thought may suddenly enter my mind when my hands are covered in soap suds, while washing dishes that will not fit in the dishwasher after an evening meal. Immediately, I have to stop, dry my hands, find a piece of paper and pen or open the notes app on my cell phone to jot down the thoughts before they are forgotten. Sometimes, if it is nearby, I will speak my thoughts into the recording app on my cell phone and then write them down later. I found that an inspiration will never see the light of day if I don't take the time to write it down when I receive it.
Has your upbringing influenced your writing?
Definitely. Growing up with five sisters, we were brought up with a strong Christian foundation, a spirit of compassion, awareness of the importance of education and a drive for success. I would say that some of my first published works were articles that I wrote for the newsletter that I developed for my family years ago. I called this publication The FAM, which is the acronym for Family Articles Monthly. I printed the articles my family submited each month and then mailed the newsletters to each family across the states. My youngest sister agreed to write a serial that she composed especially for The FAM. It was a story with a cliffhanger, something we could look forward to in the next month's issue. She also started writing a book. Inspired by my sister's writing ability and by the way our mother taught us to always keep God first, I developed a passion for writing to inspire others.
Is there a certain type of character you like to write about?
Yes, characters that are dealing with what people generally face daily, so there's always something useful to learn from the experiences.
What do you find most difficult to write about?
Topics that I am least familiar with. However, if I am writing about them, it's still a plus, because I love research.
What do you hope to see come from writing "Raphael's Playground?"
Parents will see the creativity in their children and take time to find ways to bring out the best in them. In addition, the vision is to keep writing stories in the series, possibly develop a cartoon series, cartoon movie, or theatrical performance; maybe further develop the merchandise, offering new products for people to identify with the characters. Another possibility is to build a version of Raphael's Playground as an indoor activity space in multiple locations for children to enjoy.
Raphael’s Playground adventures are intended to inspire people of all ages and promote unity in the world. It encourages creative learning for children when they engage in constructive activities, and also reminds adults to revisit their creative childhood abilities to do something constructive, learn something new, and accomplish wonderful things beyond their imagination. While it might appear that our culture, society and the world is spinning out of control—at war with other countries, each other and self, peace, joy and contentment can still exist if we focus on contributing to the world constructively. The sooner we realize it, the better we are at building up one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11) and thriving.
What advice would you give other individuals who are interested in writing and publishing a book?
Two things. 1) If you do not already have a background in marketing, do a little research on how to market your book before it is published. Prepare your marketing plan prior to or while you are writing. Otherwise, once the book goes live, it ends up sitting around waiting for you to introduce it to the world. 2) Most of all, write about what you enjoy!
Creating New Pages to Turn
Round Rock, TX
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