About Me

Hello! My name is Katja (pronounced “Kotsya”) and I have yet to meet an anglophone who can correctly pronounce my name, which is why I go by Kats a lot. I am 20-something years old, a pastor’s kid (PK), and the oldest of ten children, with one in Heaven. I’m a bilingual French-Canadian and definitely a Mixed Culture Kid (MCK), but to make things more interesting, my first name is Scandinavian, which causes some difficulties… francophones skip it entirely in favour of my middle name; anglophones can’t pronounce it at all; both tend to misspell it; and both also tend to misread it as Katie. But I love how it looks when it is hand-written, so I don’t complain too often.

Most importantly, I am a child of God who has come through some tough stuff but was made victorious by the blood of Jesus Christ. I’ve battled chronic depression and anxiety; I had strong trust issues because of past betrayals; I struggle with self-deprecation, social anxiety, and lack of confidence. Neither my church, nor my family is to blame for these things. They helped me get all the tools and they told me all the truths I needed. I was stubborn and a pro at listening to my emotions instead of the facts, and I just didn’t believe for the longest time. Through this blog you can follow my journey as I find victory and healing in Christ and cast off the binds of my skewed mental perspective and the lies I fed myself for years.

I’m unapologetically pro-life, pro-God, and pro-justice. For those of you who like to label things, I attend a fundamental independent (Canadian) Baptist church, but I do not identify as a particular denomination. I am simply a Bible-believing follower of Christ, striving to obey God’s commandments, speak His truth, and love like Him. I do not belong to a particular politic group, so don’t expect that here. But you will find this blog and my books full of my reflections on the lessons He teaches me, because they mean so much to me and I long to share them.

I was homeschooled all my life the Charlotte Mason way, and I graduated with an editing certificate from University of California, San Diego. Obviously, I have a deep love for words, and I am an extreme bibliophile who devours over 365 books in a year, and might be slightly obsessed about many different series. My tastes are wide, but my main points are a love for well-done characters, different POVs, honest truth, strong writing, and deep portrays of humanity.

I’m also an exuberant writer with a talent for starting short stories that explode into book series. I am a slowly healing storyteller who longs to share hope and healing with other broken souls around me. I want to make a difference. I want to encourage. I want to let them know they’re not alone. I want to show the Light that always shines in darkness. I want to share the truth. I want to share love and peace and joy. I want to give a voice to people who feel voiceless and completely alone, unseen, unheard, uncared for. I do not write for payment nor do I plan to make a career or side job of this. My main goal is to spread the truth I’ve been shown as widely as possible, and let God direct it to those who need it.

I live in Québec, Canada, and am deeply proud of my very complicated French and English background, embracing my heritage from both cultures. I have many favourite things and also about a three dozen topics I’m excessively passionate about, and I love to talk about the things I love or am passionate about (hint: that’s why I write books and blog posts). So you’ll be seeing a lot of diversity on this blog (including lists, because I love them). In fact, why don’t I indulge in a list right now and give you a sample of some of my obsessions?

• History—I am a real-deal history nerd. That involves specifically England, because I love Britain and her history (she’s my favourite country <3), and Canada, because ditto. But I also know more American history than the average American, because I mostly read history books as a kid. Did I mention I was a nerd??
• ASL.
• ROSES <33 they’ve always been my favourite flowers!
• Robin Hood. I don’t know why.
• Classics. Also pretty much any good book. And biographies.
• Vintage and not-so-vintage TV shows like Andy Griffith, Babar, Miss Spider, Redwall…
• Hymns and good poetry.
• Writing craft and grammar.
• Beautiful homes and dresses and jewelry (PEARLSSSSS) and art.

Actually, I have too many to add, so for a more complete list of my obsessions (we didn’t even mention Sherlock Holmes or the Titanic yet), check out my Pinterest. I also love comments, so drop me one and let me know if we share any favourite things!

This blog will mention all these interests of mine, except book/film reviews, which have been moved to my reviews blog Old-Fashioned Book Love. I hope someone else can find it enjoyable, inspiring, and helpful. 🙂 Mostly, this blog is a mixture of journaling my life; devotionals/lessons I’ve learned; random how-tos, usually about writing or reading; and random sharing of some of my favourite things. 😉 and I’m always pulling out new ones…

So, if this sounds like something you’d like, feel free to hop on the joruney with me! You can also connect with me on…

~ my Amazon Author account

~ my Amazon reviews profile

~ my Goodreads

~ my BookBub

~ my Bookstagram

~ my Facebook

~ my Tumblr

~ my Instagram

~ my newsletter

~ my reviews blog

~ my Pinterest

~ my LinkedIn

~ my Twitter

You can also shoot me an email through the contact form here.

Sending sunshine your way, friend! ❤