Like a beloved book of spells that's been handed down through the generations, we're here to help you hone your art and practice your craft with a personal touch.
Christa is a literary arts and creative life coach and editor who loves horror, folklore, and mythology, as well as postmodern literary fiction, narrative nonfiction, and poetry. She works with both genre and literary writers, but specializes in working with writers of upmarket/slipstream speculative fiction with a postmodern twist. While novels and series are her bread-and-butter, she's especially fond of short-form works--from short stories and essays to poetry.
Whatever the form or genre, Christa cultivates narratives that revel in the rich nuance of our globalized, interconnected world. As a first-generation Egyptian-American, she's especially suited to working with multicultural works and English-language learners. Read more about Christa's coaching services and find her full bio, background, and editorial philosophy below.
At a Glance: - Currently copyrights associate at Penguin Random House - Former editorial intern at Tor Books and agency intern at Dystel, Goderich, & Bourret - Columbia Publishing Course alumna - B.A. in creative writing and business administration from Iowa's Coe College - Former teacher and tutor of English Language Arts (ELA) and English for Students of Other Languages (ESOL) - Additional training from New York University, Graywolf's Fiona McCrae, National Book Award-winning author Jesmyn Ward, and more
Services: - Literary Arts and Creative Life Coaching - Manuscript Evaluation - Substantive and Developmental Editing - Copyediting and Line Editing (not currently accepting) - Proofreading (not currently accepting)
Specialties: - Horror and dark fantasy - Folklore- and mythology-inspired works - Upmarket/Slipstream speculative fiction - Postmodern fiction - Short-form works (short stories, essays, poetry) - Multicultural works - Working with English-language learners
Here at MetaMythica, Christa knows that creative work is often deeply personal, which is why she leads with a trauma-informed, conscious-language approach. She hopes you're as excited to begin your creative journey with MetaMythica as she is to walk beside you on that journey.
Let's make some literary magic!
Christa is currently only accepting coaching, manuscript evaluation, and developmental editing queries. **She is not accepting any projects with generative-A.I. components at this time.** Please be aware that Christa is a part-time freelancer with a limited schedule best reached evenings and weekends, Eastern Time (ET). Thank you!
Highlighted Service: MetaMythica's Literary Arts and Creative Life Coaching Evolving naturally from Christa's background in teaching and publishing, her two coaching services will help you reach your creative goals with one-on-one guidance. She fosters a collaborative working relationship where you'll always be in the driver's seat with support when and how you choose toward your identified objective. With literary arts coaching, also sometimes called writing or book coaching, that objective is to reach the finish line on a particular project. Together, we'll analyze story structures, archetypes, genres, tropes, movements, literary and rhetorical devices, and other fundamental story elements to help you complete a manuscript of your choice. With creative life coaching, Christa focuses not just on project-based goals, but also on personal well-being and skill-building to support you through all aspects of leading a healthy creative life. She knows no two creators are alike, so you won't find didacticism here--instead, we'll explore your own habits, practices, needs, values, and goals to sustain your creative practice in the long-term. With both coaching paths, Christa will help you build a personalized Creative Codex to keep track of all of your learning and growth, and easily find resources for the future. Contact Christa today to book a free 15-minute consultation and see if coaching is right for you!
Christa's Full Bio: At Penguin Random House, Christa currently reviews copyright pages, registers books with the U.S. Copyright Office, assesses fair use alongside the in-house legal team (as she is not a lawyer and cannot give legal advice), and guides authors through the process of obtaining permissions where necessary. Her love of language learning, cultural exchange, and literary activism brought her to serve for a stint on the Associate Board of Literacy Partners and volunteer with PEN America. Christa began her editorial career with her high school literary magazine, Albuquerque Academy's Other Voices. She's held both an editorial internship at Tor Books and a literary agency internship at what is now Dystel, Goderich, & Bourret, where she read, requested, and vetted manuscripts. She was also flash fiction editor of Silver Pen's Liquid Imagination, and poetry editor of the Christian horror magazine The Midnight Diner. She is an alumna of the Columbia Publishing Course and has supplemented her education with ongoing professional development, including a proofreading and copyediting course from NYU; an editorial masterclass by former director and publisher of Graywolf Press, Fiona McCrae; and a webinar on Finding Your Characters and Your Voice from National Book Award-winning author Jesmyn Ward. Christa earned her B.A. in creative writing and business administration from Coe College--alma mater of Paul Engle, former Iowa Writers' Workshop director and co-founder of the University of Iowa's International Writing Program. At Coe, Christa served as a fiction and communications editor for the literary magazine, The Coe Review, and studied literary fiction, poetry, and folklore under a slate of professors who all studied at the Iowa Writers' Workshop. She is also a member of ACES: The Society for Editing and the Professional Editors Network. Christa's teaching experience honed her proofreading skills, her poetry background gave her a keen copyediting eye, and her creative writing classes taught her the craft of developing narrative arcs. As a first-generation Egyptian-American and lifelong folklore enthusiast, she is especially suited to working with multicultural fiction and multilingual authors.
Educator Background: In addition to editing, Christa was a teacher in a former professional life. After proofreading English curricula for Public Prep, a charter school network in New York City, she co-taught 6th-grade English Language Arts (ELA) at Girls Prep Bronx Middle School. Between her full-time teaching and her independent tutoring, Christa has taught both ELA and English for Students of Other Languages (ESOL) to over 50 students from 7 countries, from 3rd grade through college. Among her favorite units to teach were the hero's journey with Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief; historical fiction with Margi Preus's The Heart of a Samurai; comparative, multimedia folklore with various versions of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen" and the Japanese Yuki-onna tale; and gothic literature with William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" and William Carlos Williams's "The Use of Force."
Editorial Philosophy: Christa believes in the power of stories to change the world, and believes that power must be wielded responsibly: from thorough research and authenticity/sensitivity reads to conscious language and complex characters. She also believes in the magic and power of awe and wonder as critical functions of art, especially for those who are struggling with trauma and systemic oppression. Nothing perhaps sums up her philosophy better than the core belief that it is the duty of art to comfort the disturbed, and to disturb the comfortable. (Dr. César A. Cruz, 1997)
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