When it comes to luck, bestselling author Marie Benedict believes having a special someone who can pick out books you’ll cherish is a blessing. For her, that person was an aunt who also happened to be an English teacher and rebellious nun. When Benedict was a high schooler, her aunt gifted her Marion Zimmer Bradley’s book The Mists of Avalon. “That book was groundbreaking for its time and world-changing for me,” Benedict remembers. “I was mesmerized by the story because it was set in the familiar universe of King Arthur, except we now had those stories from the viewpoints of women characters. It really opened my eyes to the fact that in every story, every legend, every piece of history, there were stories from female perspectives I had never heard of.” Lawyer to Writer At Boston College, Benedict studied history and art history. She considered becoming an archeologist but was encouraged by her family to pursue a law degree. Benedict graduated from Boston University School of Law, embracing the financial security working as a lawyer provided. For over a decade, she worked at two of the country’s premier law firms and Fortune 500 companies in New York City. Despite being highly successful, she could not escape the feeling law was not a forever career. Benedict began taking archeology and history classes in the evening at local universities. While considering a Ph.D. program, the idea of a book came to her. Although she’d never taken a creative writing course and found the idea of becoming a …

Images, not words, are how artist Christine Anne Nightingale learned to express herself. Not only are her mother and uncle painters, so was her paternal grandmother. Born in Santiago, Chile, Nightingale moved with her family to the United States at age 14. Throughout high school, she continued pursuing an interest in painting. After marrying a Brazilian, she relocated to Fortaleza, Brazil to study graphic design at the university Devry in Fortaleza. Nightingale recalls that except for Frida Kahlo, very few women artists were mentioned during her training. “I’ve discovered so many talented women since school,” says Nightingale. “I’m in love right now with the Swedish abstract painter Hilma af Klint. She was doing incredible, groundbreaking work before many of the famous male artists people are more familiar with today.” Elements of Spirituality For the next 10 years, Nightingale taught herself to paint with different media, including oil and acrylic. Choosing what to capture on canvas is “always an intimate search” for the artist. The human figure and nature are constant inspirations for her paintings, as is incorporating elements of digital collage. Much like Klint, Nightingale’s work has elements of spirituality. “When someone sees my artwork, I want them to feel something pleasant or maybe make them question themselves on how to achieve that feeling of wellness,” she shares. “Like a way of healing. I believe we see and experience so much negativity in the day-to-day that art has to be a good experience, but with a mix of curiosity and mystery. The feminine figure is …

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, M.J. Fievre moved to the United States in 2002. Fievre’s publishing career began as a teenager in Haiti. At nineteen years-old, she signed her first book contract with Hachette-Deschamps, in Haiti, for the publication of a Young Adult book titled La Statuette Maléfique. Since then, Fievre has authored nine books in French that are widely read in Europe and the French Antilles. In 2013, One Moore Book released Fievre’s first children’s book, I Am Riding, written in three languages: English, French, and Haitian Creole. In 2015, Beating Windward Press published M.J.’s memoir, A Sky the Color of Chaos, about her childhood in Haiti during the brutal regime of Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Fievre is the author of Happy, Okay? (2019), Badass Black Girl (2020), Empowered Black Girl (2021), and Raising Confident Black Kids (2021). She helps others write their way through trauma, build community, and create social change. Fievre works with veterans, disenfranchised youth, cancer patients and survivors, victims of domestic and sexual violence, minorities, the elderly, those with chronic illness or going through transition and any underserved population in need of writing as a form of therapy—even if they don’t realize that they need writing or therapy. She currently writes from Miami and corresponded with Girls That Create via email. Q&A With M.J. Fievre Have you always been drawn to writing? Growing up in Haiti, was there someone who encouraged you to write or was it something you intuitively turned to? Growing up in Haiti, storytelling was a big part of life, …

As a child growing up in London, Zara Stone fell in love with the works of English writer Diana Wynne Jones. Jones wrote fantasy and speculative fiction for children and young adults. Stone reflects that the author “never talked down” to her audience nor questioned whether or not they could understand the intriguing concepts introduced in her books. It is fitting then that Stone’s latest work, The Future of Science is Female: The Brilliant Minds Shaping the 21st Century, takes a similar approach. Each chapter in the book examines a different world problem (such as climate change and the future of work), and then introduces female scientists who are working on solutions. Young readers learn how this diverse group got to where they are and also how they overcame many challenging obstacles. Envision Themselves “I’ve done a lot of work in technology journalism and the gender disparity was always really obvious,” said Stone. “There were more men in the field at all levels, including startups, which in turn creates this never-ending loop. I wrote this book so girls can be introduced to women who are in the early stages of their STEM careers. The more girls hear about amazing people who look and sound like them, the more they can envision themselves in these roles and having similar experiences.” Stone’s work has appeared in The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, Wired magazine, Forbes, The Washington Post, the BBC and more. Before those successes, she was an intern at a British men’s magazine. In the book …

Lameka Weeks is TALL. And proud of it. That’s why the Dallas entrepreneur founded Height Goddess, a clothing company for women 5’9” and taller. Although Weeks does not have formal fashion training, she knew a need existed in the market. Growing up in Alabama, Weeks had a difficult time finding clothing that fit her tall frame and often borrowed items from her father’s closet. “Both of my parents worked in retail,” she said. “My mother was a buyer for the department store Belk and my father was a manager of a retail chain called Martin’s. Because my mom was a buyer, she knew certain brands that came longer. Extra length could be gained by taking out the hems. I was able to get by through college, but then had to start shopping for business clothes. That’s when finding things really became challenging.” The Height Goddess Name Weeks played basketball at Auburn University at Montgomery and graduated with a communications major. Successful in the corporate world at companies such as Black & Decker, Johnson & Johnson and General Electric Company, she was constantly reminded of how few professional pieces were in her closet when dressing for meetings. Weeks wanted more clothing choices for taller women that were both stylish and timeless, much like what exists in the market for petites. She began doodling name ideas for such a business. One day Weeks drove by a sign that said Goddess Boutique. Inspiration struck with Weeks suddenly envisioning the words Height Goddess together. She immediately pulled the car …

Megan Taylor Morrison has studied local dance forms in 16 countries on six different continents. Embracing the title of dance adventurer, Morrison has also designed and co-led international dance retreats and is a certified life and business coach. She recently released her new book Dance Adventures: True Stories About Dancing Abroad. In it, Morrison demonstrates that dance can forge connections between people from different backgrounds, as well as lead to cross-cultural experiences that promote greater understanding of another culture. Dance can also engender tremendous personal growth for travelers. Morrison corresponded with Girls That Create about her book via email. Q&A With Megan Taylor Morrison Have you always been dance-obsessed? What are your earliest memories of dance and the joy it brought you? All throughout my youth, I played soccer. The only real exposure I had to dance was taking some ballet and jazz classes when I was five and learning a couple of East Coast swing dance moves from my brother. When I got to college in 2004, I decided swing dancing would be a great hobby and set out to learn it. Little did I know that Seattle had one of the best scenes in the world for Lindy Hop (the original swing dance created by members of the African American community in Harlem in the late 1920s) at that time. My first experience of true, unbridled passion was the first time I saw talented lindy hoppers social dancing at a holiday party. After the song finished, I went over to the man who …

Claire Morales LOVES the color yellow. The musician, graphic designer, and illustrator made this evident with her “Immersed In Song” design for KXT 91.7, a non-commercial radio station in North Texas. Morales strongly believes in the healing power of creating. For her, the spring 2020 lockdown was used to make artwork that propels a sense of energy and optimism. The Gift of a Guitar Growing up in Denton, Morales remembers listening to artists like Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears with her sister. She still adores 90s pop music while also crediting her parents with instilling a love for artists like Bob Marley and the Beatles. “Every night before going to sleep, my dad would play guitar,” shared Morales. “The songs were cool, not just kid’s songs. That was always really special to me. Growing up, I wanted to be like my dad. I still do. He bought me my first guitar when I was 11 and always taught me things. The first song I learned to play was Everywhere by Michelle Branch. I was really into her because she wrote her songs.” Morales also began singing. At 13, she started to play acoustic gigs at local coffee shops around North Texas. After making the jump to electric guitar, she released her debut album Amaranthine in 2015. The album is a collection of dreamy, hazy rock songs centered around childhood, nostalgia, and coming of age. Morales and her band went out on tour and played numerous festivals like SXSW, 35 Denton, Norman Music Festival, Oaktopia, Thinline, …

Since Girls That Create launched in 2019, I’ve had the opportunity to interview many extraordinary women. Recently a check-in request went out to every person who appears in the website’s Creator Spotlight series. Below are the first updates from Writer Jess Rinker, Creative Alchemist Sarah Greenman, and Artist and Teacher Dr. Valerie Gillespie. As you can see, these women continue to be AMAZING forces in their own corners of the world. Girls That Create Creator Spotlight Updates Writer Jess Rinker “My biggest update since last year is the sale/publication of a bunch more books. Out of Time: Lost on the Titanic came out in May. The Dare Sisters was released in September. Send a Girl: The True Story of How Women Joined the FDNY comes out in March 2021. The Dare Sisters 2: Shipwrecked comes out September 2021 and my most recent sale, The Fellowship of the Castle, will come out during summer 2022! So I’m a bit busy. LOL! But it’s all so good. I feel incredibly lucky and honored to keep working in a job I love, especially now in such an unpredictable and unsteady year. I’ve fallen into a “brand” of stories about powerful women and adventurous girls–it’s very inspiring. I hope we get back to in-person events soon so I can actually meet readers. That is the one really disappointing thing about 2020 for authors–no connections. But hopefully it won’t stretch into next year too far.” Original Creator Spotlight post featuring Rinker Creative Alchemist Sarah Greenman “Since you last featured me, I have left my position at StateraArts …

There is a specific image that stood out to Aesha Ash when she was studying to become a professional dancer at the School of American Ballet in New York City. The image, hanging on a wall, showed Black ballerina Andrea Long who had been part of the school before Ash joined. On the toughest of days Ash would stare at the picture and think, “Okay, Aesha, pick yourself up. You can do this, you can do this, you can do this.” In August 2020, Ash became the first Black female member of the permanent faculty in the School of American Ballet’s 86-year history. She is also the creator and founder of The Swan Dreams Project. Its mission is to use ballet and photography as a way to combat the objectification of Black women and stereotypes. Giving Ballet a Chance Ash grew up in Rochester, New York, a place still near and dear to her heart. Starting out she did not plan to study ballet. As a youngster, Ash studied jazz and lyrical dance with aspirations of appearing on Broadway. There were competitions, but Ash wasn’t a fan of trying to beat out other girls. She simply wanted to dance and perform. When a teacher suggested learning ballet would help her become a better dancer, she gave it a shot. “Other forms of dance came much easier to me,” Ash recalls. “Ballet was very, very hard. It was definitely something that did not feel natural. As I got older, I liked that challenge. It was something that …

Bestselling author and illustrator Kate Allan put out the perfect book for 2020. Titled You’re Strong, Smart and You Got This: Drawings, Affirmations, and Comfort to Help with Anxiety and Depression, the work blends sunshine drawings and powerful words. The book not only provides a supportive voice for readers when they’re overwhelmed, it is also a gentle reminder we should treat ourselves with more kindness. Allan began creating to cope with her own depression and anxiety. As her work grew, she started posting drawings on Tumblr. People took notice, a community was born, and today Allan’s social handle, The Latest Kate, reaches more than 100,000 people. Allan corresponded with Girls That Create via email. Q&A With Kate Allan As a young girl, did you see yourself becoming an illustrator one day? Were you always pulled towards drawing or is it something you found later in life? I’ve always loved to draw, but because I had very low self-esteem growing up, I never thought I’d be a creative professional in any form. So now that I have published work, patrons, and people following my art from week-to-week, the whole thing can still feel unreal. It’s like a good dream I don’t want to wake up from. Did you have a favorite picture book growing up? Animated film? Oh, absolutely! I loved fairy tales– my favorite picture book was Snow White and Rose Red, illustrated by Sheilah Beckett. She had this, like, art nouveau style crossed with a bright 70’s technicolor design. It’s so pretty! My favorite …