About Me

Hi! I'm Christina Bennett, aka O'Rangia J Taylor. 

I don't write using my name because it's so common. The last time I Googled my name, there were pages and pages of other Christina Bennett's (apparently, we're a pretty accomplished bunch!). There's also a Chris Bennett who writes. So, I decided to use a pseudonym. O'Rangia is a family name, both my aunt and my sister had it. Taylor is my mom's side of the family. And the middle initial J is also a nod towards my sister. She was called OJ by her friends and coworkers.

I started creating stories when I was little, as most children do. I'd create back stories for my dolls. They each had full personalities. As I got older I wanted to write them down, but my brain moved faster than my hands so I got frustrated with the attempts. When the first word processors were invented I was thrilled. I begged my dad to get me one - supposedly for school - and I began to actually write down all of the stories in my head. As a teen, I submitted stories to Young Miss magazine, Essence, and even Reader's Digest. I also submitted to some of the random magazines I'd see in bookstores. A few were published, not many. It was enough to light the fire.

But once I was an adult, there were bills to pay, and mouths to feed, and (music) ministry responsibilities. Writing was pushed to the back burner, although I would occasionally put pen to paper (figuratively speaking) and create something. I wanted to publish, but I just didn't have the focus to actually try (thanks, ADHD).

Nowadays my kids are adults, and I have the time and bandwidth to not only start writing a story, but actually finish it, lol. When I decided to seriously pursue my writing, I had five fully completed novels, and seven that were in various stages of development. It's been fun actually honing and refining those stories, and seeing them come to life.

I hope you'll enjoy them, too.