Books adorn each wall in the Moran Library, every novel telling a unique story about riveting characters and unbelievable events. However, behind every cover there is an author with their own remarkable story to tell. 

Mrs. Kristen Bird, an English teacher at the Upper School, said that her passion for the world of writing and literature expands outside of the classroom. Throughout the past couple of years, Mrs. Bird has transformed her childhood dream of becoming a published author into a reality.

“I’ve always wanted to write a book ever since I was a kid,” Mrs. Bird said. “It was always a goal that I had, and as I’ve grown older and settled down, I’ve finally decided to pursue and focus on writing as one of my top priorities.”

However, upon entering the world of publications and storytelling, Mrs. Bird realized that the process of becoming an author was more difficult than it seemed.

“It was quite a lengthy process,” Mrs. Bird said. “It can take years to find an agent and even longer for the manuscript to be accepted at one of the various publishing houses it was pitched to.”

Although the extensive task to be published didn’t dim Mrs. Bird’s passion for writing, it did change her life at home and at work, and she quickly realized that time would prove to be consumingly difficult to manage. 

“It’s been hard balancing being a teacher while also editing and writing my novels,” Mrs. Bird said. “Not only that, I’m a mom of three girls, so that factors into how much time I can put in.” 

Despite this, she has persevered through years of tireless writing, critiquing and publishing and has recently released her second novel, “I Love It When You Lie.” 

The English teacher also incorporates her own personal spin into each of her novels. 

“I write about places I’ve either lived in or enjoyed visiting. I wrote about Galveston for my first book which is where my husband and I lived for a few years, and in my most recent novel, “I Love It When You Lie,” I set the environment in north Alabama, which is also where I grew up.” Mrs. Bird said. 

Not only that, Mrs. Bird’s personal passion for writing has also impacted her views as a teacher and the activities done within the classroom.

“In some of the lessons I teach, I’m able to speak from a more personal perspective as a writer as to the steps an author might take and why,” Mrs. Bird said. “My experience also helps me to continue to encourage students to ‘choice read’ and have a love for reading.” 

Nonetheless, while also juggling a personal and professional life as a mother and teacher, Mrs. Bird refuses to let the difficulties of being an author deter her from her passions, so she plans on launching multiple new stand-alone novels in the coming years. 

“My third book, “Watch It Burn” comes out next March and I’m currently in the process of writing my fourth novel.”