Get to Know… Christina Soontornvat!

My name is… Christina Soontornvat. My last name rhymes with MOON-BORN-SPOT!

I am a… Thai-American author who writes books for kids of all ages. My newest books are the DIARY OF AN ICE PRINCESS chapter books, which are about a princess with winter powers who is a descendent of the North Wind (talk about a legacy to live up to!). She just wants to be a normal kid and go to a regular school (on the ground, of course).

As a kid, I was… reading to get out of doing work. My parents owned a Thai/Chinese restaurant when I was growing up, and that’s where I spent most of my out-of-school time. I quickly learned that if I didn’t want to fold napkins or sort silverware, I needed to put my nose in a book!

Writing is… a lot like engineering. In addition to being an author, I’m also an engineer. One of the first things you learn in engineering is how to solve problems. Figuring out the best way to tell a story is also problem solving, and sometimes you have to keep trying it this way, then that way, until you get it right.

Reading is… my favorite place to get lost. There is no better feeling than reading a book that is so good that I forget where I am or what time it is.

Books are… all around me. I literally have piles and piles of books in every room of my house, threatening to topple over and bury me in paper (okay maybe not quite that tall).

Did you know… that I love movies almost as much as I love books? When I get stuck in my writing I usually watch movies. Musicals are especially helpful because so much emotion comes through in the songs. Yes, I watched a lot of FROZEN while I was writing the DIARY OF AN ICE PRINCESS books!

You can find me… at the pool. I live in Austin, Texas and it is a billion degrees here 5 months of the year so I am usually swimming. Oh, if you can’t make it to the pool you can just go to my website: www.soontornvat.com or find me on Twitter as @soontornvat.