Book The Changelings and author Christina Soontornvat
Creating Fantasy
Christina Soontornvat ’02 turns a bedtime story into her first children’s novel

Legs tucked underneath her, arms spread wide, Christina Soontornvat ’02 sat nestled on the end of her eldest niece’s bed, her nighttime story in full swing. Her nieces, then five and three-years-old, watched her with big eyes and listened with even bigger ears. Unexpectedly, the story took a dark turn and her youngest niece burst into tears.

“She thought the story was too scary,” Soontornvat says, laughing at the memory. “But then my oldest niece told me not to pay any attention to her, and she begged me for more of the story.”

That was eight years ago, when Soontornvat was visiting her nieces on vacation. At bedtime, she made up her own expanded version of an ancient Irish folk tale she once read in a book, where fairies kidnapped children who were not properly watched by their parents. Intrigued by the tale, Soontornvat put her own twist on the fable and wove a narrative of two young sisters separated by a surprise fairy kidnapping.

Her nieces were riveted. Soontornvat started to mail a new chapter to their home every week. Thirty-two packages later, she realized she had written a children’s novel. This month, The Changelings hits bookstores around the country.

“I wrote this story for them,” Soontornvat says. “I wanted to write something that will sweep kids out of the real world and take them on an adventure. At its heart, the novel is about family and friendships, so I hope they relate to the characters in that way.”

The novel follows older sister Izzy as she searches for her kid sister Hen inside a magical fairy world she only dreamed existed. Suddenly on her own, Izzy encounters a group of changelings, or fairy creatures, who may or may not be able to help save her sister. Soontornvat, who recently completed a sequel, says the novel allowed her to resolve a lot of the unanswered questions she had when she first encountered the Irish tale.

portrait of christina soontornvat

Around the same time she began writing, Soontornvat also became a mother. Her daughters have now become her soundboards and initial editors, as she regularly tests ideas on them to see what resonates. Interacting with kids on a daily basis also grounds her in their vernacular, mannerisms, and the dynamics of their friendships.

“Having kids definitely impacts you as a writer,” Soontornvat says. “My family reads a lot of kids’ books, and we are always telling stories. There is something about having kids where your life is chaotic and crazy, and so you feel like you can take that chance and do something wild.”

In addition to writing, Soontornvat is also an education consultant for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) related fields. She currently works with iFLY/Skyventures at their indoor skydiving facilities. An engineering science major at Trinity, Soontornvat explains the design of the wind tunnel and the physics of skydiving to students on field trips to the iFLY facilities. She developed the K-12 STEM curriculum that is now replicated in 25 wind tunnels across the U.S. Soontornvat travels frequently to the various locations in an attempt to make STEM “relevant, exciting, and fully experiential.” What is more, she has a deep background in exhibit development at children’s museums and science content development. She earned an M.S. in science education from the University of Texas at Austin in 2007.

While her career path might appear “fairly random,” Soontornvat calls herself fortunate to work on projects she finds meaningful and stimulating.

“Part of that has been fortunate circumstance, but also leaping at opportunities as they come by and not letting things pass by,” Soontornvat says. “The philosophy of Trinity makes you feel like you can do anything and that everything is related. Trinity educates people who know how to solve problems, which applies to everything.”

Soontornvat says she uses the skills she learned as an engineer daily, even when she is writing. The process of revising a book is similar, for her, to the engineering design process of testing a design and reworking the project when necessary. Editing a novel, she adds, can be a laborious process that requires a lot of patience and numerous feedback from critique partners, an agent, publishers, friends, and others.

All of that hard work is about to pay off, as The Changelings will soon be available online, in bookstores, classrooms, and even Trinity’s campus bookstore. Soontornvat will be signing copies of the book during Trinity’s upcoming Alumni Weekend. An amusing and heartfelt novel, The Changelings is sure to delight children of all ages and those eager for their latest bedtime story.

Carlos Anchondo '14 is an oil and gas reporter for E&E News, based in Washington D.C. A communication and international studies major at Trinity, he received his master's degree in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin.

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