Dr. Christie Black-Murrell
Bio:
Dr. Christie Black-Murrell hails from Columbus, GA, a city nestled just 100 miles south of the bustling metropolis of Atlanta. Her roots run deep, having proudly graduated from Kendrick High School and her cherished Historically Black College and University, Morris Brown College. Building on this foundation, she pursued higher education at Troy State University and Columbus State University before culminating her academic journey with a doctorate from Argosy University.
A multifaceted individual, Dr. Christie is an accomplished author, counselor, and speaker, that recognizes the transformative power of words. Throughout her life, writing has been her chosen medium to articulate feelings and unleash creative imagination. Her poetic journey began in 2008 with "Random Thoughts of Perplexed, Relaxed Soul," followed by the groundbreaking "Soul Cries" in 2012, which marked her first foray into audiobooks of poetry.
From 2020 onwards, Dr. Christie has unleashed a creative torrent, delivering nine children's books and journals that emphasize social-emotional learning for children and adolescents. Her commitment to empowering through words is evident as she believes in the profound impact language has on shaping our perceptions of the world and ourselves.
A passionate advocate for positivity and love, Dr. Christie describes her affinity for the written and spoken word as an avenue to "Speak Life and Promote Love" in every encounter. She is often coined as a social-emotional learning enthusiast. Writing, she believes, is an integral part of her life's purpose, and she dedicates herself wholeheartedly to all her endeavors.
Beyond her professional accomplishments, Dr. Christie is a devoted wife and mother of two inquisitive little girls. Her philosophy centers on finding the positive in all aspects of life, embodying the uplifting message she shares with the world.
I have had 3 releases since 2024 and those are the covers I will provide:
One for Little Scholars- Do You Know...Affirmations for Little Scholars
One for Expectant Mommies- Do You Know...Affirmations for Expectant MothersOne for Super Girls- I am a Girl...that's my superpower-a story to boost self-confidence
Dr. Christie Black-Murrell introduce and tell us about yourself.
A little bit about me…Well, I am a Columbus, GA native and a Southern girl to the heart. I absolutely love words and I have always probably started from my teacher's mom's encouragement to read loads of books as a young person. I am also a lover of all things kind and believe wholeheartedly in pouring into our next generation and families. For this reason, I began my vocational career as a family/child counselor and have transitioned into a school counselor position for the last fifteen years. This is partially the reason why I write Children’s books to teach social-emotional skills to young people and to highlight little brown faces just like the little brown faces of my two tenacious little girls. I live for opportunities to speak to groups and encourage people, specifically young people through the power of words, specifically on topics like self-esteem, self-love, and all things that tie into social-emotional learning. Lastly, I have a full-service publishing company that assists authors in fulfilling their publishing dreams.
What inspired you to start writing children’s books?
Working with children and youth over the last twenty years has allowed me to see the areas where they could use some tools to help them be successful in this life as they grow into young adults. For this reason, I began writing books that would equip them with specific life skills (i.e. self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, responsible decision-making skills, and healthy friendships) to help them be productive, emotionally, and socially healthy young adults. That sounds a little intense but I take serious issues and teach them in a fun, and engaging way to meet and connect with children between ages 5-12.
I love that you wrote a book that teaches about diversity. Tell the readers about your book, “True Friendship Is Sweet: A Story That Teaches Diversity.”
This book highlighted several personal experiences as a little brown girl growing up in the South and dealing with race. Race can be a very sensitive topic but it is an essential topic to discuss especially with children who are little sponges ready to learn but need to be taught the right things. I wrote this book to teach the very important lesson that diversity is not a bad thing but it is what makes us all special and unique. Throughout the story, I teach that lesson through Emerson, an inquisitive little brown girl whose father is in the military but she has never visited the South until a summer visit to her grandma’s in Georgia. She makes a friend in MollyAnn who’s dad does not agree with their friendship. However, through the story, Emerson utilizes her love of sweets to teach the lesson that friendship is all friendship no matter the color or differences is sweet.
Dr. Christie Black-Murrell, you wrote a series of books called “Do You Know?” Tell us about these amazing children’s books that include affirmations.
My series “Do You Know” was the beginning of my journey as a Children’s book author. The purpose of all of these books was to foster and boost high self-esteem and self-confidence in children and young adults. These are all simple reads and my purpose behind that was to encourage parents to speak positive statements/encouragement over their children by reading those statements nightly. It would hopefully prompt children to speak more positively about themselves and believe that there are no limits to what they can do and who they can. I extend these self-love affirmations to recent young scholars, and to mommies-to-be. Going through the motherhood journey can be a confusing time and I wanted to write an affirmation book to remind them they are more prepared than they think. These books were so important to me because of what I see daily as a counselor that I expanded them into journals and coloring books as well. Ultimately it is my goal for young children to see themselves as God sees them, so I inspire to highlight the beauty and uniqueness in them through my words.
Your book, “Betty Boppins Learns About Bullying” is a great children’s book to teach children about bullying and how to stand up to it. Tell us about this book and the reason you wrote it.
Knowing how pertinent the issue of bullying is in our world with 1 in 5 kids being a victim of bullying a year per CDC 2021, is the reason I wrote this book. Also, being a counselor and seeing daily how children and parents are mistaken about what bullying means and the difference between bullying and simple mean behaviors is another reason why. This book was written in rhyme to assist in keeping kids engaged and helping them understand such a serious issue in a fun way. Betty is a smart little bunny and she goes to Animalville Elementary School where bullying is normal until a new kid Larry Limper comes to the school. Larry Limper and the counselors help the animals learn just as the readers will how to recognize true bullying and how to stop it.
Tell the readers about some of your other books.
I have written a few other books but all have the same message: a message that equips children and young adults with social skills to be and love their amazing selves. Most recently, in February 2024 I released an ode to being a girl! This book entitled, “ I am a girl…that’s my superpower…a book to boost self-confidence” was written with girls between the ages of 5-9 in mind. It is filled with pages and pages of affirmations and encouragement about loving being a girl. It will also highlight some of the stereotypes that typically tie into being a girl but we don't have to follow those stereotypes. The goal is that every reader walks away knowing how AMAZING they are! Oh, side note: a boy version coming real soon.
If someone would like to purchase copies of your books, where can they be purchased?
Purchasing copies of my books is easy! They can all be found on my website cblackexpressions.com or they can be purchased via Amazon.
Dr. Christie Black-Murrell as an author, counselor, and educator who advocates for social-emotional learning through positive affirmation books. Why is it important to advocate for social-emotional learning?
Social-emotional learning are essential life skills and it is so important that children grasp these concepts as early as possible. These are the very skills that will help them embrace their uniqueness and love themselves flaws and all. These skills will also encourage the acceptance of others of all backgrounds and ethnicities. In addition, it will help them build resilience, be problem-solving, and communicate their feelings in healthy ways. The combination of these skills make the type of future business owners, employees, educators, moms, and dads we hope they will be. Lastly, with the times we are living in where everything centers on social media and communicating electronically. mastering effective social skills and interpersonal skills will be key to an emotionally successful future.
Do you have any upcoming conferences, events, or workshops?
The month of March is a busy one! I will be a panelist for a Youth symposium, a speaker for black women’s business, and doing a few author visits for schools celebrating Women’s History Month! Coming in April, I will be hosting my second-ever book release party, “Spring into a Good Book” where I highlight the last 9 books released since my first book release in 2020. I am super excited about that and hope that I can share my love for writing with my community. I will be hosting several publishing workshops over the summer to be released in late April. Lastly, I will be doing a new book tour, “ Do You Know Who You Are?” focusing on boosting self-esteem with the power of affirmations.
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If you would like to learn more about Dr. Christie Black-Murrell books and services, visit her website at https://sites.google.com/view/www-cblackexpressions-com/home