One to Read:

ChristinaJ

by Lindsey Giardino

When it comes to ChristinaJ, the question is simple. What can’t she do? Her multi-layered identity lends to her storytelling abilities, which recently culminated in her debut novel—a story that started as an improvised tale she told her kids at bedtime.  

“I feel that my experiences, my family, my career, my kids, everything that has occurred in my life has led me to creating Royal Planet,” she says. “I feel like different aspects of myself shine through some of the characters. I hear my experiences speak through them.” 

Royal Planet, which won the 2022 Purple Dragonfly Award in its Historical Fiction category, is an uplifting story with many twists and turns that keeps the reader guessing. “A world with words, traditions, and battles unlike any other that I hope people will enjoy as much as I enjoyed writing it,” ChristinaJ says. 

At its core, the book is a humorous, action-packed, emotion-filled story about a group of individuals who become friends and fight to transform their world for a better future. “I used symbolism to get the points across so that regardless of the age of the reader, they will recognize the true meanings in the story,” ChristinaJ explains.

Along the way, the story touches on heavy topics like colorism, racism, adoption, trauma, addiction, narcissism, relationships, self-worth, family dynamics, and much more. “This is important to me because for most of my professional career, I was the only woman and minority on my team, so I have learned to bring people of all backgrounds and opinions together to achieve success,” ChristinaJ says. 

In fact, what makes ChristinaJ tick is solving problems. That’s part of what inspired her educational endeavors and pursuit of a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Drexel University and a master’s degree in systems engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology. 

“Engineering is a structured approach to solving problems, and so it fits into how I approach life,” she says. “One of the characters in my novel is also an engineer, because I wanted to call out the importance of females in engineering but also because it was the right puzzle piece.” 

Moreover, ChristinaJ was the first woman of Indian descent to become president of the engineering student branch at her university. “Similarly, another character, Roxy, was inspired by my experiences in college and interning as a young engineer at different companies,” she says. 

ChristinaJ began her career as a systems engineer and then became a project manager at a large U.S. government defense contractor, where she gained extensive technical and business experience while working on the communication systems between fighter jets.

With this background, it might be surprising to learn that ChristinaJ was also a dance teacher. “I enjoyed bringing people together for the love of the art,” she says. “I would choreograph and teach Bollywood dances when I was in high school and then throughout college. Once I graduated with my undergraduate degree, I opened my own dance school with locations in New Jersey and New York.”

ChristinaJ taught at night and on weekends, and her students performed across the country. “Between both jobs, I felt grateful at the end of each day doing what I loved,” she says.

Growing up, ChristinaJ was classically trained in Indian dance. In high school, she was part of a group performing at a pageant when one of the girls dropped out of the competition. ChristinaJ’s dance teacher asked her if she’d take her place. “I said yes, and a few hours later, I won my first pageant—Miss Kerala New Jersey,” she says.

ChristinaJ found joy in pageantry and went on to win several other pageants throughout the years, including Miss Millennium Beauty Queen, Miss International Princess, Miss India New Jersey, and Miss Asia America. “That pageant was dear to my heart since I was representing India,” she shares.

ChristinaJ was also one of the leading stars in the first Telugu Indian movie ever filmed in the United States—an experience she’ll never forget.

“One of my fondest memories was a shot of a dance sequence with the Twin Towers behind me,” she recalls. “With the music blaring, the cameramen and dancers all around, I remember thinking I need to cherish this moment. I only later realized how true that feeling was because this scene with the Twin Towers behind me was filmed shortly before 9/11.”

With her inclination to always say yes, it’s no surprise that ChristinaJ thrives on having multiple things going on in her life at any given time. “I feel alive, and I am grateful for all of it,” she says. “Victoria, one of my characters in Royal Planet, is inspired by my experience as a dancer and choreographer. Music plays a part in this story, and I was able to draw from my experiences.”

She adds, “When I started writing Royal Planet, I was very focused on the beginning and the end and how to get from start to finish. But as they say, ‘The journey is the true reward,’ and it was very rewarding to learn more about and reflect on myself as part of writing this novel.”

ChristinaJ describes her writing process as similar to how she approaches an engineering problem. “I wrote different sections of the story as they would come to me, and then like LEGO bricks, I had to figure out the best way to connect the different parts together to make a cohesive story that transitions well from each section to the next,” she explains. “It felt like a jigsaw puzzle because I had different sections of puzzle pieces that fit well together as a section by itself. It was a great feeling when I found the missing piece that made both sections fit well with each other.”

Funnily enough, ChristinaJ found her best writing for Royal Planet happened when she was in her car in the school pick-up line. Which brings up another facet of her identity. At the end of the day, while she’s proud of all she’s achieved in life thus far, what makes ChristinaJ most happy is being a mom. “I’m almost always multitasking, and I feel like my main job (and joy) is finding ways to tire out my kids so they fall asleep quickly at bedtime,” she jokes. 

And while she never initially set out to write another story after Royal Planet, ChristinaJ can’t stop thinking about her characters. Now, she has a very definite idea for a prequel. That will have to wait a while, though, because she’s more focused right now on finding the right audience for Royal Planet. 

“It’s important for me to find that group of people who will enjoy my novel,” she says, “and are inspired and touched by it.”