Karen Madej 💛 Biography: I’d Like to Build Worlds

My love of reading and magical worlds brought me to write on Medium.

Before you start reading my bio perhaps you’d prefer to watch and listen to me reading it on the ILLUMINATION YouTube channel.

As a child in the 70s, I imagined the rustle and brush of my sleeves past furs until I reached a landscape with a single lamppost illuminating the snow and trees in an eerie pale glow.

My torch shone on page after page of magical creatures who talked to me, as well as the four schoolchildren who travelled to a faraway land through a piece of furniture. The book, of course, is The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, by C. S. Lewis.

At my school in the real world, all the children were given the chance to choose six books every month from a list. Mine included the likes of Old Peter’s Russian Tales, by Arthur Ransome, and Roald Dahl’s, James and the Giant Peach. I also coveted my dad’s hardback tome of Algernon Blackwood’s Tales of the Uncanny and Supernatural.

English was my favourite class. Always.

In my teens, I wasn’t in the top class. The top class was for girls who were bright enough to learn grammar.

I felt rather fortunate to have free rein over the books I chose to read and the stories which flowed from my italic writing pen. I was also lucky to have a form tutor who enjoyed reading my essays. I also helped my friend, whose spelling was atrocious.

After school and college, I didn’t write anything creative for thirty years. All my creative skills went into various jobs and a twenty-year career with a communications company.

I kept up my reading habit on various beaches for the annual, somewhere hot holiday.

Ten years ago I embarked on my journey here. Ten years ago, my writing skills were passive-business-keep-everyone-happy emails and help desk agent scripts.

Boredom forced me to blog about my experience of living on a Cape Verdean island for almost a year.

When I left the island, I dreamed of transforming the blog into a memoir. But I knew the quality of my writing was not the best. I wrote how I spoke. And native speakers like me, speak using incorrect grammar.

So, I set sail on the boat that would bring me to Medium. I stopped off at a creative writing course for nearly five years. Then I learned a lot of tricky grammar because I could no longer wing it as an English language coach. French business learners are rather demanding. I don’t like not knowing what I think I should.

I self-published Gemini Craving, the first part of my story on you know where. It felt good to get it out there. Sales are non-existent (after a year or so) but I’m learning how to market now, so perhaps there will be interest in the future. The first chapter, Sarah, is here on Medium along with a further six chapters.

Writing for Medium and specifically, ILLUMINATION, has opened up a whole new world for me. One where I can pen anything that tickles my fancy. As well as reviving some of my favourites from my creative writing course.

I retire next year — early retirement at 55. I’m planning on writing unencumbered and let my imagination soar.

I’d like to create worlds. Michelle Lovretta created the worlds for a TV show called Killjoys. Now that is the type of series I hope never ends. (All good things do though.)

I created my utopia earlier this year. How to Restore Planet Earth to Her Former Glory. It or something similar could be a little closer after this pandemic. I hope.

I have my own world waiting in the wings. A short story that is begging to be brought to life and lived in.

Maybe one day I’ll share it with you.

Do you love writing? Would you like to write for ILLUMINATION?

Click on the link.