The Hosts

Sound Engineer: Mark Carey

Chris Storm

Christen Civiletto

Chris loves nothing more than to spend the entire day cooking a special dinner for her family and her twenty-eight nieces and nephews. She believes, at the very end of our lives, when we take a good look back, we will realize that all that really mattered were our relationships. They're the meaning and the joy of life.

She has a great love for fiction and has had her nose stuck in a book since she was a child. She pursued a Business Degree from Canisius College in New York, but took every English and Literature class to create her own English minor. After graduation, life has been quite a chaotic adventure. Chris lived in 9 different small towns across the U.S. including the deep bayou of Louisiana, the remote Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia, the foot of the Adirondack Mountains of New York, the shadow of the abandoned steel mills of Pennsylvania, and the touristy coast of Florida, and she traveled to twenty-seven different countries. All of her books take place in real places that may be visited and investigated as authentic and strange and mysterious and odd and…wonderful. She was Founder and President of IntellSource, Inc., a highly successful medical consulting company until she pursued her first love, reading and writing, all day long.

Chris also believes, when there’s nothing new under the sun, and you long for something more, be the change that you're looking for. And that is the reason for the BOOKSTORM Podcast—a deeper dive into best-selling fiction. A closer and more serious look at books that matter, books that make a difference in every single reader's life, long after the last page is turned.She can’t wait for you to join her on BOOKSTORM, where she hopes you will soon discover: There is no story told that is pure fiction; for everything we think we imagined is simply built upon the reality of what we already know to be true. Her motto: “Read a book, because within those mysterious pages, filled with interesting people and far-away places, you will discover something of you—something lost, something buried, or, maybe, just maybe, something you never knew.

Chris is the proud of mom of two adult children both working in NYC, a brand new Granddaughter, Sawyer Brooke, who is the absolute joy of her life, and two grandpups named Ralphy and Hank. Chris now lives in the Carolinas with her husband of 38 years.

Website: <http://www.chris-storm.com>

Christen’s roots go right back to her hometown of Niagara Falls, New York. She’s been grounded by her boisterous Italian family, moved by the people of an environmentally devastated city, drawn outdoors by its natural beauty, and inspired to act locally by using the law as the means to effect change.

She experienced a wake-up call after wondering why so many residents of the Falls were dealing with cancer or disease. She began to research the area’s environmental history -- a history marked by greed, deception, illegal dumping, and misplaced patriotism. Those discoveries led to a lot of writing, including Green City Savior (2015), a suspense novel set in Niagara Falls.

In her law practice, she’s part of a team of attorneys that represents Niagara County residents in lawsuits stemming from the historic Love Canal disaster. She also works on cases where the government has passed laws that increase the threat of harm to women and children. Her law degree has enabled her to be a voice for the voiceless.

The themes contained within the pages of fiction are generally grounded in the human experience. In those stories, we find heartbreak, discovery, corruption … and yes, even narratives of hope, redemption, and new beginnings. Through fiction, we can shine a light on wrong choices. We can learn from the past and do better going forward. Everyday heroes – even fictional ones ₋ make a difference. The BOOKSTORM podcast goes deep on those issues!

Christen has also authored non-fiction books and articles relating to law practice. She’s a past writing award finalist, and a current judge for The Eric Hoffer Award for Book and Prose and other contests. She pens a blog entitled “Wild Faith” with Dr. Bernadette Clabeaux. They tackle science, law, and faith: www.Wildfaith.net

Whether Christen is writing, hiking, litigating, raising a family, or teaching, there's one unifying theme to her pursuits: it's the idea of stewardship -- the notion that we’re to care for what’s been entrusted to us. Stewardship of the natural world requires that we use our aptitudes and interests to act. Stewardship requires more than just recycling or reusing. It requires vigilance, gratitude, forgiveness, transparency, non-complacency, and, importantly, accountability. It’s intentional.

Website: <http://www.christenciviletto.com>