About me

About me

Welcome to jeanspraker.com. I hope you like it here. According to SEO experts, every website is supposed to have an About page. Thus, this page exists. 

The problem is deciding what to tell you. I was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but not raised here. I have spent most of my life outside Philly and returned to the city in 2017.

I have bachelor’s and master’s degrees in History from Clemson University in South Carolina. The department recently redid its website. It looks great. You should check it out. 

I spent five years of my life living overseas in Asia and the Middle East, and I loved it. 

But, living overseas as a “trailing spouse” isn’t all lifestyles of the rich and famous. It has its drawbacks, too. Among them, creating a new identity for myself that didn’t involve work. Volunteering helped forge that new identity. In Philly, I continue to donate my time to local nonprofits. 

During my time in India, I fell in love with Indian writing in English on my first day in the country and started studying the Indian book market. 

At one point, I thought I wanted to be a paperback writer like the Beatles, but I soon realized that’s not where my gifts lie. 

 

Let’s face it, you really just came to this website to see my chihuahua Peanut wearing his booties during his first monsoon.

That video is now a YouTube Shorts video on an account I don’t have any control over anymore. You can watch that video on YouTube.

Editor

Evidently, this photo represents what the internet thinks an editor does. This photo by Cottonbro on Pexels was the first image that appeared when I searched “editor.” It’s pretty close, tbh. At least it’s not a gene-splicing image like on some other stock photography sites. 

But the truth is that there are many types of editors. I edit words, not videos or DNA. My specialty is structural or developmental editing. I love helping shape the text and watching it transform into something that the reader will find “unputdownable.”

Writer

I am an alumna of Anita’s Attic, Anita Nair’s writing program in Bangalore, India. Anita’s Attic gave me many gifts. The wonderful support and friendship of my batchmates are among the most cherished.

While in Bangalore, I finished the first draft of my book and drank a lot of filter coffee.

I love Indian food and have a particular love for South Indian breakfasts. I highly recommend the masala dosas at MTR. Or if you are in Philly, check out Amma’s South Indian Cuisine. 

Season 4 Writers at Anita's Attic in Bangalore India

Book reviewer

I don’t get paid to review books, even though I think reviews should receive payment. Reading a book and writing a review is a lot of labor. No one who does it well should do it for free. But Amazon has rules about reviews. So, instead of getting paid to write reviews that sell books (and my reviews do sell books), I review books for free. 

If I like a book, I review it. You can suggest a book you would like me to review, but there’s no guarantee that I will review it. I don’t read much fantasy or romance (despite rumors to the contrary).

Like so many people during the pandemic, I lost my will to read. 

Truthfully, I had started to struggle before the pandemic, but COVID made everything worse. Eventually, I turned to audiobooks, and they really helped me enjoy reading again. So, I recently started writing audiobook reviews. 

Blogger

I don’t update this blog as often as I should. I have been told that websites are obsolete, and the real action is on social media.  But I would like to remind the reader that you own your website. You do not own Meta or Twitter. Thus, I am reviving my website as part of my personal content strategy. 

  

Where to connect with me on social media

I am on all the typical social media platforms, although my YouTube is out of date and needs a rebrand and revival. I prefer Twitter, so that’s your best bet for connecting to me. 

I should probably be on TikTok, but I’m not. Yet. But, BookTok is beckoning.

8 Responses

  1. I hear you on India.. it’s like getting a punch in the face but you’re not sure whether it’s out of love or hate. I miss it to bits. Loved the post on suicide and the semi colon tattoo!

    Much love from Holland!

  5. I will watch the video of Peanut in boots repeatedly. You already know I think you are da bomb!

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