Kristin Billerbeck
About Kristin
I grew up with a strong sense of justice. I simply knew the way things should be. And since I’m not smart enough to be a district attorney, I am a novelist. My childhood was slightly confusing. I blame my parents for this. Oh heck, I’m going to blame them for everything. I think I would have turned out normal if it weren’t for them.
the billerbeck's
Okay, probably not. I am a fourth-generation Californian, and an American mutt, but identify most strongly with my Italian heritage. My mother’s family, of strong Norwegian/German descent, tried to teach me how to do things right. How to cook, clean, sew, budget accordingly – all the things a proper young girl should know to be a contributing member of society. I, however, failed miserably. For my 40th birthday, my grandmother gave me a cookie gun, so it’s clear she hasn’t given up on me yet! That is eternal optimism!
My dad’s Italian family taught me about the good life. The indulgent life. How to eat, shop and be merry. My Nana had very tiny feet and a penchant for shoes (she worked at the Emporium, no doubt to fund her shoe addiction). My afternoons at her house had no lessons, other than how to walk in her high heels, drape myself in her mink stole and drip myself with rhinestones. Tastefully, of course. I picked up on this lifestyle much quicker.
I graduated San Jose State University with a degree in Journalism & Mass Communications (emphasis in Advertising), gave my life to Jesus during college and found my true love in a Christian Singles’ Group, which yes, I skewer in “What a Girl Wants”. He is German. Practical. And a Contributing Member of Society. I am still Italian, fluffy and an aficionado of fine shoes & handbags.
Together, we have four children and now it’s our turn to confuse them. The circle of life. Dysfunctional family style.
“I may not be desperate. But I'm close.”
“What if I'm destined to be single for the rest of my life, and you're upsetting the balance of nature and God's plan?”
“Love isn't safe. And whoever you love will hurt you. It's part of the human experience. No one is perfect...People make mistakes. The secret is to focus on what they do right and decide what quirks you can live with.”
“If he only knew how often she and Eileen had discussed the benefits of Netflix on dateless weekend nights.”
“No one who truly understands grace will tell a person their sin is beyond it.”
“you can plan so that nothing goes wrong in life. But something will, and it won't be what you expected to go wrong. So make sure you're with someone who will help you bail the water out of the boat, not someone who will blame you for the hole.”
“I'm getting married because it's time and I want to have a family." "No, that's why men get married. Women get married because they're in love.”
“We have an agreement," she explained. "I watch nothing to do with a hobbit, Vulcan, or comic book hero, and in return, Dexter's not forced to sit through a foreign romance, a BBC production, or one my classic films.”
“Wouldn't it be great if God just blew an air horn in your ear and told you exactly what to do? It's that whole free will business. Gets in my way every time.”
“There's a world I could do without: public underwear showings. There was a time in my lifetime when you had to open a J.C. Penney catalog to see people in their underwear. Now it's like the national pastime, hanging out in your underwear. I don't see why they have to pay anyone to model it.”
“Marriage is like calculus. Complicated and inexplicably remote. People think it's about loving one another and riding off into the sunset, but no one tells you the horse is lame or that it's an eclipse, and there won't be a sunset that day.”
“I'm not saying there aren't a few who marry the guy for his money. There are, but I believe there are more of us who marry because we grew up believing in the fairy tale, and no one ever told us it was a lie.”
“Sometimes our biggest mistakes give us our greatest reward.”
“One has to be proactive in warding off ugly, and that costs money.”