Krystol Stinson served in the U.S. Navy from 1985 to 2005 as an electronic technician first class (surface warfare). In 1991, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from St. Leo University. After retiring from the Navy and returning to her native Kentucky, she enrolled as a nontraditional student at Western Kentucky University, pursuing a double major in history and creative writing.
Born and raised in Scottsville, Stinson lives near Lake Malone in Muhlenberg County with her two rescue dogs, two cats, three goats and a multitude of chickens. Exploring the state is a hobby, and she loves to camp in Kentucky’s many wonderful state parks and the Corps of Engineers campgrounds, as well as the Daniel Boone National Forest.
“I inherited a love of reading from my mother, who continually bought us Dr. Seuss titles, nursery rhymes and Little Golden Books,” Stinson said. She remembers reading Watty Piper’s classic “The Little Engine That Could” aloud to her mom.
She loved Sam Gribley in “My Side of the Mountain” by Jean C. George and longed to live with him in his hollow tree. Later, once she realized that girls could solve mysteries, Stinson eagerly followed the adventures of detectives Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew.
“I also attribute my love of Kentucky and her authors to my mother,” Stinson said. “Jesse Stuart, Janice Holt Giles and John Fox Jr. often tucked me into bed at night and led me a merry chase in my dreams.” Other genres she enjoys are historical fiction, romance, poetry, mystery and suspense.
Stinson especially likes reading books in series. Among her favorites are Diana Gabaldon’s “Outlander” and “Lord John,” which she rereads often; J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter”; Robyn Carr’s “Virgin River”; and Steven Saylor’s “Roma” and “Exile.” She plans to begin his “Sub Rosa” series this summer. She has also savored Karen Marie Moning’s “Highlander” books. “To be truthful, I’ll read anything that mentions a Highlander. I have a fascination with Scotland,” she said.
Currently, Stinson is in the middle of “A Discovery of Witches” by Deborah Harkness, which she selected as a lighter balance to her research on witchcraft and magic.
“It is an entertaining companion for an evening of reading. It isn’t gory, nor does it focus on the demonology associated with witchcraft, but gently eases the reader into a contemporary world where ‘others’ exist. The characters seem to explode from the page!”
She eagerly anticipates the second installment in the trilogy. Meanwhile, for a class this semester, Stinson is working through Emma Wilby’s “The Visions of Isobel Gowdie: Magic, Witchcraft and Dark Shamanism in Seventeenth-Century Scotland.”
Stinson is also reading “When Winter Come: The Ascension of York” by Frank X. Walker, which looks at the Lewis and Clark expedition through the eyes of Clark’s slave, York, and his Nez Perce wife. “Walker’s poetry astounds me with its use of simple words and setting to portray everything from politics to the remnants of slavery in Kentucky and the love between an Indian woman and a slave.” Last summer Stinson read Steven Ambrose’s book about the expedition, “Undaunted Courage,” and is finding it interesting now to compare Walker’s unexpected interpretation of the famous journey, which began in 1803, with Ambrose’s best-selling account.
— Libby Davies, Barnes Noble Booksellers