Surviving the Storm

Irene Nichole Harris is a native of Florida and the oldest of eight brothers and sisters. She credits her mother’s love of poetry and the ability to create an imaginative world out of words as the driving force behind her talent. After graduating high school, she attended the University of Florida as a pre-med major however after she took her first class in African-American Literature, she could not deny her passion for writing. At the same time, Ms. Harris harbored a desire to serve her country. In 1996, she enlisted in the Army and pushed her writing career aside. She has been in the military for ten years and currently a Staff Sergeant. In February 2002, she focused all energies on writing. She completed Bottom Heights—the novel she began in high school. The accomplishment of self-publishing her first novel created a writing fervor which has spearheaded many other projects in the making, including three novels and a book of poetry. Ms. Harris has written several articles for Brown Diva, pieces for 4LoveofPoetry and Aspire2Write, and is a member of the Mighty Write Literary Association. She is majoring in Human Resources and Business Management through Troy University. Ms. Harris believes that too often writers fall into the habit of conforming to what everyone else thinks they should write, but it takes real courage to express individualism and originality.Harris, Irene Nichole is the author of 'Surviving the Storm', published 2006 under ISBN 9781599715568 and ISBN 1599715562.