Carmen Evelyn G. Nuyda (former pen name C. Georgina C.) first learned about Frederick Douglass in high school after borrowing a book from the library entitled, "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,  an American Slave."

 

This newfound knowledge unlocked and opened her world to learning more about American history including her ancestral history dating back to 67,000 years ago during the migration of the Austronesians from Africa to Southern Asia during the Ice Age.

 

Fast-forward some 30 years when she opened her first bridal shop in Southern California offering made-to-measure wedding gowns and evening dresses. A self-taught dressmaker with no formal training, she became a student of the trade, learned from the experts, and leaned on any information she could access to broaden her knowledge and fine-tune her technique and skills in haute couture.

 

One night while researching for a future bride's wedding gown,  an image of a gown from the 1860s caught her attention.  She learned about Elizabeth Keckley,  a formerly enslaved woman who became the official dressmaker to the First Lady, Mary Todd Lincoln. The author became a loyal fan of her life story and work.

 

Little did she know that after over a decade of research,  she would be inspired to write a book about the life of a woman who left behind a remarkable and brilliant legacy.  Her second book,  currently undergoing copy editing, is a romance novel entitled "The Way Love Goes: candle, moth, flame," which was inspired by Elizabeth Keckley.  She is working on her third book, a love story based on the true story of Fredrick Douglass and his beloved wife of forty years, Anna Murray.

 

She is the Co-Founder of The Healing Arts Foundation, a 501C3 advocacy designed to provide support, and assistance to the marginalized and underserved through the healing power of the Arts.  

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