By Kathy Brown.
A publisher from Fonthill Media that deals in history, architecture, and war happened upon Christina Cole’s Instagram account, and liked what they saw. “The editor asked if I would like to try [a book] and it just went from there,” explained Christina, who has lived in Killingworth since 2017. Arcadia Publishing is the US branch of Fonthill Media, which has published Christina’s books.
Christina is an avid photographer. She was surprised, though, when they asked her to write. “However, I had intentions in college of writing, and I had taken a couple of classes, so I jumped on the chance,” said Christina. Not only has she written one book, but three!
“Architecture is stunning,” said Christina. “Old architecture and the little details are mesmerizing. People really cared about aesthetics in the old days.”
Her first book, “Abandoned North Carolina; Mouth of the Holler” was released on Sept. 27, 2021, and “Abandoned Connecticut; First World Wasted” was released on Oct. 25, 2021. “They usually do not like to release them so close together as it is harder to promote,” said Christina, “but they did it anyway being after COVID and just getting back to work for them, the publisher probably had a lot of catching up to do.” She already has a third book completed, “Weird, Wild and Wonderful Connecticut” that is waiting for a release date. She is working on a fourth book now, “Historic Farms and Barns of Connecticut.”
She moved to Killingworth in 2017 from New Haven, where she had moved to “randomly” from Alaska. “We had thought [New Haven] would be great by Yale, art, music and culture. It wasn’t an issue until I had to be there all the time as I got cancer shortly after,” explained Christina. “It was convenient because it was close to Yale, but it was a nightmare because people blew up the landlord/preacher’s car in our backyard, and stabbed and killed someone on our front steps.” Her boss offered her place in Killingworth to help get Christina out of New Haven. “We loved it in Killingworth so much, we decided to stay. It’s very similar to where we grew up in North Carolina, but I like to say with better weather!”
Christina started researching abandoned buildings while in college, back in the 1990s because of a photography assignment. “The instructor wanted us to find an abandoned building and shoot the contrasting light interestingly,” said Christina. “However, it really blossomed as a hobby when I watched so many interesting buildings and history be torn down and then replaced with these pop-up houses with little architectural skill, strip malls that were all clones of each other, and warehouse churches. I could study old buildings forever.”
When asked about how she goes about researching buildings, Christina explained that she tries to talk to the people who own the buildings. If that isn’t possible, she’ll try local groups, libraries, the internet, newspapers, register of deeds, tax offices, GIS data, architectural magazines, “and anything that might be found on the grounds.”
“Abandoned Connecticut; First World Wasted” can be found at the publisher’s website, as well as online through Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and locally at Barnes and Noble, R. J. Julia Booksellers, Hickory Stick, The Mark Twain Store, and Breakwater Books.
Photos provided by Christina Cole.
