Carmen Evelyn G. Nuyda (former pen name C. Georgina C.) was born and raised in the Philippines to an American father and Filipina mother.  

 

Her family immigrated to the United States while she was a young girl where she first learned about Frederick Douglass after borrowing a book from the library entitled, "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,  an American Slave." This newly found knowledge opened her world to learning more about American History including her own ancestral history dating back to 67,000 years ago during the migration of the Negritos from Africa to Asia during the Ice Age.

 

Fast forward some 30 years later when she opened her first bridal shop where she designed and created 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.  

 

One night while doing some research for a future bride,  an image of a gown from the 1860's 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 instantly 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.  The author considers Elizabeth Keckley as her biggest influence outside of her own mother.  Her next book is part of a series of books centered around the life of Elizabeth Keckley.

 

She is an advocate of The Healing Arts Foundation, a 501C3 which she co-founded in 2022, aimed to use the healing power of the Arts to provide resources and support to the marginalized and underserved members of the AAPI, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities.  

  

A Multiple Sclerosis survivor,  she is also an avid horse enthusiast/equestrian, a Reiki practitioner and full-time Mom who enjoys spending her days raising her children, cooking at home,  listening to Jazz, reading Poetry and creating Art.