Julie Anne Stratton
Julie Anne Stratton was born in Seattle, Washington in 1959 and grew up in NYC and Syracuse, NY. She spent most of her childhood & teen-age years reading books. Julie loved to explore worlds opened up by the page of a good story. As a child, her family put on elaborate marionette shows of their favorite stories for the neighborhoo.... more
Julie Anne Stratton was born in Seattle, Washington in 1959 and grew up in NYC and Syracuse, NY. She spent most of her childhood & teen-age years reading books. Julie loved to explore worlds opened up by the page of a good story. As a child, her family put on elaborate marionette shows of their favorite stories for the neighborhood children. Julie fell in love with the role of the wicked witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz.
During the summer months her father, a scientist, took her and her family to both Cape Cod and Friday Harbor. These trips awoke a deep passion for the ocean and nature. She spent hours on the beach writing plays, journals and poetry.
She had her first flute lesson at 10 years old which eventually led to her life- long career as a classical musician. Julie studied at SUNY Brockport for year before leaving the US for Europe where she attended the College of Performing Arts in Graz, Austria. Instead of coming back to the states, she married and had a family there, loving the European life style. As a professional musician she collaborated with her chamber group; “Cosi von Donne” producing two shows, one telling and performing stories about women composers and the other a re-telling of the Medea story.
While raising her three daughters, Julie stumbled on the book; “Ich bin eine Hexe”-(I am a witch) by Gerlinde Schilcher. She traveled to mountains of upper Austria where Gerlinde introduced her to Goddess worship. She was hooked and read as many books about witch craft as she could find.
After living in Europe for 20 years, she wanted to come back home to the States. Julie moved home with two of her daughters and attended Syracuse University where she attained her masters in music education. She took a poetry class at SU and began writing again. Julie continues to hone her craft as an active member of local writing communities.
Her passion is writing fiction about strong women and continuing to practice her earth-based, reclaiming Goddess religion. Currently, Julie works as a band director in the Syracuse Public Schools.
