My life took a turn for the literary very early. Not only did my mom encourage reading as an activity that was fun and always offered new worlds to explore, but my elementary years were spent in a school system that hyper-focused on reading skills. This was great for me! Trips to the public library with my mom and sister were the highlight of my weeks; I read voraciously.
It was my sixth grade English teacher who helped me realize I had a talent for grammar and story, but it would be another year before I began to think of books in terms of a career and the words “writer” and “editor” would be an everyday thought. That same year, a short English assignment sparked my first major story idea. I spent hours writing at the family computer (this was the early 2000s) after school every day for months. I ended up with a 50,000-word document and the kind of burnout not meant for children. And so my story sat, worked on sporadically throughout the rest of my grade school years.
Once I reached college, I did try a couple degree paths, but the siren call of the stories waiting for me in the English department were too much to ignore. I pivoted and pursued my English degree with gusto, never looking back. During my final semester, I dug up my old story. I delved into its pages with the maturity of experience and literary craft behind me.
Today, that dark fantasy adventure is my main project as I pick through the first story I ever wrote and mold it into something new. I have two other ongoing projects as well: a fantasy horror novel and a poetry collection. The poetry collection released December 13, 2022.
Welcome to the road I’ve spent my life on. I hope we cross paths.