You know those moments when you're doing something that brings you so much joy, so much peace, that you feel absolutely right with the world? 

For me, that's what writing does. Not thinking about writing, not planning my writing, or editing, or posting about my writing, or even preparing for book launch. But the actual act of writing, when I sit down, and I'm envisioning the scene as the words flow from my fingertips onto the page. I feel bliss. 

Often, I don't really realize this. Not fully, anyway. Yes, I know that writing makes me happy, that my days are so much better when I've gotten some kind of words on the page. But really, it's so much more than that. 

The last week has been a very tough one for me personally. I've had a lot of inner strife and stress because the ordeal that I've been going through has eaten up much of my focus and much of my time. This means that I've been feeling guilty about not working as much as I should have been, and yes, not writing as much as I should have been. But this evening, I sat down and started writing, listening to the same soundtrack I've been listening to throughout the entire process of drafting this current work in progress. 

And something truly amazing happened. For about 35 minutes, I didn't feel stress, or fear, or worry, or guilt. All I felt was joy. Joy that I was writing something beautiful (dark and sad, sure, but beautiful). I was creating something purely from my own soul, from my own imagination, and I was bringing it to life with my own words. That was so awesome to feel and to notice after such a heavy week. 

I implore you, friends, writers, readers, human beings. Pay attention to the things that you love. Really let yourself get that close-up look at how it makes you feel. And if you can, try to do it a little more often. 

I know this blog post was super short, but I just wanted to share that with you. Until next time, keep writing. Keep reading. Stay awesome. 

Hello hello, everyone! It feels like it's been ages since I shared a blog post with you all, although in reality I think it's only been about two weeks. Still, I've been posting weekly for quite some time now, and a lot has been happening, so it feels strange. I've missed you!

Today's post will be fairly casual. Mostly, I wanted to take a moment to share with you all the writing things that I've been doing when I'm not working, and the changes that I've recently made. 

First, I stopped writing at night. I know. I've been writing at night since I started taking my own writing seriously, and it has been an odd transition. I'm sleeping better (most nights), because my story isn't so fresh on my brain. And I've unlocked a seriously productive mode within myself. Here's how my writing routine looks different now:

1. Instead of writing in the evenings after my son goes to bed, I've been setting aside 30 minutes to an hour before I start work or after I'm supposed to be finished with work. That way, I'm already in my office, and I can get some things done without feeling too guilty about being "at work" for longer than I usually am. I'm also working halftime at the moment, which helps a ton with that. Some days, my schedule doesn't allow for me to squeeze my writing in during the day, so there are still occasional evenings where I do write after my kiddo goes to bed, though it's sporadic at best.
2. My evenings have been designated as "chill" times, where I sit down with my husband and we do something together. Now, because I've been writing at night for so long, I really didn't realize how much time there is between 7:30 or 8:00 when my son goes to bed (sometimes later, you know how it is) and 11:00, which is when I usually head to bed. Now that I'm not writing in the evenings, that time feels like a lot. My husband and I have been re-watching A Game of Thrones, and we watch it about every other night, with Friday night designated for our scary movie night. On the other nights throughout the week, I usually do something book related that's not writing while I watch him play a video game, or we do some kind of project together. This has given me a ton of time to work on things that I've wanted to do for forever, but had trouble finding time for.  like making notepads to sell, designing my author journal planner (which is out now!), cutting out bookish stickers I've printed off, and so on. 

​So, what have I been up to?

1. Writing (of course). I plan to finish the rough draft of my current work in progress, and I'll dive right into developmentally editing its contents thereafter. I'll be sharing more details soon, but this book is a gothic dark fantasy. I've been calling it a horror fantasy, but my purpose is not to scare my readers necessarily; instead, the dark elements and themes within the story are used to drive the plot and develop character motivations.
2. Putting together my next poetry collection. I'm almost halfway through with putting the poems in one collection, editing them as I go. 
3. I've finally made time to create and release the author journal planner I've been dreaming of doing for over a year! That's out now. Stay tuned on my socials if you'd like a video walkthrough. That should be coming later this week.
4. Doing other author business things that I've been putting off, like rebranding; redesigning my website; listing some of the merchandise I have to offer on my website in addition to my books; and designing, printing and assembling notepads and other fun bookish things (I've now even got temporary tattoos!).
5. Reading. I've finally gotten to start making consistent time during my days to actually sit down and read a dang book. I'm currently reading two of them: Wish Wrecked, by Sara George (for fun, and it really is a fun read), and Energetic Selling and Marketing by Lenka Lutonska (this one is really helping me think through what I want for my author journey and how I want to get it. It's also just been really great for making me think differently about my life as a whole). 

So, yeah! Lots of things happening. Lots of little things that I'm hoping will help me make a big difference. I'll keep you updated as things progress, but I'm thrilled to see how the rest of this year pans out. 

Until next time, keep writing. Keep trying. Stay awesome.

I'm a firm believer in the idea that if someone feels compelled to write a story, they should probably write the story. I'm an even bigger believer in the idea that if you've got enough motivation that you have started drafting your story, you CAN finish it. I also believe that finishing a first draft is the absolute hardest part of the book-creation process. 

Here's why.

Most people have had the idea at one time or another that they want to write a book. They may even have an outline or a pretty well developed idea for the plot or characters. Most of these people will play around all day with the idea of writing a book. They'll talk to people about it. They'll do hours upon hours of research for their book. They'll travel to places that they would like their book to be based on. And most of these people never write a single word for their first draft. 

Let's say that they do start drafting. Maybe they get a few paragraphs, a few pages, or even a few chapters in. Their drafting process is slow, and arduous, and eventually, self-doubt gets the better of them, and they stop writing. The idea was there, and they even started drafting. Perhaps they still even feel passionate about the story they want to tell. But the writing stops. This happens to most of the people who try writing a book.

It's not because they had a bad idea. It's not because they're a bad writer, or that they're not good enough to complete the story. It's not even because life got in the way (most of the time). 

If this sounds familiar to you, if you've wanted to write a book or have even started writing a book but are struggling to finish your first draft, here is my advice to you in this stage of the writing process. Below you'll find four tips that I have seen work for myself and for others who have tussled with the same writing troubles. Some of these tips are easier to implement than others, but ALL of them have the potential to help you get that first draft finished.

1. Write. Yes, outlining is important. Research is important. Marketing on social media is important. But if you're not writing, if you're not putting words on the page, your draft will not be finished, and all these other things will be for naught. Write your ideas down when you have them. Write often, so you can keep your momentum flowing. 

2. Make notes to yourself within your draft. You can take them out later, but they're so helpful to have so you remember where to pick up after a break, or so you don't have to go back and re-read a bunch of stuff to know where you were going. They're also very helpful to keep you from coming up against writer's block. Making notes to yourself like, "BREY, YOU NEED TO COME BACK AND WRITE THIS SCENE. HERE'S A GENERAL IDEA OF WHAT YOU WANT." or "BREY, YOU'RE STRUGGLING WITH DIALOGUE HERE. WHAT WOULD THEY SAY? COME BACK AND WRITE THIS PART LATER." Doing this allows you to put down your general ideas so you can remember what you wanted later, without getting stuck staring at a blank page and waiting for the magic to happen for a scene or a piece that's not ready yet.

I also find it tremendously helpful to write a quick sentence or two about what I want to focus on next time. It might look like, "BREY, NEXT TIME, HAVE YOUR CHARACTERS TALK ABOUT THIS, OR DO THIS THING." Sometimes I even get a whole little chapter outline this way.

Every single time I've done this, when I finish the draft and go back to look over my notes, I've been able to answer to these notes much more methodically, much more carefully, with much more detail, because I know where the story went afterward, and now I can make some really cool connections. We all have stuff we struggle with when it comes to our writing. The key is to keep going. Leave a note, and come back. DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT WHILE YOU'RE DRAFTING.

3. DO NOT EDIT OR EVEN RE-READ YOUR DRAFT WHILE YOU'RE DRAFTING IT. I mean it. I know there are a lot of people out there who say they can edit a book while they're drafting. I believe them. They can do that. I used to be one of them. But here's the difference. If you're editing while you're writing, then much of your precious writing time will be spent going back to look at stuff you've already read. This makes writing that first draft take sooooo much longer, and that initial edit you did while you were writing does not (and should not) replace the editing that will come after the draft has been completed. The reason for this is because you don't yet have all your scenes. You don't have all your dialogue. You may not even know for sure where the story will end up, or how your characters will react. If you save your editing for AFTER you've finished your first draft, you'll be able to make much more meaningful edits, and it will save you so much time. 

Another thing that happens when we edit while we're drafting is that our obnoxious companion, imposter syndrome, kicks in hard. We look at our words and hate them, or at least dislike them because they should be better. We kick ourselves for not being able to write a story perfectly from the first attempt. But... nobody writes a perfect story at the first attempt. That's why we have editors. That's why we have beta readers. The purpose of drafting is to vomit all the words on the page, to spill the story as it comes out, so that you have something complete to model and refine. 

I edited my first book as I wrote it. It took me five years to complete the first draft. When I published it, I found out it was still riddled with errors, even though I had also done some editing after my draft was complete. While you're drafting, I highly recommend that your attention be on drafting, and on leaving yourself notes for things you want to check on, research, come back and reword, etc., so you can do it later. 

4. Don't find time. MAKE time, and make it consistently. I hear this a lot. "I want to write, but I just can't find the time." or "I hope I can find time to work on my manuscript this weekend." Guess what? Time isn't hiding from you. And I know this one all too well, as I still find myself saying this in particularly busy weeks. I still find myself wishing for more time, or wishing that I could wake up in the morning before my kiddo does so I could start my day with writing. Wishing is very different from doing. I know that there are mornings I just won't be able to make it happen. I know that my son is a very light sleeper, and if he hears me getting up in the morning, he'll just be up. It's nearly impossible to find time to write. 

But. 

I do have some control over my schedule. I can make time. If I have five minutes to scroll on my phone after dinner, I have five minutes of writing time. If my son goes to bed earlier than usual, I can make time to write. And, something that I've started to do more frequently, I can set aside ten, or twenty, or thirty minutes of writing time before or after work, while I'm still in my office. This has actually been really nice, because I'm not staying up super late into the night trying to get my writing in for the day. If for any reason this doesn't work out, then I know I want to make extra time in the evening, or add some extra time in the next day. 

My challenge to you, dear writers, is to make time for it, if it's something you want, and do it consistently. Pay attention to idle times, and utilize them. Even if you only have five minutes and you only get three sentences down. That's three more sentences than you had before. Three more sentences that will build you toward the end of your first draft. Plus, if you're doing #2 already and make notes inside your draft, that five minutes can go a long way, because you won't have to sit and wonder what you're supposed to be working on next.

Remember, first drafts are supposed to be messy. The challenge is finishing it. Then you can fix it. You can do it. You can finish that draft, if you want to. Just keep going. 

​Until next time, keep writing! Stay awesome. :) 

If you're new here, welcome welcome! I've had a lot of new email list sign ups over the last couple of months, and I thought it would be a good time to share a little bit about who I am, so you don't feel like you're following a stranger. 

Quick Questions:
Favorite Color? Green. Any shade or hue.
Favorite Hobby (besides writing)? I love doing art, playing video games, and watching movies. 
Favorite Food? Alfredo, with or without chicken.
Favorite Weather? Rain, 100%.
Favorite Standalone Book? Relentless, by Dean Koontz.
Favorite Author? Probably Tolkien. So much about his work has inspired my life and my writing. And dang it, the Lord of the Rings trilogy is just so awesome. 
Favorite Movie? Silence of the Lambs
Favorite Music? I have no idea. I listen to all kinds of music, and it varies greatly depending on my book. I have been listening to a lot of indie stuff lately.

Harder Questions: 
What's your life philosophy? I've always believed that if you put your best out into the world, you'll get your best back. 

What's something that you try to remember always? Something that I try to remember always is that we're all human. We're flawed. We all get awkward, we all get hurt. Kindness is all that matters.

What's your ideal day? My ideal day would be waking up before the sun, reading a book or writing with a cup of tea, then opening the rest of the day playing with my son and hanging with my family. Or spending the day with my family at the beach. I love the beach.

What's something that drives you? Oh, man, I love to learn. Any certification, training, professional development or class I can take, I'm all in. If I could afford to go to college until I die, I totally would.

What's your day job? I'm a reading intervention specialist. I love my job, but I do not like trying to explain what I do, because there's so much of it. The short version is this: I assess and work with students, teachers, and the general public to enhance reading development and reading instruction. I am certified to work with all levels of developing readers in a tier 1, tier 2, or tier 3 setting.

What's your professional background? I graduated from college with my bachelor's degree in creative writing. I taught middle school and high school English and I absolutely adored teaching. During the years I spent teaching, I also worked with students on their reading after school, and that's when I was offered the job I have now.
 
What's something you've changed your mind about? I grew up with a lot of siblings, and I spent the first several years of my relationship determined that I didn't need a kid, because I was able to help raise my siblings, so I'd already gotten the experience. When I finally did come around and decided to try for a baby, and when he finally came, my whole world was flipped upside down in the best way possible. This little creature I had made became the absolute most precious thing I've ever known, and I still feel that way.

And of course, What do you write? I write a lot of things. I write and illustrate children's books, I write poetry, I've written romance, I write fiction, and I spend most of my time writing fantasy. All of my books, no matter the genre, have some things in common: deeper themes, connections and reflections of fate and free will, darkness and light. 

Thanks for reading, and for joining me on this crazy journey! Do you have questions you’d like me to answer? Comment here, or send me an email!

Hey everyone. Today I wanted to share with you an experience I had at my last author event, what happened, and how I feel about it.

Almost two weeks ago, I had a multi-author event that I had a ton of anxiety over. A ton of self doubt. Leading up to the event, I kept feeling like I wasn't prepared enough, or that I was missing something. That feeling didn't go away. I was so worried about making sure I had everything ready. When I got there, I set up, and then I kept looking at my display wondering what I should change. I worried that people wouldn't be drawn to my table. I worried that my books looked bad.

Two hours into the event, I hadn’t sold a single book, while the romance authors around me were selling bunches.

I felt inadequate. Like I didn’t belong there. I've done several multi-author events, and ended up doing near 20 events last year. Even after doing so many events, writing and releasing so many books, this feeling, these worries... well, they still come around pretty often.

During this event, I even had one lady talk about “self” publishing in that way that many people still do, the way that tells you in their eyes, you’ll never measure up, even to those who are “traditionally published” under a small imprint or vanity press that still have to do all the work to sell their books.

But here’s the thing.

I ended up selling 18 books at that event. I sold 4 complete sets for Bound before the third book in the trilogy even technically released. I brought in over 400 dollars in the last 2 hours of that event. 

I left still feeling a little weird about how things had gone, but then I remembered something that helped me so much. I wrote these books. I put my soul into them, and I’m working hard to get them out in the world. I “self” publish because I want to choose what happens with my book, where it goes, what it looks like, and I don’t want all the money to go into someone else’s pockets. 

That’s my choice. It’s not because I couldn’t get an agent, or a publisher never wanted me. Truly, I've never submitted my work to a traditional or hybrid publisher, because I know what I want for my work. So I made my own path by founding AzureStar Press. 

You can too. Keep doing things the way you feel in your gut they need to be done. Trust yourself. Keep working at it, even if your efforts are made in small spurts. Put yourself out there. Keep trying. Every choice you make, every thing you try, is building toward something. Don’t let it slip, and please don't call it early. You never know how things might turn around if you keep going.

Your words matter. Your work matters. YOU matter.

I'll write again. Until then, stay awesome out there. 

I hear it a lot: "I'm so sick of reading about 17-year-olds who save the world."

And I get it. I do. As an adult especially, reading about a teenager going through all the things a teenager should be going through, then adding in the weight-of-the-world stakes that many of our YA protagonists take on can feel... a bit redundant, and unrealistic, as well. 

But here's the thing. I really do think that our world, our teens (and even our adults) still need this kind of hero. We still need to read the kinds of adventures that these teen protagonists go on, and here's why. 

Teens, young adults (and heck, even full-fledged adults with steady jobs and mortgages) go through a lot. Your teen years and early adulthood is full of change and turmoil. Add in hormones, finding first loves (and potentially losing them), and stepping out into the world on your own, and it can feel like you've got the world on your shoulders. Everything depends on you. Everything is your responsibility. And what happens if you don't succeed? Well, I think many of us out here shudder at the thought. 

But then we read about those seventeen-year-old protagonists who rise up against all odds. They often don't want the challenges and obstacles that are thrown their way, either. They face demons (often literally), walk through fire, and look armageddon in the face and say, "You're nothing."

All of a sudden, our own challenges, especially in our teenage years, don't seem so frightening. They don't feel so momentous. We find solace in the misery of the characters we relate to, because we have faith that they will overcome. In turn, I think that makes us in the real world actually more resilient. We become better problem solvers. We're able to compare our breakups to so-and-so's battle with a demigod.

We measure our successes up to those our characters achieve. 

Above all, these young, resilient characters, help us realize in times of rapid-fire change that we are not alone. That although we're reading fiction, it really could be worse. 

I think our world still needs these young fictional characters to show us the way. To show us that we can survive, and thrive, against all odds. That we can overcome, too.

Thank you for reading! I had this discussion with my husband today, and I felt inspired to write about it and share with you! If you like the image above, thank you! I drew it. It's a depiction of the main character in the Bound Trilogy, Lane, in one of the final battles. And yes, she is 17!

​Keep writing. Keep reading. Stay awesome, and I'll see you soon.

Hello everyone! I hope you're all doing great. 

Today, I wanted to share a little bit about how the KickStarter for the Bound Trilogy Grand Finale Book Launch went, where I am with filling orders (and prepping for launch) and what else is in the works.

Last Tuesday, I went to bed pretty bummed out, and I was very much in backup-plan making mode. First, I wanted to figure out how to do all the things I planned to do (or at least the most important things I wanted to do) for Fated's book launch if the KickStarter was not successful. How was I going to thank the people who put their faith in the project if it didn't reach its goal?

On Wednesday, thanks to a few of my wonderful, supportive family members spreading the word like it was their job, we met our funding goal, and then some. I cannot express how grateful I am for these amazing people who took the project from 62% funded to 108% funded in 24 hours. I will write a post in the near future breaking down what I did for this KickStarter, what was helpful, and what was not, but for now, my focus is on getting ready for launch, and getting rewards out to those who paid for them.

Through this KickStarter, folks ordered a total of 57 books (and Fated doesn't come out until the 30th!). I've got orders for 30 ebooks and 27 physical books. I'm so happy about this! 

So here's what's happened since Wednesday last week.

1. We met our funding goal! Yay!
2. I made a BookFunnel account to distribute ebooks to those who ordered them.
3. Rewards have been sifted through and organized so I can keep track of what all needs to be made (and who it will go to).
4. Bookmarks and stickers have been ordered!
5. All art has been printed.
6. Backer survey was sent to gather item preferences and shipping info.
7. Bound Trilogy puzzles were ordered.
8. Ebook design for Fated is about 70% complete. I'm hoping to finish it today, then I'll go back and make some tweaks to Bound and Severed's ebooks so they're all the same.
9. I added Fated to my website and made some graphics that I'll print for my table setups that allow people to sign up for my email list via QR code and see the pricing for the art I've made.
10. I've been working on my outline for my next book. Very slowly. But still working on it.

Next, I will be...

• Ordering more books to fulfill the orders.
• Tweaking my measurements for the book box sets just a little bit and getting those started. 
• Spraying page edges (once books arrive). 
• Finishing my outline (hopefully this week) so I can start drafting my next book by June 1st. 
• Contacting all the bookstores I've made a connection with this last year to let them know the new book is almost out (and hopefully setting up an event with them). 
• Attending the 4 events I have scheduled between now and May 31st. 

Thank you all for being with me on this wild journey. If you have any ideas for how to make the book launch for the FINAL book in the Bound Trilogy even better, please comment or send me an email! I'd love to hear your ideas. 

For now, keep writing. Keep reading. Stay awesome. I'll write again soon. 

One thing that I always struggle with as an author is "selling" myself. I've always struggled with asking people to invest in my work, and therefore, in me. It's awkward. It's uncomfortable. 

But as my writing has taken off and my books have gotten better and better, I realize... if I don't try and put myself out there, I'll stay invisible. So here I go, trying. 

As many of you who follow this blog know, I'm currently running a KickStarter to help launch the final book in the Bound Trilogy. I'm so excited for this last book to come out, and I'm unspeakably grateful to everyone who has supported the project so far. I've been surprised again and again by the amazing people who support my writing dreams. 

Now here we are, at the final 24 hours of the KickStarter campaign. If you don't know, KickStarters are all-or-nothing. This is great for backers, because it means that if the project doesn't reach its funding goal, zero dollars leave your bank account for the project. However, it also means that zero funding will go toward the production of the project. 

We have done an awesome job raising over 60% of our $2,500 funding goal. We're in the home stretch now, with a bit more to cover. 

So here I am, doing the awkward thing as best I can. Because while it's uncomfortable for me to talk about myself, to sell myself, I truly believe in these books, and I want so badly to give readers more.

So here are 10 reasons you should back the Bound Trilogy Grand Finale KickStarter Campaign. 
1. The Bound Trilogy has exponentially improved my writing, my motivation, and my valuable connections with readers and other writers.

2. Everything in the Bound Trilogy is human made (no generative AI here, folks).

3. Items listed within the Bound Trilogy are hand-crafted or author-designed. (With the exception of things I have to order out to be printed, everything will be hand-crafted by yours truly).

4. This trilogy has a world that expands (and maps that expand with it) across books.

5. This trilogy has magic, action, romance (clean, fade-to), darkness, creatures, family, and stakes that raise with each book.

6. These books are written, formatted and designed by me (even the cover art and graphics). 

7. These books explore themes of loss, love, fate vs freewill, light vs darkness, responsibility, freedom, and family.

8. I created a dice gambling game to go with the books (the same game that the characters play within the books), and you can get this game for yourself with instructions for how to play through the KickStarter Campaign.

9. You can get digital or physical products ranging in price.

10. You can get art, books, the Fates dice game, a puzzle, posters, and book box sets.

If you found any of these reasons of interest to you, I implore you, check out the campaign. Back the project. It closes tomorrow (Wednesday, May 6th) at 8:48 PM. 

Thank you to everyone who has gotten me, and this project, this far. I appreciate you more than you'll probably ever know.

Hello, readers, writers, and story lovers!

Today, I wanted to share a little bit about what progress we've made with the Bound Trilogy Grand Finale Book Launch KickStarter, as well as share why I'm running this KickStarter campaign. 

First, what is the KickStarter for?
Well, the final book in the Bound Trilogy releases in just over a month. With it being the last book in the trilogy that moved me from being "the kid in the family who writes books" to an author, I really want to do more with this book launch. I want to provide some things I haven't been able to offer in the past (like book box sets, for example), and share other book related things that I created through my passion for the trilogy (like the art or the Fates Dice Game), with readers. 

​I want my readers to nerd out with me. To get a t-shirt or a piece of art and say, "This is from this book I read," or "I got this from an author I like." I want to give something tangible, something more, to the community who helped me get these books off the ground. 

The KickStarter will allow me to fund some of these extra things I want to do while allowing me the opportunity to give this trilogy the grand finale release I have been hoping for.

So, what progress have we made with the KickStarter?

• Thanks to the amazing folks who have already backed the project, we are at $400 of our $2500 funding goal. (THANK YOU!) 
• I have made a prototype book box for the hardcovers, and I've got TWO different designs I'm playing with. If you're signed up for my email list or are following the project on KickStarter, I'll be sharing these options and asking your opinion today!
• I have also finished my first wood-burning art piece for the trilogy. This was super fun, and it was nice to be creative in an artsy way. 
• The final book in the trilogy has finished its final round of proofing, physical proofs look good, and I've officially ordered my first batch for printing. Yay!

How does the KickStarter work? 
We have 15 days left to reach our funding goal. If we do, I'll be able to make book box sets, print art, create puzzles, and put together all sorts of other cool sets for you guys! If we do reach our funding goal, then the money from all of the pledges will go through on the day the campaign closes, and then I can start putting your orders together and sending them out. 

Thank you again to everyone who has supported the project and the trilogy so far. I am so grateful, and I will keep updating you as this campaign progresses. For now, stay awesome. Keep reading. Keep writing. 

When I was a little girl, a fire lit in my soul. It was a small flame, at first, kindled by the magic within stories. Then, as I fed the flame pages and words, it grew, until it was a full-fledged passion. It started with reading and listening to the various stories of my early youth, but, as flames do, this flame desired more content to consume. 

So I did the only thing I could do: I fed it. Over time, worlds opened to me. I traveled through time periods, loved and lost, battled and befriended characters of all varieties. 

I read more and more stories, and the flame grew larger still, until simply reading and listening was not enough. Now, the flame required creation. 

And I thought… what if?

What if I could create stories? Did I have stories to tell?

I started thinking up all kinds of stories, some better than others, and the more I wrote, something strange happened with this flame. It began to cling to the details. I gained a love and appreciation for different words, literary devices, metaphors especially. I paid attention to the rise and fall, the ebb and flow of language, and I found it beautiful. I loved the idea that I could add to the corpus of literary works out there, even if I had no idea how to do so. 

I knew even at such an early age, that I wanted to do so. To contribute my words to the whole world I had discovered.

When I was in high school, the flame grew large enough that I could no longer contain it. I began writing. Songs, poems, short stories. Even essays were these beautiful opportunities. And then, at fifteen, I began writing the story that would stick. The one that started me down the path that would form my world. 

I wrote of a world which did not contain light, and a reluctant princess who took her best friend on a wild journey to find the light and bring it back to her people, with twists and turns and creatures along the way.  This story was the first of many that I would write to completion, the first story that I would dare to publish. 

Azure Light gave me the inspiration, the motivation, the direction I needed to publish, and after that, I couldn’t stop. 

After that initial release, I made a habit of writing, editing, and releasing a new book every year. This one book turned into two, then three, and so on.

…. and then I released my eighth book. The one that turned my fire from a lantern in a window to a bonfire that would continue to grow and spread exponentially. Bound.

​Bound, the story of a girl who finds that the mysterious injuries she’s always gotten were caused by a magical connection she had with another person, provided me with the courage to experience a lot of firsts. 

I got in contact with my first paid developmental editor. 

I ran my first KickStarter.

I had my first readers outside of the country. 

I had my first book signing event (which very quickly turned to MULTIPLE book signing events).

I had my first real restless nights, where I couldn’t sleep a wink (and actually had to wake my husband up so I could tell him my ideas) because I was so unbelievably excited about my story. 

I started writing Bound in 2023. I released it in September of 2024, and since then, my literary world has opened further still. I’ve made connections with wonderful people. I’ve sold books all over the world. I’ve made more book sales than I ever thought would be possible for me. I’ve expanded my goals. I’ve gone from releasing one book every year to releasing 2-4 books every year.

I’ve gone from being afraid to talk about my writing to saying aloud, “I am an author.” I went from being afraid to even invest in author copies of my books, afraid to invest in myself, to calling around and asking bookstores to take a chance on my work, to regularly investing in business cards, bookmarks, stickers, and more so that I can share my passion, my fire, with others. 

Bound - now the Bound Trilogy - has done that for me. 

Having the trilogy completed, with the final book coming out in just over a month… well, it’s more than just a book release. It’s a celebration of the book that made me believe in myself like I never had before. It’s a celebration of the book that made me realize that I can do this. I can share my stories with other people, share my passion with them. That I didn’t have to feel embarrassed or ashamed about my “little writing thing.” That I could implement my passion for art as well as literature into a work that I have created.

To me, that matters. It’s more than ink on paper. It’s more than hours and hours of work. It’s life. It’s light. And I’m so grateful to each and every one of you who has been here and supported me on this journey as I feed this fire. Thank you, for being here. Genuinely. 

If you would like to support the release of the final book in the Bound Trilogy, reach out. Check out my KickStarter. Share the books with someone you think would enjoy them. And if you’re a writer, or you have that little flame inside you, too, know you’re not alone. It’s not silly. And you’re always welcome to share here.