Ever since I was a little girl diligently picking her way through the library stacks, I would always try to find the spot in “B’s” where my future books would wait to share their secrets with society, as others had shared their insights with me.
In my search for the mysteries of storytelling, I’d sing in the basement, dancing around the room to find tension in songs and lyrics, acting out one-woman plays on repeat until I thought I had the right beats. I scribbled and studied art, filled notebooks with fever dreams, and plotted with the express purpose of building something emotive and beautiful that swept others into an intimate fantasy.
A few times, I thought I’d found “the story.” My love of drama and fantasy led me to mythology. Then, surprisingly political dystopian pieces with ambivalent endings. Although they had their moments, they weren’t hitting the beats they needed to succeed. A period of rejection made me feel like I’d become tone-deaf to good stories. Despondent, I turned to my lifelong comfort: reading. I chomped through society tales of cover-ups and murder, saucy period romances with lace and scandal, and biopics with vulnerable revelations that kept me turning the pages with a deep-seated need for profound discovery.
Nothing made someone glow like love did and that gooey feeling spread inside of me. Although I’d dabbled in fandom in my teens, I was hit with it full-force a few years ago. When I wrote 600,000 words in one year about a fictional couple in over 40 scenarios, I realized I was ready to expand beyond the worlds of fandom and try to get a spark-worthy story worthy of shelf space again. I'd found my favored genre and was ready to adventure within it.
While I’ll save the full story of publication for another day, I was elated when “We Belong” was accepted for publication. It was a lifelong dream come true. I’d be a real, published author worthy of someone’s sacred shelf space, virtual or physical.
Thank you to everyone who helped me celebrate and discover love. Whether that tenderness was between pages, on a screen, through actions or words, I treasure what you’ve shown me.
Hopefully, my stories will feel like intimate discoveries. Thank you for the honor of a spot in your day, whether or not I made it to your shelf.