Some of my first childhood memories are of my grandma reading me bedtime stories, and taking me to the library after school to pick out an armful of books. I filled diaries with adolescent attempts at writing short stories, entered writing competitions in school for fiction and poetry, and was lost in my mind, crafting fictional worlds ninety-percent of the time. I attribute my love of reading to my grandma. I attribute a lot to her, actually, because she’s one of the strongest women I know. Writing was a shared passion of ours, and we frequently collaborated on stories. She’d offer constructive criticism, wisdom, and most importantly – unconditional support and admiration.

Once I entered middle school, I discovered adolescent/young adult novels that had romantic elements, and I was hooked. As I grew older and matured, so did the contents of the novels I read. I’m a hopeless romantic, even though some days I wish I wasn’t. What I love most about romantic poetry and romance novels was how I could feel the character’s lump in my throat, the ache in her chest, the utter betrayal she feels. And as I’ve gone through heartbreak and suffered immense betrayal, I began to resonate deeply with these types of writing, but solely from women authors.

In fact, it was women who poured life back into me, lifted me up, delivered tough love on days I couldn’t get out of bed, and taught me how to love myself again. Finding a community of women who understood exactly what I had been through, and having the opportunity to read and/or listen to their testimonies was incredibly inspirational to me. It brought me a sense of healing I’ll always be grateful for. I created this website and blog because I wanted to create a safe space for women who can resonate with the themes my work contains. I wanted women who feel like they can’t bear another moment of pain to read what I’ve written, resonate with it, and feel less alone and more empowered. Some days, it was something as small as a poem on Instagram that lit a spark in me. I hope that young women everywhere remember that even in the darkest of times, there is always hope, and there can be healing where there was devastation.