First of all, I hate writing about myself, but inquiring minds want to know (supposedly).
I am a blend of logic and creativity. Of reason and art. Just creative enough to plague my husband with an entire closet devoted to my arts and crafts. But there is an entire other closet dedicated to my computer parts (I’m working on a garage — give me time!)
By day, I am a problem solver. Whether I’m juggling the many hats I wear as an administrative assistant or repairing a friend’s computer, I’m a sucker for a problem to solve.
But, by night…the pen comes out, words take shape, and whole worlds are conjured by my hand.
I live in Las Vegas with my gorgeous husband of 8 years. No kids, but I am “Auntie” or “Sissy” to more than enough.
My Writing Journey
I’ve been actively writing since about 2015 and I’ve been working on my first novel since 2017. I’d love to say I’ve always had a love of writing, but that was thoroughly squashed in high school. You can only get so many bad grades before you’re convinced you’re a terrible writer.
I’d always dreamed of writing a book, though. I just never thought I was good enough to do it. Fortunately, I have the right kinds of friends who offer the right kinds of encouragement when I need it most.
A few years into our marriage, my husband and I decided to check out a local game shop and play some Dungeons & Dragons. I’d never really played before, but my husband had. Turned out, they had a game that very night. So with a freshly-printed character sheet and borrowed math rocks, I invented my first character — Pyrrah, a half-drow sorcerer who had somehow (gleefully) set part of the Underdark on fire to escape servitude. Whose first character ISN’T a pyromaniac? Are you even playing D&D right?
The campaign came to a close shortly thereafter (not my fault!) and we rolled up new characters. This time, it was Liana, an elven wizard. But, I didn’t have a backstory for her. I didn’t know who she was. I only knew her stats so I could play. I hadn’t quite grasped the idea of the game, yet. A couple weeks into the game, I was encouraged to work up some kind of story, some motivation for her to leave home.
Hoo-boy! I spent DAYS! I wrote my backstory like a real story and, while I didn’t give the entire thing to the Dungeon Master (who would have read my 14-page backstory?), I did have something to inform her decisions.
Pretty soon, I found myself writing what happened during our games, what might happen in the future. What my happily-ever-after might look like. I would finish a game at 11 o’clock at night and stay up until three or four in the morning writing. It became an addiction.
One campaign in particular became the inspiration for Rose Reborn and the Rhonne Chronicles.
And the passion that had been kindled through my short stories and session recaps roared to a blazing bonfire with one single Google search — “How to write a novel.” I devoured every blog post, every YouTube video, every shred of advice I could find. For a solid year, I spent nearly every moment either writing or learning about writing. I have playlists of writing craft videos from Jenna Moreci, Kim Chance, Vivien Reis, and more just so I could listen to them in the car. Boy, did I rack up the data usage with those!
I was in my early thirties and I’d finally learned what real passion was. People tell me I glow when I talk about it. And I do. I feel like I inhaled a swarm of butterflies and I can hardly contain them anymore. It’s like the first time my husband’s fingertip ever touched my skin all over again.
Writing is freedom. It’s the feeling that I could travel the world hoisted aloft on a cloud of balloons, like in the movie Up! It’s knowing that, despite the difficulties life has sent my way, despite the chronic pain that I will never be free of, there is something I enjoy, that I feel I’m pretty darn good at doing. And its the knowledge that that little girl who struggled in high school English classes could one day write stories that people enjoy.
It’s been a journey. Ups and downs, rewrite after rewrite, almost losing everything at least once. But, it is a journey I want to continue making. And I sincerely hope that you will follow me on this journey and enjoy some of what I’ve written. There’s plenty more D&D campaigns to write about. And characters I never got the chance to play. And stories I need to write.
My Dedications
Every book has a dedication or acknowledgement (sometimes both), so why not my website? The people who inspired me, encouraged me, and pushed me until writing a book became a reality.
My Mom — I grew up listening to my mom read David Eddings and J. K. Rowling to us before bed. I love reading because of her. And it is my deepest wish to have her read and love my books like those.
My brothers — All 7 of my brothers are awesome, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a special shout-out to Andrew, who would drive me between Vegas and Bakersfield and talk story with me the entire 5-hour ride there!
My husband — He doesn’t read much and I don’t know if he’ll ever read my books. But he is a great person to discus story craft with. He DMs our games and comes up with amazing stories for us to play through. And he encourages me to publish and sell my books, never balking at anything I want or need to further my writing career.