My Writing Journey

From the first sparks of a story in 2009 to the milestones and challenges of publishing my works—this is the path my words have taken me.

2009
The Beginning

While navigating a difficult winter with seasonal and postpartum depression, I found healing in writing “little stories” and in-depth learning of American Sign Language with a community of deaf and hearing friends. This creative outlet led me to an online writing forum where I began developing my first novel, The Chestnut Maid. It was during this pivotal year that I realized I wanted to be a writer.

2010
Finding Confidence and Community

Over the next few years, I continued writing through flash fiction and began my service as a volunteer ASL interpreter with my first steps into the professional writing world. After moving across the country, I joined the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and attended my first conference. From sharing early drafts with family to taking fencing classes to improve my fight scenes, these years were defined by honing my craft and finding my creative community!

2013
Bridging Two Worlds

I returned to college after 10+ years with the goal of becoming an ASL interpreter. My work within the Deaf community has since become a massive part of my identity and my writing. During this time, I joined a local writer’s group, attended the SCBWI: Arkansas conference, and spent my summer breaks writing and querying. My novel (now a trilogy!) titled The Fiddler King, even won a chance to be read by a literary agent, all while I began a new “Partridge in a Pear Tree” retelling!

2015
First Publication

2015 was the year I had my first published article in my university’s publication! I earned my Associate’s Degree and turned my full attention to working on Unravel.

2016
A Win for Unravel

I am now a licensed interpreter and have become even more deeply involved in the Deaf community, a journey that included attending a week-long, “no voice” ASL immersion at the University of Northern Colorado. During this same period, the first pages of Unravel won at the SCBWI MidSouth Conference. Most of my critique group attended and I felt like we were all ON OUR WAY!

2017
Graduation

After finishing my classes and starting my internship, I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree and officially entered the “querying trenches” with Unravel. During this time, I transitioned from ASL interpreting into a career path in disability accessibility and support. My writing momentum continued as I began working on the sequel, Unfettered, attended the massive New England SCBWI Conference with writing friends, and won a scholarship to attend the Writer Unboxed UnConference in Salem, Massachusetts.

2020
Quarantine

In 2020, I spent quarantine earnestly writing a new Contemporary YA novel featuring a Deaf protagonist, drawing inspiration from real-life events. After two years without querying success, I decided to put Unravel away; however, on a whim, I submitted it to #PitMad, where Sword & Silk publishers showed interest. By the end of the year, I had sent the full Unravel manuscript to the publisher, finished my Contemporary YA novel, applied to grad school, and even wrote the opening paragraph for a new “Dragon book.”

2021
Making it Real

After years of work, I got my acquisition announcement! I spent the year deep in the process, completing the first round of edits while snowed in and eventually reviewing galley proofs. Unravel was finally becoming a real book, a journey nearly 13 years in the making. Along with receiving my official publishing date and the big cover reveal, I got hands-on with the debut by creating the interior map and embroidering quotes and phrases to hype the book on social media.

Launch & Accolades

Unravel was released! It was a whirlwind year featuring a Kirkus review, my first book launch at a local bookstore, and a Whitney Award nomination. As the book gained momentum- reaching 1,000 followers on Instagram, being featured across several social media sites, and even being included in Amazon’s Black Friday sale- I remained focused on my next projects. While I decided to put aside the Contemporary YA novel, I reached a massive 80,000 words on my new YA Adventure/Dragon book.

2023
Mastery & Mentorship

Over these next two years, I graduated with my Master’s in Public Administration and served as a presenter at the New England SCBWI conference. While advancing in my day job, I spent my nights and weekends writing the “Dragon book” with my whole heart, eventually finishing the manuscript (though I’m still weighing how I feel about the ending!). Along the way, I joined the American Night Writer’s Association, where I found another fantastic writing group to support my journey.

The Next Adventure

I spent much of the year endlessly editing my “Dragon book” while expanding the world through a new prequel project, Aurelio Delta. A major highlight was celebrating the 30th anniversary of my local Barnes & Noble alongside fellow authors. At the ANWA Conference, I was thrilled to win the “Beginning of Book” (BOB) award for YA Speculative Fiction for Aurelio Delta!

2026
January

Hit 50k words on Aurelio Delta (Dragon Prequel)!