How did we get here?

I’m doing a challenge on Instagram! As part of it, I was asked to share my journey to becoming a writer, so I thought I would share it here as well.

So, I was one of those gifted kids. Always reading way above my grade level, beloved by teachers, with a vocabulary that put the thesaurus to shame. And I was always, always, making up stories. I never finished any.

A gifted kid, as it turns out, grows up to be a fairly average,if somewhat ill-adjusted, adult. I put my stories aside to focus on academia, earning a Master’s degree and beginning a PhD before my mental health failed spectacularly. With no direction or plan, I worked some dead-end jobs for a few more years, until I had another breakdown, this one resulting in a three-day hospital stay.

(I talk about this because it’s important to do so, not because it’s fun. You should know that you can come back from that kind of precipice.)

I took some time to recover, to do all the tedious, unglamorous work of appointments and therapy and medication adjustments. During that time, I finally dedicated myself to writing after nearly three decades of setting my stories on the back burner. And I started finishing things! My first book, BEYOND THE FROST-COLD SEA, released in January. I hope to self-publish more and eventually also send a manuscript on the traditional publishing route.

I’ve had more jobs, but now writing is my career. I finally feel as though I’m doing what I’m supposed to do. This story, like so many others of mine, is still unfinished.

You can find me on Instagram here. The challenge is the Moon, Mars, and Sky Challenge, which was developed by J.A. Ascienzo.