More than just

the CliffsNotes...

I can't remember the exact moment when I wrote a story for the first time. I just know that out of crafting, dancing, gaming—stories are my favorite thing to create. And that libraries = free books. Meaning that I wanted to be there as much as possible when growing up.

While earning a Bachelor's in English from Stephen F. Austin State University, I realized that I didn't want to do what was expected of me. I didn't want to teach. I just stumbled my way through my first full manuscript (one I later went on to submit to WNDB for their Black Creatives program).

So, the only solution was to rack up more student loan debt and go to grad school. There was a running joke amongst my friends that I was going to grow up and be a librarian. Did they speak to a psychic? After earning my Master's in Library Science from Texas Woman's University, I was content to be a children's librarian, as I'd already been working in libraries off and on since high school.

But ignored dreams sometimes nag you. They refuse to be forgotten. So, I kept writing. Three manuscripts and a couple short stories later, and I'm the writer that I am today!

Take a deep breath . . . I'm about to be cliche. I write the stories that didn't exist for me as a teen. And hopefully, there will be Black kids, Queer kids that one day won't feel the disappointment that I felt while growing up.

Toni Morrison said it best: "If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it."

Turns out there's a BUNCH of literature I would've loved to read. So, seems like I'll be at this writing thing for a long time : )