The Writer

United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote: People who live in difficult circumstances need to know that happy endings are possible.

As a new writer, I had a lot of difficulty deciding what I would write about. The only thing I was certain about was that I wanted to write. I’ve been writing since I could form a sentence and storytelling as long as I can remember. But it wasn’t until the recession of 2008 and my long-term unemployment which followed, that I decided I’d pursue writing professionally, freelance at first then novels.

Putting pen to paper, I set out to write my first novel, during 2011 National Novel Writing Month.  I participated in a challenge called NaNoWriMo where participants journeyed to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. It was an insane challenge, but it gave me the confidence to pursue my dream of finally penning a novel. A year and a half later, I published my debut novel, Prudence.

But before Prudence came to life, I had to decide what I wanted to write. My first thought was to write romance simply because most people hope to find love and live happily ever after. Even better, what about interracial and multicultural relationships? What if I wrote about people whose race and nationality were descriptions, not characteristics (as they so often are in reality).  But my problem with writing romance was that I didn’t know how to deliver a ‘happily ever after’ story.

While my life’s journey hasn’t been too bad, it has been laden with obstacles and pitfalls, disappointments and failures. I’ve experienced betrayals that I thought only happened in the movies. I’ve endured hardships that I thought were reserved only for those who did despicable things. Because my happy ending seemed so elusive, I hardly felt like I could write about happy endings.

Then I was reminded that every ending is a beginning to something. Happy endings are just new beginnings. Eureka! Why not write novels that demonstrate no matter how tough the road may be or how long it may seem, happy endings are possible? Then my second novel, Wildflower, was born.

I dedicate each and every book I write to anyone who is living with difficult circumstances and anyone who dares to live outside of the boundaries of what society deems acceptable or the norm or achievable. We all should experience the fullness of life as we pursue our happiness.  After all, isn’t that what life is all about?