Last night I was admiring the unique and quirky ornaments on my Christmas tree. Each year Dustin and I buy one ornament for each other, which is exchanged every Christmas morning. These ornaments each have a special meaning behind them. Funnily enough, most of my ornaments are of some of my favorite foods, while others are ornaments from my favorite movies and books.
When I finally landed on the Pride and Prejudice ornament Dustin bought for me two Christmases ago, the realization of the day was brought to the forefront of my mind.
The ebook version of Twisted Fate is finally here for the world to see. The story that began to grow over seven years ago, and has inspired countless hours of dedication, as well as many sleepless nights prompted by my characters’ unending chattering inside my head, was finally ready to be shared.
I started thinking back to when my writing journey all began. It was January 2011. I loaded up my suitcase in my parents’ Hyundai Santa Fe around six in the morning, just as it began to flurry. I was driving to Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania for my first Creative Writing Residency. I was doing something truly daring – I was chasing my dream.
I didn’t know a single person joining the program. I was alone. I was terrified. And I was trekking it to another state because a fire burned inside me to go back to school. It wasn’t just that I wanted to write. I had to write. Every single day, the keyboard called to me.
From the moment the dishes were cleared after a long day of working in Manhattan, I vanished to my bedroom, and the words poured from my fingertips until I couldn’t keep my eyes open a minute longer. After about three years of making writing part of my nightly routine, I found myself craving more. I vividly recall the night I cleared my dinner dishes, helped my mother fold some laundry, and skirted off to my bedroom. But that night I didn’t write. I found myself Googling “Best Creative Writing Programs”.
I knew I couldn’t just quit my day job to go back to school. I had to work. Then I found exactly what I needed – Wilkes University’s Low Residency program. It would allow me to continue working my full-time job while taking classes from home. Then, for one week at the start of every semester, I would stay on campus to take classes that would count toward my credits. It was perfect.
My parents were incredibly supportive of my decision to go back to school. They knew how much it meant to me.
So there I was, driving through a blizzard, barely able to see five feet in front of the car, the windshield wipers hammering back and forth as fast as they could go. I had no idea just how much my world was about to change.
The classes at Wilkes University taught me how to push my boundaries, the professors were brilliant and inspiring, and the members of my cohort were so supportive of each other. That first week will be ingrained in my memory forever. As we sat in our last class before being released at the end of the week, my cohort came up with a name for ourselves. We will forever be the “Mobies”.
They are my second family, and Wilkes University will always be my second home.
