My novel follows steps along the classic ‘hero’s journey’ and one of my favorite scenes to write was when Arden and Aurora meet their Gran Gran, who acts as a prophet for the perils and twists of their adventure to come. I love all my characters, but I have a very special spot for Gran Gran. She is just so tangible to me, the eternal matriarch, a Caribbean goddess and…
I’ll be honest, friends, the concept of personal branding used to genuinely frighten me. I related branding to ‘the aim to sell something to an audience’, so personal branding sounded like selling myself to the world. I, of the natural introvert clan, do not seek to sell myself to others. That sounded exhausting and false. And so, I was shut down to the concept for quite a while. But a…
There are definite challenges to the path of being a creative writer. A lot of them are so widely agreed as horrible, that most humans are against the entire profession because of them! I love when I’ll meet a new human and I tell them I’m a writer, and they’ll immediately tell me how the have an idea for a screenplay or a novel and any day now it might…
One of the blessings/curses of being a writer is that there really is no clear off switch to the creative mind. I am completely passionate about making compelling art, and that passion never leaves me. Like, even when I am out dancing with friends and very in the moment, there’s still that second mind that’s open to inspiration and actively sending out feelers. I love challenging my mind to craft…
My writing mentor, Valerie Hayes Perry, has given me guidance and support for my writing voice from even before I had an idea for a novel. I was a very insecure new writer when I first attended her meetup workshop in 2014. What I will never forget is how after a reader had shared their piece, she would pause, taking a moment of reflection with her eyes closed. And then,…
