In my opinion, writing starts with reading. I think reading starts with finding the books that really speak to you.

When I was little, my parents read to me often. Some of my favorite books back then were “Father Fox’s Penny rhymes,” “The Lorax,” and “Pinocchio.” When I was nine years old, my aunt gave me a set of classics for children. That was when my love of reading really took off. I remember the set had “Pollyanna,” “The Swiss Family Robinson,” “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm,” and “Heidi.” I loved those books—especially “Pollyanna” and “Heidi.” I remember running into the living room and telling my parents all about the prisms Pollyanna found in the old trunk. I was so excited, I just couldn’t keep it to myself.

When I was around twelve, I discovered S.E. Hinton books. They changed the way I thought about reading and voice. I learned that stories don’t have to be pretty to be wonderful. They can be tough and difficult, but that honesty is what can make a book stand out. I really connected with her books and I started thinking about my own writing in a different way.

I have always been writing. I remember loving to read the stories in our elementary school readers, and then doing the writing prompt exercises. I remember staying in from recess occasionally because I had a story in me that had to come out. It was such a thrill to me to feel the story come to the surface and make its way to the page—and it still is.

When I was fifteen, I started doing music. Writing music replaced a lot of my other writing, but to me, it felt the same. At the age of thirty, I started writing my first novel. It wasn’t very good, but I was so excited that I could actually do it. I felt like Pollyanna pulling the prisms out of the trunk for the first time and suddenly, the whole room was filled with rainbows.

Writing novels is hard work and takes a long time, but I enjoy it and I hope I can always be working on some new writing adventure.