About

FICTION LIKE FIRE

A dream delayed. A painful illness. A life changed overnight. A dragon.
And a dream made even brighter because of the journey.

The Hook

Eight-year-old me trying to be so very grown-up.

Not everybody knows what they want to be when they grow up, but I did. I wanted to be a Writer, with a capital W.

When I was about eight years old, I wrote a story about a stamp that died after a little boy ripped it off an envelope.

Mom: "Don't make the stamp die."

Me: "But Mom, a stamp can't survive that!"

I was a seriously morbid kid.

That stamp story was significant for two reasons.

First, it demonstrated that I had an imagination, which is kind of important if you're going to write fantasy and science fiction.

Secondly, it hinted that I tend to appreciate darker themes: the evil is profound, the war costs a great deal, and people die or remain permanently wounded, but the light still wins in the end.

When I was eight, these themes were just cool story ideas. Little did I know, these themes of overcoming were going to become very personal to me.

Rising Action

I learned how to love running during high school cross-country running.

I got thrown from a horse. Three times. Not quite a testimony to my horsemanship, but I feel like it initiated me into the equine world. Always useful for a fantasy author!

Hiking Jay Peak in Vermont in 2016. Notice the Ben & Jerry's hat!

In 2013, my sister got married. That was a huge deal to me, because she was the first of my family to marry. I was ridiculously happy for her (and I loved my new brother-in-law!) but I missed her a lot. Sisters are often the deepest kinds of friends.

I also really wanted to be a wife and start my own family. But my knight in shining armor either didn't exist or didn't know that I existed.

So I threw myself into my three jobs and my writing. In the same year as my sister's marriage, I published my first book through Shires Press in Manchester, Vermont. It was a huge sense of accomplishment, but there was also the inevitable question: "What now?"

That next step got decided for me. By the end of 2013, I had to admit a truth that I had been ignoring for a long time.

I was sick. Really sick.

Even after quitting one of my jobs, I couldn't stop the Monster inside me from taking over every aspect of my life. I lived with almost constant pain. Sometimes I could barely walk or put a sentence together. Sometimes I spent all day in bed, shivering with an intense chill. One time I ended up in the ER with stabbing stomach pains that were never diagnosed but which continued to be excruciating for the next two weeks.

At other times I was completely normal. I could hike for a day, run for miles, swim in the lake, and do everything I needed to do.

I didn't get it. What was wrong with me?

In 2016, I finally got an answer. I had the tick-born infections, Lyme Disease (a painful infection that attacks every body system) and babesiosis (a malaria-like disease). I began treatment immediately. However, my doctor warned me that, especially after years of living with the diseases, I was not likely to be fully cured. I could beat the Monster back and recover a good quality of life, but every so often, the Monster would still rear his ugly head. Management was key. So I managed, and saw some improvement.

But the next year changed my story forever.

Even More Action!

A friend took me riding on a motorcycle for the first time.

My first experience at Virginia Beach. Hello, ocean!

This is what I look like when I need coffee.

In January 2017, my family hit a tipping point. I won't get into it because a lot of it is sensitive, but we'll just say it involved an unexpected move from Vermont to Virginia.

I left behind my entire known life in one day. My jobs, my friends, my church, the local writers group that I had created. I left behind the state where I had been born and raised.

Moving from the country to the city, to a place where I only knew one family and had no idea who I could truly trust or what I was supposed to do next, was absolutely terrifying. Until then, I didn't know that that level of constant, overwhelming fear existed. But I also learned that there are depths of prayer and nakedness of soul and desperate trust that run deeper than the fear.

My King met me in my darkness and lit the way through it. I followed, step by trembling step.

That's when I learned the most about the very things I write about: the stabilizing power of truth, the purposefulness of the sacred, and the incredible joy of redemption. (More on that here!)

And that's when I met my dragon.

Plot Twist!

My dragon on the very hill in New Zealand where Peter Jackson built the Hall of Edoras for the Lord of the Rings films.

The moment I said "Yes!"

I guess I always expected the knight in shining armor. What princess expects to be wooed by a dragon?

At our first meeting, I was disinterestedly polite. He was chatty (and secretly interested in learning more).

Later, he invited me out for coffee. I said no.

He invited me to the church group he led. I dragged my feet for several weeks before I finally attended.

He showed me his full-size replica of Narsil from the Lord of the Rings movies, plus his collection of real, battle-quality swords, the proper use of which he demonstrated eagerly. He dressed up as Wesley from the Princess Bride for a group game. He let me borrow the Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson and borrowed my copy of Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis.

Somewhere in this growing friendship, I fell in love with him.

As I got to know him better, I realized that his fire matched mine and his King was the same as mine. He was the one.

When he asked me the biggest question of my life, at sunrise on a mountain peak, I said yes.

And in December 2017, I married my best friend!

(Read more about it in "How I Met and Married a Dragon")

The End? Not Quite...

The adventures continue. As of early 2018, a third Monster has joined the first two in my body, resulting in my inability to work outside the home in a traditional sense. But that just means more time for writing!

And I am SO excited about what the coming years will bring as I step through magic portals, explore new worlds, record the journeys of heroes and heroines, and share them with you.

I've come a long way since my stamp story. I now have six published speculative fiction novellas, including "Wings Beneath Water," which earned Silver Honorable Mention in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future contest, and which is now available as a novella. My most recent published work is my superhero novella, Without a Vision.

If you want to keep up with my journey and learn about these worlds, I highly suggest becoming a supporter on Patreon for as little as $1 a month! You'll get a free ebook, plus insider-only treasures of many kinds!

Meet Risubi. ("Fire Squirrel" in Japanese. But you have to roll the R.) He is the marshal of my mental squirrels.

What do you think of my story? How is it similar to your own? Join the conversation below.

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