The Journeys That Define Us

 If you've never written a book or don't consider yourself to be a writer, it's impossible to convey fully the near compulsion that engulfs you when you write. Writing isn't about my telling a story I came up with, but about putting onto paper one that demands to be told, and gosh, do they get demanding sometimes. 

Working on two graduate degrees, work, four small children, and the realities of life, I stopped writing for a long while. Or rather, my writing shifted from fiction to academic papers, toddler stories, meeting summaries, and all the things you need to do to keep life going. While these things matter, they suck the creativity and desire for pleasure in writing, right out of your soul. 

Then, in the fall of 2024, a few different things happened.

1) I started reading again, specifically a lot of fantasy (thank you, Kindle Unlimited!!), and it got the wheels turning. Loose ideas began to float through my mind, but no concrete shapes yet.

2) I had a very difficult situation occur with a family member that cracked open some barely held together emotional barriers. I needed something to do with all that anger, rage, and hurt, so one night I pulled up Word and started writing.

The first chapter I wrote is actually one of the later ones in the story, but I had enough of an outline in my mind that it flowed, and within an hour, I had a chapter. In the days that followed, I kept writing and kept building. Every waking moment was consumed with figuring out chapters and plot points, defining characters, and putting the pieces together. I created a world unlike any I had ever told, grounded in the reality of what I was feeling at that time and in some of my past experiences. It was foreign and fantasy, but incredibly human underneath. I've never cried over my own writing, but there were a few scenes that got me there this time. What started as a cathartic release one night turned into a three-month fever dream of obsession.

There are characters I've been scared to write for over twenty years, and so I never have. Any work of mine before now kept me from them, but in this book, I wrote them and didn't shy away. I wrote a heroine with pieces of myself, but stronger than I think I could ever be. I took the common tropes and ditched them. In life, there is rarely a hero to save you, there are no chosen prophecies, no fated mates, and sometimes it is the journey, not the destination. 

The other thing that surprised me: while I took nearly a decade of 'real' writing, I never stopped growing. My abilities between this book and the previous are astronomically different. I pulled down anything I had previously written for eventual retooling. It's incredible to put something down on paper, step back, and not even recognize yourself. Growth can be so painful that we don't realize what it produces until it smacks us in the face.

What is this new book about? It's about the things that drive us to be more than ourselves. The people who betray us, and those we find in the most unexpected places. It's an epic fantasy, but it's not grotesque; although it's dark and heavy in parts. It's not Young Adult; this isn't an angsty chosen 17-year-old who discovers she's secretly Fae, and learns about friendship along the way. It's about an adult being forced into impossible situations and making the best choice you can, about surviving hardship even when you are alone, overcoming the circumstances that try to define you, finding family in unlikely situations, and never giving up, even when that seems like the best option.

A few final thoughts before I wrap this up. Writing is different than many other art forms; it comes with this inherent expectation to publish, even when the reality is that most of what I've written should never see the light of day. The reality of publishing is that it's a tough world where good books get overlooked, and terrible ones make bestseller lists. When you write, you should write for yourself and the little piece of your soul that stays in each novel. I chose to publish this book because I think this story should be told, but if I'm the only one who ever reads it, I'll never regret the attempt.

However, I do hope you'll pick up a copy and let me know what you think. 

Without further ado, allow me to formally introduce you to The Bearer's Oath. Available for purchase February 2nd, 2026, or pre-order your ebook now.

(How amazing is this cover? The artist did an incredible job, and I'm obsessed!)