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Hello, dear readers!
I’m thrilled you’ve chosen to spend a little of your time with me. I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself to y'all. Yes, I grew up in the south, so you will be seeing a lot of “y'alls” (sorry not sorry). I know we all have busy lives, so I created a short list of 10 things to help you get to know me a little better:
1. This should come as no surprise, but I adore literature. My interest flows across genres, but classic lit and YA fantasy have my heart. I honestly can’t recall a time where I wasn’t reading a book. At some point, I dared to dream the impossible and work towards becoming a published author. And here we are!
2. I am obsessed with animals, mainly of the canine variety. My black lab, Rory, is the love of my life, and you will see her underbite gracing my social accounts from time to time. I founded and organized a 5K charity race to help raise money and awareness for dogs suffering in the Dog Meat Trade in Asia. I strive to be an animal advocate. Involving myself in my race led me to begin giving up all meat, and to make an effort to buy only cruelty-free products. I'm still learning.
3. My husbabe, Hunter, is my rock and biggest fan. Faith and family are everything to me. My faith has influenced my writing profoundly. Some of my best work comes after spending time in the word of God. This is usually when the words flow out of me, and I truly believe my love for writing is a gift from God. I give all credit to the original author.
4. I am a travel junkie. Europe is hands-down my favorite place to visit -- Ireland in particular. The Type A in me loves planning the itineraries and then living them out. I prefer mountains over beaches and countryside over cities.
5. I am an Enneagram 4 wing 3. I like to say my thoughts mirror the introspective, gloomy, dramatic nature of a 4, but my actions match the NEED TO ACHIEVE of a 3. I’m always on the lookout for a new project where I can push myself outside of my comfort zone, learn something new, probably bite off more than I can chew, and have a few meltdowns along the way.
6. I love to eat! I’ve been known to have the palate of a 5-year-old. Sushi is and will always be a hard no, but I do love a good pizza, veggie taco, and queso…ALL the queso. While I do attempt to eat healthy MOST (ok, half) of the time, I have battled with my weight for years now. I try not to let the number on the scale define me.
7. I struggle with generalized anxiety disorder mixed with a dash of depression. A childhood trauma (more on this later) caused me to spiral into panic attacks at a young age, and I’ve struggled with anxiety ever since. I believe mental health is extremely important and is a topic our society does not address nearly enough.
8. I love music. I played the violin for 6 years through middle and high school. I can still play an out-of-tune or two, and I’d love to pick up the cello. I’m in awe of how music can move us and tell a story in such a short span of time. My favorite band is Keane, and one of the greatest memories of my life was when I got to meet them. (Check out high school Haley below.)
9. My favorite season is Fall. Give me all the pumpkins, comfy sweaters, spooky movies, fiery leaves, and apple cider! Halloween is my favorite holiday; I really had no choice. My mom raised me on horror flicks whether I wanted it or not, and we grew up putting out more Halloween decorations than Christmas ones.
10. I LOVE movies. My idea of a perfect day is snuggling on the couch with Hunter and Rory and watching movie after movie. We own over 1,000 DVDs and counting. I also know a lot of useless facts about films and actors. The IMDb app on my phone is usually open so I can read the trivia about a movie as I watch it -- NERD ALERT. Again, I love most genres, but time-periods, musicals, and fantasy movies are my favorite. Can I get a shout-out for Lord of the Rings, Moulin Rouge, and Pride and Prejudice? That combo actually sounds like a great idea for a new novel…DIBS!
Now you know a little bit about me, and if you made it this far, bless you. I’m so thankful for each and every one of you who wants to come along on this journey with me. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter so we can stay in touch about the latest updates. Tell me something about yourself in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!