Q: Who are your writing inspirations? 

A: Definitely some of my favorite authors I read during middle school; Jennifer Niven, Brigid Kemmerer, Veronica Roth, Suzanne Collins, Suzanne Young, Kierra Cass, Kim Turrisi, along with Wattpad authors Knigtsrachel and Yuenwrites. Another big inspiration is my friend, cagetheheart, who always encourages me to write and supports my work. 

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Q: How old were you when you started writing? 

A: The summer before I went into 6th grade, so around 11 years old, I volunteered to help out with the summer reading program at my library. There was a lot of downtime, and I had just discovered Wattpad and my first attempt at writing Wrestling Life was born (it is currently on hold) 

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Q: What advice would you give a new writer? 

A: Just start! Even if you have just the smallest of ideas, just start writing it. Often times, the rest of the story comes along by itself, including the characters. It doesn't have to be the best or the most original idea, but as long as you start somewhere, you'll get somewhere. 

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Q: How do you get into the mood of writing? 

A: I'll admit, it's difficult sometimes. But if I'm determined or inspired, I'll make sure my room is clean, turn on some mood lighting, light a candle, and play the music I curated for the book on Spotify. Sometimes, I'll even facetime cagetheheart to keep me company. 

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Q: What books influenced you the most? 

A: I read a lot of books growing up, but some that impacted me the most were All the Bright Places and Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven, The Selection Series by Kiera Cass, Just a Normal Tuesday by Kim Turrisi, The Program series by Suzanne Young, The Unwanteds Series by Lisa McMann, as well as The Hunger Games trilogy and the Divergent Trilogy. Although there are a ton more, these are some of the honorable mentions from my library. These books not only shaped me as a person but also my writing. 

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Q: Favorite quote? 

A: "We do not remember days, we remember moments" - Jennifer Niven, All the Bright Places. (She did not create this quote, but it was where I first heard it) 

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Q: What genres do you like to read the most? What genres do you like to write? 

A: Hands-down my favorite genre to read has always been realistic fiction, but thanks to cagetheheart, I've been getting into dystopian a lot recently. As for writing, most of my books are also realistic fiction with a huge focus on mental health, but I'm trying to expand my horizons. 

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Q: What role does mental health play in your life and writing? 

A: For most of my life, I have struggled with my mental health, mainly depression and anxiety. For personal reasons, I have not been able to get a professional diagnosis or professional help. I think this has a huge part to do with what I read when I was in middle school, which was mostly books that dealt with mental health and illnesses. Now that I'm older and have learned more about different mental illnesses, I incorporate it into my writing, such as Dear Emma which focuses on the aftermath of suicide, and Love Always, Emma, which will focus on depression. Another way it plays into my writing is in my poetry, where I describe the thoughts in my head. I write about mental illnesses in hopes that it does for others what books like All the Bright Places and Just a Normal Tuesday did for me; educate me and show me that I'm not alone. That's the most important thing for someone struggling with a mental illness to know and be reminded of, and I believe that writing helps achieve that. 

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Q: What are your goals? 

A: I think goals are ever-changing as you go through life. Currently, one of my biggest goals is to go to college with cagetheheart, hopefully somewhere in Colorado. I'd like to study Psychology, but maybe also minor in criminology, but I'm still young and have some time to figure it out. Another huge goal is to get Dear Emma professionally published (I'm looking for beta readers too! Check out my link tree for more information on that). I would also like to find a wild, reckless, love and to be happy with my life overall.