Thoughts & Stories
Blog
Behind-the-scenes looks, writing craft, and the stories behind the stories.
Writing the Villain You Root For
There is a specific kind of reader experience I am always chasing. The moment someone closes a book and realizes, with mild horror, that they were rooting for the wrong person the entire time. Not because they were tricked. Because they understood.
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The Playlists Behind My Books
Every book I write has its own playlist. Not a casual collection of songs I like. A carefully curated emotional soundtrack that I build before I write a single word. The playlist is part of the outlining process.
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How I Name My Characters (And Why It Takes Forever)
A name is the first thing a reader learns about a character. Before they know what the character looks like, what they want, what they fear, they know their name. And that name has to do work.
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My Writing Routine (And Why It Changes Every Month)
People love to ask about writing routines. They want a formula. A system. A blueprint they can replicate. I am going to disappoint you.
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10 Books That Shaped the Way I Write
Every writer is built from the books they have read. These are the ones that changed something in me. Not just as a reader, but as a storyteller. They taught me what was possible.
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Writing Across Genres Without Losing Your Voice
I write dark romance, sports romance, gothic horror, psychological thrillers, fantasy, and crime fiction. People always ask how I switch between them. The honest answer is that I do not switch.
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Why I Write Morally Gray Characters
Real people don't live in permanent marker. They live in pencil. Smudged, erased, rewritten. The most interesting people carry contradictions inside them.
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What Gothic Romance Taught Me About Love
Gothic romance is not about jump scares or monsters under the bed. It is about the slow, creeping realization that something is wrong and the even slower realization that you do not want to leave.
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Building the World of Ridgeview
Ridgeview University did not start as a place. It started as a feeling. The kind of loyalty that forms when you are young enough to believe it will last forever.
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The Art of Writing Dark Romance
People ask me all the time what makes dark romance different from regular romance. The answer is simpler than you think and harder than it sounds. Dark romance tells the truth.
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