Writers have different and personal reasons why they write. You can almost listen to any talk given by your favorite author and they will often share why they do what they do.
Steven King has said he writers "to drown that scariness out of my mind."
"Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don't feel like I should be doing something else," said Gloria Steinem.
For me, I do it because I have to.
It is a type of compulsion. I have to get the stories that live in the folds of my brain and the caverns of my heart down on paper.
Characters are screaming to be born and put on the page so their stories can be told.
Worlds that burst to life outgrow the confines of my mind and snake their vines and branches to my fingertips and out onto the computer keys.They just want others to nap under their safe trees and discover the secrets buried deep under their seas or hidden away on a spacecraft bound for new worlds.
But, the most personal reason why I write is for my daughter.
The world is a scary place right now. Turn on the news and it makes you want to dive under the covers and never leave your house.
But we can't do that. We have to go on.
But, if I can create a world for kids to get lost in, for just a little while, I can have hope that it might make their world a little brighter.
I wrote "The Sapphire Key" for one major reason. I wanted my daughter to have a brave role model to look up to that prioritized kindness, mercy, and empathy over all else.
I wanted her to see that we can all be heroes when we are kind and care about others.
The character of Lily was based on her, well a vision of what she would be like when she gets older, and I hope this is the type of person we can all grow into. Even us adults still have a lot of growing to do.
If just one kid picks up "The Sapphire Key" and feels a little less alone or if after reading it asks the shy kid to sit with them at lunch or play with them at recess, then all my dreams for the book have come true.
While the book is about magic and fairy tales, the core of it is about friendship. I have been blessed to have had so many people help me see what makes a good friend. And after all to quote "My Little Pony," "Friendship is magic!"
So, why do I write? I guess it boils down to I write to connect and make each of us feel a little less alone.
Happy Reading, Friends!