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Growing up in Texas, I never really noticed the lack of diversity in fiction, mostly due to the very simple fact that I had no idea queer people existed at all. It didn't take long though, after moving to the PNW when I was eleven, to realize that just because I hadn't been exposed to the LGBTQ+ community didn't mean I wasn't still a part of it. In the wise words of Cameron Miller:
"Everyone makes their Barbies scissor. It doesn't mean you're gay."
Every novel, every movie, every Netflix original I had consumed and loved so much, was no more diverse than a loaf of straight-white bread. And I became determined to change that.
I was always a story teller growing up. Tales of rabbits with wings and women who rode horses bareback frequently found their way into my every day conversations. As I grew older, those tales transformed into more realistic ones, and began to find their way to paper rather than casual talk. I always dreamed of being an author. It just never occurred to me that there was no reason for it to remain a dream until a year ago.
That's when I began to write "Puppy Love", my debut novel.
Now, with Puppy Love's upcoming release, that dream is coming true.
It did though- at least for me. It would be the brave thing, or even the expected thing to say that I struggled with it. And while that may be partially true, I was much more proud than I ever was ashamed. Even with my family's deep roots in Evangelicalism, I knew I wanted to make it my mission to diversify literature by any means necessary. Reading kept me alive through the darkest times in my life, helping me view the world through different perspectives, and even at times, escape it entirely.
While deep literature always captivated me, and fantasies would transport me into completely new worlds, I was always drawn to romance stories. Reading about the lengths two people would go for one another, the things they would sacrifice and the lessons they'd learn made me dream of the day I'd meet my own "true love". But something about those stories I loved, "Titanic" and "The Notebook" and even "Shrek", always felt off. And when I met my true love in real life, I realized exactly why.
It's because the couples I read about had always been heteronormative.
And now for the real questions...
My favorite movie is...
"Shutter Island"& "The Departed"
My favorite food is...
Lasagna, hands down.
My favorite artist is...
Billy Joel & Zach Bryan
My favorite animal is...
Dogs, lions, & hammerhead sharks.
