Books entered my life for good when I picked up Harry Potter as a young teen. It went on with the Twilight Saga, which I consumed so much that they became the first books I ever read in English (at the time, English was a foreign language I was taught in school). Twilight impacted me so much that I started writing ideas and stories down in my mother tongue. I wrote dystopian vampire novels back then, and I even printed it out with a self-made cover!
For a while, books and writing were replaced by singing and performing. Years later, in the summer before my high school graduation, I was curious about the After series by Anna Todd. I heard of this new Wattpad phenonemon, and I knew I had to read it. I binged the books in the week of my last school trip. That kickstarted my romance writing experience. I was immensely inspired by Todd and what she'd achieved in her career. I made an account on Wattpad and began sharing my stories. For two years, Wattpad was my sanctuary. Every day, I'd share a chapter, my thoughts. Because the nature of my books can be quite scandalous at times, and I'd started to reach a big audience that wasn't able to handle the content, the platform deleted my account, crushing my dreams.
Next to being an author, I'm also a cat lover apparently? It's a very recent discovery. Here are some of the cutest cats I've ever met.
The year that I lost my outlet, I embarked on a life-changing journey to the United Kingdom, where I was an ERASMUS student at the University of Sheffield. While I was there, I explored the country and didn't pick up the pen once (I only wrote when I was going home to visit my parents). That year boosted my confidence and showed me that I could do things unimaginable to the little me that was writing (truly unrealistic) dystopian vampire novels.
On my first vacation with my family after my year in the United Kingdom, I picked up a reading habit I had forgotten I even had in me. There are a lot of factors that came together to make me write again, but I personally credit L. J. Shen's books with my return to books and writing. If it weren't for COVID-19 and my new-found obsession with book blogging about steamy romance novels (I read and reviewed over 300 novels/novellas in one year), I would have never thought that there was a place for me to write and be free.
The indie world is my home, and I'm forever grateful that I found my way to you.
(Some of) My Favorite Books
Lover Eternal, J. R. Ward
Spirit Bound, Richelle Mead
Degradation, Stylo Fantome
Monster in his Eyes, J. M. Darhower