How My____ Life all started

I think I wrote this about 5 years ago. Every word is very true. Reading it actually made me fall in love with this world I created. The people, the relationships and the even the setting. This really puts things in perspective for the last installment that I have been trying to write for 4 years (wow!).

Read about my past views on the characters from "My Blank Life".

It's funny how every character in my book reminds me of a friend in my past and in my present. Of
course they remind me of friends from my past, all of them were based off of them! Every single one of them.

Many people say Samantha reminds them of me, but in actuality, there are definitely things I would not do that she does. She frustrates me sometimes. I think I was more like her back in the day but now, not so much. But I'm pretty sure I will always have Marlins and Justin's in my life. Unfortunately I've never found my Ryan.

Ericka- She's not a large presence in this book but I have written about her more in the first book for the trilogy. She's got some sass. What she's thinking and what she believes, is always said. Ericka is a truly good friend, which you see when she does the sleepover for her bestie Samantha.

Dennis- He's one of my favorite characters. The friends I usually have that resemble him are my

older brother figures. At the time of me writing My____ Life, I had a "older brother" whom I loved dearly. He was my world as Dennis is Samantha's.

Joshua- Love him. He also resembles the guys I'm close to as well. They're like brothers. Sometimes act a little immature but so sentimental and compassionate.

The way I started to write this book is kind of funny. One of my close friends (from church while I

was in Middle School) and I randomly were kind of bored and said we should write a story about our friends. At this point, I had been writing short stories and then stopped a little by the time Middle School rolled around. I was too busy chasing boys. I wrote like one page of this story with my friend… maybe 5. And then left it. One day my dad found it and he was alarmed. This was because (Spoiler) the story started off with Samantha in a towel kissing her boyfriend, Marlin. Yup and Daddy wasn't too fond of that since the names Samantha and Selena resemble each other. So I quickly explained and hid it at my friend's house.

One day I was bored and this was my Senior Year in Middle School or Freshmen Year in High School. I

started to write a story that took place a year after the one I had started to write prior about Samantha. And I couldn't put my pen down. I was captivated by this story I was telling. Of course life got in the way and had me writing off and on because I was getting at that age where boredom meant go hang out with
friends. So it took yearrrssss for me to finish that story. But I finally did in college. I believe that the experiences I had within those years helped me make this story more than a traditional teen girl novel (which is the narrator looking for love and finding it after triumphs). Of course My ____ Life has some similarities
to that but I put a little twist on it.

Whew that was a lot. Well it has been a while since I last wrote. So there you go.

It's scary how much that still sounds like me. I love it! My favorite part is that I have been looking for a Ryan my whole life, but I think I didn't realize I needed more of a Justin. Back then I believed that Justin was this average guy who was always shoved to the side and never spoke up about liking a girl. But when I sit and think about what Justin could have been like if he were still around in the story... I feel like he's exactly what most women want. Of course we never realize it until we're older. Hence, why I snagged myself a Justin and not a Ryan in my life. In the next book, we will see how High School romances takes on the adult world. It's not easy. I'm not sure what will happen with Samantha and Ryan's relationship in the end.

Another thing I want to point out is the part I say about My Blank Life not being an average teen fiction. Well... I would like to toot my own horn but I do feel like my two books ended up resembling a lot of other teen girl fictions out there. Not that there is anything wrong with that. I do believe my gift of writing dialogue makes these characters more like friends. Not just characters. And that's a really cool aspect of these stories.

As I'm writing this last book for Samantha's world, I am writing my own story about my life. A memoir about my trials and hardships, as well as, successes and accomplishments. It's REALLY difficult. I am going to have to sit and speak with people I probably don't care to speak with. But to deliver the best story that will help other women and teen girls, it's worth it. Look out for updates on that as well.