How Real Life Shows Up In My Stories
Let me be real with you for a minute: none of my books are anybody’s true story—but all of them are stitched together from real life. Little pieces of conversations, memories, hurt feelings, inside jokes, and “I can’t believe that really happened” moments all end up on the page in some way.
So when you’re reading my books and think, “Whew… this feels a little too familiar,” that’s not an accident. That’s real life peeking through the fiction.
Always Starting Over (And Trying To Land On Your Feet)
I know what it feels like to have life flip your plans upside down:
Having to start over in new places
Outgrowing old circles
Trying to hold yourself together while everything around you shifts
That energy slides into my stories through:
Characters who keep having to rebuild their lives
People who are “the strong friend” even when they’re exhausted
Women trying to find their footing while love, money, and family all pull on them at the same time
My characters don’t move through a steady, perfect world. They’re always balancing something—new jobs, new cities, new responsibilities, old wounds—just like a lot of us are.
Home, Money, And The Hustle For Stability
I think a lot about what it means to feel safe and settled—and how money and home play into that.
That’s why in my books you’ll see:
Folks hustling for a better life, legally or otherwise
Characters who measure their worth by what they can do or provide
Tension around rent, mortgages, bills, or trying to “get out” without leaving their people behind
The love story is the main dish, but the pressure of everyday life is always on the plate too. It’s hard to think about happily-ever-after when the lights might get cut off, and I don’t ignore that in my stories.
Trauma, Coping, And Why These People Feel So Real
Because of my background in counseling and community care, I pay a lot of attention to:
How people cope with trauma
Why they shut down instead of speaking up
Why chaos sometimes feels more comfortable than peace
How old wounds show up in new relationships
So in my books, you might notice:
Characters who confuse intensity with love
People who keep choosing the same type of partner in a different body
Families that clearly care, but don’t know how to communicate in a healthy way
Quiet moments that feel like something you’ve actually lived through
I don’t write perfect healing journeys. I write realistic ones—messy, slow, two-steps-forward-one-step-back type healing.
What That Means For You As A Reader
When you pick up one of my books, you’re not just getting:
A hood love story
Some spice
A little drama
You’re also getting:
Characters who feel like cousins, exes, best friends, or even… you
Situations pulled from real life—just turned up a notch for story’s sake
A reminder that even in the middle of chaos, there’s always a chance to choose different, love better, and heal a little more than last time
So if you ever close one of my books and sit there like, “I felt that in my soul,” just know that’s the point. That’s real life and fiction bumping into each other—and that’s exactly the space I love to write in.
