My mom surprised me with these beautiful roses for my publication day. She handed them to me and said, “You’re having a book baby!” And I was like, “Yes. I’ve only been in labor with this book for three years now.” 😂✨🌌 But honestly, as I look back on my life, on all those days I wrote and wrote and wrote as a girl and then as a teen and then in my 20’s...I realize now that all those moments were never wasted, even though sometimes I felt like they were. Sometimes I felt as if I would never write anything worthy. 🌌 And so I will never forget the night three winters ago, when I clearly envisioned Brienna sitting in a sunlit library across from Cartier. He was looking at her, intently, waiting for her to respond to something he had said to her. And in typical Brienna fashion, she did not speak to him; she spoke to me instead, saying, “The summer solstice is in eight days and I have yet to master my passion.” And I was like, WAIT! Who are you and what are you talking about!? 🌌 That was the beginning, the very first spark of this book. And sometimes I feel like Brienna was waiting for the right moment to appear, that in some ways, she was with me throughout all those years that I was writing and learning how to craft a story. 🌌 All of this to say... if you are an aspiring writer, I want to encourage you to keep writing. Keep reading. Because you might just have a character waiting for the right moment to spark that book in you. 🌌✨ • • • • • • • • • #thequeensrising #bowtonoking #letthequeenrise #authorsofinstagram #authors #bookstagram #book #books #bibliophile #ya #yafantasy #fantasybooks #amwriting