While I Was Sleeping

Author’s Note: I wrote these song lyrics in 2015 about a long-term crush I’d had that I wanted to be rid of. I’m long since over it, but I still love the lyrics I wrote. I think there are many others who can relate to the feelings so I’m sharing it now.

You were here while I was sleeping,

In the depths of my mind,

Where all the secrets I’ve been keeping,

Are all I come to find,

Where once upon a time we danced,

With open hearts and woven hands,

Until I woke to dawn’s cold bitter light.

I don’t want to dream about you anymore,

This is the last my soul can take,

I don’t want to wish on any more shooting stars,

They fall so far,

And I reach until I break.

I’ve only ever fallen in love with shadows,

And chased whispers into heartache,

I don’t want to dream about you anymore,

You will never be with me when I wake.

I’ve worn a ballgown made of silver white light,

And a veil that trailed across the aisle and into the sky,

I’ve said I love, I will, I do, for all of time,

But only at night.

In the quiet breaths between who I am,

And what I wish inside,

I don’t want to dream about you anymore,

This is the last my soul can take,

I don’t want to wish on anymore shooting stars,

They fall so far,

And I reach until I break.

I’ve only ever fallen in love with shadows,

And chased whispers into heartache,

I don’t want to dream about you anymore,

You will never be with me when I wake.

Reality is where the sunset’s reflected in your eyes,

On picturesque painting that make me cry,

It was everything I ever wanted,

Everything I’d ever wished that it would be,

It was all for real.

Just not for me.

I don’t want to dream about you anymore,

This is the last my soul can take,

I don’t want to wish on anymore shooting stars,

They fall so far,

And I reach until I break.

I’ve only ever fallen in love with shadows,

And chased whispers into heartache,

I don’t want to dream about you anymore,

You will never be with me when I wake.

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I Am From Poem

Author’s Note: This is my response to a common poetry prompt. When I was writing it, I was thinking about the things that made up the foundation of my childhood and what I still carry into adulthood. I wrote it just as an exercise but I was so proud of it that I wanted to share it. I hope you enjoy.

I am from fairy gardens constructed

with twigs and daffodil petals

sprinkled with the little round rocks

that were under the tire swing

where the other children would not let me play

because at three years old I wore glasses

I am from words on yellowed paper

read aloud by the glow

of the unicorn night light

magic worlds and lantern waste

that I carried close to my heart

even as all plunged into winter

I am from composition notebooks

that left graphite smudges on my eager hands

as I drew space cadets and superheroes

that traversed the galaxies inside my mind

and the pages I filled as I chicken-pecked

every key my fingers could reach

I am from the hymns sung every morning

verses forever engraved as melodies

that spring to my lips the moment

I hear the first note in the pastor’s sermon

and I can still play that holy book’s sonnets

reflect them back as the sun goes out

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Announcing: We Be Attempting the Madness (Again)

Guess what time of year it is…

It be time to announce my lofty goal for November! That’s right, it’s NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) 2021 and I am attempting the madness yet again! The last NINE TIMES I have attempted NaNoWriMo and Camp NaNoWriMo, I have crashed and burned. I haven’t won a NaNoWriMo challenge since 2015.

But win, lose, or total apocalypse, I’m running again in 2021. And I must admit, I’m “cheating” a little bit. This year’s project is to finish Maid of Honor for Summer, which I have technically already started. But in a challenge with no real prizes, I think it’s okay to bend the rules a little. I will be sharing one chapter per week on Sequel, which I hope will help me stay motivated to keep going, and I will post bi-weekly updates to my blog here and on Instagram.

Looking forward to running the race!

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Maid of Honor for Summer on Sequel

Announcing the next installment in my series about demon-slaying bridesmaids! The first chapter of book two, Maid of Honor for Summer, is now on Sequel! You can subscribe to the story here.

Annabella French has spent a year cooling down after slaying an incubus hellbent on stealing her sister’s pyrokinetic powers during last summer’s stint as Maid of Honor. But the time has come to put on a new dress and polish her blade because her emotion-bending cousin Pearl is getting married next.

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