And so On, and so Forth...

I've been "creating" ever since I first picked up a pencil - my imagination absolutely demanding to be acknowledged.  Initially, it was through drawing pictures.  Then, after I taught myself to read at four years old, it was through words.  The stories and poems I dreamed up and then set down onto paper, helped me get through some of the most difficult and trying times in my life.  And it still amazes me that with only twenty-six little letters, we can not only communicate with others and express ourselves, we can also dream up entire worlds.  We can use our words to hurt or to help.  For good or bad.  We can initiate change, start a revolution, even shape history.  All with our own simple words.

Even though I've found my way as an author of novels, I truly love all forms of creative expression - from graffiti, painting, and sculpture - to plays, poetry, and even architectural design.  They are all ways in which humankind can express and then comment on the bewildering array of experiences that we, as a race of intelligent beings, often either strive or suffer through.  Creative expression is the birth of a dawning divinity.  The more we know about the human heart and mind, the closer we come to "God".  And whether you are religious or not - Catholic or Buddhist - Jewish or Athiest - I think you can probably realize that there is some form of omnipresent "energy" that surrounds us all.  It is said that energy can never be lost, only transformed.  Writing and painting, sculpture and architecture, songs, music and theatre - these are all ways for us to tap into that collective, universal energy.

So here, in my blog (between sharing chapters of upcoming books), I've decided that I'm going to share a deeper insight into my own creative "existence" as well - in its flawed - sometimes ugly, sometimes beautiful - complex entirety.  This will include some essays I've written, random musings, opinion pieces, and even poems, too.  I hope you enjoy reading them.  For creative work to matter, it must be a reflection of the human condition - something we strive to comprehend, but oftentimes barely understand.  For a long time, I've cloaked that yearning of mine in the thoughts and actions of my characters.  And even still - the books, poems, and short stories I've long been creating - I actually kept secret for nearly three decades.  It took that many years before I was comfortable enough in my own skin to share them.

When I published my first book, it was the scariest thing I'd ever faced in my whole life (and I've faced brain surgery, cliff-diving, car accidents, working in a maximum security male prison, parasailing, being locked in a small room with a convicted serial rapist, muggings, bad neighborhoods, and being a single mother - just to name a few).  But now, I think I'm ready to share even more because - I believe that you'll see, in all my creative works, that thread of longing; for connection, for clarity, and for conscience.  Especially in my poetry.  At the very least, you'll get to see me, and hopefully, through comments and open communication, I'll get to see some of you, too.