The Spark that Ignites
With Unbound just days away from its long-awaited release, I thought it only fitting that my first blog post be about the moment it all began—the spark that brought Unbound to life.
About twenty years ago, I went through a period where I found myself often revisiting my past—mainly my teenage years. At first, I didn’t fully understand why. But over time, I realized I was subconsciously harboring deep resentment and unresolved feelings about growing up under my father’s abusive control—and about living in silence, hiding my true identity. To make sense of those emotions, I began writing. It started as simple journaling—raw reflections, thoughts, memories. But soon, something interesting happened. My writing naturally took on a more creative form. It became less of a diary and more of a story. Characters began to form. A narrative emerged. There were plotlines, arcs, tension. I was unknowingly telling my own story back to myself—through a storyteller’s lens. At first, I was baffled. I remember thinking, Why am I writing a journal like it’s a novel? But the answer came quickly: it was the creative side of my mind taking over. I had spent years writing for work, expressing myself clearly and thoughtfully, but this was something different. This was personal. This was cathartic. And so, I scrapped the journal format and leaned in.
That was the spark.
One night, I stayed up late, glued to my computer. The ideas flowed faster than I could type. Once the creative energy started moving, it wouldn’t stop. I didn’t want to stop writing—but eventually, the middle-of-the-night caught up to me and I crawled into bed, ideas still swirling through my head. That night, I even dreamed about it.
The next morning, I couldn’t wait to grab my coffee and jump back into it. Within two days, I had written a short story called Breaking Free. It was raw and honest. And to this day, it holds a dear place in my heart. Little did I know how deeply that short piece would inspire something greater.
Fast forward nearly twenty years. One afternoon, I was talking with my brother about our childhood, about some of the pain I was still carrying. I told him how much of the story hadn’t made it into that short story. He reminded me, as he had before, that even just the military chapter of my life was powerful enough to stand on its own. And with that, the spark reignited. This time, I knew I had to tell the whole story—start to finish. I wanted to give it the treatment it deserved. I made the decision to write it as a novel—fictionalized, so I had the freedom and flexibility to craft the characters and scenes the way the story demanded, while staying rooted in emotional truth.
And so, Unbound was born.
I poured everything into this book—my heart, my history, my healing. And no matter what I write in the future, Unbound will always be the story that changed me. It helped me see my past in a different light. It helped me breathe at last.
If even one reader walks away feeling inspired, then every hour spent writing it—every tear, every late-night keyboard session—was worth it.
Thank you for coming on this journey with me. I can’t wait for you to read it. Stay tuned for future posts—where I’ll be sharing a few of Unbound’s behind-the-scenes secrets. 😊
