Writing was the first time I fell in love. It was the first time I knew pain and pleasure. It was the first time I knew sadness, loss, and heartbreak, and the first time I knew mortality. And writing was the first time I ever truly knew myself.

Writing has been my life. Its shown me the world, explained things, and made me the man I am today. I was an awkward boy, who loved video games, wizards and dragons, and mystical worlds with two suns, and three moons. I'm now an awkward man, who still loves all those same things. My love because a passion, and the only way I knew to express that passion was by picking up the pen and doing what I do best.

English class was my first love. I wanted to know why we used language the way we did, and what it meant to tell stories. This love turned into a need that could only be satiated with the pen. Expressing myself vocally was not an option I chose to exercise voluntarily, but, through writing, I could be both poignant and powerful, poetic and petrifying. I could say what needed to be said without ever parting my lips and uttering a single phrase.

I knew I wanted to do this with my life, but the fear of rejection paralyzed me. I didn't pursue a career in writing as I should have. I let it slip passed, and kept my words isolated from the world. I confined them to pages only I could see.

There are, however, turning points in one's life, when the words have a way of changing things, and you have no control over them. This is what happened to me, and this is why I am here now. They told me to pick up the pen, and scribe stories. If I want a piece of this great art, I need to take it for myself. I need to face my fears. Stories are meant to be heard, and storytellers are meant to tell their tales.

The road to publication, and the life of a novelist, is an arduous journey that has a beginning, but no true ending. I walk that path now -- a path that I've always envied, but never tread. Perhaps it's time to make a name for myself, to become part of that great body of work that defines our lives, and our species. I have no fantasies that I will become rich, famous, or independent, but that will not stop me from writing what I think are wonderful tales full of intrigue, loss, fear, and love. I hope that you follow along with me. I hope that we can both take this journey together. I hope that we can both travel a road that many walk, but few ever call their life's work. And I hope I can say that this road is my life.