As a writer, there are the plots you choose and the ones the story provides on its own. When I started writing Stories Beneath Our Skin, I planned on having a few fun side characters to liven up the place. Like decorative pillows or knickknacks. My story had another idea altogether. The casual background characters grew more and more crucial to the plot. Eventually, I found an entire new theme running through the story: Family of Choice.

It probably isn't surprising that this topic rose up from my unconscious as a mostly welcome kraken. I’m an only child, who often felt isolated from extended family by age and circumstance. Instead, my friends have often taken the place of familial roles. One such companion, another only child, came up with the term 'sister-friend' which has the added bonus of sounding a bit creepy cultish if said in the correct tone of voice. Separated by half of North America, we speak on the phone every week without fail and often text during the day when we encounter the weird and weirdly banal. It's a complex relationship to navigate in many ways. The reality is that we don't have those powerful blood ties or family pressures that might bring us back together during a rift. Instead, we have to build that bond ourselves. We have to believe in our sisterhood and revive it constantly. Only our investment makes it 'real'.

It was only recently, despite years of writing romantic stories, that I realized how strongly romance is about seeking that very kind of relationship. After all, what is a long term romantic partner, but family of choice? Out of all the people in the world, you are the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. That's a powerful statement that many spend their lives longing to hear.

With all these thoughts stewing in my messy brain, it isn’t surprising that Stories Beneath Our Skin became laced with these ideas. Beleaguered Liam, who is about to lose his central father figure, spends much of the story on the outside looking in to the assembled family that makes up the tattoo parlor where he works. While his budding relationship with Ace is critical, the friendships that he builds with the rest of the Great Sin Ink crew are what truly help him come of age.

This book is my first novel length publication and if it weren't for my own family of choice, it might never have come to be. I hope for all my readers that they have at least once such person in their lives. Feel free to tell me about your family of choice in the comments.