My second Novel is called Are You Okay? This is a novel that I started writing after I read a particularly hateful Facebook post right after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage throughout the United States. It was an exciting time- it still is, and seen as such a monumental thing. With the good, however, comes the bad.

I’ve always felt there was such a stigma towards same-sex couples and also towards the LGBTQ community. The perceptions we have towards people can ruin relationships and hurt people, including ourselves.

For a long time, I wanted to write a book about a school shooting. This is such a controversial topic and it’s also something we’ve seen too often here in the States. When I started writing Are You Okay? ​I knew right away that there was going to be a shooting in the story. This may sound cheesy and I sort of want to punch myself for saying it, but often times when you sit down to write, stories sort of write themselves and that’s what happened with this one.

I wanted to write a love story- just a love story about two women falling in love. I didn’t want it to matter who was falling in love, but I knew it would. Today was the day that my novel was published on Amazon and already I’ve received a couple of comments from people I know on Facebook that were excited for me, but alluded to the fact they were no longer excited when they realized it was a book about a same-sex couple. One woman shared my status update about my book and abruptly removed it when she started reading what it was about. She sent me a private message and apologized, but said she couldn’t be supportive of it. That’s okay with me, people are entitled to their own beliefs.

I wanted to write this story because I feel it is an important one to tell. I am a woman who supports the LGBTQ community and I encourage anyone struggling with coming out or accepting how they feel to seek help, reach out to someone.

Please read it with an open mind and an open heart.

xx