Deanna Blackburn

“She was everything I had ever wanted but everything I couldn't have. It was difficult; every time she looked at me, every touch, every kiss, every moment I wanted to tell the world I loved her, but I knew it was impossible. It was more than the need to tell people I loved her; it was about not losing her. If I lost her, where would I be? Every day, I hoped it would be different. Every night, I dreamt we would be happy together and not judged for who we were or whom we loved. I already loved her; she was my best friend. I was just trying not to be in love with her too. And it was this fear that brought the fairy tale to an end. The greatest mistake I ever made was to give in to all the things that made me afraid.

If you want my advice, it is this: Don't write your story the way I did. Don't let fear control your narrative. Don't let fear destroy your happy ending.”
― Courtney Peppernell, Watering the Soul

“Because there is nothing quite so wasted as a life unlived. And I intend to live mine.”
― Shea Ernshaw, Long Live the Pumpkin Queen: Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas

“Can the fool of a story also be the hero?”
― Shea Ernshaw, Long Live the Pumpkin Queen: Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas

“As long as you bet in yourself and believe you can do anything, you can.”
― B.B. Alston, Amari and the Night Brothers