Don’t read in between the lines before the lines have been written.

I’m curious where other writers get their initial spark of inspiration. Mine was complicated. I was laid up on my couch in February 2017 because I was an idiot and thought that my over thirty-year old ass could still perform a tour jete. For non-ballet dancers this move consists of switching legs midair after a full body rotation. I wasn’t in a professional dance hall. I wasn’t wearing the proper clothes or even ballet shoes to try such a complicated maneuver. I’d just helped a friend paint his apartment and we were drinking at the Seattle Eagle. My ankle snapped four times and I used a cane and an ankle brace for six week. In that time I forced myself to stay as immobile as I could. I fantasized about a story. A story where I’d be with the love of my life. Only after I survived years and years of hardships.

I’d developed romantic feelings for a friend. I knew it wasn’t a good idea, but I knew the level of love that I had inside of me. It had to go somewhere so I started to fantasize about all of the events and obstacles I would endure to try and be with him. It became this epic movie playing out in my head and within my dreams. I was so intrigued and consumed by this story that I started to write it down. First, it was just scribbles in an old journal and random thoughts in an excel document. I wasn’t entirely sure what was occurring but I knew I had to get the information out of my psyche as quickly and efficiently as I could. One page led to two pages and those pages led to over eighty pages of notes and ideas for this book series.

I became friends with the amazing Shaun Farmer or Eva Androgyny, Drag Goddess, as he’s listed in my phone. He listened to me talk and talk all about my book idea and offered his editing services once I had the book done. He wonderfully reviewed and edited the first seven chapters that were originally printed single spaced and was a complete mess. He’s been with me the entire way as I’ve now produced two parts to the series. There are many more parts to come. The first book is outlined to have thirteen parts. It wasn’t until I started writing the first part did I realize how much I had to say. Apparently, there’s a lot to Tristan’s life and I’m trying to write it all down.