Greetings!
If you read my “official” bio, you have all the basics, but it’s hard to really get to know someone in a few sentences. So allow me to ramble on about myself a little longer…
I’m a TCK (third-culture kid), as my parents were missionaries in the Far East regions of Russia. This is largely to blame for my unique personality (i. e. I’m weird, y’all). I gave my life to Jesus at seven years old, and when I was fourteen, He began to call me into ministry. I didn’t know what that would look like at the time, but as the years progressed, God continued to clarify that call, showing me that He's given me a love for teaching and young people. That currently manifests itself in two main areas. The first is a more traditional
ministry, teaching youth and university students about God and how to develop a true, meaningful relationship with Him.
My other area of ministry is my writing. I penned my first (dreadful) stories at about eight years old, and I knew from then on that I wanted to be an author when I grew up. My dad convinced me to read The Hobbit when I was eight, and then again The Fellowship of the Ring when I was nine. I’ve never looked back from fantasy since. My first attempts at novels were in the historical fiction genre, but I eventually realized I hate research and decided to try my hand at fantasy, in which I could create literally everything and not have to worry if it conflicted with dates and things. The story wasn’t terrible (I’m actually quite fond of the second book in that series), and I resolved to continue fantasy writing.
And that brings us to the present day, as I continue to churn out fantasy works that seem to increase in length with each installment. I combine my love of young people with my love of fantasy, creating clean works in the YA fantasy genre as a quality alternative to the mainstream variety of YA literature. I believe fantasy offers a unique opportunity to express spiritual truth to a world that desperately needs to remember that this world is not our home.
In terms of random facts:
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I’m an INFJ according to Myers-Briggs and a 6 according to the Enneagram.
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I collect LEGOs (especially the Star Wars and Harry Potter ones).
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The fictional character I most relate to is Jane Eyre.
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I learned to draw so I could create Lord of the Rings fan art.
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My favorite animal is a wolf (in case you missed all the wolf art…).