It began as a fun writing exercise based on embarrassing moments from my own life. I tweaked them to make them into fiction, but they were still recognizably mine. It became even more embarrassing when the people involved in those moments read the published book!

Several real events from my life made it into the books:

• Taking a picture of my crush's leg in English class (so embarrassing!)
• Going to the wrong locker that happened to be next to my crush's
• Friends telling my crush to ask me to dance
• Being invited by the cool girl to make a random video in German class
• That cool girl becoming my best friend
• A fake birthday party at my house while my parents were away
• My father's battle with cancer and his passing
• Falling in love with and ultimately marrying my own cute, intelligent, popular guy

"Being able to create my own movies in my head" - watching the characters do and say what I want them to. Although sometimes the characters have their own ideas and fight me on what I originally planned!

Writing thousands and thousands of words only to realize they're "leading me down the wrong path." I often have to delete many pages to get back on the right track. I like to believe that stories already exist somewhere out there in the atmosphere, and I'm just trying to find them and get them down on paper correctly.

Music is a huge influence in my writing process! Specific songs help me develop and visualize scenes. Here are some examples:

• Dashboard Confessional's "Don't Wait" - This song heavily influenced scenes in Second Kiss
• Gary Lightbody - His music inspired elements of Second to No One
• Jon Bellion's "Good Things Fall Apart" - Connected to Jake Jonathon's storyline in Last Second

Music helps me get into the emotional headspace of my characters and brings their stories to life.