Celebrating *Nowhere’s* Birthday!
It’s finally here!
Today (3/25/25), NOWHERE enters the world for readers to pick up wherever books are sold.
(Pardon me while I tear up a bit. It’s a little like waving goodbye on your child’s first day of school.)
Picture Elements Credit: Atria Books
From its inception as a platform for me to express my darkest fears, pain, and impulses, NOWHERE was a beautiful gift. Without this book, I don’t know that I would have ever found the confidence to publish. More importantly, I’m not sure I could’ve unlocked the doors necessary for me to grow, change, and overcome the many challenges I’ve encountered over the past few years.
It is a novel so close to my heart, it hurts to close the cover sometimes. And yet, that’s healthy as so many painful growth opportunities are. NOWHERE and the Kennans (as uncomfortable as they may be) tossed me a lifeline when it was desperately needed.
Picture Elements Credit: Atria Books
When Charlie thew open the door to this unknown land, my curiosity led the way. When Rachel grinded her back teeth in pain and anger, my jaw ached. When Finn wailed in torment, my throat stung. When little Lucy whispered her secrets, my spine tingled. When Aidan passed, a small piece of me went with him straight into the James River. Not a single one of them is perfect, yet they were the companions I needed to pull me out of a horrific past, through my then-soul-crushing present, and into the future that I enjoy today. Maybe they weren’t the friends I would’ve chosen, but they found and saved me all the same. It sounds odd, but I can’t thank my characters enough for scooping me out of shame and hurt. When I needed them the most, they appeared out of Nowhere.
Picture Credit: Melissa Groves-Christ
I realize quite a few of you may have to sleep with the lights on, change your camping trip plans, or shy away from Appalachian hikes for a hot minute, but thank you all the same for giving the book a chance. Despite its imperfections, NOWHERE holds quite a few pieces of my heart on each page.
I hope it terrifies, thrills, and stuns you, but most importantly, I hope it shines a light on the bits of you that you’re currently too scared to share with the world—not to force you out of your comfort zone on a grand stage, but at the very least, to find a safe space to process. After all, that’s what the horror genre does for so many of us. In these pages, you can find your demons, get to know them, and blow them back into the breeze like dandelion seeds. As dark as the forest may be, there’s always a way out of Nowhere.
Maybe, just maybe, we’ll get there together some day <3
Cover Credit: Atria Books
Happy Birthday, NOWHERE!
Beyond my children (human and fuzzy), you are my greatest pride and joy.
