Hello, Gentle Reader: A Letter From My Writing Desk

My girly desk features fairy lights, coffee rings covered by flowery coasters and lots of pink.

Hello Gentle Reader,

A letter from my writing desk

As an avid reader myself, I know how amazing it is to read an awesome book for the very first time. The kind of feeling you get when an author you've never met before makes you feel seen in a way that feels as though they are gently placing a hand on yours. The way your heart breaks when a character too good for the world is taken far too soon. What it's like to walk into a world you've never seen before, and yet, feel right at home.

These are the things that books do for us.

This is the thing I wanted to do for others.

It's a big dream. Some would say unrealistic. But if there's anything I've learned from fairytales, it's that some of the best stories come from dreams that seem too big, characters who are the underdogs, worlds that are in ruins, love that blooms in the smallest, darkest crack of a shadowy alleyway. In some ways, books have given me hope. The idea that anyone can do anything if they truly set their mind to it.

So one day I decided to start writing. Not with some specific plan. Not because I had some beautiful words or story playing in my mind, but because I knew I was creative, and I knew I wanted to write a story that hadn't been told before.

I knew one thing going in, and nothing more. But sometimes, all it takes is one thing, and a bit of courage.

So, I just put pen to paper, and before I knew it a story started to pour out of me. A story that lay buried somewhere in the deepest depths of my heart. My experiences, my rejections, the love that I knew, the characters I wish I was brave enough to be, the friends I wish I had. All of it came to the surface.

Now that I've written it, what I want most of all is for a reader to feel seen. Whether that be from the soft, weakened heart of the heroine, to the darkest part of the villain. Sometimes, all we need is to feel that we're not alone.

I want my writing to give hope to anyone who's brave enough to do something they've never done before. To let readers know it's okay to dream big. And while I may be just a small girl sitting at a tiny desk filled with pink accessories, maybe — just maybe — one day, there will be a girl a whole world away with my book in her hand, filling the pages with neon sticky notes and highlighting quotes she wants to return to, because she too felt seen.

If reading has taught me anything, it's that some of the best plot twists come when you're least expecting them.

With love, Jasmine