Worlds That Never Existed (But Changed Me Anyway)

I love reading! That probably goes without saying, considering I'm a writer and willingly (and very passionately) edit other people's work for a living. My favorite part about immersing myself in a story- and this may sound crazy to non-readers- is when my brain slips into another world. I get to experience the story from a first-person perspective as if I'm walking and talking with my favorite characters (if you know, you know.)

For all my fellow fiction readers, you will understand when I say that it's not like a movie in your head, because a movie is easy to turn away from. Reading begins to feel more like a lived experience, and when it's a good book, it stays with you long after you return it to the shelf.

I have found that my (severe) reading addiction has changed every aspect of my life. I hold the characters I've read about close to my heart like old friends. I miss worlds that never technically existed. I feel grief, love, and betrayal in a whole new way. Reading has been a gift- and it has been the heartbeat behind every word I write.

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one." - George R.R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons

George R.R. Martin was right: a reader really does live a thousand lives. I've walked battlefields, held my breath in prison camps, flown with dragons, and fallen in love in a hundred different ways. If even one of those lives has made me a better writer and human, then every late night and overcrowded bookshelf has been worth it.

I am endlessly grateful for the centuries of authors who have left a mark on me today- they have influenced the way I think, write, and navigate the world around me. Here's to the next sleepless chapter, the next tear-stained page, and the next life we get to live.