I’m participating in the Instagram #BAWritingLife challenge by author Bethany Atazadeh and figured I should also be posting these to my blog!

Yesterday was Day 1: introduce yourself and why you write. Here’s my story!

I’m a #Trinidadian or #Trini (as we say it) and therefore a #CaribbeanGirl by birth, but I consider myself to be a #CitizenOfTheWorld.

I’ve lived in the UK, travelled throughout Europe and the Caribbean (with SO many locations on my “to go” list!), and now operate my business (Writing, Editing, Print & Web Design Services) for both local and international clients.

Beyond my professional skills, I WRITE. IT’S WHAT I DO.

For me, writing is an identity. A writer is just as distinct as a sexuality; a gender; a religion; a nationality. Writing is a state of being.

Though I’ve been WRITING forever, I only recently decided to PUBLISH. This was a huge step for me, and one of the bravest things I’ve ever done. It took me 15 years AFTER writing the damn book to actually hit “PUBLISH”!

My first published novel “Climbing The Walls” is part 1 of my Hart & Cole Book series — Parts 2 & 3 are already written, I’m halfway through Part 4, and Part 5 has its seeds in my mind already! So WATCH THIS SPACE.

For me, writing is my journey into myself, to pull something out — something I’ve created; something no one else can create, ever. If it one day it becomes a key source of income, I’ll be thrilled — but not just for the money; but because it means I’ve shared my characters with a wide audience.

My characters deserve to see the light of day. My characters are my longest relationships, and I’m tired of hiding them; of holding them inside me.

I write so that I can let them out into the world. I owe them that. They gave me an identity.

So that’s what I do… I write.