My Debut Book: The Tides of Me

Introducing “The Tides of Me” pulled fresh from my garden as well as some background on how it all began for More Than a Flower

There are many people in the world who just knew what they wanted to do from an early age, and I am included in that category. I have been a writer my whole life. Stories, poetry, and songs came forth in my garden beginning at the age of 8. Thanks to this, it was an easy decision to grow further and explore writing by attending college where I earned a bachelor’s degree in English (creative writing). During my time in college, I allowed every book, every lecture, and every class to seep into my soil. I adored my teachers, and I did well with each writing project placed before me.

Once I moved on from college, I felt lost and unsure about what I should or could do with my life as a writer even though I had been an obsessive blogger on Tumblr. Tumblr was a place where I began sharing my garden of poetry, prose, and pieces of a novel I had been working on from 2010-2014, maybe longer, but that was the extent of my writing.

Not long after college, marriage came along as well as the job frontier with me working as a front office manager at a doctor’s office. Somehow, I had managed to decide that writing at that point would be a hobby. Somehow, my dream of “becoming” a writer became lost because after all “writers don’t make real money!”

My husband then received a great opportunity after about a year or so of me working full time plus over time and then, our garden grew to include a baby. With the newest addition to our garden, I stopped working at the doctor’s office and I became a stay-at-home mom allowing myself to write when I wasn’t busy with her. This “hobby” of writing continued to be my life for a couple years (2012-2014). While growing myself and helping my girl grow, I continued writing; blogging and poetry came naturally to me. While documenting and working on my craft, another addition to the garden was added when our son arrived.

Then…surprise! Something big happened in 2015 that changed a lot of things for me… fast forward to –

“Let’s go to Asia!!!”

Woah! We started a new garden in the Philippines. Although, the weather felt similar, I struggled to find comfort. I felt very isolated and often out of place as the culture shock was extremely intense but this change in scenery and life circumstance allowed me to dig back into my writing and, eventually, in the dirt, soil, and weeds of my sometimes muddy life; I found myself. This entire journey provided me with a new perspective on my life and, honestly, so much more than just perspective. A new outlook, a new way to tend to all that was growing in our garden.

Here we are now, settled in Metro Manila, carving out our little plot in which to garden further. With a fresh new landscape, I started reading again which lead to sharing my words on Instagram, and, then, finally…I sat down in a Starbucks, and I started writing “The Tides of Me”. The name for my book was originally something entirely different, but, as this was a new chapter in my life. “The Tides of Me” washed upon the shore in this new land and our new life.

“The Tides of Me” was completely written in 2016. For me, the book clearly shows its/my age and our life at that time. Since then, I feel I have allowed the tides to wash over me and, now, my shore may be a little more fluid but still with its coves and shell-covered beaches. I have changed as we all usually do as we grow into ourselves. So, this is why I wanted “The Tides of Me” to become the first flower plucked from my garden, from my shore – a beginning, a turning of the soil and the tides.

Behind the scenes now, I have so many more books, projects, and other things to share with you. I am so humbled and excited to share my journey. So, truly, thank you so much for all of your love, support, and friendship. I am truly grateful!!

If you would like to continue following my journey as well as get to know me more, stick around! I am currently writing blog posts for “I Am Poetry” magazine as well as working on the first issue of the magazine itself. I will be uploading blog posts to my website @ morethanaflower.com where you will find exclusive poems and book updates. I will also be sending out a weekly newsletter and more!

As always, you can find me on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Facebook…you get the point, I’m everywhere!

PS: “The Tides of Me” will be released and available on Amazon in October 2019!

Please keep an eye out for the exact date as we get closer to the greatest (in my honest opinion) month in the year!!