I know, I know! I understand that it’s common (and perhaps expected) to condense the details of a book down, to give people a good idea of it. This is less about me having a hard time fitting 100,000 words into 100 (though that does often seem an impossible feat to/for me!) and far more about not wanting to give the entire book away in ten sentences. I do my best to try to tell you first and foremost what you can expect of the main character’s journey. I like to think it might not give you the details of the experiences but the essence of them. I do my best to not give spoilers in any sense! I also try my best to be more ‘descriptive’ for the first book in a series. Then, as it gets farther, you might notice the descriptions get a little more ‘vague’ so as not to ruin someone’s experience by them looking at a later book before reading the first. (Especially for the Reave Series. There are a few unexpected things in it....)

If you don’t want to read reviews (and don’t want to run the risk of spoilers), please feel welcome to contact me! I’d be happy to answer (most) any of your questions. (I can only think of one or two that I might not, so ‘most’ seemed best, just in case! I’m not going to tell you the twists and turns!)

You might be surprised (especially if you’ve read some of my books or specific ones), but I’m actually very particular about what I watch and such. A little less so when it comes to reading, but I completely understand being cautious about content for whatever reason(s). I don’t really watch anything without checking content first! But I am, also, the sort of person who would sometimes (often) rather know the entire plot of a movie before I sit down and watch it. I know that’s not typical! So, that being said... I don’t believe it would be right for me to list every single ‘mature theme’ in every single book out in the open for everyone to see ‘spoilers’ for things characters will go through, do themselves, be subjected to, etcetera. That’s in no way saying I’m unopen to telling someone! I just don’t want to spoil it for everyone. I’m going to list my ‘views’ on certain topics/categories where it pertains to my writing and how I handle it/them. I’m hoping that will help anyone who’s worried, concerned, or curious about this have a better idea of what to expect. If this still isn’t enough, please feel welcome to contact me, and I would be happy to address any specific concerns or answer specific questions as to content in any given book. (But I’m still not going to tell you the twists and turns/the entire plot!)

Please don’t think I’m in any way ‘digging’ when saying... I’ve read a lot of books that are very descriptive in action. Fight scenes dragged out for who knows how long. Descriptors of things that happen during. Imagine this: Someone attacks you. You’re not going to stand there for twenty minutes thinking about it. A few details are going to stand out to you. You’re going to act/react. It’s going to occur. It’s going to be over. Physically. Sometimes, things happen in an instant and last a really long time inside your head after. Sometimes, things happen and you can see them coming a long way off. Sometimes, you do pick up on details here and there. Sometimes, you go blank. Sometimes, you go red. I am not one to force the characters in my books to be ‘inhuman’ (even when they’re not human!). I do my best to facilitate their ‘experiences’ being told in a way that feels natural for them. So, if someone is more accustomed to seeing/inflicting violence, there may be less detail. There may be hardly any detail at all. There may be less ‘dealing with it after the fact’ because they’ve already done as much and you/we just weren’t there to go through it with them or watch them work through it. If it’s new for/to them, it may or may not be the complete opposite of that. (More than likely would be.) I am not writing violence for the sake of violence, and certainly not gore for the sake of gore. Sometimes, unfortunately, our paths in life just have violence in and on them. Sometimes, unfortunately, we see/experience things no one should ever have to. What I write, far more often than not, is people getting through the ‘bumps’ in their lives—learning to live with the jolts, dealing with any damage that might occur from them. Sometimes, the bumps in our lives are our own doing. Sometimes, they’re not.

Some people curse more than others. That’s just a fact! Some curse more at a certain time. Some do it more or less around certain people. Some grow into it. Some grow out of it. The way I handle/look at cursing: {We cannot control other people. We can only control ourselves.} Some characters curse more than others. I know this seems a bit nonchalant, but it’s not! I actually used to always tally how many of which curse words were in all my books. (Not that I was overly concerned about it, but more that I thought someone might ask someday. Also, I was just curious!) I actually don’t even watch R-rated movies (I’ve seen maybe five of them in my whole life)! Part of that is not liking to hear cursing no matter how much I’ve done of it in my life. It just doesn’t seem realistic in movies, to me. Put there for the sake of putting it there, far more often than not that I’ve heard. I rarely curse now (as I said about growing out of things!), but some of the characters do. I can’t change them any more than I can go back and rewrite my own life. (I absolutely wouldn't!) (I might believe there are times and places for certain things, or that there should be no time at all for other certain things (not necessarily saying this is one of the latter). That doesn’t mean anyone or everyone else will agree with me! A lot of my characters don’t agree with me on a great many things, this being one of them. But that’s life.) I do my best to put what I feel is a fair and accurate assessment of the cursing in the books in the content section, but if you’re still concerned or if you would like clarification on my classification(s)? Please feel welcome to contact me!

If you knew how uncomfortable I got any time I write any of it, you might have your answer! And yet not. I feel it’s my job to write the lives of people (characters) and do so fairly and accurately. Accurately need not mean descriptively (though it sometimes does)! Accurately, in this sense for me, means writing each character based on themselves. So, if a character is more ‘modest’, it’s less about there not being content and more about the way it’s handled. If a character isn’t...? Well. There have been a few times where I’ve literally said aloud when writing, “WHY are you DOING THIS to me?” Might sound ridiculous! But it’s very much like intruding on people’s private lives, I think. (Or being subjected to it/them! Ha) (And yet sometimes? It’s very much like what I said on violence up there. If someone isn’t accustomed? It might be part of what they have to work on/through. So, there might—in some situations—be more description from a less ‘experienced’ character. And sometimes not. All people are different!) The way I handle sexual content in my books: As tastefully as I possibly can. The way I handle actual sex in the books? I like to deploy a method I call: the cut-off. If the cut-off is not used? If there’s actual sex in a book? The only reason it’s there is because it’s (genuinely) relevant to/for the character(s), their person(s), or their growth. I’m not writing violence for the sake of violence, nor am I writing sex for the sake of sex! As with bumps and the way we get through/over them being important in life, connecting (no pun!) with people is an important part of life. If you’re going through their lives with them in these stories? Their connections are important, even if they’re on occasion the wrong ones.... That, too, is at times just part of life....

I try to take a realistic approach to all things. (As ‘hopeful’ as I tend to be on the inside, I am a realist through and through.) An assassin is not going to be killing people every time they enter a room. A warrior is not going to constantly be in battle. There might be what seems an endless amount of preparation for two seconds of what it takes to get something done. Sometimes, a moment can stretch to what seems infinity. But the moments pass. And how each person processes their ‘moments’ (in general) varies. That’s a beautiful thing, I think.

Difficulties are not contained inside set boxes of anything, including age. I myself experienced some difficulties as a young adult that I would hope no person would ever have to go through (and yet they do). I think it’s important for people to know they’re not alone in difficulty. Sometimes, that means having to accept that difficulty occurs. And sometimes, it occurs at times of life when it’s far more difficult to process than it otherwise would be.

No! ‘Mature Themes’, to me, means anything that takes some maturity to handle/work through. Mature Themes could mean: specific sorts of violence (beyond what I would consider ‘norm’ or ‘general’), abuse, betrayal, marital issues, death, infidelity, trauma, the list can go on and on. You’ll see ‘mature themes’ in the Content Advisory of every single book I’ve written. I don’t think any of us can get through life without difficulty. Often, the more alone we are, the more difficult life is.

No! I was reading Stephen King in middle school. Not that I probably should have, but I did, and I loved it. But I also even as an adult can’t handle movies/shows with excessive violence/blood, horror of any sort (beyond books), cruelty, etcetera. I’m fine with certain games, not with others. (I also can’t watch people embarrass themselves! It almost makes me feel physically ill, oddly enough!) I think a lot of things depends on the person. The recommended age that I list with each of my books is not me saying it’s either ‘clean’ on one side or ‘erotica’ or something on the other. If I say 18+, I will express why I feel it should be intended for adults. This would be different for me: 'This book is recommended for adults.' 'This book is intended for adults.' If I say ‘intended’? It would be due to a severity in any of the content.

As I said above, I’m very particular about what I allow from the world to enter into my person, if that makes any sense. I’m not speaking about ostriching! (Burying your head in the sand.) I know that, for some people, this might seem like ‘overkill’ or that I’m one of those super sensitive types. This is neither thing, though I am literally sensitive (even to sound, light, etcetera) and feel very much like a sponge when it comes to being around people (which makes being around people hard for me). (But no, this isn’t: No one should ever say anything mean to anyone, ever! I’m far more: People say mean things sometimes, and we can become better for/from it.) I’ve just basically all my life paid attention to certain things pertaining to content. (Though, admittedly, I did spend a while feeling the need to ‘conform’ when young. That was one of my favorite things to grow out of!) I want this information to be there, in case I’m not alone here! That being said? There are difficulties in the books. Sometimes really big ones. I feel like an observer of life, in a lot of ways. I’ve spent most of mine trying to understand. Why. The books, at times, have helped me work through a lot of that. (Though helping myself work through that wasn’t the intention, at least not knowingly. It’s just something realized after the fact.) I hope very much that people see the difficulties of the characters not as something that sparks/reignites ‘bad’ inside them. Rather, I hope they read it, feel a sense of hope or feel seen. There are no ‘difficult themes’ trying to play on emotions and such. I don’t write books with that intention, not even for the characters. They’re just trying to get through life! As are we all, in our ways. We don’t need anyone torturing us to make a good story. In my books, there is just as much honesty as I was able to find. Sometimes that means dishonesty of intent (sometimes people are just dishonest, and we’re stuck dealing with what havoc is caused). Sometimes that means having to look factually, honestly, and fairly at people, to accept that things aren’t always as nice as we wish they were. Sometimes? They’re not nice at all. But. We can come out the other side of difficulty stronger than when we went into it. If we allow ourselves. (And work REALLY hard.) Content is so important to me because it’s the content of our lives that makes us who we are. But I also completely understand that, sometimes, we just don’t want any part of certain things. I feel it best to be upfront with this, as I feel it’s best to be upfront in general in life!

Absolutely not. Anything here is me writing as me. That includes exclamatory remarks, digressions, sidenotes. ‘Oh! I just remembered this thing!’ or, ‘I should probably tell you this other thing.’ This is me. The books? As I said above, I do my best to write the lives of the characters as honestly and accurately as is within my means. That means going into ‘observer mode’ and removing ‘myself’ as much as possible. I do like to think there are some good bits of me in little places here and there, but I did my best to ‘stay out of it’ so they could have their lives. (This might sound weird! Ha) I also like to think people can read my books and tell that I wrote them, no matter the tone or style. (Books written in my 'Fantasy voice' are not ANYTHING like my digressions and ramblings! XD)