The Divide Is Taking Shape

There is a particular kind of anticipation that comes when a story begins to move beyond the pages where it was first imagined. The Divide has lived with me for a long time—in questions, fragments, memories, and the steady pull of Joey’s story. Now, as I work toward launch, it is beginning to feel less like an idea I carry alone and more like a world making its way into the light.

A Story Takes a Village

I have been working hard behind the scenes to get The Divide ready, and this part of the author journey has reminded me how much good work is strengthened by community. Writing may begin in solitude, but bringing a book into the world rarely happens that way. It takes patience, honesty, imagination, and people who are willing to care about the story alongside you.

I feel incredibly blessed to have talented friends who are excited about this journey with me—friends who understand that a book is more than a finished manuscript. It is a collection of choices, a gathering of details, and a promise to readers. Their encouragement helps me keep going, and their gifts help me see the work with new eyes.

Friends Who Help Bring the Vision to Life

I am especially grateful to my friend Taryn Martinell for the cover art that has helped give The Divide a visual beginning. A cover is an invitation. It offers the first glimpse of a story’s atmosphere, its questions, and the emotional landscape waiting inside. Taryn’s talent and generosity have brought so much meaning to that first impression.

I am also grateful to my friend Shay Baize, who is taking my concepts and ideas and building them into something beautiful. There is something extraordinary about sharing an unfinished vision with someone and watching them understand what you are reaching for—even when the words are still forming. Shay’s work is helping shape the cover for the first part of Joey’s story in ways that feel both thoughtful and deeply personal.

I am keeping the finished cover under wraps for now, but I am excited for the day I can share it. For the moment, I am grateful for the people who are helping it come together and for the care they are bringing to this book.

The Work of Becoming an Author

This season has reminded me that becoming an author is not only about writing a book. It is also about learning how to trust the process, accept help, listen closely, and let other people contribute their own talents to something that began as a quiet idea. The best books are shaped by many kinds of attention, and I am thankful for every person who has offered theirs.

The Divide is still on its way, but it is no longer only a story waiting for its moment. It is becoming a book, a world, and an experience I will eventually be able to place in readers’ hands. I am honored to be making that journey—and even more grateful that I do not have to make it alone.