Why I Write Women Who Aren’t Afraid of the Things They Probably Should Be

I’ve always been fascinated by how differently people perceive the world around them. Our experiences shape what we consider normal, what makes us uncomfortable, and what we believe is worth being afraid of. Something that seems completely ordinary to one person might be absolutely terrifying to someone else.

And sometimes, the things we probably should be afraid of become so familiar that we stop questioning them altogether.

Which probably explains quite a bit about the women I write.

Take Ella, for example.

In The Shadow, Ella has spent most of her life experiencing sleep paralysis and seeing a mysterious figure who appears in her bedroom. To anyone else, the idea of a shadowy man watching them sleep would be the beginning of a horror movie. For Ella, it’s something she’s known for decades.

She doesn’t see the Hat Man as a strange intruder who suddenly appeared in her life. He’s familiar. He’s consistent. And somewhere along the way, his presence became something she associates with comfort rather than fear.

Of course, the fact that she’s perfectly comfortable with an unidentified supernatural entity watching her sleep probably says something about her judgment.

But that's the part I love exploring. Just because something feels familiar doesn't mean it's safe. And just because someone isn't afraid doesn't mean there's nothing to fear.

I've experienced that strange intersection of fear and familiarity myself. I've spent much of my life seeing things during sleep paralysis that I know should terrify me, yet somewhere along the way, even those experiences became something I anticipated rather than simply dreaded.