Growth Often Begins with a Pause

“Sometimes the hardest path isn’t finding the story… it’s finding the courage to tell it honestly.”

It has been almost a week since I last shared an update, and during that time, I’ve done a great deal of reflecting—not only on my stories, but on myself as a writer.

Sometimes growth doesn’t come from finding the right words.

Sometimes it begins with questioning the ones you’ve already written.

Recently, I received some thoughtful feedback about my work. My first reaction wasn’t to edit a chapter or jot down notes for a future revision.

It was to remove my books from Amazon.

For a brief moment, insecurity became louder than reason.

As the emotions settled, however, I realized something important.

Removing my books wasn’t a retreat.

It was an opportunity to pause.

At first, I thought I needed to rewrite everything. I believed I had somehow missed the mark. But after spending time with my stories again—and especially while working through Free from the Looking Glass—I discovered that the stories themselves weren’t asking to be rewritten.

They were asking to be completed.

Not with sweeping changes, but with quiet moments.

A conversation that needed another sentence.

A memory that deserved another page.

A connection that had always been there but had never been fully revealed.

Sometimes the smallest additions allow the entire picture to come into focus.

The deeper I travel into Free from the Looking Glass, the more I realize this story has awakened something within me. I have begun to see pieces of myself reflected in the characters I’ve written over the years. Their fears, their hope, their longing to belong, and their search for truth are not separate from my own journey.

Perhaps that’s why these stories have always felt so personal.

I wasn’t just creating fictional worlds.

Without realizing it, I was writing pieces of myself.

That realization has changed the way I look at every story I’ve written. New ideas have begun to emerge, and I can now see connections between Far from Oz, Falling from Neverland, and Free from the Looking Glass that I didn’t fully recognize before. It’s exciting to watch those threads weave themselves into something larger than I first imagined.

Behind the scenes, I’ve also been learning.

I’ve invested in new software to improve the formatting and design of my books and have been exploring tools that will help me create videos and visual content to better share these stories. I’ve always enjoyed using Canva, and it remains one of my favorite creative tools, but I have a very specific vision for these books and want to continue exploring new ways to bring that vision to life.

If you’ve ever learned a new creative program, you’ll understand that it can be both exciting and humbling. I don’t tend to pick these things up overnight. I learn by experimenting, making mistakes, trying again, and slowly watching the pieces come together.

It will take time.

But I believe the stories—and the readers who have patiently supported me—are worth that time.

As I continue moving forward, I’ve also decided to simplify my online presence. Rather than trying to be everywhere at once, I’ll be sharing my updates primarily through my WordPress journal, which will continue to connect with the social platforms I’ve chosen to keep. My hope is that this allows me to spend less time chasing algorithms and more time creating meaningful stories.

If you’ve been following my journey, thank you.

Your encouragement, your patience, and your belief in these stories have meant more than I can express.

This space is becoming more than a place to announce books.

It’s becoming a place to share the journey behind them.

And I hope you’ll continue walking that journey with me.

“Stories don’t always change because the words do. Sometimes they change because the writer finally understands what the words were trying to say.”

Thank you for your support

Jennifer

Stories don’t always begin with answers. Sometimes they begin with a question we’re finally ready to ask.