How I Became a Published Author and Marvel Writer

I graduated college with no idea what it was I really wanted to do with my life.

I’d found traces and hints along the way, like we all do: the only time I didn’t feel like a fraud in college was when I changed my major to English. The only time I felt like I understood things was when I wrote them down. I would see glimpses of a story in my mind and spend entire classes jotting down story ideas in the margins of the notes I was supposed to be taking (Sorry, Math 101, it wasn’t you it was me, etc).

There was one novel I’d been working on for years, on and off. I’d have a burst of inspiration – usually from a song or a movie – and I’d curl up by the fire for hours (with the discount HP laptop I’d gotten after spending the night outside Wal-Mart with my dad for Black Friday) writing.

And then that burst would be gone. I’d have several really great pages of... something, but it never led to anything real because I never finished it. All I had was a file on my desktop with 10,000 words (maybe) of a story.

I graduated by the skin of my teeth. I’d been accepted into a creative writing graduate program in Claremont, so I figured I’d get myself together there. Other than that, I graduated with zero prospects except the internship at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which I was given as a favor to my dad. I spent the summer after I graduated in a cubicle in downtown LA, going over Environmental Impact Reports and cross-referencing data.

Ross knew what he wanted to do – he’d known since I met him: he wanted to be a Clinical Psychologist. That’s what he wanted to be when we met in Heidelberg, Germany, and it’s what he wanted to do when we started dating. He got into grad school and was going to get his Ph.D. We got married, and I read Stephen King’s On Writing on the way home from our honeymoon. I realized I wanted to be a writer. It’s always been right there – how did I not see it? The book lit a fire under my ass, and I got home with a renewed passion. I decided to finally finish my book.

That’s what I was going to do. It was all coming together. And then...

Some weird stuff happened at my grad school that put my classes on hold, and I froze. Even as I started to work on my novel (thanks to the wonderful advice in On Writing), the endgame seemed impossible.

What happened after I typed “The End”? Who did I talk to? I assumed I would need to rewrite and edit, but how? Then, I knew agents were a thing... but where did you find one? How did a publishing deal work?

And I realized that while I’d taken my fair share of writing classes, every time someone asked about the business end of writing, the professors would usually smile softly and shake their heads and say something about “not getting ahead of yourself” and “focus instead on the art”.

But now I see that while the art comes first, the business part of writing cannot be ignored – that’s what makes it feel like a viable dream, right? The idea that you’re not just going to write a book, but that you’re going to make a career as a writer. That is where the disconnect felt fatal. That is why I sat there, in my cublicle, feeling like I was starting from square one. Ross was chasing his dreams, and I was eating cheese sandwiches in the lobby of the MTA building downtown, wondering if my grad degree was a mistake. Maybe I should try and take the LSAT? Or maybe apply to music school? I was back to where I’d started, which was the idea that writing was a passion, but it wasn’t a real goal. It wasn’t a real job.

One of those “what should I do with my life” cubicle Google searches had me stumbling onto an MFA Program website. Being a school-less nomad at the moment, I was interested. It was for screenwriting, which I didn’t know if I could really do... but I was willing to find out. I applied, I got in.

I got pregnant with Aryn, and decided that by the time she was born, I wanted to have written a book. I had no idea what that would look like, but I knew I was going to find out.

I made an outline, a daily goal, and a playlist. Then, I committed to getting it done.

I hated everything I did, but I kept going. I thought to myself this is trash, but I kept showing up. And then, months later as Aryn slowly turned me into a tiny mountain of a human, I had finished a draft of the book. As I started stumbling my way through trying to figure out editing, I also desperately searched Ye Olde Internet for any clue on what to do once I was done. Query information was contradictory and maddening, but I thought I maybe, kind of had a plan. And with my due date rapidly approaching, kind of a plan would have to work.

I had a rough idea of what I would have to do. I finished the book and edited it myself, and then drafted a query based on what I could find online. I sent the first query before I went to the hospital to have Aryn.

So I thought that I’d leave the hospital and come home to a dozen requests. From there, I figured, I’d pick my agent. Then we’d go on sub and sell the book!

But things didn’t go that way. And looking back, it was a blessing. I learned a lot from the ups and downs. I mean, if I’d sold Fairest of Them All back in 2012... I wouldn’t have a very interesting story, would I?

2012: I started writing my first book, The Fairest of Them All. The book I’d had in my head for years. Pregnant with Aryn, drafting on a wing and a prayer.

2013: I finished the book. Worked on a query and sent it right before I went into labor. I thought I’d come home to a full request. But... no bites. I came home from a traumatic C-Section with a brand-new baby and a plan that had completely failed.

I found a Writing Retreat three months away, and decided to write another novel before then. The deadline was what I needed, and the retreat was a dream. Two of my best friends and I went to Big Sur together and met with dozens of other authors and industry professionals for workshops and lectures. Before I left, my dream agent told me to query her when I was ready. I spent the rest of the year getting ready... rewriting and editing. Then I sent it.

2014: She read the full, and...

She passed on it. My heart broke. But by then, I was figuring out how to query. I was figuring out what worked and what didn’t in getting an agent’s attention. I was getting more requests.

I got an offer of representation in 2014 – just one. She was kind, and I wanted to finally have a writing win, so I signed with her.

From 2014 to late 2015, I edited my novel with her. We were always “one more round of edits” away from actually going out on submission. We never did.

2015: I started writing another novel, and I knew that I needed to leave that agent. And since you can’t start looking for another agent before leaving the one you’re with... I had to cut ties.

So, I did. I sent an email terminating that professional relationship. Then, I had a professional editor look at my manuscript – I wanted to make sure it was in tip-top shape. I worked with Kate Angelella of Angelella Editorial, and she gave me excellent notes (and a great pep talk.)

2016: I was ready to query again – and I had a system ready to go, at this point.

Within a month, I’d received seven offers of representation... I was floored. I was in the wonderful position of getting to pick which of these agents I was going to work with. In the end, I picked the a wonderful agent from Writers House. After one round of edits, we went on submission. We sent the book to editors, along with an “Author Questionnaire” that had my bio and a few other book ideas I was excited to work on in the future. I was pregnant with Liam by the time we went on submission, and morning sickness was kicking me right in the butt. But one day, I got a call – HarperCollins wanted the book.

Harper’s Acquisitions Department thought they couldn’t sell the book, but they loved an idea on my author questionnaire, and I got a two-book deal off of that idea.

So I started writing again.

We’ll talk more about Acquistions in a later chapter!

2017: I edited that book, and got my first screenwriting manager through Writers House. Took the original book out on submission again, and it was bought by Penguin. I was honing my screenwriting skills as best I could, writing features and pilots. The manager didn’t connect with any of them. I wasn’t sure if I was cut out for screenwriting.

2018: I turned in the first book in my HarperCollins contract and started on the second. I was pregnant with River, and I realized that the tv/film manager and I weren’t really a fit. I left him and did a consult with Lee Jessup to see if I was a hopeless cause (I wasn’t). I wrote more screenplays and worked on the book for Harper while editing the book for Penguin.

2019: My editor left Penguin, and my book was kind of in limbo until they found someone else. The Beckoning Shadow came out from HarperCollins, and I made it to the semi-finals of NBC’s Writers on the Verge Program... but I didn’t get in.

I got a new editor at Penguin, but she didn’t like the book. Like... at all. She wanted me to change so much that I didn’t even recognize it as my book, anymore. So I said no. My sister suggested something: offer them another book. So I did. I offered to write a romantic comedy instead, and they took that deal.

2020: I wrote a new pilot, and finally got represented by 3 Arts for screenwriting. Went on virtual generals, edited the second book in my Harper deal – Unchosen – and wrote the romcom for Penguin. Found out I was pregnant with Ben.

2021: Unchosen came out. Lots of virtual “generals” for screenwriting. My agent left my agency, and I was given a new agent.

HarperCollins turned down my new idea. I finished the RomCom for Penguin.

I watched Loki and saw the “will return for Season 2”... and decided to shoot my shot by sending a DM to the creator of the show – an acquaintance from grad school who was a year ahead of me. We’d done alumni panels and stuff, but I was still worried asking was way out of line.

I had Ben, and after the C-section, I was feeling bold. I drafted the message (and sent it when I was no longer high from the surgery drugs!)

The head writer graciously offered to read me, and then I got a call that the Loki team wanted to meet me. They offered me a job. I wrote for Marvel.

My editor at Penguin left, leaving me in limbo yet again. My new agent and I were going to go back out with the book that had been handed back from HarperCollins and Penguin.

2022: The room ended, and I wasn’t sure what to. I left Writers House – I was an agentless, yet again. I started editing that first book, A Haunt for Jackals, taking it from a YA book to an adult fantasy.

Got a call... Marvel wanted me to go to London to cover set for the filming of Loki. We moved the whole family to the UK. I signed with UTA for screenwriting and books. We went out on submission with what was now my adult fantasy debut.

Back to Marvel for a small consulting stint.

2023: My adult fantasy sold to Blackstone, and I went back to Marvel for another writer’s room.Then, the strike made everything stop on the screenwriting side, and I focused on books.

2024: A lot of meetings on the books… and we’re going to keep going.

Your journey will be yours. Don't compare to anyone else.

Keep pushing, and don’t give up.