"After spending most of my early years in southern
California, I moved to Lubbock, Texas, with my family
when I was a high-school sophomore. When I turned
seventeen, we moved to a tiny little farming town in
west Texas called Happy (population 614). There were
twenty-three students in my graduating class, but by the
end of the year only sixteen made it through the final
ceremony because seven girls got pregnant and dropped
out.
"At the beginning of my senior year, out of
desperation, boredom, and a yearning to write, I joined
the school newspaper. My teacher, Ilona Smith, required
all of her journalism students to participate in the
University Interscholastic League (UIL). I competed in
news writing and editorial writing and became a state
alternate in poetry interpretation. As a result, I was
awarded a four-year scholarship and was the first person
in my family to receive a college education.
"When I wrote Comfort,
a story about a boy from a small Texas town, I drew
heavily upon my experiences with small towns, poetry
competitions, and the UIL. Like the protagonist, Kenny
Willson, I have often turned to poetry in times of
crisis. Through poetry, Kenny finds his voice. In much
the same way, through
Comfort, I was able to find mine."
