Change

Change is not always easy. In fact, more often than not, change is extremely difficult and can be uncomfortable. Everyone at some point in their lives has to go through change. Whether it be changing schools as a child, going off to college, changing careers as an adult, or changes in family dynamics.

As a writer, change is in my DNA. I literally write stories that change the landscape of fiction and the views my readers have on a situation. Where others may despise change and shy away from it, I crave it.

During my time in the military, I learned that to keep moving forward, you have to be open to change. Change is one of the only constants in our lives.

So when it came time to publish the Fifth Anniversary Edition of Always Forward, I knew I would need to dig in and get real comfortable being uncomfortable with changes to the book.

Something not a lot of people know is that originally, I planned to write a full-length novel, titled “Always Forward,” and it would be broken out into three parts, following Emily and Tara’s journey to find each other. However, once I finished writing Always Forward, I was so impatient to share it with the world that I decided to release it as a novella. But I always knew at some point I would combine the first three books into one novel.

I know the first novella isn’t perfect. There are formatting issues, and typos galore. Trust me, if I had a dollar for every time a fellow author or reader has pointed them out to me, I could quit my day job! At first, I was embarrassed about it, but then I began to embrace it. As I wrote and published the rest of the series, I grew as an author. As I began to heal from my own mental health issues, my writing reflected the healing. I also built partnerships with editors and beta readers to ensure the remaining books would be more polished.

But I knew that when the time came to combine the three novellas, I would need to make additional changes to show the reading community that I belong here as an author.

I dug in and re-read all three books. I picked it apart, line by line. Making decisions on what stayed and what parts I would change. While I did make some edits to the flow of the books, I promise the main plot line has not changed! I did add new bonus chapters and rewrite sections where I felt like a certain character deserved more depth. I was also fortunate enough to have my dear friend and poet, Amba Elieff, commission three poems for the special edition. Each book opens up with a poem inspired by the book. To have a poet as talented as Amba not only be inspired by my books, but then permit me to use her work was such an honor!

If I thought writing the series once was difficult, rewriting pieces for each book, years later, proved to be even more of a challenge! Remember, Always Forward has been in my head since 2004! And I first began writing it in 2019. So coming back to it in 2025, trying to tap into the same headspace I was in back then was a round of mental gymnastics I do not recommend!

If you haven’t read my series yet, I hope you’ll give the Fifth Anniversary Edition a chance. And if you have read the series, I hope you consider re-reading it and seeing if you notice any of the changes.

Overall, I’m so damn proud of the Fifth Anniversary Edition. It wasn’t just me working hard on it; there was an entire team behind the scenes. (You’ll have to read the book and the acknowledgments to know who that team is!)

This series has truly helped me heal from my time in combat. Being able to write a fictional story about a female prisoner of war allowed me to work through what it’s been like to be a prisoner of my own mind. And although I’ll never be fully ‘cured’ of PTSD, I’ve come such a long way from the young soldier that first came home from war. And for once, this is an example of how change can be a positive difference. Trust me, it wasn’t easy, but in the long run, it’s been worth it.