With the upcoming release of my debut novel Gwen, I wanted to take a moment to be vulnerable. Fiction is born from non-fiction, there’s truth in fantasy. I’ve mourned a lot of loss in my life. I’m an only child and I have no cousins.
I also don’t have any aunts. My family was always small, but I suffered the loss of my great grandmother, grandfather, grandmother, uncle, and my mother’s step father. My entire family consists of three people. I am blessed and grateful for my loved ones.
We grieve and mourn when someone passes. We also grieve and mourn when our hearts get broken. While Gwen is a work of fiction, the book’s characters are real. I wanted to keep my loved one’s memories alive. By writing books, we achieve immortality.
My writing is inspired by many things. Real people, real life events, real experiences, and real emotions. When we put something into writing, it lasts forever. I believe in living in the moment and making the most out of life. We should not wait until someone is sick or passes away to tell them what they mean to us.
Life is about living and enjoying the journey. When I wrote Gwen, I wanted to give life to my characters. Those characters were inspired by my friends, family, loved ones, and lovers. While Gwen is a fantasy fairy tale, I wrote a lot of truth. I put myself in my characters’ shoes and the characters are based on real people, I wanted to capture their individual personalities.
I am humbled and honored by the incredible team at my publishing house. Because of Jack and Kim, my fairy tale will be put into print. It will live in the minds and hearts of every reader. Anyone who reads Gwen will get to know Snow. My real-life Himalayan cat who passed away.
They will also get to know John who inspired the Prince, Kate who is my doctor and best friend, my father, my grandmother, Robin, Jill, Katie, Liz, Denise, Mallory, Betty, Maria, and Eileen– all incredible women who work incredibly hard in health care. Real-life heroes who work as nurses, medical assistants, researchers, receptionists, and physicians. Readers will become immersed in a new world where they will experience what I have lived through. Heartbreak, loss, hope, romance, falling in love, racism, discrimination, advocacy, adventure, heroism, and much more. But what matters the most to me is that no matter what happens in my loved one’s lives and no matter how many years go by, they will be immortal. The fairy tale Gwen will always be there, and the characters will forever live in our hearts.
KN Baker
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