I write when I need to—when something sits heavy enough that the only way out is through words. I’ve always been drawn to the quiet details of everyday life, and I try to reflect that in how I tell a story: nothing loud, just honest. I owe a lot to someone very close to me whose experience changed the way I see the world. It’s not something I talk about often, but it’s there, in the background, where the real stuff usually lives. I’ve known domestic emotional abuse, if only vicariously, and I’ve come to believe that true, uncomplicated devotion lives mostly in the canine world.