Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes

courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day

saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.'

by Mary Anne Radmacher-Hershey

Self: Atawalpa was a nickname given to my by a family friend when I was very small. Apparently it's South American and means something along the lines of 'Snake God.' I'm currently 22 and applying for university to study Illustration. The reason why I'm applying for university so late is because I have been very ill for several years. It's a long term illness and it will probably kill me, but I'm trying not to let it hold me back. I am currently a black belt 1st Dan in Tae Kwon Do, Faculty Representative at college (meaning I'm heading 1600 students ... ... why did I want to do this again?) and besides drawing I'm completely gaga over writing. I have several original pieces of work on the go and will get an idea for a plot at the oddest times (the most memorable being when on a Christmas Eve my very drunk friends dragged me along to Midnight Mass and I had an idea for a plot about halfway through the service, so there I was trying to stop my drunk friends from falling over and hissing at everyone around me if they had any spare paper!) I've had two poems published to date and my dream job would be to be a full-time novelist.

Family: Dad, mum, step-mum, sister, step-brother. Although I haven't lived with my family for more than a year now I still try to see them regularly. My mum has one of the most dangerous tempers I've ever seen and she'll snap over the simplest things, but if I was ever ill she'd drop everything to take care of me. My dad looks scarily like Pavarotti, but he is Italian so I just chalk it up to that. I think I get my creativity from him: he writes the most beautiful poems. He just needs to have some more confidence in himself because they're good enough to get published! My step-mum came into my life when I was 10. She's got a wicked sense of humor and is well over 6" - I swear she could have been a model. My step-brother is lovely but unreliable, at 27 he can still act like a 12 year old! And lastly my sister - the most important person in my life bar none - she's just turned 17, is an A student and has had several people approach her about modeling. She can be a little selfish and vain but I wouldn't change her for the world. I also have a cat, Kurogane, who's the most talkative, clumsy cat I have ever met! He really brightens my day.

I write from the heart and usually about what I understand the most e.g. depression, cutting, suicide etc, and I feel I improve a little every time I write because whenever I look back on my old chapters I can't believe how awful they are! I've been told I write in a way that's quite simplistic yet emotional. Emotion (in my opinion) is what hooks a person to a story, so no matter how fantastical the situation I always try to make sure my characters have realistic responses so people can really identify with them.

One important thing you have to know about me is that I'm dyslexic, which means I can't spell and have terrible grammar and punctuation. I am not a stupid person but these are things I find very difficult so please bare with me in my fics until I can find a good beta.

Lastly, constructive criticism is as welcome as praise to me and helps me improve my writing. I value all your thoughts and feelings and thank you for reading my work.