What Inspired Me to Write Choosing Season?

I was recently asked to share what inspired me to write Choosing Season since it's a unique mix of modern romance combined with a fairytale glow.

My love for fairytale romance started early, thanks to a steady diet of fantasy and the kind of movies that just put a smile on my face with it's happily-ever-after ending. Cinderella has long been my favorite fairytale, and I adored every Cinderella retelling that came out when I was growing up—Ever After, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, Once Upon a Time, Ella Enchanted—and films like A Cinderella Story and The Princess Diaries made me fall in love with the idea of a modern fairytale. Those stories helped shape what I’m drawn to as a writer: heart, hope, and a little bit of cheese woven into everyday life.

That’s where Choosing Season began.

The first spark showed up in college as a simple Pinterest board. I've save movie characters, music clips, fantasy locations, architecture, and other things I couldn’t quite let go of. Little by little, that collection grew into the early shape of Praetoria. In 2020, the world-building finally clicked into something more solid and coherent, and the story started to feel real. Especially when my character profiles came to life. I now had the world and a story where I could actually step into and write. The plot is loosely (very loosely) based on the first few chapters of Esther where the King is in search of a new Queen. But that's where the comparison falls away. The story quickly turned into a compelling royal drama with a few twists and turns that I hope surprise readers.

I first published Choosing Season in 2024. Then, in 2025, I republished it after professional editing and a brand-new cover—an update that brought the book closer to what I’d always wanted it to be.

If you’re new here, I’m so glad you found your way to my corner of the internet. I can’t wait to share more about Praetoria, my books, and the stories that inspire me.