Reading, Writing, and Coffee

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Angela Derscha; I’m twenty-nine years old, and I work as a Medication Aide for an assisted living community in Georgia. But through and through, I'm a writer at heart. My obsession for literature began when I was eight years old, with Michael Moorcock and his impressive dark fantasy work.

It all began with Fantasy.

My eldest brother gifted my second oldest brother and me the book after leaving for college, said something about getting rid of the old to make room for new books. At the time, I couldn't understand the complicated subtext of the characters or the innuendos, but it was still enjoyable!

Part of a fantasy series that began in 1972, Elric: Tales of the White Wolf was considered a classic piece of literature by the early 2000s when I read it for the first time. After falling in love with the complicated work building, action, political drama, and bloodshed, I can confidently say I have read it twice. It was as if my brother opened the flood gates of literature for me. Before I could even think about the rating system for books, I read everything that my parents owned, that my local library would lend to me, and the few I could buy from local grocery stores on discount clearance racks.

Then Horror/Thriller invaded my brain.

One summer, I stumbled across a section at the library where they kept all of Stephen King's books. Immediately curious, I grabbed the first one to catch my attention: The Cycle of the Werewolf, written in 1985.

Although a bit gory and mature for a young lady, the service desk lady allowed me to check it out, pending parental approval. It was my first taste of what would become a lifelong obsession with King's work. The brief yet intricately woven tale, with moderately interesting characters and a sinister plot twist. The ending (spoilers) naming a supposedly supportive person a villain. It wasn't perfect, and various masterpieces followed, but I loved the novella for what it was worth.

Suddenly, it was time for age-appropriate reading.

Roughly two years later, my mother had a serious conversation with me. She firmly believed that I was indulging in too much gory, violent content. The solution? Introduce something light-hearted and wonderous. A series about wizards and witches coming of age in a fun, adventurous academy setting. The beloved Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling from 1997 to 2007.

Mother and father had been collecting them for years before deeming them adequate for my brother and me to read. Diligently, we read them cover to cover every time they brought a new edition home from the grocery store. Around this time, my writing journey started.

Short stories and poetry were my passion.

My creative energies were burning like candles during my adolescents. Authors like William Shakespeare, Jane Austin, Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allan Poe, and Robert Frost were my best friends as I figured out who I was as a person: a writer. I spent countless days and nights making worlds with complicated plotlines and endearing characters that never made it into publication. Even though my work stayed in notebooks, I persevered.

Adulthood took its course.

Over time, I began writing less and less; by eighteen years old, work, relationships, and school became priorities. The outlet in which I expressed myself for so long wasn‘t used or given any thought for nearly a decade. In addition to my new responsibilities, mental illness crept into my mind as chronic depression, anxiety, and suicidal tendencies. My parents taught me that psychiatrists were crazy and only cared about giving out prescriptions, regardless of their side effects, so my issues were untreated. Years later, I managed to work through most of my issues, unfortunately, without formal treatment.

Falling in love again.

In 2012, a good friend recommended two series for me to read: the Twilight books by Stephanie Meyer and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

Because of her recommendations, my addiction to literature reignited. I devoured both Twilight and the Hunger Games series over the course of a three-day weekend. Such specific writing styles and amazing characters allowed me to fall in love with books all over again! To this day, I never let her forget it.

Present-day happenings.

Roughly six months ago, I found an ad about Vocal Media while scrolling through Facebook and became curious. I started with a three-month free trial, but it ended up being so much more. Recently I have over forty publications that consist of poems and short stories that have challenged me as a writer and taught me a lot about editing, image placement, and grammar issues.

In conclusion.

With several new projects on the horizon, my readers will see my work often. Sometimes I might be inactive on the platform; however, it will always serve as a conduit for my creativity when the mood strikes. If anybody wants to check out my author profile, click on my face at the end of this introduction.

Have a wonderful day, and keep reading!