A dear friend of mine once said to me, “Always think higher.” Those three words resonated, deep, so deep, until it formed my writing ritual. Before I write or type a single word, I find myself staring at a blank canvas. While collecting my thoughts, I close my eyes; I pray, then my imagination soars. I begin to write words that create the worlds my characters will come alive and thrive within my stories. It’s like I have a paint brush, and I’m stroking different hues from a color palette in my hand. With a stroke of a pen or even a keystroke, I paint the colors of my stories that I want to see, that I want to show and tell. Just think, it all starts with a blank canvas: I form stories I envision all from the love of writing – from my love of storytelling.