1

I've always struggled with my mental health for as long as I could remember. I've also struggled to connect with fictional characters that represent voices for mental health. I was in the middle of a particularly bad manic high when I realized I wanted people to see the real effects of mental illness. So one night I wrote a slew chapters and began my long journey with Phoenix (the MC). Thus Hero Syndrome was born.

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When I began my story I expected there to be triggers. I tried to prepare myself for the emotional and mental roller coaster the story would take me. Some days I couldn't bring myself to be honest with my characters and to depict the challenges that came with storylines. I struggled facing the honesty it took to accurately tell this story.

3 ?

Shockingly, I have had many messages of people struggling with the same issues as Phoenix. They see this young girl at odds with herself and find comfort in her journey. They've told me that Hero Syndrome has helped them feel seen in a way other books and movies have failed to represent them.

4

I loved that Hero Syndrome had become therapeutic to me. Visiting Phoenix for a new chapter was like spilling my inner thoughts and turmoil in a diary. It really helped me make sense of the world and forced me to see the perspective of mental illness from many viewpoints. This was perhaps the hardest story to write but my proudest thus far.

5 ?

As of now it's a stand alone, but I'm not opposed to writing a spinoff for one of my other characters.

6

Mental illness shouldn't be a taboo subject. Seek out help and find resources to help you make sense of your metal health. And always remember, 'You are never alone."

7

I have a hard time focusing for the most part. I have found that I am my most productive when I'm working with a story that talks back to me. If I can't connect with the story anymore, or if the characters don't tell me how they want to be written, I will leave it to flounder in draft purgatory for years. Find a story that will talk and won't stop until it's done.

8 ?

Phoenix is perhaps the character that is most like me. We both share a deep devotion to our family, we both have a complicated relationship with the past, and we both struggle with mental illness. She's me at my best and my worst.

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Honestly, I'm not sure. I hope they're drawn to the cause I'm highlighting. I hope they come to hear another voice for the #freementalillnesss movement.

10

Yes! I have a new book called, "A Quiet Kismet". It's a romance novel and something I have been working on for the past year. Weekly chapters upload every Monday on Radish Fiction @rheaday97 The Wattpad release is coming this summer. I can't wait to share it with my followers and finally hear their feedback.