Love & Panic Excerpt
This is a snippet from my latest project. The story revolves around mental health, anxiety, and panic attacks -- subject matter that is close to my heart. The characters are reminiscent of people I knew in my youth and still know to this day, and there are moments in the romantic relationship that mirror my own experiences. Needless to say, this story means a lot to me.
Generation Z, the generation that comes after mine, is full of young people who are more self-aware than I could ever hope to be. With the unique stresses of the past 20 years, it seems today's kids were born to be anxious. I not only empathize with their struggles and worries, but I share a lot of them. And according to readers and writers I've spoken with, there needs to be more mental health representation not only in YA, but in diverse literature.
So, here I present to you... all of the above. Sebastian is Latino. Ally is black. Sebastian struggles with anxiety and panic attacks. Ally has a few secret struggles of her own. They're seniors in high school, and when they meet, their love is cosmic and passionate star-crossed. Are Sebastian's feelings for her worth more than his own mental health? He'll have to choose. Or will he? This is the story I completed in 21 days, so it of course has been heavily edited. Still, I haven't been so passionate about anything I've written in a long, long time.
So enjoy (or maybe be stressed out by?) this moment between Sebastian and Ally. I promise there is more to come, especially as I wait for feedback from one specific literary agent ***insert nail-biting emoji here, yeesh***
