<<< THIS IS A STORY, THAT IS ALL IT IS. THIS IS NOT BASED ON ACTUAL PEOPLE OR EVENTS & ANY RESEMBLANCE IS MERELY COOINDIENTAIL >>> "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Everyone knows their general right granted to them in the United States, what everyone doesn't know is how many people those rights do not apply to. Lolya is a senior in high school when she is first told her voice does not matter, that she can't ask questions without receiving severe consequences. If you can't use your words or your brain, I guess you'll have to use the only thing you have left.

Love & Monsters is a story I worked on when I took my first novel writing class at UCLA. Since I lost my sister to suicide, I've been fascinated with exploring mental illness and providing any insight I can to eradicate the stigma. Love & Monsters follows Heather Bateman, a girl who has suffered from schizophrenia all her life but has only recently been diagnosed. She tries to socially recover from a very public mental breakdown with the help of her best friend Wren and a strange new boy who calls himself Nex.