This Wasn’t Supposed to Be a Story
How a spark, a dragon, and grief turned into a six-part series about the quiet ways we grow.
It started with a spark.
Then a bearded dragon died.
Then I accidentally wrote a book.
Then I wrote another one.
And now I’m… here. Still writing. Still feeling. Still not totally sure what just happened.
This year, I’m using September to show you what the last ten months have really been like.
September used to be just my birthday — one day, one dinner, a few texts. Now I take the whole month. Not in the “thirty days of balloons” way, but in the “thirty days to see how far I’ve come” way.
And the truth is: September was supposed to be quiet.
Instead, I found myself trying to name things I thought I buried years ago. Grief. Longing. Whatever you call the ache of realizing someone mattered more than they were supposed to.
Here’s why you might want to come with me:
If you’ve been reading Cinnamon for a while, you know I write from the deep end — about connection, loss, and the quiet shifts that change us when we’re not looking. This arc is all of that in real time. You’ll see the through-line between the moments you’ve already read here — the bearded dragon, the spark, the books — and how they connect into something bigger.
It’s not just my story. If you’ve ever had a person or moment change you in ways you didn’t expect, if you’ve ever grieved something no one else seemed to understand, or if you’ve ever found yourself becoming someone new without realizing it — you’ll see yourself in this.
There’s a series. Nine entries. Each one honest. Some messy. Some sharp. A few might get under your skin. But all of them are about one thing:
The stories we end up telling when we think we’re just texting.
Or venting.
Or falling apart a little, quietly, in the background of our own lives.
Read them in order.
They weren’t meant to be a map, but they kind of are.
Entry One drops next.
The arc begins.
I’m calling it The Origin Story: A September Series, even if it happened throughout the year. The first piece will be The Bearded Dragon That Changed Everything.
Thanks for being here.
We’re just getting started.
