Sometimes, the best creative partnerships spring up in the most unexpected places. For me, it began in Tennessee, where my family had gathered to celebrate my brother’s wedding. 
 
At the time, I was on deadline to finish a 750-word rhyming story for an NYC Midnight competition, and I found myself sharing drafts with Nicholas Pontrelli, my niece Kelly’s husband. Nicholas, a professional actor with a wonderfully resonant voice and an innate sense of story, helped me experience my work in a new way.
 
It wasn’t just his voice that transformed the story—though it’s the kind of voice that makes you want to stop what you’re doing and listen (Nicholas is a musician too). As an actor, Nicholas understands the subtle ways stories work on an audience. He has an ear for lyricism and instinctively grasps pacing, tone, and character motivation. After reading my drafts, he’d offer thoughtful notes on how to make the characters more vivid or tighten the narrative flow to keep the audience engaged. His insights helped me shape the story into something far stronger than it had been. 

We carried our collaboration to another project, a rhyming story I wrote several years ago and adapted for my next children's book, A Mysterious Christmas Visitor, scheduled for publication in July. And we're not stopping there! Nicholas has given me ideas on sharing my stories with new audiences, beyond the printed page, so I've thrown a few more irons into the fire. We'll see how those heat up in the next few months.
 
Writing can be a solitary endeavor, and bringing in another perspective can open new possibilities and make the whole process more fun—not to mention fruitful. So, to all the other writers out there, I encourage you to find someone whose artistic talents complement your own. You never know where that partnership might take you.