Hi, my name is Veronica Massey, and I am a creator. No one calls me Veronica. I’m just Ronnie. Yes, my mother named me after Veronica Lodge from Archie’s comics. Now that that’s out of the way, I’ll get on with it.

I guess I’ll lead with the basics. I’m the mother of 2 wonderful, grown daughters and grandma to one beautiful granddaughter. As a single mother, my girls and family are the centers of my world. That was enough for me for a long time, but now that my house is empty, I find myself going stir-crazy at times. I am not used to a quiet home at all.

I am a total sci-fi and fantasy nerd, and I proudly fly my comic geek flag as high as I can, much to my girls’ dismay at times. I blame this on my mother with our late-night viewings of Doctor Who, The Tomorrow People, and Star Trek TOS. I can also thank her for my love of art.

From a young age, my mother instilled in me a love of all types of art, whether that was through her singing or always having music playing, being in awe of her drawing life-like pictures of my sister and me, or reading to us every night when she put us to bed. She fostered that love, and when I crossed the bridge from admirer to creator, she encouraged me to pursue whatever path I felt led to travel.

Whether I am creating visual art through my drawing, paper cutting, prop making, written art with my poetry and stories, or combining them through songwriting or comic creating, my mind is always thinking about what I can do next.

Though I am a multi-medium creator, there is no denying that writing is my biggest passion. I love crafting fantasy worlds. I love writing characters that are representative of who I am and share aspects of my personality, both my flaws and my strengths.

Seeking representation was one of the main reasons I wrote my first novel. As an out lesbian, I got tired of reading stories in which a lesbian character falls in love with a slightly bi-curious female that ultimately put the pining lesbian in the friend zone (Ivy…cough, cough). And as a black woman, finding characters that were people of color was also a challenge. I couldn’t find what I wanted, so I wrote it myself.

I enjoy creating characters with qualities that I wish I had and living vicariously through them. Only in my stories can I be a mind-reading, undercover superhero that’s navigating the waters of a new relationship while also trying to deal with more than her fair share of mental baggage. I love creating, and I love sharing those stories with the world.

As much as I love sharing my writing, my poetry is the one genre that I have been slow to share. My poetry isn’t birthed from my love of comics, fantasy, or science-fiction. My poetry comes from my experiences: my loves and heartbreaks, my wins and losses, my elation, and my trauma.

My poetry is personal because it reflects all the facets that make up me. And there is nothing scarier than putting yourself out there to be seen as you really are. And in the same sense, there can be nothing more rewarding than putting yourself out there and discovering your work has touched or helped someone.

I hope that whatever I share, no matter what medium or genre, it helps and/or inspires whoever it was meant for.

Why yes, that is a Snapchat filter.