“I didn’t give ‘Have Mercy’ a chance because sometimes you just start to doubt yourself when you have collected a stack of emails that rejected pieces that you took pride in and wanted to put out into the world to teach people something. It makes you question if your lessons are worth teaching. That’s why I was hesitant in putting “Have Mercy” out there. It’s personal and my heart and soul is written in it. It hurts more when you take a huge risk and put yourself out there and then get rejected. You begin to think your own story isn’t worth telling.”

“The pieces were considered trash by me because I believe they lack a certain voice. Voice which is firm and concrete and says exactly how I feel. These pieces have been rejected so many times and now I believe they don't belong anywhere except the notes in my phone. I think even though they can be crafted well, there will always be a certain lacking in how they come out in the world and speak for themselves. Editors was written because of the continuous rejections I have faced from literary magazines and how it has affected my sense of self esteem.”

“I trashed the piece because I am not getting anywhere. I consider myself a failed writer. This is one of the best things I have produced but it is not just good enough. I am not getting any younger. I might just stop writing. That is why I trashed the piece.”

“This is a short piece I wrote and revised several times. I was always trying to add more. But it was about one intimate moment and I’ve realized that’s enough. So I pulled the oldest draft out of retirement and shortened it even more.”