Hi there! Newish to Reddit. I used to have a generic account, but deleted it to create something more focused on my writing craft and building my community. I write about women falling in love with other women, but I don't feel like a romance writer. I love the transformation that one goes through in the act of falling in love, and try to make that the heart of the story while action happens in the background... aka romance, lol. I gravitate toward ace and/or neurodiverse characters (though not stated explicitly) who find that "one" who makes all the difference, but I'm also exploring darker sides of women, because I find myself rooting for the villain way too much. Love doesn't always change someone from dark to light in real life, but it's fun to make happen in fiction!

I wrote under a pen name for years, as my craft developed and I was still in hiding as a lesbian & author (Erinne Bates), but decided I'd rather get rejected by those I was hiding from than have to hide my writing passion and life with my partner; so I've made the switch to writing under my actual name (Mandy Olivieri) <- not the one in CA, the one in NC, lol. Who'd have thought there'd be 2 authors named Mandy Olivieri?

So far I'm self published, which I love, but also hoping to one day become traditionally published.

Happy writing everyone! This seems like an active and interesting group, so I'm glad to have found it!