Through elementary school, I had a best friend named Paige. Even then, I wanted to become a novelist. She fully supported my dream.

I recall swinging on the monkey bars in the playground, and she said to me: "You should use a cool pen name, like Paige Turner!" In retrospect, this was cheesy and adorable. We were only 12 years old, and the future seemed bright.

However, in late elementary/early high school, Paige developed cancer. She fought long and hard against it, but eventually lost her battle to leukemia. She was bright and beautiful up until the very end. I dedicated the last name of my pen name to her memory.

I even wrote a couple poems for her. I will share them soon.