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ABOUT TESSA
I was born in Bogotá, Colombia and moved to the United States when I was an infant. I was adopted to a family in the Northeast and my own life story has greatly influenced who and how and what I write - creating a tapestry of characters with complicated lineages. I have traveled across the world - swimming with gators in Brazil, doing life with devout Buddhists in Laos, riding on runaway horses in northern Argentina, exploring wine and food through countryside of Spain, discovering the hot springs of Iceland and walking the length of an island in Nicaragua...among other things. I find my adventures wherever I go and have also found them where I reside, living in New Jersey, Colorado, Florida and Illinois. I currently live in Chicago with my two fur babies.
I have written my whole life, creating stories in my imagination even before I knew how to hold a pencil. I used to rewrite the plots of my favorite cartoon shows when I didn't like the outcomes (which was almost always) as I tried to sleep at night. In adulthood I have spent the last ten years writing creative nonfiction on issues of identity, journeying and healing before returning to my first love from the early years....where I could create fictional worlds for myself and others to play in.
In my non-writerly life I have been a trauma counselor/educator for over a decade and in that role I had the honor to work with many combat service members over the years as well as survivors of many other kinds of trauma and PTSD. That work inspired my engagement with the theme of war, trauma, homecoming and discharge for many characters in my fiction as well as trauma in its large and more discreet forms. I also worked with many people that were hurt as result of being marginalized for their sexual and gender identities. All of this work has informed my writing and my stories. I also, personally, identify as a trauma survivor, and that informed my work as a counselor and specifically the way I write my survivor characters across the board.
I earned a bachelors degree in Literature with a Women Studies minor and a Masters in Social Work. I am also a 200-hour trained yoga teacher.
I believe in the power of love and healing, in all the forms they come in. I love creating worlds in which everyone gets their own happily ever afters and the inspiration those stories can be for us taking the leaps in our own lives into the love we want and deserve.
Additionally, I also hope through my characters to honor the complexity of identity in all its many forms and the complexity of humanity as it is thread through life and love in our world. I am constantly seeking to explore the many ways in which humans can heal from trauma and engage healthy connection and intimacy in storytelling - including but not limited to BDSM as a manifestation for some, as well as animal and creative arts therapies. This is a fictional endeavor. It is not a therapeutic suggestion.
In my down time I love having red wine and cheese nights, reading as much as I write, walking my dogs along Chicago's shoreline, and exercising my minor web graphics hobby. I am, also, always on the lookout for my next favorite tattoo. Each one of my ink art pieces holds a special story and meaning for me. It is as much a part of my own self-expression as my writing. I also like to offer the same ink-spirations in my character's lives.
I love writing and reading HEA stories in the romantic suspense/military romance, paranormal/supernatural romance, and contemporary romance universes...and I always enjoy a nice side of sexy-kinky to mix things up.
I love the expression of kink specifically because it is an unashamed and powerful way (when healthy and balanced) for folks to own who they are and the full expression of their own sensuality (sensory experience of the world) as it relates to them and a loving and consenting partner. This kind of connection, communication and consent is a powerful example for all human relationship and connection.