Welcome!

I’m writing this on a cool Florida afternoon. Sunlight brightens my room. My cat naps peacefully on my bed and clean laundry. Indie folk music plays. I have a million things on my to-do list, but I’m slowing down to type this post.

Writing has been part of my life since I was at least ten years old. I remember having an epiphany one day: my best friend told me she was writing a book and it was as if a light turned on in my brain. Well, I wanted to write one too. The make-believe games we played as kids were going to have a space on paper, and I spent the next couple days asking all my friends if they wanted to put their characters in my story. The desire to write—fiction or nonfiction, novel or drabble—embedded itself into my bones.

Catholicism, however, has not always been part of my life. I was baptized at eight years old, and did not take my faith particularly seriously until I began preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation. I began to dig deeper. Attending the Franciscan University of Steubenville for my bachelor’s degree (in writing, of course) and minor in Theology deepened and solidified my faith. I’m now also in graduate school through FUS for a Master’s in Theological Studies (whew!).

The Pen and Cat exists to combine both the written word and the Word of God. I hope to post once a week about writing, Catholicism, book recommendations, and updates on my work(s) in progress—including Will’s Words of Wisdom, a mini-series of musings on the spiritual insight of William Carrigan and his wife Ramona.

I hope you enjoy this little blog!