Growing up, I didn’t know much about where I came from. I knew my parents, and their parents before them. But I didn’t know much about them. There was a lot of silence. A lot of anger and striving to forget — of what, I still don’t know. At times it seemed my relatives didn’t have a past. But there was faith. Faith in a god who seemed a lot like my father, which is where identity and the past were derived. I learned to use the guideposts of this childhood faith to try and find my way. It led toward death, but with eternal life as a promise if I gave up my prized possession: myself. The in between was forgotten. The past was forgotten. It was cleansed white as snow. I became lost within a belief system that claimed I’d been found.

All I wanted to do was find my own way…

The Wayfinder series didn’t have this name when I first started writing it. In fact, I didn’t intend to publish it. I’d been writing stories since childhood as a way of coping with an upbringing I felt very much displaced from. These words were a metaphorical footstep, one in front of the other, in a different direction from where I’d started. I knew I was finding my way out of something I couldn’t quite define. It was the gentle, and at times, fervent encouragement of someone who knows the soul of me, that I finally had the courage to willfully begin this journey of sharing it. There were many twists and turns that made it feel like this wouldn’t be possible, namely that this narrative isn’t the traditional bound and printed novel. Growing up, I was plagued by the belief that I was never enough and too much all at once. I decided to use my self-perceived weaknesses as a strength. My hope is that putting something a little different into the world might inspire others. Or perhaps in lieu of inspiration, it’s merely a humble story — a deconstructed and fictional retelling of my own. I hope it ignites a spark in others.

A little bit about the series:

Currently, the narrative being released is Book 1 of several in a series. Each new chapter will be released once a month, and every chapter will be built on the legs of perspective. One’s telling of events may not be the same as another. In Book 1, you will be seeing things from the eyes of two individuals who are still very much children, but have been forced to grow up in different ways. What you’ll find is that perspectives intertwine and parallel (as they often do with the people we’re closest to). While the main goal of this series was finding a way between life and death, the runner-up was this: perspective. What we think we know to be one hundred percent, gospel-truth can shift with the telling of a different story while living the same events. Nothing is at it seems in North Hollow, or I believe, anywhere else. This is why I encourage that each character be taken with a grain of salt, leaving them room to find their own way. Not a single one of them, not even North Hollow, stays the same.

A note about Nash Rhodes:

Nash Rhodes is a pseudonym. I chose this as a way to protect myself and others, as well as the words I write. I believe they deserve to stand alone in their own fictional humanity.

A note about trigger warnings:

There are themes throughout this narrative which may be disturbing for some readers. There are elements of violence, SA, and scenes that may trigger RTS (religious trauma syndrome). While creating this world and narrative as a work to be read by others, it has helped in my own healing process. However, I know that is not the case for everyone, as all humans heal in different ways. In striving to be sensitive to everyone’s journey, I wanted to include this trigger warning and encourage each reader to take care as they consume this narrative. I also encourage readers to take their time with each chapter release. Not only due to some of the more abrasive content that may require a pause, but because there are things hidden within each chapter that may not be caught with the first gander. I like to think of it as a treasure hunt, or a longterm relationship that wants nothing more than to see you enthralled by what is found.

Most importantly though, the one message I intend to ring truest is that you, dear reader, will find these words as perhaps the tiniest guidepost toward a way you intend to find.

Always,

…Nash