All my life, I wanted to be a writer. But in 2012, when my parents were killed in a car accident, everything stopped. The grief was paralyzing. Three years later, while pregnant with my first child, I lost my brother too.

In the months that followed, I found an old sketchpad and a few worn pencils tucked away in a drawer. I hadn’t drawn since high school, but in those quiet hours of new motherhood and mourning, I began to sketch again. Line by line, shading by shading, I found a way to breathe. Art became my refuge—my way to heal when words wouldn’t come.

But over time, the words returned.

Now, over a decade later, I’ve authored six books and built a portfolio of hundreds of portraits. I’m the author of the Liberty Hill trilogy, a romantic adventure set during the California Gold Rush, and Anthology: Love Stories Inspired by Country Music, a contemporary Southern romance collection that explores themes of love, loss, and finding your way home again. My writing is influenced by Ernest Hemingway, Cormac McCarthy, Charles Frazier, and screenwriter Taylor Sheridan—other storytellers who find poetry in the ache of being human.

My work as a realism artist has been praised by Dax Shepard, the SmartLess podcast, authors Amy Harmon and Susan Cain, New Line Cinema, and many others.

A California native who has lived and traveled all over the world, I now call North Georgia home, where I live with my husband and two sons. I’m an avid reader, country music enthusiast, and entrepreneur.

To me, stories and images are sacred things—they can suspend a moment, bring someone back to life, and outlive memory. Thank you for letting me share the ones I’ve created with you.

Connect with me on Instagram @sonjartsinger.