Prologue: Our Story
About Sara Rosenthal, creator and writer
I grew up in a family of storytellers.
My grandparents on both sides would recount time and again the quirky details of the stories of how they met their spouses, which, to my young ears, sounded like epic romances, as grand as Titanic or Pride and Prejudice.
My parents (who met at a murder mystery party) thrilled me with the uncanny coincidences and twists of fate that ultimately led them to each other.
I grew up in a family of storytellers.
My grandparents on both sides would recount time and again the quirky details of the stories of how they met their spouses, which, to my young ears, sounded like epic romances, as grand as Titanic or Pride and Prejudice.
My parents (who met at a murder mystery party) thrilled me with the uncanny coincidences and twists of fate that ultimately led them to each other.
As a freelance content writer, I felt I had finally found my niche when I was drafted to ghostwrite historical romance novels. In reflecting back on the stories of love shared with me by all the couples I know, an idea began to form: perhaps everyone’s love story is as epic, as nuanced, as colorful and thrilling, as those classic stories people read about in books.
So now I take those classic tales and settings as inspiration to bring out the real life romances that exist all around us, in everyday moments. So that you and your loved one can recognize the Heathcliff and Cathy (Wuthering Heights) in each other, or Noah and Allie (The Notebook), or Pam and Jim (The Office)...You get the idea.
I love being able to help people celebrate their love and look forward to revealing the beautiful details that can bring your story to life on the page.
So now I take those classic tales and settings as inspiration to bring out the real life romances that exist all around us, in everyday moments. So that you and your loved one can recognize the Heathcliff and Cathy (Wuthering Heights) in each other, or Noah and Allie (The Notebook), or Pam and Jim (The Office)...You get the idea.
I love being able to help people celebrate their love and look forward to revealing the beautiful details that can bring your story to life on the page.
When I am not writing love stories, I am making other forms of art. You can find my paintings and performances online at saratrueart.com and @saratrueart.
"I'm a total sucker for a love story. I am so happy when people find their people, which is why I am so excited to get the chance to illustrate book covers for this EXACT subject matter!"
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About Claire McCracken,
illustrator I am an illustrator and graphic artist living in Los Angeles. I have been published in a number of publications such as Bon Appétit Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Playboy, National Geographic Traveler, LA Magazine, and NY Magazine. I have illustrated four books: The Book of Building Fires, 150 Food Science Questions Answered, the upcoming Weight Watchers Lunch Plans cookbook, and an upcoming book on Enneagram personality types. I love print media. The tactile feel of art between your fingertips, seeping into your brain. Sara and I have our own love story. It isn't a romantic love story, but it is a big love story. We met when we were 2 years old, when I moved into a house a few doors down from where her family lived. We were inseparable as young kids - we played dress up and painted each other's faces well into our teen years. We even went to college together, romping around the redwoods in Santa Cruz. No matter where we are, what we're doing, or how long it's been since we've talked, we know each other's hearts. Our inner children are intrinsically linked. |
You can check out my illustrations online here: www.clairemcc.com and on Instagram: @claire_mcc.jpg .
About Jacquelyn Marie Shannon,
audiobook performer I am a theatre artist, teacher, and scholar living in Brooklyn, New York. I am fascinated by the sensuality of storytelling and the way that immaterial forces find bodily expression in performance. As a PhD student, I research how theatre and performance conjures, making the invisible visible or encounterable, and how people make meaning within the sometimes blurred line between stage magic and ritual magic, spectacle and spirit. I have an MA in Educational Theatre from NYU and an MA in Communication and Culture from Indiana University and have produced and performed solo and ensemble-based work across the US and beyond for over 15 years. As a performer with years of both vocal recording and broadcast radio experience, I find the voice to be a truly magical transportive medium, capable of transcending bounded space and time in such a way that physically touches the listener. I love how the voice enters and inhabits space like a ghost, giving contour to absence and transforming it into something that can be felt, intimately, in defiance of distance. My most recent creative projects explore enchantment, haunting, and the supernatural through butoh-based physical theatre performance and as singer, dancer, puppeteer and multi-instrumentalist in the Brooklyn-based freak folk band Cookie Tongue. |
"A good love story is like a good ghost story, animated by longing with a lingering between words, voicing the insatiable. And everyone has one."
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You can find out more about my work at www.jacquelynmarieshannon.com and follow the latest updates from my band, Cookie Tongue, at cookietongue.bandcamp.com and @cookietonguemusic.
"Stories have a way of capturing our souls.
...What does storytelling taste like to you? I’d say that it tastes like a cinnamon roll straight out of a mouthwatering commercial... " |
About Andy Pedroza,
social media & digital marketing intern I am a film and advertising student at the Savannah College of Art and Design who can’t seem to satisfy his hunger for storytelling. I have had this voracious passion ever since I was a kid. My earliest memories involve building intricate Lego sets infused with hand-made historical and fictional characters. Each set would have a corresponding back story and would interconnect to create a world filled with Star Wars, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and Marvel crossover. As I’ve grown to appreciate different mediums, I have made it my goal to tell stories whether through a single image, a short film, or an advertising campaign. At school I have had the opportunity to write screenplays, take behind-the-scenes photos on film sets, and develop ad campaigns for different causes. Whichever way it may be, a story always presents itself. Nothing warms my heart more than a good romance story. There is just something about a solid meet cute or seeing best friends become romantic partners that has the power to remind us all of how beautiful life can be. |
You can check out my photography and advertising portfolio at www.andylikesphotography.com