Hi, I’m Ray.

I didn’t expect Phoenix to matter the way it does.

I’m from Mississippi, with deep Georgia roots. Both places shaped me, fed me, and gave me stories. But Phoenix was different. It didn’t ask anything from me. It simply showed me a version of myself I hadn’t fully met yet.

I spent many years of my life hiding in the shadow of addiction. Just trying to survive when I wasn’t always certain I wanted to.

Phoenix was the first place where I fully experienced life on the other side of that. In the Valley of the Sun, things were clear, present, and open in a way I had never known before. It showed me that there is not just life after addiction, but a life that can be full of light, connection, and meaning. I found a purpose.

That understanding sits at the center of everything I write.

Sometimes that looks like essays about desert light and belonging. Sometimes it looks like children’s stories inspired by my cat Oakley. Sometimes it’s recipes tied to memory and community. And sometimes, it becomes fiction.

I’m the author of Phoenix: Permission to Exhale, the Oakley series, and The Georgia Sweet Shop Cookbook, with my novel Defiance on the way.

When I’m not writing, I’m usually baking, feeding backyard wildlife, sitting on the patio with a notebook, or planning my next trip west.

This space is where I share the stories I’ve lived and the ones I’m still learning how to tell.

Desert heart. Southern soul. Always writing toward home.