Monica Montgomery is a novelist, playwright, author of short stories, a freelance writer, and a writing coach. She’s contributed to Chicken Soup for the African American Woman’s Soul, I Am East St. Louis Magazine in her local community, and Huami Magazine. With her first novel series, An Everlasting Love, she intends to establish herself as a notable literary
fiction writer.
ABOUT
Monica has a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, an MFA in Fiction Writing from Lindenwood University, St. Charles, MO, and a master’s of M.E from National Louis University Chicago, Illinois.
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As a proud product of East St. Louis, Illinois, Monica grew up loving two things: books and music. At the age of twelve, Monica’s favorite authors were Steven King and V.C. Andrews. "There is something about suspense that is so weighty you can feel it in your chest. Although you are terrified, you keep reading because you have to know what’s lurking around the next corner."
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Monica started her college career as a Biology major, but she took a class called “Studies in Fiction," and it changed her life. She was introduced to writers like Flannery O’Connor, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Tolstoy, authors she would never have read on her own. Their work transformed her thinking. She became a god… of the pen, at least. It was liberating. Monica changed her degree to English Literature and never looked back.
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Monica’s favorite author is Toni Morrison. She draws a lot of her inspiration from Morrison’s work. She focuses on how Morrison crafts a story, making readers feel and think. You cry when her characters cry - not out of sympathy, but because you genuinely feel their pain as if it were your own. Then, you rejoice for the same reason.
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The idea for An Everlasting Love series came to her from a song. She heard it, and suddenly she knew she had a story that needed to be told. Monica says she writes because there are little people in her head fighting to have their say. Taylor Baxter’s character is one of the lucky ones who made it into the sun. They say the first novel is the hardest. Monica plans to see for herself.
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When people ask for writing advice, Monica is honest. “Don’t take yourself too seriously, but write as if you are serious about your work. Most of all, make sure you write about your passion. It’s like your child; you have to love it even when
no one else does.”
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As a self-published author, Monica says that being an author is not for the faint of heart. She has chosen this path because she wants people to read her stories and feel something, see someone, even if it’s themselves. Monica believes a great story is an experience—a life lived one page at a time.
Now… will you take the journey?
M.Montgomery