Writing
Writing has always been one of my favorite creative outlets.
As a kid, I started writing in diaries. Over the years, I explored songwriting, screenwriting (omg I wrote the craziest movies), and playwriting. I remember once, in high school, my older brother’s girlfriend had a creative writing project to do for one of her College courses. She knew that, for me, storytelling was like breathing. Easy. So she asked me for help, as in, to do the assignment for her. It only took me a few hours to come up with a story that got her high marks. Her teacher even told her that the play should be played on stage. I’m not saying all of this to toot my own horn. I’m trying to convey just how much I took this skill for granted, despite repeated validation. Later on, when I was in College, I did end up writing a few plays that were brought to stage via student associations. Again, just for fun.
Writing For Mental Health
In College, life got busy and I wrote less. In my non-academic spare time, I focused on music production and wrote songs, but I stopped journaling. There came a point when I stopped writing altogether — around the same time when I also stopped singing. It was a tough time. I had lost myself. By 2017, the imbalance came to a peak and I developed a severe panic and anxiety disorder.
During that tumultuous time, writing was actually what saved me. Through writing, I faced my internal demons, I found answers to profound questions, and I rediscovered myself — or rather the person I wanted to be. I started journaling again on a regular basis.
In 2019, like most people, in the midst of chaos and a total societal halt, I re-examined my life and asked the Universe to put me on a path with more purpose and meaning. One day, the answer came to me in a sacred place, the shower: become a novelist.
Singing or Writing?
Like I said, creative writing was one of those things I always had a knack for but ignored the value of. My teachers, parents, and even friends often told me to explore writing as a profession. However, since I can remember, my mind was set on Stardom. I wanted to sing and dance my way to the top.
However, when I gave it serious thought during the 2019 pandemic, I realized that life as a writer suited the new me more than the life of a musician did. And so, I started down a new path.
That’s how Claudine Audigé came to be.
Lavender Kisses
In 2020, I adopted the pen name of Claudine Audigé (find out why here) and proudly self-published my first novel, “Lavender Kisses,” a coming-of-age story about young love and heartbreak, family reconciliation, and self development. It’s an easy read for people of all ages and relatable on so many levels. It’s also really pretty (allow me to gush, I’m just so proud).
I’ve currently got a couple of novels in the works and plan on publishing many more in the future.
