website
This website is a static HTML, CSS, and JS website built with Eleventy (11ty). I programmed, wrote, and deployed it myself. I think programming is a fun skill that anyone can learn. It has never been easier to build an 'old school' style website.
The font is JetBrains Mono. It's a font I love because it's used in IntelliJ, the Java IDE, and also because its free and open source.
The contact form is a free form built with staticforms.xyz. My domain is registered via NameCheap and hosted on Cloudflare as a free static website.
My mailing list is run with Mailerlite. I don't use a CMS like Wordpress or similar, I write blog posts in Markdown and then copy them into Mailerlite.
writing
My high school English teacher, Ms. Hocking, edited Paint Dries. She also edited the book that I finished with her when I was 18, and is one of few people to read it all the way through, which I'm surprised anyone would! My old college friend who is hardly known around Boston anymore named Helena Gill also helped edit the book.
marketing
I had a lot of support from my marketing group chat, including my friends Sara Holm, Amelia Sundman, and Madelyn Margaret Battcock-Emerson.
life
For writing, the most formative experience in my life was what I experienced in high school. I was fortunate enough to take a self-directed creative writing course in high school, and it gave me the confidence and tools to pursue this at a deeper level. There were a lot of other teachers at all levels of education that I also owe a debt to, mostly for their kindness and generosity with their time as I grew up.
I owe a debt of gratitude to my family and my friends. I hope that they all know how much they mean to me.