Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lourdes Leiner. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Lourdes, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
I get my resilience from the peace that writing poetry offers me. It affords me space to express myself, keep a record of my experiences and clear my mind. I get resilience from being strong for others and knowing that people always deserve to be cared for. By affording others kindness, compassion and support I gain strength. I get resilience in the trust in my ability to navigate myself to a better place even in times of hardship or crisis.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a self-published author based in Tucson. I have three works and a fourth incoming. Stitches, Spit It Out, Spider’s Silk and now Sea foam due to be published in the winter. I am 23 years old and have experienced many lives.
I have been writing nonstop my entire life. Never had the courage to share any of my work up until college. Where a lovely professor took the time to engage with me. Then at 19 I had to have an emergency surgery and listened to the person next to me in the hospital pass way. I was writing alone in the hospital and all through my recovery. After that I got the courage to put out my first book, “Stitches”.
I received such love and encouragement from the community, I started doing events. Then I started to notice that I was always the “odd man out”. People would often side eye me at events and I received feedback that due to the intense nature of my work that I was a “satanist”. Which I am not.
So after much hardship, I started to host events for creators of all mediums who create more intense and emotionally raw pieces. It’s called Gothic Creatives Collective, it’s in an effort to create a welcoming space for local gothic creatives.
After gaining this insight and further collaboration with my community. I published “Spit It Out” which covers the importance of creatives in our community and true expression.
Then before I knew it I had another medical scare during a photoshoot and spent a great deal of time in the hospital again. Then was diagnosed with a heart disease. I used my third book “Spider’s Silk” to guide me through this. This book covers the interconnected nature of relationships within the community and contains gothic elements.
Now I am currently working on my fourth book “Sea foam” which will be out in the winter. It discusses themes of femininity, relationships, relationship to self and the ocean. Which will be released this winter.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The skill to try, even if you may feel scared or embarrassed, the phrase “fake it until you make it” has truly helped me get through a lot of my fears about putting my work out into the world.
The wisdom of caring for others will never steer you in the wrong direction, taking the time to ask people their experiences and feelings through every step in the journey can help you understand others. Building in trust in your connections in your community is so important. You can build up others and if you may fall those connections of people will help you rise again.
Everyday do your best to be mindful in life and try and make mistakes. Learn from them and move onto something better.
All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
I am learning to love myself. Which is quite the challenge for me. I am very critical of myself and my actions because I always want to improve myself. Not only for myself but also for my community.
I am learning slowly to embrace who I am and allow myself to have pride in my accomplishments. As well as afford myself grace and patience as move forward in life.
I have been making much more impactful decisions to ensure my success and happiness. Which would be easy for me to do for a stranger but for myself it is quite a challenge.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.amazon.com/Spit-Out-Lourdes-Leiner/dp/B0CFWZ57RN/ref=piup_s_dr_m_sccl_3/143-5206152-2371116?pd_rd_w=omh2T&content-id=amzn1.sym.58b617fd-0906-4721-9a9c-70df87f8821e&pf_rd_p=58b617fd-0906-4721-9a9c-70df87f8821e&pf_rd_r=GY1ENWRHN6KCHZ7YKDKV&pd_rd_wg=EXjhY&pd_rd_r=db2c6613-f653-42c6-8a33-569d75f66f9f&pd_rd_i=B0CFWZ57RN&psc=1
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/feralghoulfriend?igsh=MWNmbGw3dmdtaGI3NA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
Image Credits
@az.fireshots (credit for the first photograph)
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
