About

“We all have a long answer, Ken. Even if we’ve been conditioned to default to the short one.”

Stacey, ALL MY ROADS

I’m Cortny Joy. At this point, that much is likely clear.

Believer in God, love, energy, and the power of human connection.

2w1 SX.
Generator.
ISFP.
Aries.

Those are all quick, overly-simplified ways to generalize my 30+ years on Earth.

I’ve spent much of my life codependent, desperate for affection, and playing small…all in the name of what I believed to be godliness and good intentions. A couple of years ago, I woke up to a lot of suppressed truths (which felt like the destination, but was only the first step down a more aligned path), and now I’m living the dream. Or at least, MY dream…some of it anyway. Most days, that looks like working a day job I love, writing/editing/publishing romance novels, listening to music, learning from community, waffling between security and authenticity, and sharing my thoughts on the journey.​

There’s no prize for shame, self-abandonment, stress, or strife. Somewhere along the way, we lost sight of our call to fullness and found righteous validation in our invisible prisons. I did, at least, and my conversations tell me I’m not alone. Talking about these topics is a leap outside my comfort zone, but damn, it’s also big-time expansive. Sometimes I write about my own experiences. Other times I share through fiction. And often, I blend the two. ​

At the end of the day, I’m a work in progress and have far less “figured out” than I used to assume of the adults around me. I hope, either in my fictional characters or shared personal stories, you see some of yourself. And in the process, I hope you come to love those bits and pieces as markers of your divine beauty instead of using them as ammunition for your inner critic.

Watch me or join me. 

“Curiosity is the rock upon which fiction is built.”

Ann Patchett

A few of my recent and all-time favorite reads…

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