Gossamer Wings

A Writer Is Born...

S.L. Welsh began talking at seven months, but at the age of four, trauma silenced her voice. Standing on a wooden box at the kitchen table, her grandmother taught her to write.

Even after, her voice returned during kindergarten she preferred to write. It was safe. And clean sheets of paper felt like gossamer threads in her hands - rewards for surviving.

Then, at the age of eight, her grandmother gave her a blue Smith Corona typewriter. It was a train - a machine that travelled at the speed of her wild imagination.

Alone in the attic so no one could hear, she wove secrets upon those gossamer threads because it made her feel stronger. With every clack of the keys, she began building a powerful set of wings to fly above the madness surrounding her.

A writer was born.

Runaway...

At fifteen, she witnessed & endured enough abuse to last a lifetime She rebelled & took leave of childhood early. S.L. Welsh ran away.

Good & horrible things happened, but she learned, worked hard & discovered family is defined by love - not DNA.

Through it all, S.L. Welsh kept writing. Kept dreaming. And she kept weaving her wings.

Empowered...

She matured mentally, academically & professionally, yet the generational cycles of inequity & abuse permeating the foothills of Appalachia in southern Pennsylvania were tough to escape.

S.L. Welsh began her departure from those cycles by attending Wilson College - an all women's college - and began weaving a powerful set of wings.

She recognized red flags, adjusted hereditary norms & helped others do the same while raising two daughters to value & love themselves.

S.L. Welsh is the first woman in her family to graduate from college with an AA in Mass Comm - Wilson College, BA (summa cum laude) in Mass Comm & Professional Writing - SNHU, CRTT Online Teaching of Writing - SNHU & is graduating May 1, 2026 with a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing - SNHU.

Her thesis novel, "In the Absence of Heaven", a time portal fantasy in the speculative fiction genre chronicles the rough & tumble poetic journey of Birdie Belle Tillerman. You will cry, get angry, cheer her on, because Birdie feels familiar to you. Watch out for its release in 2026!

After graduation & desired traditional publication, S.L. Welsh dreams to move abroad to teach creative writing online for an American university.